Getting Home

Part 30

Uh-oh.

My heart instantly sped up. Sure, we probably walked a zillion times faster than the Caretaker could, but who knew how far we actually had to go? Knowing my luck, it'd probably be miles, which meant going without the Civic quickly became a terrifying prospect.

Henry put his hands on the dashboard.

The Civic instantly started, without me even touching the key. Henry jumped in his seat, eyes suddenly squeezed shut in pain—but not reacting as strongly as he had the first time.

"Henry, how in the—"

"It's scared," he said, gently patting the dash before settling back into the passenger seat. "Really scared."

"Scared?" I shook my head. "Henry, it's a car. What in the world are you talking about? It's not alive."

"Ava!" he gasped, so loudly and suddenly it made me jump. I'd never heard Henry sound like that before—he was straight up in his seat, tense, his face so shocked and serious, like I've never seen before.

"How can you say that?" he whispered, completely stunned.

I was so surprised it took a moment to respond.

"Geez, Henry, I'm sorry," I finally managed. "You don't have to—"

"Ava, everything is alive. You know that." His eyes actually began to water. "How could you say that?"

I was so confused—but he looked so hurt and betrayed, that I instantly felt as bad and as guilty as I had ever felt in my life. He turned away, brushing the moisture from his eyelid with a curled finger.

I reached over and took his hand.

"I'm sorry, Henry," I said. "I didn't mean to upset you. It's just... not really like that where I'm from."

"Of course it is, Ava." He looked back at me, a tear rolling down his cheek. "It's like that everywhere."

I don't know why I felt so bad. Maybe because I had never really seen him get so upset before—much less by anything I had caused I don't know if what he was saying was true, but the Civic was running—

For now at least.

"I'm sorry," Henry said, voice collected now but ashamed. "I don't know why I acted that way."

My own eyes began to water, but I smiled.

"I do," I said softly.

The Civic eased slowly and gently onto the Path, the ground smoothly and lightly forming to the tires. The surface seemed to be the same as everything else; giving and springy, like floating on a cloud—if you ignored the weird wobble coming from the car, of course, as well as the little pull to the left... oh, and the loud, repetitive clunking.

I watched the Caretaker get farther and farther away in the rearview mirror, until he was a dot on the horizon, until he vanished.

Watching the colorful path unfold out in front of me as I drove was mesmerizing, the swirling, changing pattern of colors seeming to match and flow with the speed and movement of the Civic, feeling like it was merging and melding into my senses, hypnotizing me, lulling me into—

"AVA STOP!" Henry shouted.

We were heading towards a giant cliff.

I slammed on the brakes. The tires locked up, the Civic continuing to slide forward, the giant chasm in front of us getting closer and closer, the sound coming from outside not burning rubber on pavement but a more slowed down, distorted... warbling.