The Worst Days of Our Lives

Chapter 15: Chance

“Mom, I really need to do this,” His eyes looked at her pleadingly, “I made her a promise and I have to try to fulfill it.” His mom sighed again, and ran a hand over her face, “You have to understand it from my point of view, Chance,” He was trying but couldn’t she see it from his? He could no longer just sit idly by, watching days run into weeks and weeks merge into months. It had been 4 months since he left the hospital the last time and it was about to be two years since she was taken. If he didn’t do something soon, he would lose his mind. “I know you are officially 18 but, after everything that’s happened, I just don’t think-” Chance cut her off, growing more and more impatient, “Mom, we’ve been over this. It was a learning experience, honestly. It won’t happen again. Please, you have to let me do this.” Another sigh.

An hour later, Chance was throwing a duffle bag full of clothes into the back of his Mom’s old truck. She never used it and it was always suppose to be his once he was old enough. He had just never gotten around to getting it running. He checked all the routine things under the hood, checked the tire pressure, and other things along those lines. His mom packed him a cooler with food and drinks for the drive to his first destination.

He was already to go, Chance had $600 in savings and his mom added her $400. Chance had a list on his phone of all the stops he planned to make, how long it would take to get there, and how long he planned to search there. His mom handed him the last batch of flyers he had been printing out continuously for the last hour. They all had a black and white picture of Cass, in one of his hoodies and a pair of shorts, sitting by a bonfire. Her hair was fluffed and crazy like always was. A casual smile was lighting up her whole face and it hurt Chance to look at it for too long.

His mom stood on the porch, smoking a cigarette, watching him run around like a chicken with his head cut off, for the final moments before he left. When he finally stopped, she gave another sigh, and gave him a quick embrace. She was never one to be overly affectionate. “I’ll call when I stop for the night,” She gave a tight nod and hugged him again. Before she could change her mind about letting him go, he hopped down the steps quickly and jogged towards the truck.

The door screeched loudly as he pulled it open and slid into the cab, waving at his mom before turning the key in the ignition and bringing the engine to life. It roared obnoxiously as he jammed the gear shift back into reverse, looked over his shoulder, and pulled out of the driveway. His plan was to drive up to Maine, stopping in big cities as he passed to hand out and put up the flyers. If he drove for twenty-four hours straight, he would be able to cover a good sized area. After Maine, he would drive down along the coast until he reached Florida. Then, Chance would drive towards Illinois  zigzagging through all the states he could manage. He would then go up, hitting Minnesota, then back down to Utah. Finally he would cut diagonally to Oregon and finish his trip in Washington.

When he did the math, to touch all 50 states, driving continuously, it would take 113 hours. About 5 days. However, Chance planned to go into at least one major city in every state, not counting sleep and restocking supplies. This would be a long trip, his goal practically impossible, but Chance would be damned if he couldn’t keep his promise.