Eugenia part 35

Read part 34 here!

While the boys took turns showering, I called into Outties to let them know our location. “We’re staying in the area for about a day. Tomorrow we’ll be be going up and down Highway 40 and the surrounding locations. Do you know anyone around this area?”

“Yeah, actually. I think Kale Orson is on his way through there, and Leanne Davis was also rumored to have been around there.”

“Fantastic. Leanne and Kale, if you’re listening, meet us at the entrance to Walnut Canyon National Monument at noon tomorrow. There are three of us, two men and one woman, and we’ll all be holding maps and talking loudly about how someone named Rick told us the wrong directions.”

Sam laughed. “Clever. We’re very glad that your trip has started off successfully, and we look forward to keeping in touch. Where’s your next destination?”

“Thanks, Sam. We’re hoping to go through Las Cruces after finishing up here. Know anyone there?”

“Not that calls in, but we’ll broadcast as much as we can.”

“Thank again, Sam.”

“Good luck, Meg.”

We all slept hard that night, after our first day of traveling. I woke early and made my way to the admittedly disappointing continental breakfast. I made myself some coffee and grabbed two bagels with cream cheese. Luke had mentioned liking this, and I didn’t think we should push our luck sending him out after I’d already risked it.

Decklan was only a little annoyed that I’d gotten breakfast for our third travel companion and not him, but logically knew that I only had so many hands and Luke’s identity protection was a priority. We looked at the map a while before taking off for Walnut Canyon, planning on sightseeing while we waited for our meeting to start.

Walnut Canyon was an extremely small national monument, and the three of us weren’t exactly impressed. We trolled around for a while, then headed back to the entrance around 11:45 to set up. We grabbed some free maps from the visitor center to browse while leaning against Decklan’s car. At noon, Decklan made Luke and I jump with his sudden “DAMMIT RICK!”

After the initial surprise, I had to bit my lip to keep from giggling, and although Luke gave Decklan an annoyed look, I could tell he was also amused.

Decklan continued, unperturbed by the strange looks around us. “He said to go right at this juncture here. See? SEE?” he shoved his map underneath Luke’s nose, gesturing angrily.

“This is just as much your fault as it is Rick’s.” I accused Decklan, getting into character. He turned to me in annoyance.

“What are you talking about? This is all Rick’s fault.”

“No, see, we knew that Rick is untrustworthy with directions. But you were all ‘no, I’m sure he knows what he’s talking about’. If we had just asked that police officer back in Tuba City, none of this would have happened.”

“Friggin Rick.” Luke added lamely. Decklan and I looked at him in disbelief, and he shrugged sheepishly.

“E-excuse me?” A woman with long blonde hair and a large camping backpack appeared from a trailhead nearby. “Did you say you were angry with a man named Rick?”

I recognized Leanne Davis immediately from her 13 year old picture on Bluff’s list. She had very pronounced hazel eyes and characteristic hair.

“It’s good to finally meet you, Leanne.” I smiled, knowing how nervous she was and trying to make it easier.

“Meg?” She asked, her large eyes wide with anxiety.

I held out my hand. “These are my friends, Luke and Decklan. Luke is like us, but Decklan is still in the system.”

“Barely.” Decklan muttered. “Bluff’s just itching for a reason to throw me in jail for conspiracy.”

Leanne relaxed a little bit, and took another few steps forward. “I wasn’t sure this would work.”

“Me either.” I admitted, smiling again. Luke was staring at something behind me, but I assumed he was just giving Leanne some space to think.

“So what happens now? I doubt you have much room in your car.” She gestured to Decklan’s poor little vehicle, weighted down with crates of water bottles and snacks.

“We’re supposed to be sending you back to New Diego. Go to a bookstore called Malia’s Shoppe of Wonders, and Malia, the owner, will get you settled from there. Be careful, the town is riddled with face recognition cameras.”

“Ok.” Leanne digested this for a moment. “What then?”

“Right now, we’re just building up a bank of supporters to be in the same general area. From there, we’ll decide how to proceed. We’re thinking that once we’ve got as many people as we can, we’ll start sending people out in groups to follow scrapping expeditions and get photographic proof of what’s going on.”

“That sounds like an excellent plan.” A vaguely familiar voice said from behind us. I was startled at first, before I put the voice with a name, Kale Orson. So he’d managed to come after all.

“Hello, Kale. Good to see you.”

He chuckled at my casual tone. “You as well, Meg. I actually had to backtrack a ways, I was already in Bellemont. Who are your friends?”

I introduced everyone again and repeated the first part of my instructions to Kale.

“Well, Leanne, what do you say to being traveling buddies?” Kale asked the other outlier with a smile. “I haven’t had a companion in an awful long time, and we are going in the same direction.”

She smiled in response. “Of course. I could use the company as well.”

Kale nodded to us. “We should probably get going, then. There will be plenty of time to swap stories once everyone is in New Diego, and I know you guys are probably itching to move on with your little road trip.”

We all agreed and parted ways after I wrote down contact numbers for our new friends. I wrote down Jon’s cell, Malia’s work number, and finally my own, as I was still in possession of Decklan’s sister’s phone. I smiled to myself as Luke and Decklan argued over who was driving the next leg. So far, so good.

*CHAPTER BREAK BUT I FEEL BAD I FORGOT TO POST THIS LAST WEEK SO I’M GIVING YOU MORE*

The next three legs of our trip went almost as smoothly. Keeping in close contact with Outties, we managed to pick up Michaela Findle near Las Cruces, Travis Sexton in the middle of Amarillo, and Daniel Shauf in Tulsa.

As we drove away from meeting up with Daniel on our way to Jonesboro, Arkansas, Sam’s voice broke the silence in the car after a long “commercial break”. Although Outties was too illegal to get real sponsors, they liked to play insulting music and anti-government poetry readings when there wasn’t anything to broadcast.

“Good news, folks! Micheala Findle and Travis Sexton have managed to make contact near Albuquerque, and are now traveling together for the remainder of their trip. That makes two pairs of Outliers heading into New Diego. Congratulations, Meg and friends, things are really starting to look up!”

The three of us in the car cheered. Decklan was driving and Luke had finally convinced him to let him sit in the passenger seat. We were excitedly discussing the next few legs of our trip when sirens exploded behind us.

My heart definitely skipped a beat, but not in an excited way. Decklan swore as he checked his speedometer; he had been going ten miles over the speed limit in his excitement.

“Luke, get in the back with Meg and get out of sight. Use the blankets Jon packed.” Decklan ordered as he pulled over to the side of the highway slowly.

Luke complied and clambered in the back with me. Luckily, the mass of water bottles shielded the repositioning from view. I grabbed one of the afghans from the seat beside me and crouched with Luke underneath them, struggling to control my breathing.

“Jesus, Meg, I’ll bet the officer can hear you from his car. Can you breath quieter?”

“Sorry I’m a little concerned with being caught and executed.” I hissed back, but managed to finally calm my heart down. Luke squeezed my arm.

Decklan rolled the window down as the officer approached. “Son, do you know why I pulled you over?” the man asked disapprovingly.

“Yes, sir. I’m really sorry, I was listening to music and must have tapped the gas a bit too hard.”

The man nodded. “License and registration, please?” Decklan handed them to him. “So where are you headed? You’ve got an awful lot of stuff…”

“Georgia to visit family. And I hate having to buy food on the road, so I just… brought it all with me.”

“You couldn’t just fly? Air fare is cheap these days.” I heard him hand the papers back.

“I don’t like airplanes, sir, and driving has always been comforting for me.”

The man thought this over for a moment, before making a final query. “What’s under those blankets back there?” He sounded suspicious.

Decklan coughed. “It’s a gift for my sister. She’s… going to a private school next year, so I bought her a blender and some other dorm stuff. I’m a college student, so I know what she’ll need. I’ve been video chatting with her while driving and I didn’t want her to catch a glimpse of it yet.”

Luke and I clung to each other, trying not to move. Unless Decklan specified that one of the things she would need was a puppy or something, the “blender” should probably not be shaking.

The officer must have accepted this explanation, because I heard Decklan roll up his window and begin driving away after being let go with only a warning to be more careful.

He drove for another couple miles before Luke and I emerged, sweating from being trapped under the heavy blanket and the stress.

“That… was way too close.” Luke panted, reclaiming his front seat. He turned back on the radio, which was on another “commercial break”, and we lapsed back into silence.

We reached Jonesboro within the next hour, and checked into a small motel. Since out close call, the tensions between the two boys had only escalated, and this time, I was on Luke’s side. Decklan’s carelessness could have gotten us caught. Even I’d seen the police car in the opposite direction right before he made a U-turn to pull us over. And I was the one stuck in the back seat, making friends with warm water bottles and smashed granola bars.

I took my shower first, as normal, and Luke took the next turn in the bathroom.

“This is more stressful than I expected.” Decklan commented as he turned up the volume on the news. They were discussing Bluff’s legislation.

“…a radical piece of legislation that is gaining popularity, especially with eastern voters…”

“What exactly did you expect?” I asked dryly.

“…people are starting to like the idea of revoking citizenship for those deemed…”

“I dunno. Not this. I’m not a big risk taker, if you haven’t noticed.”

“…unworthy by the FF system. They’re now referring to the issue as one of morality…”

“Why did you even come, then?” My voice was sharper than intended.

“… some are even making claims that Regs are actually a different species, and they shouldn’t be allowed to live in our society as equals…”

“To be with you.” Decklan turned away from the TV, looking me straight in the eye. “I couldn’t stand seeing you drive off with Luke alone.”

“…Bluff has been reported to be furthering these new claims, hoping to loop in a couple swing votes from the northwest…”

I was shaking so hard that it took me a few moments to keep my voice steady. “You’re such a coward. You don’t understand the risks involved, clearly, and that almost got us killed. Do you understand that, Decklan? They would have killed Luke and I. You might have been thrown in jail for a little while, but at least you’ll get away with your life.”

Decklan said nothing, turning back to the TV slowly. Luke had just emerged from the bathroom, towel wrapped around his waist as he quietly searched for his shorts.

“Luke,” I said casually, carefully. “You’ve been sleeping on the floor for almost a week. How about you take the bed with me for a while?” It was a low blow, and I knew it, but this afternoon had really shaken me, and I couldn’t be near Decklan for a while. It was too angry with him.

That night, as I lay next to Luke, who actually fell asleep with a smirk on his face, I thought over my justification for this switch.

Decklan never lets me do anything. He’s such a worry wart. I’m not a kid; I can take care of myself, as I have for years. He doesn’t understand what I’m going through, but Luke does. Luke never yells at me or tries to stop me from doing things that will help me become a legal citizen again. He’s like me. It was fate that we found each other.

I wasn’t completely convinced, but as I looked at Luke’s sleeping face, I was sure that this choice was the right one. Luke could keep up with me; Decklan couldn’t. And I couldn’t be expected to stay with such a coward.

Continued in part 36!

(Sad face. I hate making characters I like fight)