Root took a deep breath, pedaling slowly down Market Road 70, Bear jogging along beside her. Sameen was off doing her own thing, so Root had decided to go back to their abandoned railroad car and start setting up their clubhouse. She always felt bad when they left Bear behind, so she'd tied his leash to her handlebars and brought him along.
She looked around at her surroundings, taking in the old wooden fences and softly rippling wheat fields. Being outdoors calmed her down, especially when she was outside of Bishop. She spent so much time in front of her computer at night that the cool breeze and hot sun was soothing.
Root smiled and glanced down at Bear. His tongue was sticking out the side of his mouth and his tail was wagging happily. Sameen had left early this morning, leaving a note that said "Hanging out. Won't text." Root had texted their friends, but no one knew where she was.
Root stood up on the pedals, her bike swinging her legs, duffel bag of supplies bouncing on her back. It made her feel weird that Sameen wouldn't tell her who she was spending time with, but after their treehouse sleepover a few weeks ago, Sameen had been distant.
Root could understand why. Sameen was now painfully aware that Root had a crush on her. They were still close, and, Root guessed that from the outside nothing had changed, but she knew better. Sameen had pulled away and now she was hanging out with other people.
This wasn't the first time Root had a friend who faded away. It just usually happened a lot sooner, not ten months into the friendship. She pedaled quickly, then leaned to the right, turning the bike around the corner, Bear taking long strides to keep up. She straightened out and slowed down, letting Bear catch his breath at the slower pace.
Root hadn't brought up the change to Sameen. She didn't want to accidentally push her away, but she wasn't sure what to do. Before they'd kissed, she had felt secure in their relationship, even happy despite it just being platonic. Now? She felt like she was on shaky ground. She couldn't imagine how awkward the rest of high school would be if they became distant.
A bird sang above her and Root looked up, watching it glide through the air and land on a branch. She hit her brakes, dropping a foot to the worn, dirt road, and swung her bag around. She set it on her knee, digging through it for the book Harold had given her for her last Christmas, The Sibley Guide to Birds.
She pushed the bag back onto her back and paged through the book, one eye on the bird. After a few moments, she found it. Carolina Wren, the book told her. Root reached into the pocket of her overalls and pulled out a sharpie. She circled the name so she'd know she had seen the bird.
She looked up at the bird again, smiling as it sung down to her.
"Carolina Wren," Root said to Bear, "is a common species of Wren that is a resident in the eastern half of the United States of America, the extreme south of Ontario, Canada, and the extreme northeast of Mexico. Huh."
She looked up at the bird. "We're a couple hundred miles from Mexico, Mr. Wren." Root leaned down to Bear. "I know it's a mister because only the misters sing."
Root closed the book and dropped it into her basket with the Sharpie. She pulled her phone out and sent Harold a text to let him know she'd found a new bird. They'd bonded over their interest in nature, or really, Harold wouldn't shut up about birds and Root had taken up bird watching to make him stop. She did like learning about new things, so that was nice.
She squinted up at the bird again. It chirped one more time and took off, flying a couple hundred feet and landing on a roadside stand Root hadn't noticed before.
She started pedaling, heading towards it. As she got closer, she saw a young woman sitting on a stool, reading a thick book. The bird chirped loudly and the girl looked up, scowling. She was trying to scare the bird away, when Root stopped in front of the stand.
"Hello," Root greeted, laughing at the girl's futile efforts. "I think he likes you."
"I wish he'd scram," the girl said, glaring at the bird. She shrugged and stopped trying. "You gonna buy anything?"
Root looked at the table in front of the small stand. It was covered in various types of fudges and statues of wolves carved from wood. Root glanced at the girl confused.
"Did you make this stuff?"
The girl rolled her eyes and pointed to a sign next to the table. "It says 'Claire's Candy and Carvings,' right? I'm Claire."
"I'm Root."
Claire rolled her eyes. "Sure, whatever. Buy something."
Root pulled her duffel bag around and started reaching around for her wallet. Claire's hand dipped into her bag and pulled out her HAM radio.
"Cool! Did you build this?" Claire asked examining the radio.
Root nodded, pulling out her wallet. "Yeah. I'm really into science and stuff. There's a channel that plays space noise."
"I listen to that, too!" Claire grinned, handing the radio back. "I actually intern at KNPA."
Root's mouth dropped open. "You're Claire Mahoney? I always listen to your 2 o'clock radio hour!"
"Really?" Claire laughed. "What a small world."
"Hey, can I give you my number?" Root asked.
Claire raised an eyebrow. "Kind of forward for a dirt road in southern Texas."
Root felt her blood drain and knew her face was red. "No, I- I wasn't…I, um-"
"Relax!" Claire laughed, putting her book down. "I'm just teasing you. I'll take your number, 'Root.'"
Root laughed, relieved, and took a napkin off the table, grabbing her sharpie from the basket. She used her radio as a pad, scribbled her number and handed it over.
"Just text me whenever," Root said, waving awkwardly. "I'm usually free."
"Sure thing," Claire shrugged. She squinted at Root. "You want anything?"
Root put the radio and Sharpie back in her bag and looked around the table. "I'll get some fudge and one of the statues. How much is it?"
"Oh," Claire waved her hand dismissively, "it's on the house. Fans get free stuff."
"Thanks!" Root looked over the flavors and settle on Chocolate Peanut Butter and Pralines and Cream. "Which wolf statue should I take? It's for a friend."
Claire pointed to one of the larger carvings. "This one. I think it's scary."
"Well," Root chuckled, "my friend is scary, too. So this should be good!"
She smiled at Claire and moved the wolf carving into her basket. Claire handed her the wrapped fudge. Root waved and started off again, Bear jumping forward.
She couldn't imagine that Claire made a lot of money like this, but she was out here. Root wondered if cars came out this way. The road ended ahead in a few hundred feet and there didn't seem to be anything else until the trees started. She just shrugged and chalked it up to a Texas thing.
Root reached into her basket and pulled a square of fudge out of the packaging, her bike swerving slightly as she tried to keep her balance. She'd gotten better at wheelies since she and Sameen started hanging out. Sameen's balance was impeccable and she'd been teaching Root.
Root spotted the train tracks to her right and altered course, chewing on her praline fudge. It had been a pretty boring summer so far. Not that that was bad, last summer was awful. She'd been so upset that Hanna had left, she hadn't been able to do anything. Now, though, she'd expected this summer to be exciting, but it was already the end of June and the treehouse mishap had been the most interesting thing to happen.
She slowed down when she got to the tracks, lifting her bike between her legs and stepping over the iron beam. Root started pedaling down the middle of the track, shifting into a lower gear.
"You know, Bear," Root said, "you really are a good jogging partner. I mean, I'm riding a bike, not jogging, but I can see why Sameen lets you tag along."
Bear barked loudly, startling Root and making her laugh. Root saw their railroad car in the distance and sped up. When she was almost in front of it, she slowed to a stop and got off her bike, carrying it off the tracks and leaning it against the car's tall wheels.
She knelt to untie Bear's leash and then picked him up, carrying him to the car and lifting him in. He immediate ran further into the car, sniffing around. Root tossed her bag up and turned to look for her coins.
They were still where she'd left them a few weeks ago. She picked them up, examining them as she wandered back to the railroad car. Maybe she could turn them into a bracelet. If she did enough, she could make chainmail or something with them. She pocketed them and lifted herself into the car.
It was a lot easier to hoist herself up onto things now that she and Sameen were working out together. Root flexed and grinned as she saw some definition in her bicep.
"Bear!" Root called, grabbing his attention. "I'm like Wonder Woman!"
Bear raced back to her, sniffing at her feet and woofing softly. She smiled at him and sat down. He jumped into her lap, hugging and licking her face.
"Ok, Bear! Stop!" Root laughed, pushing him off her. "Down, boy."
Root tracked him with her eyes as he walked off to keep sniffing around. They'd had him for about seven months and he'd grown so much. He still acted like a puppy though, running and rolling around.
Root reached behind her to grab her bag and put it on her lap. She unzipped it and pulled out her radio, a map of the continental US, and a large quilt. The train's bed was metal, so she'd bought the fluffiest black quilt she could find at Target. Now when it got dark, it would feel like they were floating. Standing, she shook the quilt out and laid it on the floor.
Bear ran over and hopped onto the quilt, pushing it around with his paws. Root sat back down, adjusting the straps of her sports bra. It was exceptionally hot today, so she'd chosen to bare more skin than usual. The overalls covered her legs at least.
Root opened the map in front of her, reaching into her bag to pull out some rocks she'd brought to weigh the corners down. She leaned back to pull a pencil from her pocket. Shifting to lie on her stomach, she smiled at Bear as he settled next to her.
"Here's what I've got for the trip so far," Root said, twirling her pencil in her fingers. "Aurora, because aliens and it's in our state. Then Roswell, New Mexico. That's gets us onto the Extra-Terrestrial Highway. Hmm…"
She wished Sameen was planning this with her. They hadn't talked to much about the roadtrip since they'd agreed to do it, but Root thought Sameen would still be on board. She sighed. The roadtrip was a year away, at the rate their friendship was currently deteriorating, they might not even be on speaking terms then.
Root folded the map. She'd do this later, after she'd brought it up to Sameen. If Sameen was still down, Root was too. She dropped the map onto the blanket and patted Bear.
"Come on," Root scooted to the edge of the train and hopped down. She turned around and let Bear jump into her arms, groaning. "You're gonna be too big for this soon, bud. I'll see if we can build you some stairs."
Root pulled the leash out of her bike basket and clipped it onto him. She started across the tracks and into the woods. Bear trotted along beside her, looking around with interest.
They wandered through the trees aimlessly for a while, Root thinking about the upcoming school year and Bear thinking about whatever it was puppies think about. When they got to a clearing, she unclipped his leash and let him run around.
She was watching him jump after a butterfly when her phone buzzed. Root reached into her pocket to look at it, hoping it was Claire. It was Mr. Finch responding to her text message. He'd seen a Carolina Wren earlier today. Root wondered if it was the same one or if the male she'd saw had a mate. Wren's mated for life.
Root looked at the sky, surprised to see the sun setting. Orange and pink peeked out from behind the trees. She whistled to Bear, calling him back.
Clipping on his leash, Root sighed. "Alright, let's get back to the train. We shouldn't be out here alone at night."
Root led him back to the railroad car. When they got there, the light was almost gone. Root was surprised to see a lantern in the car and someone inside. Bear started tugging at the leash, barking.
Root watched the person sit up as she crossed the railroad tracks. It was Sameen. Root pushed her hair behind her ears and knelt down to unleash Bear. She stuffed the leash into her pocket and lifted him into the car. He ran into Sameen's lap, trying to get her attention.
"Hey," Root said softly, trying to see Sameen's face in the dark. The lantern was behind her and Root couldn't make out her features in the dying sunlight. "What are you doing here?"
Sameen shrugged, petting Bear's neck. "I came here to be alone."
"Oh," Root awkwardly shoved her hands in her pockets. "I can go. Just, um, give me my bag."
"It's ok," Sameen said, moving backwards. "Come in."
Root nodded and pushed herself up, hooking a knee over the edge and pulling herself inside. She sat on her knees, not sure how close she was allowed to get. She hated how weird this was.
"How was your day?" Root asked, looking at the map Sameen had unfolded.
Sameen didn't answer. She just pushed Bear away and stretched back out on her stomach. She pointed at a circle on the map. "What's in Utah?"
"Um," Root swallowed hard and shifted onto her butt, crossing her legs in front of her, leaning on her elbows, "The Devil's Highway."
Sameen looked skeptical. "Huh."
Root chuckled softly. "It's not as bad as you think. It used to be called Route 666. Now it's US Route 491."
"What's so special about it?"
"It's said to be haunted," Root answered. "It's also got a bunch of cool Native American stuff, which is neat. We can connect to it from the Extra-Terrestrial Highway."
Sameen twisted to look up at Root. "Is this roadtrip going to be all alien stuff?"
The corner of Root's mouth twitched. "Maybe."
"Can we at least do some camping or something? Hiking?" Sameen rolled onto her back, Bear sneaking closer to lay his head on her stomach.
"We'll camp!" Root assured her. "It'll be half-aliens, half-nature."
Sameen nodded. "Cool."
"So…" Root started, but hesitated. She shook her head. "So, do you want to stay out here tonight?"
Sameen let her head drop to the side and considered Root. She shrugged. "Sure."
Root nodded and looked out of the open train door to the woods.
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Root woke with a start, her body drenched with sweat. She looked around, pushing her hair out of her face. She was in the train. Sameen was next to her. Bear was still sleeping. They weren't in any danger.
Root swallowed and tried to take a deep breath. She'd had a terrible nightmare. It was already fading, but she remembered the anger on Sameen's face. She remembered her mother's hateful scowl.
She pushed the blanket off herself and crawled to the edge of the train, hopping off. The night air was only slightly cooler than inside the train, but the slight breeze helped her calm down. She hadn't had a nightmare in so long.
She used to have them all the time before she met Hanna and then again when Hanna left. Root unclipped her overalls, letting the straps hang down in front of her. She looked over her shoulder at Sameen. She still had a friend. Why was she having nightmares?
Her chest hurt, like she couldn't take a deep enough breath. She swallowed again and closed her eyes, turning her face up to the stars. Sometimes, it felt like pressure was building behind her eyes, like something was trapped inside her head trying to get out.
If she had a choice, if someone appeared out of the darkness and said 'Let's go away. Right now,' Root might have said yes. She might have said 'Please. I'll go anywhere. Let's go somewhere new. Somewhere high up so we can see all of Texas. All of America.'
Root dug her toes into the ground, the pain of gravel against her skin grounding her. She was getting out of Bishop in a few years, with or without Sameen. She had perfect grades, interesting hobbies, the Science Bowl. She'd get a full ride and move across the country. Go to New York City and bury herself in school work or find some seedy bar to spend all of her time people watching. She wanted to learn and grow, but she couldn't do that here.
Root wanted. God, did she want. She wanted so much and every day she spent in this godawful place that made everyone leave her was torture. Hot, sticky, stifling torture. Sameen had been a breath of cold air, a break in the monotony. Root thought that Sameen would stay with her, keep her company until they both got out, but Sameen was pulling away and Root was still stuck here.
Lonely, Root guessed. She was still lonely. Root took a deep breath, the knot in her chest loosening. She heard rumbling in the distance and a haunting train whistle. She glanced over her shoulder at Sameen, but, even in the lantern's weak light, Root could tell she was passed out. Nothing was going to wake her up.
Bear's ears perked up as the train clattered toward them. He saw Root looking at him and laid back down. If Root wasn't scared, neither was he.
Root turned back to look at the oncoming train. The white smoke billowing from the chimney visible in the moonlight. She had to squint as the train's highbeam swept across her face, but once it was passed, she opened her eyes again. There were only a few feet between her and the train, but she didn't care.
The straps of her overalls blew to the side with the wind from the train. It was so loud, especially after the silence of the night. Root took a deep breath and screamed.