XIX - Paige
Paige
hadn’t seen Charlie in the distance, but as soon as Josh had grabbed her hand
she obeyed her instincts and ran with him, across the factory floor, towards an
unassuming doorway. She tried not to
look at the looms to either side, or the factory workers going about their
business. Certainly they didn’t seem to
see them, any more than the ghost-like doctors and nurses had noticed Charlie
and her in the hospital, but it was hard not to feel part of the scene,
especially when it was so much more recent than that other vision. A quick glance at the hairstyle of one woman
made Paige think that it must have been the 80s.
Josh was
quick and his grip on her hand was firm.
She found it a little difficult to keep up, and very quickly she found
herself out of breath, but there was also something else to the experience,
something that made her face heat up.
It was the feeling of his energy, his firm, warm skin. It was a reminder of things she had found it
easier to forget and she had to tell herself, He’s too young. Now is not the time. It would be another betrayal. Every thought was a true statement and
worthy of consideration, and yet that didn’t stop the secret blush that was
running through her body, even as her throat went raw with heavy breathing.
They
dashed through the doorway at the end of the factory hall and then down a small
flight of steps and through another door.
Suddenly everywhere was quiet, although the hum of the machines they had
just left behind could still be heard.
Josh slowed to halt, out of breath himself, as they reached a junction
with a corridor that led off in both directions. There was no sign of Charlie.
“Now
which way?” he asked and Paige found herself staring at him. He was flushed from his exertion, bringing
colour to his smooth cheeks. His chest,
sturdy enough as it was, was heaving and as he planted his hands on his knees
and tried to catch his breath there was something in the lines of his body
which just made it all the worse.
He must
have noticed the way she was staring at him because suddenly he was looking
back in much the same way.
“Paige,”
he asked, “what is it?” He was trying
to sound in control, their leader, as he had been all evening, or at the very
least since they had left the hospital, but the look in his eyes showed something
else. His pupils were dilating and a
quick glance at the crease of his jeans told her that that wasn’t his body’s
only response to the situation. He was
just a randy teenager, afterall.
She
looked away, ashamed even as she was aroused,
and tried to remember why they were there. She wanted to find Charlie. Anything else was just a distraction,
a momentary craziness brought on by extreme circumstances. She could get over this. It was an addiction of sorts, but she could
manage it. She knew she could, even
though she never had before.
“Nothing,”
she said at last, “I was just… it’s nothing.”
“Right,”
Josh replied, though she could hear an edge of disappointment in his voice, “then
we need to work out which way Charlie went.”
“Are you
sure he came this way?”
“Certain.”
“I
suppose we could split up,” she suggested.
In truth, she didn’t really want to, not this night when anything could
happen to them when they were alone.
Common sense said that they ought to stick together, and yet it would
save them time in their search and, she thought, it might just help to cool her
down a little if she spent some time away from Josh.
“If you’re
sure,” he said, almost making it a question.
She gave him a quick nod, not quiet meeting his eyes. “Very well.
Which way do you want to go?”
“I’ll
take the left.”
“Okay. We should arrange to meet back here
again. Say in five minutes?”
“Ten?”
“Ten.”
Josh
tried a smile for her. It was probably
for reassurance, but it was awkward and seemed to show more of Josh’s fear than
anything else. Still she smiled back,
then turned away and started down her stretch of corridor.
I hope
you’re this way, Charlie. I hope I find
you real soon.
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