Into the Unknown

Chapter Thirty-One | Into The Unknown

Confusion clouds judgment, but Parker didn't feel confused. After everything that happened over the past three days – after his entire life unraveled before his eyes – he wasn't confused. Parker was angry.

Though he'd heard the phrase "blind rage," the feeling in him was far from that. There were so many unnamed emotions, but that one wasn't among them. There was something that drove Parker forward, but it wasn't rage.

Whatever it was, it was powerful.

It convinced him that he needed to know the truth.

It convinced him he needed to go back to where his so-called "mom" said it all started.

It convinced him to pack his bag and run away.

It convinced him he could do it all on his own.

So, bag on his back and supplies for the next week in the folds of fabric, Parker slipped out of the house through the crawl space and ventured out into the unknown.

Parker had to admit it was all more terrifying than he thought it was going to be. The outside world was imposing, but it had never seemed unconquerable like how it did now. At one point, Parker wanted to be an explorer of the jungle or some grand national park. The outdoors was a place to be curious and bold.

That was when he thought he was human.

Somehow knowing that he wasn't human and that he was something else.

The small teen gazed out at the wall of grass and pavement before him. There was a brief moment where he considered going back inside and hiding out there, but Parker was determined. He needed to do this, and he was in no mood to talk to anyone about it.

Besides, he knew the way.

Keeping all of those rules that the Borrower family and Kers told him about, Parker decided to keep close to the sidewalk but far enough away for no one to possibly notice him. The last thing he wanted was for someone to stop him from achieving his goal.

Twilight had just passed. The clouds above were a soft rosy pink and the sky above was shifting from that midnight blue to the pale cyan combination. It would soon be pale blue and the sun would be high above baking the ground all around. Now that the sun was coming up, streaks of light arched across the sky.

The scene would have been a beautiful one that Parker would have appreciated if he weren't in his current mood.

The early morning dew refracted off of the blades of grass he passed and brought some beauty to the walk, but Parker didn't feel like appreciating the little things right now. In fact, it made him angry that he could see so many minute details that the normal human eye wouldn't be able to see. It was because he was so small that he could see the tiny hairs on the edges of the grass blades. It was because he was so small that he could see the specks of dew that could fit on the tip of his finger.

The Borrower teen shrugged it off and soldiered forward. Cars on the street roared by, making him flinch and duck off to the side of the road. Morning joggers who passed didn't pay him any mind, especially since Parker was able to duck off to the side of the road. He wasn't sure why, but Parker kept Kers' cloak. Whether it was for protection or because Parker didn't want to let go of something that was keeping him grounded, he didn't know.

What Parker did know was that his instincts felt like they were as sharp as a knife. Every sound felt amplified. Every sight had colors he hadn't noticed before. Every instinct when something or someone was approaching kept him on high alert. It let him hide when he needed to and kept him aware of his surroundings.

The teen pushed past massive leaves and crawled under blades of grass and branches that were by the edge of the road. Parker didn't need a map or his technology to find out where he was going. Memories of the maps and the route going to his new house were more than enough.

Parker felt like Bilbo Baggins from "The Hobbit," which was still one of his favorite books of all time. He had charged out into the unknown with little to no time to prepare, but it didn't change his objective. The unexpected journey he started wasn't going to be complete until he made it to the park, and he had just found his first challenge.

Supplies.

Specifically, water.

The day felt unusually humid, and Parker was having a hard time rationing his water. There were no puddles for him to test or to filter on the route he chose. Also, Parker underestimated the distance he was going to be traveling.

Parker considered himself an athletic kid, but already his legs were starting to itch and ache. His back was getting sore. His shoes were making his feet cramp.

By midday, Parker took a moment and calculated that he was only a quarter of the way there. Despite the shortcuts he took through yards and along the walking paths, he was nowhere near where he needed to be.

Adventuring is hard. Parker thought as he sipped on his water, carefully rationing it before screwing the cap back on and pushing himself back up onto his feet. No sense in stopping now.

He readjusted his pack and set off back along the path he set for himself. At this rate, he would be at the park in his home area by the old apartment in another day and a half. It was well within Parker's food ration limit and Parker had some additional supplies to help with resupplying water if he found a stream as well as making a shelter.

His confidence and determination, sadly, were mildly misplaced… as he would soon see.