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“Why don’t we get some rest and talk about it in the morning? It’s been a long day,” I answered.
“That’s a good plan,” he sighed. He looked exhausted. I didn’t ask him to explain any further. He needed rest and so did I. Maybe he would be more rational in the morning.
We walked back toward the bridge and then continued in the opposite direction for about a mile before finding a small clearing with enough room for us to build a tiny shelter and settle down for the night. Ryker built most of it, but he looked to me for several ideas in the planning of it. It was nice, but I was too exhausted to really appreciate it.
When we finally went to bed, I laid there for a while. I thought I would fall asleep right away, but I spent much of the night thinking over what he had said needed to happen.
I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t go with him.
Pacifica was on the same continent, but it was a foreign land to a girl like me. I wouldn’t belong there. I would lose my home, my job, my way of life.
Everything.
When I eventually closed my eyes, I knew what I had to do. I would wake up at first light, and then I would make my escape and make it back home myself. I’d get back to the car and send out a distress call to my city state. They would come back for me and whatever this was would become a thing of the past.
* * *
I woke before the sun rose the next morning. Ryker had rolled over sometime in the middle of the night, so I used the opportunity to slink slowly away from him without disturbing him. When I was certain that he was still deep asleep, I gathered my things and slipped off into the woods. The sky was just beginning to lighten when I approached the metal bridge. I glanced over my shoulder, watching warily for any sign that he had noticed my departure. I sighed with relief when I didn’t see any sign of movement.
I couldn’t shake the feeling of sadness that rattled through me. It seemed to originate deep down at the tips of my toes, boiling up through me like a rising fog.
I was already regretting leaving him and his comforting presence, his soft smile, and his quiet confidence. With every step, I wanted to turn around and run right back to him.
I sighed. I shouldn’t feel this way. I was simply going back where I belonged.
The valley was peaceful. There was a bird singing somewhere in the distance, as well as a chirping frog down below. When I focused on them instead of the emotions rattling around in my head, it made every step a little bit easier.
I readied myself to cross the bridge alone.
I looped the belt around the metal cable, testing to make certain it would hold just as I had done before. I hiked up my backpack all the way up on my shoulders and took a deep breath, readying myself to make the long trek over the gorge.
A twig snapped behind me and I jerked my head back around, seeing nothing at first. I narrowed my eyes, searching through the brush. It swayed and suddenly Ryker was pushing through the leafy branches. His normally stormy gaze looked positively apocalyptic.
Fuck.
Immediately, my heart thumped with nervous panic. Without thinking, I moved my foot backwards and a rock skittered loudly enough behind to give me pause. There was nowhere left to run. The cliff’s edge was only a few more inches away.
Did I even want to run?
“Come here, Naomi,” he said firmly. Before I even realized what I was doing, my feet were moving in his direction. Every step felt like a lifetime before his arms were wrapped around me once again.
I didn’t want to run. I wanted to leap into his arms and never let go.
“Ryker, I can…” I began.
“You were going to try to go back to New Englandia by yourself, weren’t you?” he asked.
I swallowed heavily.
“Yes,” I whispered.
“When I told you that you were going to come home with me, I thought I made it very clear that it wasn’t a choice, that I had decided that for you.”
I shifted my weight from one foot to the other. I stared down at the ground or behind him, pretty much anywhere but directly at his face. I felt more nervous than ever. My heart quickened until it felt like a freight train huffing in my chest.
“I knew you hadn’t been exactly thrilled at the prospect of going with me, but I hadn’t expected you to openly defy me like this, little girl.”
His tone was tired, maybe a bit weary, but not angry. Not even a little bit. For some reason, that made it even more terrifying, and I wasn’t sure why.
