Ch. 7: A Long Walk

POV: Beatris

My mind was flooding with thoughts I didn’t want to think. I tried to force them from my head as I paced the alley, where Ari left me with some boy I didn’t know, and nervously wrung my hands together.

“Um,” the boy spoke up; my eyes darted in his direction, “I’m sure this is an incredibly stressful situation for you, but I assure you, she will be safe with Kyle. No one could get her to the hospital faster, and he’s really a very nice person. I’m sure your friend will be alright.”

I let out a deep breath, “Kyle, well, at least I know his name now.”

“Oh, crap, I don’t think people are supposed to know our names.” The boy lightly tapped himself on the forehead with his fist.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone who you are. You know, if I knew who you were.”

“Right, ok, my name’s Dylan,” he said slowly, as if he had to think about it, and stuck out a stiff hand.

I accepted his handshake and looked him over. He seemed much more tense and unsure of himself than he did while he was fighting. How was this more nerve wracking than fighting monsters?

“It’s nice to meet you, Dylan. My name is Beatris, but you can call me Bea.”

“Like the letter B?”

“Yeah, if that helps.”

“Huh, reminds me of a book my little sister always asks me to read to her.”

I knew what he was talking about, but I wasn’t in the mood to hear that joke for the hundredth time.

“We should probably head to the hospital,” I said.

“Yes, hospital, we should. Um,”

“It’s this way,” I said, hoping to save him from his panicked rambling as I led the way.

“So, do you want to talk? You know, to get your mind off things? Or are you more of a person who needs silence in a crisis?” He asked.

“Sure, we can talk. What did you have in mind?”

“Oh, um, what’s your family like?”

“Pretty normal, I guess. I have both parents at home and an older brother, Jeremy. My dad is an accountant, and my mom works part time at a hair salon. Jeremy just graduated high school, but he never decided what he wanted to do for college, so he’s taking a year off to ‘find himself.’ And by that, he means live at home rent-free, avoid going back to school, and play video games for the rest of his life.”

Dylan smiled, “Wow, video games are fun sometimes, but to do nothing else? To never challenge myself? That'd drive me crazy.”

I laughed, “Me too. So, what about your family?”

“Well, I also have both parents, and I am the oldest of three. I have two VERY little sisters, who were both 'fun surprises', as my parents call them,” Dylan chuckled, “Amy is eight years old, and Hannah is six months.”

“Aawww."

Dylan grinned, “Yeah, they’re sweethearts. Although, Amy is becoming more of a pain in the butt as she gets older and learns more words to talk back with.”

“As little sisters, it is our job to be a pain in the butt to our older brothers,” I teased.

Dylan rolled his eyes with a smile, “Anyways, my parents both work at this big marketing firm. My dad is one of the senior project managers, and my mom is an event planner, or she was, I guess. After her maternity leave with Hannah, she decided she wanted to be at home to spend more time with us as the girls grow up, and I’ll be going to college in just over a year now.”

“College, huh? Sounds so scary and far off to me. Do you know what you want to do?”

Dylan’s face lit up, “Frankly, I haven’t decided which field I’d like to go in, but I love history and law. I’ve been thinking about becoming a historian or a lawyer. I’d like to do something where I get to keep learning new things.”

“Huh, have you ever thought about being a teacher?”

“How would I learn new things as a teacher? I would just be teaching the same curriculum over and over.”

“Not necessarily. You’d learn how different students respond to certain teaching methods, and you could still go out into the field and learn new things. Professors at universities do that all the time.”

“Hm, I’ll have to look into Yale’s teaching program.”

“Yale?” The shock made my voice crack.

“Yes, Yale is my number one choice. I know it is an Ivy league school, and it’s incredibly difficult to get into, but I have a fairly impressive resume.”

“Well, you’re suddenly confident.”

“About school, I am.”

“That’s cool, I wish I knew what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go with such certainty.”

“Are you going to be a senior in the fall as well?”

“No, junior.”

“Oh, well, you still have time. I’m sure plenty of colleges will start sending you recruitment letters soon.”

I let out a quick laugh, “They already have.”

“Just look around and see what catches your attention. Trying things out is the best way to figure out what’s best for you.”

“Thanks, that’s not bad advice.”

“Well, I do credit myself as being pretty good at finding solutions to problems.”

“Was that a math joke?”

He shrugged, “Sort of.”

“You are such a nerd.”

“What, the Yale thing wasn’t enough of a hint?”

I pushed him off the sidewalk as we laughed.

After a beat, we were quiet. We just walked. There was a warmth that filled the space between us. As I smiled to myself, I realized that somewhere along his panicked attempt to calm me down, he had. Who would have thought small talk with a stranger in a mask could be refreshing?

“So,” he broke my thoughts, “how did you and Adrian become friends?”

“We met when we were kids. Adrian’s family moved in down the road from us, and my parents quickly introduced themselves. Our parents would talk for hours, and Jeremy and I would play with Adrian and- the neighbor kids. Adrian and I decided we would be best friends right away, and we’ve kept our word.”

“That’s sweet.”

“Yeah. How about you and Kyle?”

Dylan bounced up on his toes, like he was hyping himself up to tell the story, “Actually, my mom was good friends with his dad in college. When my dad and his mom came into the picture, the four of them became friends. Kyle and I were born only a couple months apart, so our moms like to say we’ve been best friends since the womb.”

“That’s adorable,” I said through a laugh.

“It is,” Dylan said proudly.

I glanced forward and saw the hospital just ahead, “Oh hey, we’re almost there!”

“Great! Um … I should probably change before we go in.”

"Why? You definitely look like a sane person going to visit a complete stranger in the hospital."

"An excellent point. All the same, I'm making a bee-line for the restroom."

I giggled, "I'll wait for you."

We walked through the automatic doors, and Dylan ran straight to the bathroom. I leaned against the wall, eyes drifting aimlessly as I waited for him. There were a number of injured people in the waiting room, who likely were also caught in the crosshairs of the monster rampage. My heart hurt seeing families worry over their loved ones, knowing Ari didn't have that anymore.

Photo Credit: Braxton Apana