Among the Oil Derricks: Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

The next morning before the sun awoke, Drake was slipping out of the hotel room and out into the parking lot. There was no one around. He had some money with him that Derek had given him at the gift shop to buy anything he wanted. There was a bus that left at 5:15am for Carlsbad Caverns. He hoped he had enough money to buy a ticket. He waited impatiently for it to come. It was a chilly morning and Drake only now just realized he had left his heavy coat in the hotel. It was too late to get it now.

Finally the bus came. Drake climbed aboard, paid the fair, and sat down. It wasn’t a long drive, but it felt much longer. Even the bus was cold. Drake shivered under his light jacket. The sun was just rising when they reached the caverns. With a deep breath, Drake stepped off the bus. He didn’t have enough money to pay for a pass. He didn’t even have a guardian. But no problem! He knew how to slip buy them, especially in the dim light. They didn’t so much as see him. Once passed the gate, Drake trotted along the road to the store. Maybe it would be warm in there so he could think. There was also a gift shop so no one would think twice about him hanging around there and not buying anything. Kids alway hung around the gift shop even when they’re broke.

Now the trick was to not appear like he was unsupervised. He loitered outside until he saw a group of people, kids and adults, head toward the store. He passed them and walked in a little ahead looking like an eager member of their group. Without hesitation, he went into the gift shop part. While he wanted to be associated very briefly as a member of their group entering, he did want to be with them long enough to be recognized as part of their group or else if they left the employees might see he was still there and get suspicious. Now, no one knew to whom he belonged. That was his plan.

He spent at least an hour in the shop, looking at knives, magnets, rocks, pocket watches, and even stuffed animals. His stomach growled. Great, he had forgotten to eat, too. Well, he thought, at least the sun is up and warming everything so I won’t be cold anymore. How much money do I have left? He felt his pockets. A few dollars. Drake grabbed several energy bars and stood in line. He wouldn’t eat them until he got really hungry to the point of not thinking straight or not having enough energy. Until then, he could go hungry for awhile.

The thought of stealing never entered his head. He didn’t like stealing especially when there was another way even if it did require some uncomfortable sacrifices. Stealing was like cussing, done by people with no imagination or determination at that. He was determined to get along fine without resorting to weak actions or not get along at all. If he couldn’t, in his mind, he deserved to be back in the foster system. So that was it. He was decided. He didn’t know quite how he would do it, but some sort of resolve he never knew existed took ahold of him inside chose what he could and couldn’t do and made it final. Drake had no intention of ignoring it, because to him it was himself, the one he could never access, but now finally had. He would see what he was made of.

With a map in hand, Drake hurried off toward the caves. He tried not to let himself get distracted by questions that weakened his plans. What were his plans? He didn’t rightly know, but he had a rough idea what he was going to do. He was going to look for that guy, whoever he was. Horas, he would call him, after an agent of an even more evil royalty in his story that he made up on the spot. Nobody stopped him, Drake was careful not to look like a loitering kid who might be lost or alone. As long as he seemed sure of himself, people would assume he was with someone, and as long as he didn’t stay in one place too long, nobody would take too much notice of him.

Drake practically haunted as much as he dared the main building of Carlsbad. That would be where Horas would be, right? He wanted to access to the caves, right? At a moment of doubt, Drake’s heart jumped with a mini-heart attack as he saw Derek’s corvette drive up. Without a moment to spare, he hurried around the corner as casually as he could. Something between curiosity and cautiousness kept him watching as carefully as he could. Derek sat in the car for a little before Emilie pulled up in her rental car.

She always seemed to have unique trinkets of jewelry, Drake couldn’t help but note. Today she wore a swing necklace, with a silhouette of a little girl swinging, holding tightly to the chains of the necklace as though it were the chains of the swing, because in the miniature it was. Her ring was one that wrapped around her finger and carved like a branch, not the circular type. There was a little diamond stone that was between the two ends and around the stone two metal leaves.

Derek climbed out. “Good morning,” Drake heard him say in an even voice.

“Good morning, something wrong?”

Derek shrugged, “I couldn’t find Drake this morning.”

“He was at your place again?” Emilie asked.

Derek nodded ignoring the fact that he knew she thought he ought to have at least informed the police. “I got him mad last night on accident. I thought I had fixed things up, but this morning he was gone. I asked some the hotel people and they checked their cameras. He snuck out early this morning.”

Cameras! Drake thought in in horror. Cameras! He had forgotten about them. Wait, cameras. What if… he couldn’t… why not? How hard could it be to sneak into the security and review some of the recordings? How hard was it? Drake nearly shouted to himself. Are you crazy?! He bit his tongue to stop his thoughts. He’d think about it later.

“Why would he do that?” Emilie sounded genuinely concerned about him, taking Drake off guard.

“I just told you, I got him mad,” Derek answered. Come to think of it, thought Drake, Derek is awfully downcast. Why? He had only met him for a little, how could he care so much already? Forget about it and hang out with your girlfriend, mused Drake angrily. He felt a little guilty.

“How?”

“I didn’t keep calm when he told me something about his past,” replied Derek.

“I’m sorry, Derek, sometimes kids who have gone through a lot of hurt can be more sensitive to some things and less sensitive to others.” Emilie paused. She had only an elementary knowledge of broken children. She certainly hadn’t gone to school for it, but she had worked with many foster children and many of her cousins were from broken homes. “Have you reported it to the police? There is nothing we can do now and it would be best to make sure he’s safe.”

“The hotel said they would do that.” Derek nodded, “I just wish things could have worked out better.”

“I’m sorry, Derek,” Emilie placed her hand on his shoulder, “I really am. But like you said, Drake needs his time and he’ll figure things out soon. We will pray for him, okay? That’s all we can do now.” Drake peeked out from around the corner. Derek nodded. “Let’s pray right now.” Derek nodded again. They stood in front of the car and Emilie led a little prayer for Drake, who sat by doing his best to read her lips. He smiled a little. Was Derek a believer? If not, how awkward. There was a small bite of skeptical bitterness in his heart which kept him amused. After a moment or two, Emilie smiled bravely and said, “What do you want to do?” Derek shrugged. “You can have the day, I have some things to do anyway.” Derek nodded. Drake’s brows furrowed with confusion and frustration as he tried to understand what was going on. Why was he so upset?

“I’m sorry, Emilie,” said Derek, “I don’t think I can enjoy right now.”

“I understand,” assured Emilie, “I wouldn’t ask anything less. You can look for him if you want. He might be around here. It’s a pretty big park, but it might make you feel better. I’ll keep my eye out, too.”

“I’ll do that,” Derek climbed back into his car and began to reverse.

Emilie skipped the curb and reach his open window, “And, Derek, I’m sorry. I really am. I just want you to know I am more upset than I show, this is just a bit much for me to react to right now. Drake must be going through a lot right now.”

“Thanks, anyway, see you tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

“See you then.” Derek drove away and Emilie stepped inside.

Drake would have gazed on in frustration for several minutes if not that instant a car drove up with a driver Drake recognized immediately as a Missing Persons Investigator. After seeing so many official persons, it was not a challenge for him to recognize them when they came around. Perhaps it was the sort of air they carried or just how they looked and acted. Suddenly Drake realized he had been seen. It was too late to slip away.

“Hey, kid,” the investigator called, “enjoying your day at the caves?” Drake nodded. “Don’t lose your folks, now, or I’ll be lookin’ for you.”

“You some sort of missing persons officer?” Drake played dumb.

“That’s right.”

“Who are you looking for? Maybe I’ve seen them.”

“Maybe. I’m looking for a little girl named Rosie Ann Carroll.”

Drake breathed in relief, “Red haired eight year old with her dad?”

“Hey, that’s right, can you tell me anything else about her?”

“She had green eyes and was - I dunno - fragile looking. Her dad was a big red-head but looked like anyone else I s’pose. Whatcha looking for her for? She’s with her dad?” Custody issues, Drake supposed, between, hmm… let me guess… the mother?

“Custody issues with the mother.” Drake smirked inwardly. “Say -”

Predicting what was next, Drake jumped in, “They were around here, but that was earlier this morning. Ope - I gotta go,” he nodded down the hill like he was signifying who he was with.

“What’s your name?” the investigator asked as he turned to scurry down the hill.

“Byran!” Drake called back, blurring his name to sound like ‘Brian.’ As he disappeared down the hill, he breathed in relief. That was close! He didn’t even have to lie to keep the man from becoming suspicious. He knew that if the investigator became at all suspecting that he was hiding his identity, the first thing he would do back at the office was look up any red-blonde haired, blue eyes, fair-skinned twelve-year olds missing and his name and picture would surely turn up. As far as lying. He had always known that it was best to stay as close to the truth as possible. It significantly brought down the chances of a slip-up and made it easier to explain yourself out of it by letting and blaming misunderstandings at work.

As he was thinking this, Drake’s attention was drawn to a man staring at him. It was the man from the day before! Seeing he was noticed, the stranger rushed away. Drake followed. After a few minutes he lost sight of him and began to wander around only to find that the man was again following him. He turned around and followed the stranger, who in turn whirled around in the other direction. After several minutes, the man stopped and turned. Drake noticed they were in a rather isolated area, so he turned away and hurried back up the concrete path to the information building. The man followed at a distance.

Drake’s heart beat with each step. He became more and more aware of how alone they were. It was to his great relief when a young dark-haired woman came down the path. She smiled at him as her eyes roved across the path. She would do for now. Her presence would give him enough time to reach the information building.

The man was closer now. The door was just a few steps away. Drake skipped those few steps, pulled open the door, and stepped inside. The fact that there had been people outside did not comfort him.

“Oh!” a young woman exclaimed for he had run into her. “Drake!” It was Emilie. Drake faced her. She was speechless for a moment. “Well,” she said at last in a very different tone Lexie used to use the word with, “I guess - we, Derek and myself that is, we were going to go on a tour today and wanted you to come but… well, obviously we weren’t able to tell you. It is at - what was it again - oh, right, it’s at eleven!”

Drake couldn’t help but admire her attempt to keep things natural, but he was irritated because the stranger he was following now passed him and was disappearing out another door. “I’ll see, I am a bit - busy.”

“Alright - okay,” poor Emilie was so flustered, “Well, I’ll let Derek know. You can meet us in the big room if you want. And don’t worry about your ticket.”

“Okay! Okay!” Drake edged away.

“Hopefully see you later,” Emilie waved as he went, “Oh, and Drake… don’t worry!” He knew what she was saying but gave no sign as he hurried after his prey. It was ten now. Thirty minutes were spent in the same awkward game of chase with the “it” changing back and forth. They weren’t covering any ground. The were simply circling the same areas over and over again. Drake would decide they had gone too far away from other people and turn around. THe man would follow him back. They might loiter at a distance for a minute or two before one would try to slip away with the other following, before one or the other turned back. They always ended up back at the information building. He had an uncomfortable feeling they were drawing the attention of the security and rangers, even tourist gave them odd looks.

Finally Drake had had enough and stopped. Apparently the man had the same idea, because he came to a halt, too. A minute passed with them glaring at each other until they finally took a first step toward each other, then another, and another, and another until they met in the middle. Drake felt safe enough, they were not alone. There was that one girl he had seen before and a few other families walking about. Enough to bare witness if anything bad happened, but not enough to interfere with their confrontation.

“So, it appears we are of the same mind in many ways,” remarked the gaunt fellow.

“How do you mean?” asked Drake evenly.

“We see each other the other day, recognize each other as being a ‘person of interest’, as the doctor would put it, come to the caves the next morning with the intent to follow, and act on that intent, participating in the most embarrassing game of cat and mouse changing characters flippantly and finally at the same moment deciding we’d had it. I am sure you are already aware, though.” The man spoke as one with excellent education.

“Who’s the doctor?” asked Drake curtly. He did not want to banty with words.

“The main character in the British television show Dr. Who. Have you not seen it?” the man replied coily. Drake knew he was being played with and simply scowled. “Right,” the man continued after a pause, “Neither have I. But I suppose you mean the doctor I was referring to.”

“Who else?” Drake growled.

“Sorry that is private knowledge.” Was the short answer, “and now that we have put an end to our tag game, I shall be going. You are welcome to say nothing of this meeting to anyone else or I may have to force my hospitality on your before it is time. Of course, if you wish, you may accept it now freely. We won’t tell tales to Missing Persons.”

Drake didn’t move. The man shrugged and walked away. The boy looked around. There was nobody near anymore except the young woman on a bench reading. Drake stared hard at her. She seemed to be around a lot. Suddenly she shut her book, slid it under her arm, and walked away untucking her hair.

Had he seen an ear piece in her ear? And not the sort meant for hard of hearing people. And was that a tiny camera in the book? He hadn’t seen it, but the way she held the book, it was always turned slightly towards them. And what was she doing reading Sherlock Holmes out in the hot sun anyway? It was a good series, Drake had read it, but not at a National Park on a path. The fact she had left ruled out the option that she was waiting for someone.

With an uncomfortable feeling, Drake hurried off to once again pursue the stranger man. It was not long before he caught up. He did not bother hiding himself. He followed right at his heels. THe man couldn’t no know he was there. A blind man couldn’t not know. But he ignored him. Drake remained silent.

Drake thought about what he was doing. He had his doubts, but whatever they were, he followed his adversary closely until they reached the parking lot. Drake abruptly stopped. The man continued to his car. On opposite sides of Drake were two men who had looked suspiciously like they were waiting for something. Now they casually walked towards him.

The runaway felt danger in his chest as he did a 180 and went back into the building. For the first time he longed to see someone he knew and for them to see him. Emilie and Derek! The tour! What time was it? Ten fifty-eight. Maybe if he hurried.

One of the two men were nearly behind him now. The man’s hand was in his pocket on, Drake correctly assumed, his gun. A pleasant means of inviting Drake to be their guest, he was sure. With quick step, Drake walked towards the elevator room just as Derek was stepping out.

“Drake!” he exclaimed, “We were worried you wouldn’t make it. Come on. Let’s go!”

Drake could have blessed Derek right then. Not only was he a life saver, but he wasn’t making anything awkward.

The two men who had been pursuing him scowled but left him alone. Derek glanced at them. He could tell they were up to no good and gave them a dark look as though daring them to try anything before leading Drake into the elevator room. The exchange of looks did not escape Drake’s observation making him admire Derek even more for the safety he felt. It was a nice first to have someone outside himself to run to. What a strange feeling. What a wonderful feeling! He wished he could have it all the time.

The tour went well. Drake enjoyed the caves as usual. Emilie gave him a lot of attention and he felt Derek’s watchful eye at all times. Rather than feeling irritated, he felt cared for. He believed Emilie’s promise that he didn’t have to worry. Something inside him clicked.

“There are some really nice walks around here that we can spend our afternoon doing and then we can watch the bats,” suggested Emilie.

“Let’s!” Drake exclaimed.

“That sounds interesting,” agreed Derek.

Emilie told them about several of the hikes and some educational points as they came out of the tour area. Drake listened to every word. “You’ll do great as a ranger,” remarked Derek at last, “I would listen to you!”

Emilie laughed, “Thanks! Do you guys want to see the bats tonight?”

Drake nodded eagerly. “Alright, let’s do it.”