James Hunt - Broken Roads

“Jung,” Jenna whispered.

“Shh, it’s okay. You’re going to be okay,” Jung said. “Mike went to get us something to carry you in and then we’ll go to his cabin. Mike said he’d be able to help you more once we get there.”

Jung tilted her head up and pressed a bottle of water to her lips.

“Do you remember that vacation we took to Sea World last year? I kept complaining about flying all the way to California for a week filled with nothing but sea animals?” Jung said.

“You tried to convince the kids to just take a weekend trip to the coast.”

“And they wouldn’t even budge because of all of the pictures you showed them. They were so excited and when we finally left for the trip and we made it there they wanted to leave right away, but you couldn’t peel me away from it.”

“You kept wanting to get your picture taken with penguins.”

“They were so cool, but they smelled awful.”

Jung’s face broke into a smile, reflecting Jenna’s. The creases of his eyes wrinkled up, while the dark circles underneath seemed to be under more stress.

“You were right about that trip. It was a good idea. We should do it again,” Jung said.

“I’m glad you liked it.”

His smile faded. The circles under his eyes darkened. Tears began running down his cheeks.

“Jung,” Fay said. “Mike’s back.”

Mike and Nelson dragged the cart all the way through the field to the edge of the trees.

“Tom, come help me get Jenna on here,” Mike said.

Mike and Tom scooped her up while Jung grabbed the bags underneath her. Jung spread the sleeping bags on the bed of the cart. Mike and Tom laid her down. Jenna winced as the guys set her in the cart.

Jung managed to put Claire and Jung Jr. in the cart with their mother. Jung and Nelson pulled while Fay, Tom, and Mike kept watch on the sides and front of the group. Sean kept close to his father while Clarence brought up the rear.

The rickety cart’s wheels clattered against the pavement, the handles vibrating in Jung and Nelson’s hands.

Mike knew they’d be slower now, and he wasn’t sure how the group was going to get the cart up the dirt path to the cabin, but for now they were moving and that was priority number one. Fay came up behind him.

“So, what happened back there? How did you get the cart?” Fay asked.

“I asked for it,” Mike answered.

“Are you going to bring it back to her?”

“If it survives the trip.”

With their rifles loaded and the dirt path to the cabin only a few more miles up the road Mike let himself hope. He hoped that his family was there. He hoped that they were all okay. He hoped that Jenna would make it.

It was a feeling he hadn’t let himself experience since they left the neighborhood. He didn’t want to let false expectations get in the way of having to do what needed to be done. He knew the trip would be hard. He knew there wouldn’t be any guarantee that he would make it to the cabin and that there wouldn’t be any guarantee that his family was there when he did arrive, but being so close to the finish line caused the hope that he kept at bay for so long to creep in.

“We’re close, right?” Fay asked.

“Yeah, we’re close,” Mike answered.

“I don’t want you going outside by yourself,” Anne said.

“Mom, I’ll be fine,” Freddy answered.

Freddy hadn’t been outside since his grandfather brought the three girls back from town. He was kicked out of his room, so they could have his space, and moved in with his grandfather. He heard his mom arguing with his grandfather about it the other night. She was still worried about what happened in the town nearby.

The three toys Freddy brought with him were starting to bore him and he wanted to explore outside, but his mom refused to let him go alone.

“I have to get lunch ready. If you want to go outside then ask your sister if she’ll go with you,” Anne said.

“But she never wants to go outside. She just sits in her room all day.”

“Well, maybe she’ll change her mind today.”

Freddy threw his head back in exasperation and marched over to his sister’s room. The door was shut. He gave it three knocks.

“Kalen, will you come outside with me for a little while?” Freddy asked.

The room was silent. Freddy knocked again.

“Kalen, open up. Pleeeeease, mom won’t let me go outside unless you come with. I’m dying in here.”

Freddy slumped his whole body against the door. He pathetically clawed the wood and jiggled the handle. He almost fell over when Kalen jerked the door open.

“What do you want?” Kalen asked.

Freddy caught himself from falling face first onto the floor when Kalen swung the door open.

“Please, please, please, please, please come outside with meeeeeee?” Freddy asked.

He dropped to his knees and clenched his hands together, begging her. Kalen rolled her eyes and walked over to her bed. He saw her reach for her shoes and slide them on.

“Yes!” Freddy said.

Mary, Erin, and Nancy joined them outside. There was a storm in the distance and the sun hidden by clouds, but Freddy didn’t care. He ran around the cabin, exploring everything he hadn’t been able to see since they arrived.

After doing a lap of the cabin he circled back around to Mary and Kalen sitting on the front steps. Freddy held his arms out, closed his eyes, looked up into the sky, and spun around.

“Happy?” Kalen asked.

“You have no idea,” Freddy answered.

Freddy opened his eyes back up and they widened with excitement as a thought occurred to him and he gasped.

“Do you guys want to play Agent Match and Dr. Doomsday?” he asked.

Erin and Nancy looked at him questioningly.

“What’s that?” Erin asked.

“It’s a comic book that I read. Agent Match works for a super top secret agency and his nemesis, Dr. Doomsday, tries to destroy the world,” Freddy said.

“That sounds dumb,” Nancy said.

“It’s not dumb it’s fun!” Freddy exclaimed.

Erin was the only one smiling.

“I’ll play,” she said.

“Okay, I’ll be Dr. Doomsday and you can be Agent Match. You have to stop me from building my Doom Ray and destroying the world.”

Freddy grabbed Erin’s hand and pulled her to a cluster of bushes in front of the cabin. She giggled. Nancy joined Mary and Kalen on the front door steps of the cabin.

“Okay, so this your headquarters. Now you stay here and count to ten and I’ll go to my base where you try and find me okay?”

“Okay.”

Freddy took off and headed around the back of the cabin. There stood a cluster of trees in the back with a few low hanging branches. He rushed over to them and climbed up along the trees and perched himself as high as he could go.

He heard Erin yell ten and watched her run around looking for him. He could see the top of the cabin, all around the house, and deep into the forest. Beyond the trees he could see the town that Erin came from. It didn’t look dangerous from where he sat. He wondered what his mom was so worried about.

Erin checked around the cabin, peering into bushes, looking around trees, but she never looked up. Freddy smiled at her running around searching for him. After about ten minutes he climbed down the tree and decided to sneak up on her and scare her. She was to the left of him as he quietly descended the tree.

Freddy stepped lightly on the ground. Erin was crouched down looking through a bush when he snuck up behind her and poked her in the back and screamed.

“AHHHHHHH,” Erin yelped.

Freddy fell onto his back laughing. Mary, Kalen, and Nancy came running around toward them, their eyes frantic.