Half a Mile a Day

[Randall Rudd]

There was no pain at all. Randall moved his foot up, then down, and side to side. About that time the truck came to a stop and Doc threw the door open, storming over to the bed.

"You ignoramus you're gonna make it worse, Randall!"

Looking dumbfounded, Randall spoke softly.

"It's fine now."

With the bandage and splint gone, even the pink skin had regained its natural hue. Aside from the blood that had dried in spots around it, his leg looked pristine.

[Lindy Rudd]

Lindy was quick to follow Doc, not even bothering to open her own door and instead clamoring across the seat and jumping out the still open driver's side.

She ran to the rear of the truck, hands flat on the tailgate and her eyes wide as saucer plates.

She'd seen how bad the break had been, but now it looked like nothing had ever even happened. Her voice dropped to an amazed whisper.

"How'd you do that?"

[Randall Rudd]

Randall wore a puzzled expression. Lindy's question was exactly the one he wanted anwers to. He looked up at Doc, but he looked about as dumbfounded as anybody. Had they all just imagined him up and breaking his leg?

This was the sort of thing wackos and insane people conjured up for a paycheck, a talk show gig, or just plain old attention. And those were always fakes. Whatever happened to him was real, and it scared the hell out of him.

"Alright" he finally spoke in a calm and even voice "nobody here saw anything. I didn't break my leg, I didn't spontaneously heal. It didn't happen."

Randall worked his way off the tailgate, hoping somehow that his leg would snap under him to at least provide some sense of reality. It didn't. He walked about as normally as ever.

Doc continued staring, his hornbill glasses resting precariously on the end of his nose.

"Doc..." Randall made a motion to the bridge of his nose with a finger, and Doc snapped out of it, adjusting his glasses.

"Well hell, I ain't seen nothin like that since the Viet Nam, and that was all grass."

He shook his head.

"Must be that damn shine." Randall suggested.

"Damn right it is!" Doc agreed it was a good excuse as well.

[Lindy Rudd]

Not exactly satisfied with such a simple brush-off, Lindy crossed her arms and looked up at both her Dad and Doc, her gaze shifting between them. There was no way she'd be able to forget what she'd seen before they took to the road for the hospital. But for now, she supposed that she'd better do as told; she'd already be in enough trouble for wandering off as it was.

Perhaps that lecture was gonna be coming sooner than expected.

She looked down the stretch of road, scuffing her toe along the asphalt.

"Can we go home now, then... ?"

[Randall Rudd]

Randall squeezed his little girl's hand, feeling a bit overwhelmed by the day.

"Doc, mind if I come by around sun-up tomorrow and get in the rest?"

The old man shook his head as all three returned to the truck cab.

"You two got things to do, I understand. I'll have biscuits, hash, and coffee waitin' on ya."

The truck drove off, returning the trio back to Doc's house. From there, Randall and Lindy said brief goodbyes, and were on their way back home. For the longest time, the ride was quiet.

"Don't you ever go wanderin out like that again!"

Randall found that he had raised his voice, and his hands were tight on the wheel.

[Lindy Rudd]

And here it was. Of course she couldn't really blame him, and Lindy only stared out the window at the passing countryside. But still, she'd wanted to explore and see what could be found around Doc's place. Apparently there was a mine shaft to be found.

"I'm sorry," was her mumbled answer.

The ringing was still everpresent, coming from his pocket she could tell.

"I didn't wanna be dodging the geese all 'round the pond, and I thought it'd be nice to go explore some."

Lindy gave a hmph as she slumped back into her seat.

"Guess I was wrong."

[Randall Rudd]

"Pumpkin, I know you ain't misbehavin' for the sake of it. I know you meant well. I ain't mad at you cause I think you did it to spite me. You coulda been hurt or killed in that mine. That scared me. I can't lose you, Lindy. You're all I got."

More silence. Randall made a turn, and straightened out. Then, he pulled out the stone that Lindy handed him.

"You mean to tell me you think this is what I think it is?"

[Lindy Rudd]

"Well it's sure not glass."

She looked out the window, thinking.

"That thing makes noise; glass don't. That's what I was askin' you 'bout earlier, 'bout hearing anything. I can hear it plain as day right now. Clear as a bell."

Fishing out one of the bits of coal stashed in her pocket, Loindy held it in her hand.

"Before I fell down that hole, I picked it up."

Her fingers closed around it tightly, and she squeezed.

"Then I fell, and when... "

Lindy stopped then, staring at her hand with a frown. It seemed that the harder she squeezed to coal, small streams of black powder began to slip out from beneath her fingers to fall in her lap. Another few moments passed, and she slowly opened up her fist to reveal another stone, much like the one her Dad was holding.

[Randall Rudd]

Randall was so awestruck by what he saw that he didn't notice his truck drifting into the other lane. A sharp blast of a horn caught his attention, and he righted himself sharply as another truck passed.

For a while, neither of the Rudds said anything.

"Pumpkin, I think its best if you don't tell nobody bout this."

[Lindy Rudd]

Lindy only nodded in silence, but it wasn't long before her mind was wandering with the possibilities that were suddenly opened up. Of course, that was if they were real, and she was pretty sure they were.

Pocketing the gem she held so that its' ringing would be muffled somewhat, she took the one her Dad was holding and did the same with it.

She looked over at him, anticipation on her features as the memory of the day's earlier events were swept away.

"They're real, aren't they?"

[Randall Rudd]

They arrived at the house, and as Randall shifted the truck into park, he just stared straight ahead.

"I don't know sweety. I don't know."