Chapter 37

“There is no ‘we’ anymore. Do you see what I’m getting at?”
Edward and Witticker had been walking for the past ten hours in what their white box insisted was east. For the last hour of their hike over the Midwestern hills and valleys Edward had been trying to explain the modern tenets of the society Witticker had stumbled upon, specifically that the concept of an unconscious connection from person to person was outdated. Edward found that a discussion of the events since the Great Decline had been necessary to outline the foundation of his argument.
“When this was an official country ‘we’ were all part of a greater whole. The blanket term of ‘American’ included everyone, regardless of opinion or perception.”
Edward slung himself from tree to tree as he descended a steep hill into the valley below. Each tree acted as leverage against the gravity attempting to pull the man into the crux of the two hills.
“During the downward spiral of the decline the last government exercised the propaganda of a ‘united nation’ a bit too much. People got tired of hearing that everyone was ‘united’. It was easy to say, but then to look outside and watch a neighbor execute an entire city block for a loaf of bread...it was just difficult to stomach.”
Witticker grappled from tree to tree as Edward had before him, but the roots, having been already roughly handled, gave way, sending him sliding down the incline. He reached for a stray root and managed to catch hold before tumbling to the bottom.
“People stopped trusting each other and the idea of a ‘we’ died with the government that espoused it. That’s the way it is now.”
Both Edward and Witticker reached the bottom of the hill and dusted themselves off from the rough descent. As Edward led the way forward he felt the ground below give a little less than it had before. He kicked away the layer of leaves to find a spot of gray pavement peeking from below the blanket of earth.
“I wonder what road we’re on,” said Witticker looking down flattened valley floor before them. He longed for the comfort of steady footing and even terrain that the way would provide.
“Doesn’t matter,” said Edward as he climbed to the next side of the valley. “If we follow a road we’ll be spotted. Come up this way.”
Edward extended his arm to pull Witticker up onto the next hill. Witticker reached for the hand as they began their next ascent.

*~~*

Clouds filtered the light of the sun as the two men rested beside a shady lake. Edward had just emerged from bathing in the water and had taken to drying off by laying on a large rock next to the lake. The boulder extended out a little over the water’s edge and was raised from the ground around it. Edward sat cross-legged, resting his arms on his knees, with his eyes closed.
“What about humans?” asked Witticker; sitting on a rock below soaking his feet in the lake.
“What about them?”
“Well, you say there is no ‘we’, but couldn’t there be an intrinsic connection…being that we’re all the same species?”
“Not really. People only come to that conclusion when something un-human or non-human threatens their existence, but it’s really just an internal desire to keep living. Think about it. If this connection was intact, like you’re proposing, everyone would have rallied together after the failure of the government, but instead they all spread out. They ran away from each other! Most people only come into the distrips once a year. They’re just afraid.”
Witticker looked into the water at his reflection staring back. His face had sprouted a slight beard and his hair, which had always been so well-kept, was sticking out in every direction.
“It’s still there though,” said Witticker, kicking his reflection into ripples, “somewhere inside themselves. People can still identify with each other. A dog will always turn circles before it goes to sleep, even in the desert. It’s still in there somewhere.”
Edward grinned.
“Touché.”

*~~*

“So, why did you burn the house down?”
Edward broke the silence that the two had been walking with for the last three hours. The abrupt question caught Witticker so entirely off-guard that when he replied he felt the answer escape his lips with an unintentional and unfiltered honesty.
“I knew if it was still there I’d go back. I had to do something that would cement my decision to leave. There’s only one option now. I have to find out where I come from. With nowhere to go back to I can only move forward.”
Edward lit a cigarette tucked in the corner of his mouth.
“Good philosophy.”
The two men resumed their silence as they continued to push through the dense forest.

*~~*

As the sun began to set Edward and Witticker had come upon a small settlement amidst a grove of trees. While the food they had brought with them was ample they knew that without replenishing regularly their surplus would eventually run dry. It was inevitable that they would have to make some contact with the world along their journey. However, they decided that for each other’s safety they would keep as much secret about themselves and their journey as possible.
They observed the inhabitant from a distance for nearly an hour. He seemed to pose very little threat, living a quiet life in solitude. Edward approached the grove of trees slowly and hailed the camper from a distance. At first the man was defensive, but after the two agreed to leave all their belongings at a distance and come into the light with their hands raised he became much more agreeable.
They explained their need for food without revealing much of their destination or intent and the man, who identified himself only as Derrik, directed them towards a smaller distrip several miles in the general direction they were traveling. They thanked Derrik for his time and, without even revealing their names, disappeared en route to the next distrip.

*~~*

With little light left to walk by the two travelers decided to stop for the evening at the edge of an open field. The sun was crawling out of sight over the horizon, lighting the tall grass in the field as it danced in the breeze. In deciding to forgo the making of a fire on the off-chance they would be spotted their dinner was limited to dry food. Witticker stood staring into the night sky as he tossed handfuls of granola into his mouth.
“How often do you have…dreams?”
Witticker, shaken from his own thoughts by the question, turned and found Edward sitting on the ground against a tree, staring into his white box.
“I tend to have them pretty regularly, but I don’t know if it’s the same for everyone,” replied Witticker, “I used to have them randomly, but it’s much more consistent now.”
Edward moved his fingers across the white box screen and lights flickered from the screen, his face scrutinizing the contents.
“It was a very strange feeling having my thoughts interrupted. That doesn’t happen to me very often.”
Witticker nodded and turned his attention back to the sky. He had still not grown used to the sight, the vision of the night sky. In the dark night it seemed like each star was a lamp leading to a far-away destination. Witticker followed each star along trying to find an end; only ever discovering another beginning.
“What do the dreams mean?”
“I don’t know,” answered Witticker, “I never thought about them having any meaning.”
Witticker contemplated the new idea as Edward made a final gesture across the white box.
“I guess…I mean, I think they are what are most important to the dreamer.”
The two men sat quietly in the enveloping darkness. Wild sounds rose up from the forest at their back and a cool breeze drifted across the field, lightly bending the grass to its will. Witticker continued to stare off into the endless, starry sky as Edward turned over for the next nights sleep, an adventure of a different kind.