Common Ground

AUTHOR'S NOTES: I’m putting this chapter of the story from Nathan’s point of view. Maybe it’s a little more mysterious? Don’t worry, we’ll be delving into Carter’s mind soon enough.


Nathan didn’t look up to see who was approaching.

“Are you waiting for a ride?” a man’s voice said.

“Yep,” Nathan replied.

“I … I saw you here earlier, I think,” the man added. Nathan looked up into John Carter’s eyes. He nodded affirmatively.

“Do you mind if I sit down?”

Nathan shrugged. Something about this guy seemed familiar. Not just the fact that they saw each other earlier. Nathan tried to place him, but his mind was coming up blank.

The guy lit up a cigarette, too. Must not be going anywhere soon. The man spoke again. “Are you wondering why I’m back here?”

Nathan shrugged again. Then he remembered what Angie had said about the TV. Shoot. This guy better not turn him in. Nathan decided to get some information about the man.

“What’s your name?”

“John. But most people call me Carter.”

“You’re not a cop, are you?”

“I’m a doctor at Cook County General ER.”

That’s it! Nathan had broken his wrist at a skate park last summer. He was pretty sure ‘John’ had treated him in the ER. Nathan decided not to mention this right away.

“What about you?” the man inquired.

“Nathan. I go to high school.”

“Do you have a favorite class?”

“Science is okay.”

Carter didn’t say anything else. Nathan asked him straight out if he knew any cops. Carter mentioned that he knew an officer, Reggie, but hadn’t spoken to him in awhile.

“Are you in trouble?” John asked Nathan.

“Tell me what you know,” Nathan responded. “I can’t imagine you would just come back here on a whim.”

“Saw your picture,” Carter said softly. “I don’t know much more than that.”

“So nobody told you to come find me?”

“Nobody except for myself.”

“What for? I’m not going home!”

Carter was silent again.

“I’ve met you before tonight,” Nathan said, with a little caution in his voice. “I fell off my skateboard last summer – banged myself up pretty good. But hey, you were cool.”

“Thanks,” Carter said, a little surprised. “I suppose you would remember that pretty well.”

“Yeah…it was painful. So, being that we kinda know each other, do you think you could hold off on telling anyone that you saw me?”

Carter didn’t appear to hear him, which made Nathan nervous.

“Are you okay?” he asked Carter.

“I’m sorry. My back is just giving me some trouble.”

“Is that what you’re so depressed about?” was Nathan’s next question.

“What?” Carter gave him a puzzled look.

“Nothing, just thinking out loud.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t remember you from last year,” Carter confessed.

“Well, I haven’t been back and I don’t plan to be.”

“You have somewhere to stay tonight?”

Nathan wondered why he cared. He just shook his head.

“You shouldn’t be out here on the streets.”

“Who said I was staying in the city?”

“You’re still here. Look, this might sound strange, but I heard about a carnival on the radio. In Oak Forest, I think. Open till midnight.”

Nathan thought about it a minute and chuckled. “I can see the headlines now. Crazed doctor kidnaps runaway teen, who escapes in the fun house.”

“Hey, hey, wait a minute,” Carter laughed even harder. “I don’t know about the kidnapping part. That doesn’t sound quite right. And you think I’m depressed, not crazy. Why is that?”

“Just that … something.”

“How about we go?” Carter was earnest about this.

“That doesn’t look like a doctor’s wheels,” Nathan knew he was being a smart-alec. “But alright. You lead the way.”

Carter told the boy he hadn’t quite earned his seniority at the hospital.

“Do you have your own house?” Nathan asked as they walked to the car. “Unfortunately, I’m house-hunting right now. I stay with my grandparents.”

A few minutes later, as Nathan was riding in the car, he wondered if the doctor really meant to drive to the carnival. They appeared to be heading in the right direction. But Carter did pull over to a rest stop.

“I need some fresh air,” Carter told him, implying that he would also be using the restroom. Nathan followed, wanting to be sure a phone call wasn’t being made about him. He didn’t really think Carter wanted to turn him in. But it was too early to say for sure.



Part 4
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