The Frozen Moon

chapter SEVENTEEN: AN IDEA





He woke with the seed of an idea at the front of his mind, like a dream he wasn’t sure if he had lived. As the haze of sleep cleared from his mind, a vivid plan erupted from the seed, refusing to silence itself until the urge was satisfied. It could have been the tragedy of the night before, it could have been the refreshing bite in the morning air, or it could have been his childhood memories taking hold after too long of a suppression. However the feeling had come to be, it sent a jolt of new life coursing through his body. For the first time in a long while, he bounded out of bed, or rather, his resting place in a crumpled heap on the floor. Max crept around the sleeping bodies, the miracle of their long-deserved placid expressions not wasted on him. He remembered that the door had a habit of creaking, but a silence spell, even one projected on another object, was not above him. Once out the door, he broke off at a steady jog down the stairs and through the lobby. The morning air was refreshing, restoring even.

In all of his excitement, he hadn’t noticed until he felt the warm sun that his body deeply ached. Aching was perhaps too weak a word to describe the ripping and tearing feeling that one’s muscles may, at any given moment, decide to relocate themselves to the outside of one’s skin. Maybe Cal could do something about that later, he thought, but now his mind was elsewhere. He was unfamiliar with this part of the city, but considered himself quite personable, and fully able to find what he was looking for. It proved slightly more complicated.

The maps proved easier to locate than he had anticipated, but a car was where he ran into real trouble. Apparently, few people had a need to rent a car directly in the city, so loaners appeared more frequently in the suburbs and smaller cities and towns. After some searching, though, he found a lot and rented the cheapest car they had available. He didn’t have much of his parents’ money left, and didn’t imagine he would be receiving any more after news of his new endeavors reached them. He filled the tank with all the gas it could take and drove the short distance that lay between him and his friends at the Corner. It was good to have a moment to himself, since he hadn’t in days. The car muffled the sounds of the outside world, and mere distorted fragments of beeping horns and shuffling people pierced the metal shell. It was only when he was alone that he could paint fantastical images of mundane perfection in his mind.

For a breath, he could imagine he was driving anywhere, and that he would have a home to return to once he tired of such a place. For a breath, he could imagine he was just another person without the shadow of death hanging loosely about him. For a breath, he could imagine he wouldn’t always be alone. For a breath, he was breathless.





The sun peaked higher in the calm blue sky, and Max rushed his friends along. Everyone was moving slowly as the soreness he hadn’t at first noticed set in and weighted them down like wet clothing. They shoved clothes into bags, though none of them knew exactly what to expect. He relished the moment of mystery he held over them, though he knew it was childish. No one seemed quite as excited as he, but no one shared his dream-like vision as they soon would.

A resounding grumble had arisen when he woke the others, but he urged them on with repeated promises of a journey well worth their consciousness.

“Why on God’s green earth are you waking us at eight a.m. after a night like last night?” he remembered Mira’s voice demanding. Talar’s waking words had not been quite as tactful.

He knew daylight was steadily burning away, a lamp with precious little oil. Who could really be certain how much remained? The moment everyone declared they were ready, he scooped up the bags in one massive armful and descended the steps again with the same eagerness as earlier. He could feel his spirit beginning to lighten the surrounding moods, especially as the morning sun began to soak into weary skin. Max threw the bags into the trunk of the rusty old car he had rented, and shoved the map into Nameh’s hands.

“Navigator” he stated simply with a grin.

“Has anyone bothered to count seats?” Wyd cut in, asking a question Max had known was coming.

“Yeah, I know. Five seats, seven of us.” Max replied with a sigh. “Basically, we’ve got two options. We could either cram seven people into a five seat car, or use a transport spell to get some of us there.” The question hung in the air for a moment, though he was pretty sure he knew which option would beat out the other.

“Well there’s no way I’m getting in the car with all six of you, so at least I’m transporting there.” Wyd cut in.

“I’m with you on this one;” agreed Talar, “it could be a long drive.”

“Road trip!” called Mira, already jumping into one of the back seats. The group’s comfort with each other was at an all time high, and he suspected each person was compensating their feeling of loss with a feeling of gain.

“If we ever want to get there, I guess I’m in the car too.” agreed Nameh with a smile. He was glad Nameh would be driving with him, and Mira would be fun too. Seth and Cal stood between Wyd and the car, still undecided.

“And then there were two.” Max pressured playfully.

“I can’t tell you how long it’s been since I’ve been for a drive.” Seth’s eyes lit up with his words in uncharacteristically youthful anticipation. Max was glad that someone understood why he had rented the car in the first place. “One more seat, Cal, are you up for it?”

“To tell you the truth, I hate car rides. I’ll hang back here.” Cal stepped back with the other two, and the small group waved their goodbyes after promises of meeting up at noon.

Walking around to the driver’s side of the car, Max reached through the open window to press the button that released the car’s roof. Metal screeched against metal as the old soft top slowly labored open. Despite what seemed like great effort on the car’s part, the roof remained halfway closed, and had to be coaxed back with a mechanical groan. When the ancient machine seemed ready at last for the road ahead, he settled into the driver’s seat and immediately felt at ease. There was something about driving that had always appealed to him, the sense of control and precise direction. Now, though, it was a slightly different sensation. Being alone in a car was one thing, but leading others along with you was another. He felt inches away from the escape he knew he needed, they all needed, desperately.

He pulled out of the tiny parking lot, and Nameh was already fiddling with the radio. She scanned through what seemed like hundreds of stations until she found one deemed acceptable by everyone in the car. An upbeat track was playing, a type of song that almost everyone remembered fondly from earlier years. He knew almost immediately that he had picked the worst person to navigate, though the best person to be sitting in the front seat. Already, Nameh was hopelessly distracted, lost in thought and catching stray bits of conversation. But she had her feet up on the side of the car beside the windshield, and the wind caught her white hair like the branches of a willow tree. Her dark eyes had a strange habit of capturing the sunlight, as though they knew only night waited ahead, and wanted to save it away for when clouds blinded even stars.

He watched the road, rushing by like a spinning record. He wished that he could run his fingers across it and listen to the stories it had to tell. Roads had probably seen the most people come and go, live and die, but still they were only roads. Still they were only ways of getting to another place, rushing through another part of your life. The road they were on was slowing them down, unlike most, reminding them that they had to live against the ticking of the clock, which counted off seconds lost almost imperceptibly in their ears. But when the days fell silent, the seconds were louder than thought itself.

Even so, he thought, measuring each second gone by was even more of a waste than letting them slip by unnoticed. He had no way of knowing what came ahead, and he couldn’t see an escape from death in his future, but he still had today. He still had warm air brushing past his skin, and sunlight settling on his features, and a car full of friends around him. He pulled his mind out of the despair it so easily slipped into, though it was almost comfortable in acceptance now. Although he had almost forgotten, he remembered why he was driving, why he had put so much effort into escaping the city, even life, for awhile.

They had finally reached a more rural area, and with Nameh occasionally pointing out turns, were making good progress. Suddenly, he realized that he had little idea what had been going on in the car up until this point. Apart from Nameh’s directions, he had tuned out most of the conversation and music with his thoughts.

“Everyone holding up okay?” he quietly put forward.

“It speaks!” teased Nameh, “Ready to join the land of the living?” He only laughed in response. “Plus, it would be helpful if you told me exactly where we’re going, considering I’m giving directions.”

“Can’t do it.” he replied smugly. “Do you want to completely ruin the surprise?”

“Aye aye, captain.” she mocked.

Mira perked up at the sound of conversation in the front of the car. “Hey skipper, make yourself useful and change the station.”

“Nothing country.” repeated Seth for the fourth time, “Unless, of course, you want to arrive at the mystery destination with only three remaining.”

“I’m sure you’ll just die.” said Mira sarcastically.

“Actually, I had planned on murdering the one responsible.” he retorted.

Nameh had fallen silent again, but in a comfortable manner that Max imagined was peace. Her eyes were fixed on a far off point on the horizon, and he wondered what she was thinking about. Maybe she was listening to the melancholy clock as well, or maybe just remembering something beautiful.

He fixed his hands loosely on the worn-smooth leather wheel, and thought he might let the car coast as far as it would take them.