The Groove
Saturday July 19th, 2025 with Elorious Cain
EMILY BRISK 14: "The Long Walk'

Emily was so happy she had taken a jacket with her for the walk. The mountain air was so cool at times, even though it was a lovely hot summer day. After following a difficult path for several grueling miles she got to an opening where she could stand and bathe in the sunshine. Looking at the mountains and isolated clouds in the blue sky, she thought about how wonderful it was walking in the outdoors and enjoying the open air instead of being stuck in a hospital room and physiotherapy gyms. Relaxing on a nearby rock she began to reflect on how she had felt so frightened and shattered like a bloody prisoner for way too long. It still angered and frustrated her how she had at least believed in her own heart that nobody else really believed her about being mysteriously thrust into another version of America. She could still remember those loud Atlantic waves hitting that island she was stuck on. She damn well knew that she was really there! It wasn't some kind of dream she had during her surgery. If the police didn't really want to accept that she really experienced it then she was done with it all! It was at that moment when she suddenly decided she wasn't going to make her way back to that Homeland Security compound. Instead she was going to try to get back to her job in suburban Boston. She really didn't care how impossible it felt then. After all, the main doctor there had said that morning, "You're back to full health, Ms. Brisk! Good to go! You should consider going outside and taking a nice long walk," Emily obviously knew that Doctor wasn't expecting her to find an exit off the heavily guarded compound and discover this path cut through seemingly unpassable mountains. She was fed up with the F.B.I. and Homeland Security. She obviously still loved her sister Nancy. She really appreciated the protection. It just was feeling endless. She wanted to go on with her own life. Just beyond that opening Emily found a fork with two paths, She took the less used path and she almost regretted her choice as after mile or two of climbing the path suddenly took her too sharply down a slope, She almost lost her balance and hit a tree. As she caught her bearings she noticed a nearby dirt road several yards below. She would spend about two hours carefully climbing down to that road. She decided to walk on the road going east. It was so nice and easy to walk on a road vehicles could travel. After walking on the road for about ten miles Emily was getting tired and thirsty. A mile later the road turned sharply to the left to reveal some old cottages. She could see a paved road behind the cottages which looked like a local highway. Out of water and requiring a bathroom, Emily nervously decided to knock on the door of the cottage that had a small Volkswagen parked in front. A very tall red haired woman in her late twenties eventually answered the door. With a very surprised look on her face she asked, "Where in God's earth did you come from?!" The lady's name was Abigale Cinderbrook and she was spending part of her last day in America in her parents' cottage. A recent Medical graduate, Abigale was ignoring dozens of lucrative job offers and heading to Sudan to work with Doctors Without Borders. As she took care of Emily, she kept going on about how the world just ignores the crisis in Sudan. They got along famously as Abigale gave Emily fluids and set her up in a cool arm chair her father used to vegetate in. Abigale had actually heard about that Home Land Security place in the mountains. She wasn't too keen about calling anybody about Emily. She had a flight to catch to Doha at 7pm from Logan airport. She was more than happy to give Emily a ride into Boston. Borrowing Abigale's cell phone, Emily called her boss, Mylene Sears at work. Mylene was extremely happy to hear from Emily and the fact that Emily wanted to return to work tomorrow. Mylene had John Anderson the head of security talk to Emily. At a Duncan Donuts on Bennington Street in Boston, Abigale parked her car and hugged Emily goodbye. Emily really thought that Abigale was some kind of angel doing what she was doing in terms of travelling thousands of miles into a dangerous situation to help people in dire need. Emily had found herself in dangerous situations. She wished her the best of luck. After Abigale left for the airport, Emily sat and ate a donut. Twenty minutes later Mr. Anderson arrived and to say that "they were both were pleased and excited to see each other" would be an understatement. Mr. Anderson was tall and mighty man with extremely good looks. Emily had always liked him. Unable to openly speak in public they sat in Mr. Anderson's company Cadillac to do so. Mr. Anderson didn't like the way that the F.B,I. and Homeland Security had basically hid Emily away. When Emily warned him that she could be considered an escapee from Homeland Security he smiled and said "Don't worry about those idiots." Evidently Mrs. Sears had attempted to obtain information about Emily's status to no avail. Both the F.B.I. and Homeland Security were not taken too well by the company. Mr. Anderson had orders to secure Emily in one of the company's guest houses. Transportation to and from the company would be provided with strict security. Nobody was going to know where she was going to live. "It will be our secret. Fuck the government," Before getting shot in New York, the project Emily was spearheading was considered to be practically a game changer for humanity. Now she could concentrate on it. As Mr. Anderson drove her to the guest house, Emily beamed with a positivity she had not encountered for a disturbing bout. She thought how maybe the nightmare was finally over!