Broken Scream

Rick was sitting at the table with his head betweens his hands. His head was pounding from the head ach he had. So many things were going through his head right now he didn’t know what was going on. He didn’t know how long he had been sitting down, but when he got up his bones were stiff and aching. He grabbed his coffee and left the coffee shop. When he got outside it was raining. He shook his hair and kept on walking. He got to his hotel and went to his room.
Both of his friends were asleep when he got there and he decided he would turn in for the night himself. He got into bed and closed his eyes for a while before he fell asleep. He knew he would have a dream, but he didn’t know it would be about her.
***
It started out in the middle of a field at night. Rick was trying to find a place that seemed safe, but he was in the middle of nowhere. He was starting to freak out and that was when she walked out of the trees. He walked towards her, but when she saw him she turned and ran back into the trees. He started to run after her, but she ran to fast for him. He didn’t know how this was possible, but he pushed that thought aside and continued to fallow her. He kept his eyes on her so he didn’t have a chance to lose her.
When he got to another clearing she was standing at the other side. He took another step and a flock of bird flew in front of his face. When they were all gone he looked across the field and she was gone also. He kicked the ground in anger and walked back to the clearing he had been in before. He was hoping she would be there when he got there, but she was not. He sat down on the ground and wanted this dream to be over with.
A shadow went over him and he looked up. She was standing over him. Reached out at him, but then she changed her mind and put her hands down by her side. He got up and looked at her in the eye. She opened her mouth to talk but she was rendered silent. She shook her head and ran off yet again back to the forest where she had come from.
***
“Alice!” Rick screamed.
When he realized he was back in the hotel he calmed himself down. He listened for walking around and he could hear that his friends were up and moving. He knew they heard him scream, but they had chosen not to pay attention to it. He got out of bed and got dressed for the day. He trudged out of his room and poured himself a bowl of cereal. He ate his cereal slowly. His friends looked at him and rolled their eyes in annoyance. He didn’t want them to be angry at him they were all he had. He decided that today he would try to cheer himself up.
“I was thinking that we would take a break from searching for the queens’ daughter and go to Eliches. I mean we’re in Denver, why not have a little fun.” Rick said.
Both of them looked at them and a small smile spread across their faces. They could tell he was trying to act like he was over himself, but they weren’t about to tell him that.
“No, we need to look for the princess. If the queen found out we weren’t looking for her daughter she would have our heads on a platter.” Brian said.
“Yeah I guess you’re right. Where should we look next then?” Rick asked.
“Well, we haven’t had any leads since we started this quest. I think we should look for signs that will tell us if she has been there. Maybe something she does will help us out.” Brandon offered.
“Man this is a lot more boring than it used to be. I know I shouldn’t say this around you, Rick, but I wish Alice was still here. You seemed happier when she was around and now you’re just sad all the time.” Brian said.
“I am not always sad.” Rick argued.
“It’s been over a week and not once have I seen you smile or glance at another girl. Every night you go out and don’t come back until like three in the morning. You haven’t even been trying to look for the princess and that is not good.” Brian explained.
“Sorry about that, but I think I was beginning to fall in love with her. When she said she hated me that was what got to me. Just knowing she hates me sucks.” Rick told them.
“Well she probably said it because she heard you were betrothed to the princess. That brings me to another topic. You should not have fallen in love with this girl, Rick; you knew you couldn’t be with her. You wouldn’t have fallen in love with her if you had told her not to travel with us.” Brandon jumped in.
“Well if I didn’t feel a connection to her I wouldn’t have let her come with us. I hate my stupid heart.” Rick said.
Rick got up out of his chair and barged out of the door. He kicked the wall in the hall and let out a frustrated yell. He stomped down the stairs and walked out into the street. He almost got hit by a car, but he didn’t care it couldn’t hurt him to bad. He walked down an ally and to the main sidewalk. He pulled his hood over his head and looked down at the sidewalk so no one could see his face. Shuffled along and dodged people when they didn’t notice him. He didn’t realize where he was going until he got there. It was a place that had wolves that couldn’t function in the wild.
He stopped in front of the door and read the description that was there. From what it said there were forty different wolves there. He opened the door slowly and went inside. The inside was huge, but the outside was bigger. All of the wolves looked extremely beautiful. A lot of them were young and adorable, and all of them reminded him of her. There was one wolf in there that was pure black. Its coat looked soft and fair. The wolf looked up at him with its Hazel eyes and began to howl. A small smile spread across his face when he thought about how much she would love being here.
When he was done with the wolves he walked outside. The sun was out and all of the clouds were gone. He took off his jacket and tied it around his waist so he didn’t have to carry it. He took out the sunglasses he bought the other day and put them on his face. He thought the sunglasses made him look somewhat devilish handsome. They were black racecar sunglasses. They hid his eyes perfectly. He headed back to the hotel where he had left his friends in anger. He walked up the stairs and walked into the room. He felt better than he did earlier. Doing something she would have liked made him smile. His friends had papers sprawled out all over the table. They didn’t even realize that Rick had come in the room. They were so deep in their work. Rick went to the kitchen area and warmed up some pizza and grabbed a soda from the fridge. He walked over to the table and sat down in a chair, when he did that both of his friends looked up at him.
“Did you guys find something?” Rick asked them.
“We aren’t exactly sure, but you might be able to tell us.” Brian said.
Rick looked at the papers that turned out to be a map. Then he read the information under each state they thought the princess might be. He couldn’t see anything important. He shook his head and looked at his friends.
“I don’t see anything that would tell us where the princess is. I think our best shot is to head to Florida. That seems like a place that someone would choose to take her to raise her.” Rick said.
“What makes you think that is a place someone would choose to raise her?” Brian asked.
“I know that’s where I would raise my kids if I ever had any. We don’t have to go there, but I at least want to check it out if you don’t mind.” Rick said.
“I don’t mind going, we can get a little more beach time. Alice loved the beach.” Brian chirped then clamped his mouth shut. He looked over at his friend and breathed out a sigh of relief when he didn’t react badly.
“She did seem to love the beach a lot. Brandon, remind me what gift does the queens family always get when one is born.” Rick told him.
“They get an affinity for water. Why are you asking me that?” Brandon asked.
“Now tell me what animal would the princess favor? Because it goes in a certain order each time a new child is born.” Rick asked.
“Well the queen likes sheep, so the princess would like wolf. Rick what are you thinking?” Brandon asked.
“We have to go to Washington right now!” Rick demanded.
“Why do we have to go to Washington?” Brian asked.
“I’ll explain on the way, just come on.” Rick said.
“Let us grab our stuff at least.” Brian said.
Rick sat on the couch and waited for them patiently. When they were finally ready to go he jumped off of the couch. They walked out the door and headed for Washington. Rick was determined to get there as fast as possible if his hypothesis was right they were going where they needed to.