The Wayward Journey Home

Participants:

kaylee2_icon.gif

Featuring:

joseph_icon.gif

Scene Title The Wayward Journey Home
Synopsis Kaylee finds her way home after the events at the Ark.
Date November 11, 2011

Pollepel Island, Docks


The wayward journey back to Pollepel Island had been a lonely one.

Once they were free of the Ark, Kathleen Brooks and Kaylee had parted way. They each had their own journey to take, a destiny they are both bound for. Time would tell if they would cross paths again. That knowledge died with her father that night; the two young women would just have to take the long road to discovery.

Finally, after hitching rides and dodging checkpoints, Kaylee secured a ride on one of the Ferry’s boats. She was quiet. Not really hearing what is being said to her by the boat’s pilot, though she nodded her head at the appropriate times. Her gaze was a distant one, looking out at the shoreline, but not seeing it. Only the horrific images of days earlier; of exploding bodies and heads…. And the lifeless - yet living - body of her father.

They even follow her into her dreams, when she manages to doze off… turning a peaceful slumber into a horrid nightmare-filled landscapes.

Will she ever be able to escape them?

“Kaylee… hey…” The heavy hand of the boat’s captain lands on her shoulder startling her awake; her whole body jumping and a small strangled cry escaping her. Maybe, the man has seen it enough lately or he is just simply sparing her the embarrassment; but, not a comment is made about her reaction. He simply states, “We’re here.” As if to emphasis this, the dock bell is rings to signal their arrival.

“Thank you,” she murmurs climbing to her feet, steadying herself when she experiences a wave of dizziness.

Like everyone who would have arrived before her, Kaylee looks like a mess. The open wound on her forehead, crusted over; blood dried and flaking from her face. Her clothes torn and dusty. Bits of this and that still clung to her blonde curls. There would be a visit with the medic and a bath in her future; she’ll probably be sporting stitches for a time. She looks like she had been to hell and back again.

Another thank you is offered to a young man who helps her step out of the boat, a gentle smile added, and a weary pat on his arm. She has it from here.

The weariness she felt was complete… mind, body and soul.

A part of her just wants to curl up on the ground, cover her face and pretend the world didn’t exist. To curl into herself and push away the memories of everything she witnessed and the grief of losing her father…. She was so… tired.

Still, she moves. One foot in front of the other, eyes on the ground to avoid tripping.

“Kaylee?!?”

Joseph.

The familiar voice draws her from her hazy thoughts, like a siren’s song to a drowning man, she is drawn to it. It melts the weariness of life away. Blue-eyes find him ahead of her - above her - on the path to Bannerman’s Castle.

Had they told him, yet? That she had disappeared? About the grenade? That she might be dead?

It didn’t matter.

She smiles, a moment of happiness that lifts her spirit… but… then dark emotions threaten to drown her and the guilt… Oh, the intense guilt that follows that momentary happiness; it made her lip quiver as it destroys her delicate emotional control. Suddenly, she didn’t feel so weighed down — so tired — her feet continue forward as if of their own volition, moving a little faster the closer she got to him…. Until….

Joseph could see the glittering tears and the haunted look in her eyes, just a brief moment before she threw arms around his neck and buried her face into his soft sweater with a stifled sob. Fingers grip the wool, desperate to hold on to something good in her life. The momentum of her arrival, would force the pastor to take a step back to steady them; lest they both end up on the ground.

Kaylee didn't notice, she only clings to him like he is a life preserver in the tumultuous ocean of her life.

It isn’t until his arms wrap solid around her, holding her tight- giving her the sensation of both comfort and safety - that she could finally think the words:

I’m home.


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