CYOA Page 264

[lumy12]

Page Two Hundred Sixty-Four

"Joel!" you shriek when you see that your mind is not playing tricks on you. You hurl yourself into his arms. "Thank God you're okay! I was so worried! You are okay, aren't you? I was scared to ask them anything -- not like they'd tell me the truth anyways? -- both cuz I didn't wanna know, and cuz I didn't wanna let them know about you, if they didn't already -- except they prob'ly did, cuz how else would they have that perfect timing, right? And... wasn't I yelling to you right before? They must've hit me with something... on my head... it still kinda hurts..."

He just lets you babble on and on, until that last bit. "I don't feel a bump..." He pulls his hand out of your hair, takes a step back and looks you over. "Aside from that... are you all right?"

"I'm fine. They just kept me tied to a chair. ...and you can quit looking around like that -- they're all dead. Do you think I'd be walking around stealing bedding and stuff if they weren't?" you tease him.

Joel doesn't seem convinced. "How can you be sure you got all of 'em?"

"Well... I can't, really, which is funny -- you saying that, I mean -- cuz I thought of that before, and I swear it was your voice thinking it in my head! But guess what -- I got us a van! Did you see these two vehicles over here? And they both work! I saw both of them drive up here." You take his hand and lead him away from the house. "See, there's a truck, too, but I killed a guy in there and it's a little bit... disgusting. I guess we could take both, though, if you drive one and I drive the other? Maybe the horses could fit in the-- well, not the van, especially with all the stuff I'm sticking back there, but maybe they could ride in the truck. If they would lay down in the back, it wouldn't be--"

"Hold on. You killed all of these bastards here?" He's surveying the carnage between the vehicles and the house.

"Yep," you say proudly. "Plus a guy inside and a guy in the truck!"

He looks very impressed! "Holy shit. And they had you tied up?"

"Yeah... I had to fix that first," you quip.

He shakes his head in disbelief. "You really are somethin'. An' here I thought I needed to come rescue you. I was goin' crazy, wonderin' where you were, what they were doin' with you, if you were okay..."

"Well, now you know for next time -- you don't need to worry!" you chirp (yes, chirp -- you're so fucking happy!).

"There won't be a next time. I ain't lettin' you out of my sight again. But... shoot, you did all this by yourself... what the hell do you need me for?" he chuckles.

"Don't say that!" You know he's teasing, but still. "I was so scared! For myself, sure, cuz I had no idea what they wanted with me... still don't, other than they were handing me over to some other guys... but I was really scared for you. Because if they didn't take you, too... and they couldn't have, cuz you weren't there, and cuz... you're you... but then where were you? Did they kill you? Fuck... you have no idea how happy I am to see you!"

"Likewise, kiddo." Although he doesn't look as happy as you feel! "I... am so sorry. I can't believe I let--"

"Joel, shut up, okay? It's not your fault. Shit happens, remember?"

"No. Not shit like that. To you. On my watch. I should've heard 'em... saw 'em... somethin'."

"It was probably just one guy -- that would explain why they didn't go after you, right? And he was so sneaky I didn't even hear him right there next to me, so how could you have known?" you reason. "Pleeeeease don't feel guilty about this. It would make me sad. You don't want me to be sad, do you?"

He just scowls.

You turn on the pout full blast. "You don't, do you?" you press.

"Don't look at me like that."

"Do you?"

"Of course not. But that--"

"Then don't beat yourself up!"

He sighs. "If I were you, I'd be real pissed at me right now. You're too--"

"I'm not mad at you! That makes zero sense. I mean... are you mad at me because I let them take me? I should've stopped it."

"No, that's ridiculous. You can't--"

"Of course it is! So is your thing. Just... shit happens. That's it. Okay?"
He smiles a little. "It's impossible to win an argument against you."

"If your opinion is really stupid? Then yeah." You grin at him. Subject closed! "So what do you think... should we try to take the truck, too? Or just the van?"

"...How do you propose I drive both of 'em at once?"

"Weren't you listening before?" To be fair, you did dump a lot on him at once, all while he was looking around getting more and more impressed with your mad killing skills! "I can drive one while you--"

"You ain't drivin' either of 'em," he says firmly, "So... just the van, if that's--"

"Joel, you know I can drive!" you protest.

"If you really wanna drive that bad, it's gonna be with me in the passenger seat. Maybe we can get the truck later. Or send someone for it. Does seem like a waste to just leave a functionin' vehicle behind. ...We also gotta do somethin' with the horses."

You ponder this. "Maybe we can find a field for them to hang out in? It wouldn't be for long -- if we're driving, we can get up there fast, right?"

"If the roads are clear, sure. But we don't gotta figure all that out right now. It's late... we should find somewhere to sleep, work it out in the mornin'."

"There's plenty of houses around here... so, I say any of them but this one. I don't ever wanna see this one again."

"Deal."

You end up finding a suitable house that Joel especially likes because it has a bedroom with two twin beds -- meaning the two of you can sleep in the same room without him having to take the floor. (You have shared a larger bed before, and you don't see what the big deal is, but Joel always gets weird about it, so this is better. And of course, his sexist ego -- which he prefers to think of as "being a gentleman" -- would never allow you to sleep on the floor while he sleeps in a bed. Even though he's old and needs the bed more than you do!)

Later that night, when you've come down from your Joel is alive! high, and the two of you have exchanged goodnights... you lay in your bed and try to put everything out of your mind... to calm yourself enough that you have a fighting chance of falling asleep some time before the sun rises. Maybe the 'nap' you took earlier screwed you over as far as getting a full night's sleep, but your body does feel exhausted... it's your brain that won't shut off!

This definitely was not your favorite day ever of being Outside, but everything worked out beautifully. You should probably feel traumatized by the whole kidnapping ordeal. ...Maybe you will, at some point? When your emotions catch up to the logical part of your brain? (...After your head stops hurting?) But not tonight. Tonight, I'm happy. Joel is here... RIGHT here... so close I can hear him breathing. You suppose the knowledge that he's safe and well trumps all the other crap you might be inclined to feel right now. Poor Joel... you hate that he blames himself (and you know he still does, even though he stopped fighting about it with you). I'm safe, you tell him in your head. And we're together... and there's no one else I'd rather be with right now. ...Or ever. No one I trust more with my life. Today doesn't change that. NOTHING will change that. How could Joel ask such a fucking stupid question earlier..."What the hell do you need me for?"

The short answer: everything.



THE END



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Comments

Carlos

[(Anonymous)]

Ahh, that was a nice ending. So this ends this adventure again.So now need to chose another path.

Carlos

[(Anonymous)]

Ah, I think this is one of the first I read... so another one that I forget to put comment on it. so maybe some of the other are the same, but I will check them out just to be sure.