Chapter 10: |9| Aaron and Sydney: 45th Parallel
After running for which seemed like forever, Aaron started walking. He saw no sign of Beth. It was a little surprising to him. But he always couldn't figure her out.
He walked along the right side of the road. He came up saw a tall little sign:
HISTORIC MARKER AHEAD
With an arrow pointing to the right. He walked until a slightly bigger but shorter green metal sign appeared
Aaron walked up to the sign. It was The top of the sign had the New Hampshire state logo on it.
"New Hampshire. Huh. Guess she wasn't lying."
When they initially met at the camp, Beth told him about the cabin but she only said it was near the border of Canada. He thought he was actually over the border. Guess not.
The sign read:
45TH PARALLEL
At this point, you stand on the 45th parallel, halfway between the Equator and the North Pole. At this point, you stand also at longitude 71° 24' West from Greenwich, England. A line from this point through the center of the earth would emerge in the Indian Ocean 982 miles southwest of Perth, Australia.
Aaron read the sign. He let out a "Huh." And looked out passed the sign. He saw a car on the right side of the road in the distance.
****
The car was an SUV, but it didn't look abandoned. He heard someone. Someone yelling. As he got closer, he saw a girl sitting in the car with the drivers' side door open and her legs and feet outside the car. White smoke billowed out. It was starting to turn grey.
"Hello?" He yelled out.
"Dude! Can you help me? You got a phone?" The girl asked.
"No."
"Shit."
"Is it dead?" Aaron asked as he walked up to the car.
"Basically. My phone just died. And the car did too. Fml right?"
"Pop the hood. I'll look at it."
The girl gave him a look. "Huh?"
Aaron tilted his head. "Dude I don't know cars…" The girl sighed.
"Lever on the floor"
The girl looked down. "Oh…" she reached down and pulled it.
Aaron felt the heat from the hood but got it open. He reached for the rod and held it up..
Aaron shook his hands out. He looked at the engine and with 30 seconds he could see that the radiator was overheating. He shut the hood.
"Radiator is busted. It's wrecked."
"Shit. You know any repair shops?"
"Not really. But you shouldn't be out here."
"I guess. You're not a serial killer, right?!'
" No. But I gotta get moving. This girl is gonna kill me with her death orbs."
"What?!" The girl's voice raised
"Long story. Coming?"
" Uhhh…" The girl started to get back in the car but Aaron stopped her and held the door open. The girl yelled out "Dude what the fuck?!"
"Please? I need someone to help me. I have no place to live. My house burned down."
"Was it that house that was hit by a meteor? I read about it online."
Aaron thought the meteor was made up by the media. He went with it. "Yeah…"
"Well, ill tell you what... Put the gun you have tucked behind you and put it in your front pocket where I can see it"
"Shit forgot all about it."
And Aaron did what she asked.
The girl made sure she got her stuff out of her car before locking it. Both started walking when Aaron suddenly stopped.
"Shit. I forgot that I money at the house "
"It's probably a crime scene by now"
"I know how to get it. No one knows it was there."
"You were squatting!?" Her voice raised enough for it to echo a bit.
"Lower your voice...and yes."
"How do I know you didn't burn it down?"
Aaron's voice got lower. "I didn't. She did. The girl with the death orbs."
The girl looked at him. "Where is it?"
Aaron turned and pointed down the road.
****
It took about an hour before they got to what remained of the house. It was gated off and a No Trespassing sign was screwed on in the front . They walked around. Aaron turned around towards her.
"Who are you?"
"Who are you?"
"Aaron."
" Sydney. Like the city."
Aaron nodded "You mind looking for my bag? It should be over here. He pointed to what was left of the basement
"Uhhh…."
"Fine."
Aaron climbed over and sifted through the ash. The bag was black so it blended in. He picked it up and got over the fence.
Aaron unzipped the bag and drugged through it. He handed Sydney the money.
"That should get you a charger for your phone. Now all you need is a store to get one.
Sydney pointed and yelled "onward."
Aaron only rolled eyes in response.
****
While starting their trip Aaron said:
"there's something you should know."
Sydney stopped again "What now?"
"My name's not Aaron. It's Ronnie."
"Why Aaron?"
"Because when i was in my orphanage, they had a lot of TV shows on DVDs." Ronnie said.
"Why not use your real name?"
Ronnie sighed. "I ran off a few times. Some of the kids there called me Runaway Ronnie. Guess it got to me."
"Why'd you run?"
"Honestly? Boredom."
"Does the girl with the death orbs know?"
"No. She'd think that would be a sign of weakness. " Now come on...We gotta get to the mountains."
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