Part one in the Trouble walking series.

Jane leaves Lawndale and her life and the lives of the people she leaves behind will change forever.

By Wouter Jaegers wo.jaegers@planet.nl

Slowly Jane made her way down the stairs, careful not to wake Trent. She left him a message explaining everything, her eyes wet in tears as she thought back to all they had been through together all these years.

She remembered what he said when he went off on a state tour with Mystik Spiral.

"Janie, don't be sad about my departure, when a man feels like he's onto something then he has to go. But don't worry I'll be back."

She also remembered the irony in his voice, he knew that this wouldn't work out but he went anyway, heck why wouldn't he? After all, if you didn't try you'll never find out.

He did return, he returned as a broken and disappointed man. But he refused to give up, he wrote songs by the dozens, but all of them shared the same sad thing, they all sucked. Jane knew that Trent was aware of that too but he just refused to give up. Trent had always battled disappointment since his youth. Being a guitarplayer in the techno age was not done when he attended high school. Ms Li even used the gig he played with his first band "Emit Remmus" as an excuse to expel him from school, his whole teen hood spoiled and without a job he disbanded "Emit Remmus" to start up a serious band to prove he wasn't a lazy bum. Trent hated Ms. Li with a passion and Jane loved him for that.

Jane walked up the stairs again and looked inside Trent's room, as usual he was fast asleep. "Trent you stubborn mule…" she whispered with a sad smile. Then gave him a light peck on his lips. "If only you weren't already my brother…" she said to herself while leaving his room.

As she made her way through the front door she vaguely heard noises from the basement. "Mom is home…" she realized. Should she go down to see her? NO, that would only make her doubt her decision even more, she had to be strong.

There was a whole world out there for her to explore, she just had to get out of her shell and go out to exploit the things she was capable of. Lawndale was just too small for her.

But…was that really true? Didn't she just fall victim to the habits of the rest of the Lane family? Jane decided that she had to be strong and swallowed her objections down as she closed the door of the house that had been her home for eighteen years, for what could be the very last time.

Jane walked past the Morgendorffer residence. "Daria…" she whispered before putting in a message in her mailbox. "Oh Daria…I hope you will be able to understand." She softly cried.

As she walked past Lawndale High, she smiled evilly, they would be in hell when they would find her "Goodbye present".

Jane made her way across town until she reached the railroad. She had planned her departure well, she knew at what time the freight train would be coming by. She ran beside it and got hold onto the handle of one of the wagons and pulled herself in. As the train made it's way westward she rolled out her sleeping bag and dozed off. Her first real steps into adulthood were taken.

The next morning she enjoyed the fresh air and the wind blowing in her face as the landscape flashed by. She could have watched to green pine forests and rocky riverbeds the train past for hours. This was so beautiful, and normally at this time she would have been sitting in Mr. DeMartino's class. Funny, but she had to admit that she would miss him.

"Would Ms. Jane Lane come to the principal's office now?" Ms. Li's voice hollered through the halls of Lawndale high. Ms. Li was furious, how could a simple student think she would get away with staining the honor and glory of Lawndale high?

As Daria made her way to school she noticed a big commotion at the library wall facing Ms. Li's office. She walked over and saw a spray painted likeness of Ms. Li as the American eagle with crushed and bleeding students in her left talon and a huge amount of money in her right. She recognized the style, without a doubt this was done by Jane.

Daria smirked, Jane would go to hell and high water for this but she would come out a winner in spite of that. Speaking of Jane, where was she?

Jane was losing herself in drawing the landscape while the train steadily headed north. Her wind up radio providing music as she put the breathtaking landscapes onto paper. The feeling of freedom becoming more and more intense as she went.

Meanwhile at the Lane residence was Trent waking up from the sound of his telephone.

"…'Llo? ...No, Jane is not around, she must be in school. …Oh this is the school. …No I haven't seen her yet. …an arrest warrant, what did she do? …Hahaha, no Ms. Li, I really don't know where she might be but she sure did give you what was coming to you. Hahahaha! …Yes I'm the same Trent Lane as that 'Zitted no-good kid' you expelled because he didn't bring Honor and glory to Lawndale high." Trent laughed as he laid down the horn.

At the other side of the line Ms. Li had nothing to laugh about. She'd been insulted and nobody would get away with insulting her.

Meanwhile in Mr. DeMartino's class was Daria getting worried, Jane was nowhere to be found. Jodie looked at Daria in sympathy, she knew that Daria and Jane had problems but she also knew about the friendship they shared that was tough enough to survive an atomic war. Jodie was envious of that friendship.

DeMartino, meanwhile, wandered around observing his prey and attacked. "KEVIN, can YOU tell me which president also was one of our NATION'S best known general in the SECOND world war?"

Kevin looked up and made an attempt at thinking. "The second world war… That had to be that German guy from Charly Chaplin's 'The great dictator'. …Anton Hinkle! That's him."

"He knows his classics." Daria suddenly heard from the chair next to her, the chair normally occupied by Jane. Daria looked around and saw Jodie sitting there. Jodie smiled a smile of sympathy to her making her intentions known.

"Yes he has watched his share of them." Daria then added awkwardly.

The day slowly progressed, Trent decided to take a shower and went to the basement to get a clean towel. Much to his surprise he found his mother there. "Oh hi mom, when did you get home?" He asked her while getting what he came for.

Amanda looked at her youngest son. "I arrived yesterday, I felt a disturbance in my aura and I had to find out what caused it." She clarified in her soothing voice. "Have you seen Jane today?"

Meanwhile hundreds of miles further northwards was the train slowing down.

Jane packed up her stuff and jumped off the train as it made its approach towards its boarding station. Jane looked around and when she was sure that no one could see her ran up to another train and jumped in.

"Oye, it seems to me thot we've got a little company, Zippo" a voice with a thick Australian accent suddenly spoke. "Well it's a been long toim since I've seen a young gal around 'ere." Jane looked in the direction of the voice and saw a dusty old man with battered clothing and an old sheppard dog who looked at Jane and then turned away. "Whoy Zippo, that oin't no way to greet a lady. Hello Miss, I'm Sparky, world traveler by desoign and this 'ere is my best friend Zippo."

Jane shook the man's hand and introduced herself. She then told him about her being an artist and showed him her drawings. Sparky showed great interest in Jane's drawings. "I have to admit young lady, you have some talent, but whoy did ya leave home?"

Jane sighed and began. "Well it all started when I found out that my boyfriend Tom…"

"…admitted that he felt more for Daria than for me. Tom and I broke up soon afterwards, I don't hold a grudge against either of them but it still hurts me, this whole town hurts me, I need to get myself together again and I will do that by starting over. It's just something I have to do." Trent and his mother read out loud when they found the message that Jane left.

"…Daria, I know this will hit you the hardest, please don't think that I'm doing this because of you. This is nobody's fault but my own, and by turning away for some time I will punish myself for it. I have to face my demons, you of all people must understand that better than anybody else." Daria read with shaking hands as she franticly tried to fight back the tears,

Helen saw her daughter's antics and spoke up. "Daria, what's wrong?" Daria ran up to her mother and cried.

"The time has come, to say fast fare, to pay the rent, to pay our share. The time has come, a fact's a fact, it belongs to them, we've got to give it back. How can we dance when our earth is turning, how can we sleep when the beds are burning?" Jane and Sparky sang while Sparky played his battered guitar.

"Yea'll tell ya, this landscape looks nothin' loik the good ol' Australian outback, I had a woif and home back there." Sparky said while Jane drew a portrait of him.

"Well, why did you leave that behind you if you miss it so much?" Jane asked him, Sparky sighed.

"I wouldn't have left it behoind if it were not for a very good reason. My woif Allison and me were married for almost forty years when she was diagnosed with cancer, she died soon afterwards. Just loik you I became a restless spirit. I've been travelling this pile of dirt ever since."

"Oh I'm sorry." Jane apologized, that Sparky suddenly revealed himself to be more than just a bum.

"This is da real loif I'll tell 'ya, I shipped in on all koinds of ships to get to my destinations. I've seen it all, the red water and the rotten smell as I shipped in on a whoiler just to get in Japan, yeah'll tell ya, seeing such a magnificent beast die in front of your eyes oin't no fun. But whot koind of loif did you have?" Sparky asked.

Jane got out her copy of the Yearbook and decided to show him what it was like. "This is my school, or better yet, my prison." She began "This is our warden, Ms. Angela Li. She could have tutored Adolf Hitler in cruelty."

Sparky laughed "Oh a foisty one, ain't she?" Jane smiled.

"Feisty indeed and according to this boy I was 'feisty' too." As she pointed at Upchuck's picture.

"H'mm, y'r school needs a propah cleaning, it has all koinds of weird bugs running 'round." Sparky said while scratching his beard. "Whot the… Holy smoke, I see a familiar face." Sparky suddenly spoke. "Y'r history teacher, do ye have a close up from his face?" Jane looked surprised

"Uh, sure."

She flashed through the pages until she found the pictures of the faculty members, meanwhile Sparky searched though one of his bags. "It's gotta be 'round 'ere somewhere… Ah there it is. Now show me thot picture of him agoin." Sparky looked at the picture of Mr. DeMartino and smiled. "I don't believe it, it's really him. I alwoys wondered whot has become of him and 'ere he is, good old Pop-eye." Jane burst out in laughter.

"Mr. DeMartino, 'Pop-eye'? He would have commit a crime if you called him that right in his face." Jane laughed "But seriously, how did you meet him?" Sparky showed her the picture. It showed him and Mr. DeMartino both in military uniforms standing in front of a helicopter.

"Pop-eye and me were both Vietnam soldiers, Pop-eye was known for his ferocious outbursts of rage and his tendency to make his left eye bulge really far out of it's socket."

"That's still the case right now" Jane added

"Good ol' Pop-eye, he was alwoys dependable in battle. We all had nicknames and I still use mine, my real name is John Sparks but Sparky just sounds better."

"Who's thot gal standin' next to you?" He suddenly asked pointing at Daria. Jane sighed and told him about Daria, about how much she cared for her. Jane cried herself to sleep on Sparky's shoulder while the evening set.

The night slowly progressed as Daria tried to sleep. After a few hours she was so fed up with trying that she just turned on the radio. "Maybe some dull music helps me drift away…" but it didn't, the Lawndale radio station played the record that would be the last one she wanted to hear.

"I couldn't sleep at all last night, I just kept thinking 'bout you. Baby things weren't right, 'cause I was tossing and turning, turning and tossing. Tossing and turning, tossing and turning all night." Peter Criss' sandpaper voice sang.

Daria turned the radio off and sat down, her tiredness replaced by anger. She was angry about the departure of her only true friend. "This is nobody's fault but my own." She repeated Jane's words out of the letter she left behind. "If it's got to be this way, then I have to make the best of it." Daria growled while walking to her computer and turning it on. "Now what site did Jodie talk about again?"

"Ah here it is." Daria smiled while logging on to a bank site and headed for the financial loan department. "Jodie will not believe me when I tell her about this."

That morning at school Jodie looked with eyes filled with disbelieve at Daria.

"Did you really do that?" Jodie asked Daria in total surprise.

"Yes, I figured that if I'll be mad for the rest of the time because of Jane's departure then I might as well turn it to good use. And I liked your idea about a start up firm for minorities."

Jodie shone "So this will make us partners?"

"Yes, I'll be your right hand in this." Daria smiled while shaking Jodie's hand.

"Now let's get started, the sooner we can get things together, the better the results." Jodie said enthusiastic. "Millenium project enterprises is getting born at this moment." Daria smiled.

Meanwhile at the train was the weather getting colder and colder. "I take it that this is Alaska?" Jane asked.

"No, we're in good ol' Canada right now, it will take at least four more days before we arroive in Alaska." Sparky replied. Jane looked in her bag searching for something.

"Ah crap…Sparky, can we stop at the nearest town? It seems that I forgot to take tampons with me and I'm close to my period." Sparky looked worried

"Of course we can but we have to be careful, in remote towns like this they don't really loik strangers."

They hopped out when the train boarded the station and made their way into the local town. People watched them walking by and some of them closed the shades as they walked by. "Whot did I tell ye, them people loik to see ye go rather than see ye come." Sparky said with not just a little fear in his voice.

"Seeing is believing." Jane firmly stated as they entered the local drug store.

Jane walked up to the counter. "Good day Ms. What can I do for you?" The woman behind the counter asked.

"Well, I would like to know if you have…" Jane started but was abruptly cut off by a teenage girl pushing her away

"Two bottles of aspirin please." Jane fell down and looked up to the girl who smiled mockingly at her.

"Excuse me, but I was here first." Jane said while standing up again.

"Oh really? Well, I'm the mayor's daughter." The girl retorted

"Can be but you still have to wait inline for your turn."

"Me having to wait for my turn? HA!" The girl laughed "And besides, Yankees are second place in here, you are in Canada, remember?"

Jane started to fume "And what do you have against us 'Yankees'?" The girl looked triumphant

"Oh, nothing but they don't belong here."

"Fine, then let me buy my tampons, so me and Sparky can get out of here." Jane said fuming.

"Okay, take your time…" the girl said with a sing-song voice while walking out. "What a snotty little bitch." Jane growled while paying for her tampons.

The woman behind the counter looked worried "Yes, she is. But you'd better be careful, that was Tabitha Johnson, the mayor's daughter and she greatly abuses that fact. It's thanks to her and her friends that foreign people are rarely seen in our town, you'd better get moving quick. She doesn't like people who talk back at her."

It was then that they heard a dog yelping in panic. "Zippo!" Sparky shouted while storming out.

"Come on doggy, let auntie Tabitha put you out of your misery." Tabitha said in a sing-song voice while taping Zippos' feet to each other with duct tape and taking out a big stiletto knife.

"NO STOY OFF ZIPPO!" Sparky shouted while making his way to her. "Whoy are ye doing this, Zippo hasn't done anything wrong?"

Tabitha laughed "This is getting better with every minute, at first I thought that I was to put a Yankee dog out of it's misery but he turned out to be an Aussie dog instead. Say goodbye to him." Tabitha laughed while raising her knife to stab Zippo. "This will teach you to stay away from here!"

With amazing speed Jane ran up and kicked Tabitha's knife from her hand and stomped her in her face. Tabitha felt something break and lost consciousness. "Come on Sparky, let's go I don't want to stay another second in this hell hole." Jane growled while taking Zippo from Tabitha's hands and walking away.

Tabitha came around and saw Jane and Sparky walking away. She tried to speak up "Brrwwwaaaaah!" was all she could blurt out before reaching for her jaw in agony.

"Did I break your jaw? Sorry about that but that at least will keep your big mouth shut for a while." Jane said calmly while making her way with Sparky and Zippo to the station again.

When liberated from the tape, Zippo jumped in Jane's arms and licked her face in gratitude. "Whoy, it seems to me thot Zippo is grateful for you saving his loif." Sparky laughed.

"He ought to be." Jane said while cuddling Zippo.

Meanwhile in town was Tabitha being transported away to the local hospital, a lot of teenagers watched her being carried away. "Who did this to her?" a boy asked a local man.

"She was beaten by an American girl after she tried to stab her dog."

"Beaten by an American girl, who does that Yankee bitch think she is?" one girl shouted.

"Let's get her." Another boy shouted.

"NO!" a voice suddenly called out. Everyone looked around and saw the mayor standing there. "I forbid you to go after them, Tabitha got what she deserved. I've seen her going from bad to worse, insulting strangers, letting the air escape from their car tires and now she was about to kill a pet from people who were only trying to buy things. It's time she learned that she can't get away with it all the time. Everybody return to your work and let's get on with it." He soberly stated.

"Who does the mayor think who he is?" one boy said to three others.

"It's about the principle. Foreign people, and especially Yanks, aren't welcome here."

"I say that we have to take care of them, and besides I haven't had any pussy in months." Another one smiled while rubbing his hands in anticipation.

"And since the legal age in America is eighteen, there is a big chance of her still being a virgin." The boys walked up to their car and started to follow the trail Jane and Sparky went.

"It's a deal." Helen said while signing the form Jodie and Daria presented to her.

Michelle Landon smiled in satisfaction. "Champagne, we have to toast to this."

Daria looked at Jodie and smiled, sure she wasn't as close to her as Jane is but Daria would dare to say that she was second best, far from it. Daria sighed as she came to the realisation that Jane and Jodie were equally matched in their friendships with her but both at different departments.

Quinn walked up to Jodie. "Jodie, could you explain what this company that you and Daria are starting is all about?" she asked with genuine curiosity in her voice.

"Well basically it's to help people with a bad history or with a lack of education to get a job, there are far too many people who are unemployed but who are able to work." Jodie explained.

Daria chimed in "After Jodie and I graduate from Lawndale high we shall attend Oxford university to gain experience in running a business like that. We also have to learn about the legal system and how to get the proper insurance for our employees. Luckily Mom can tutor me in that department."

"Well are you ready to do that?" Jodie asked.

"You betcha!" Daria answered while giving Jodie a high-five.

"Are you ready to do this?" one of the four boys asked his companions while they closed in on Jane and Sparky

"You betcha!" they replied while giving each other high-fives.

The boy who was driving pushed his foot down the excellerator and they rushed towards Jane and Sparky with breath taking speed, Zippo looked around and barked to warn Both Sparky and Jane. But it was too late, Sparky was dashed away by the impact of the car and fell down motionless. The boys got out and moved up to Jane.

"Well, well it seems that our jaw breaker is alone this time. I guess that Tabitha didn't use the proper method of bringing the point across, or did she?" One of the boys spoke while walking up to her.

"Not really, since there was no point in attacking Zippo in the first place." Jane sneered back at him, she then looked over her shoulder and saw Zippo licking Sparky's face in an attempt to wake him. Sensing that Jane had lost her attention the boys made their move and seized her. Two of them grabbed her arms while a third twisted her neck.

"Ah, although we hate Yankees we have to give them credit for giving birth to some really hot girls." The leader of the pack spoke. "Let's see what you have underneath that shirt of yours." He smiled in a sinister way while lifting up Jane's shirt and squeezing her breasts.

"Oh god no…" Jane whimpered when she felt him unclasping her bra.

"YOU STOY OFF OF HER!" a voice suddenly shouted. The leader let go of Jane and turned around only to get hit in the head with a guitar, rendering it to splinters. Sparky then kicked him in the groin. "NOT ONLY DO I HOIT RACISTIC PEOPLE BUT I HOIT RAPE EVEN MORE!" he shouted while kicking one of the boys who were holding Jane in the face. Zippo attacked the other two boys rendering them to retreat.

"Are you alroight?" Sparky asked Jane while helping her up

"Fine, I just need to catch my breath." Jane replied while putting her bra back into place.

"Stoy behoind me, I have a feeling we haven't seen the last of them yet." Sparky said while he and Jane made their way into the woods.

"Are all people like this?" Jane asked while looking back at the boys.

"No, but in remote towns loik that one the people are livin' a very boring loife, the youth are suffering under that and grow violent."

Sparky looked around "I've been 'ere before and I know these woods, there has to be a hotel around 'ere, the keeper is a friend of moine. He alwoys lets me stoy for free."

Jane sighed in relieve "Good after being touched indecently I feel the need to take a bath and sleep for a while."

Two hours past, the boys had continued their search in vain. "Damn, it's getting dark, we have to get back." The leader sighed.

"But she hasn't seen the last of us yet, tomorrow we'll bring our shotguns with us." Another boy stated while walking back to their car and driving back to their town.

Meanwhile was Jane enjoying a relaxing hot bath with the housekeeper's wife washing her hair. "Man, this feels so good." Jane whispered while a single tear rolled down her face.

"Stay calm, you have to give yourself rest. Escaping a rape is a very big deal for your body." The older woman spoke in a mellow voice.

Jane sobbed. That voice, it resembled her mother's voice. "Go ahead and cry if you feel the need to, it's not right to crop your emotions up inside." The woman spoke while hugging Jane.

"This is so familiar, yet so strange." Jane remarked "My mother never did this to me but I still miss her warm and affectionate persona right now."

At her dorm at the lane basement Amanda looked at a picture of Jane and Smiled, a warm motherly smile, she loved her youngest daughter.

Back at the village, the boys were preparing their moves, they had everything set and done, and they decided to get some sleep and setting out stroke of six in the morning.

At the hotel was Jane fast asleep, being on the road for nearly a week had drained her completely and sleeping in a warm soft bed sure was better than trying to sleep in a noisy and shaking train wagon. Downstairs were Sparky and the housekeeper talking.

"Well Jack I'll tell ye' thot girl sure has a heart of gold, she risked being stabbed while saving Zippo's loife." Sparky told him with not just a little admiration in his voice.

"And she knows 'Pop-eye' doesn't she?" Jack asked. "Yeah, he was her history teacher in school. I recognized him when she showed me the yearbook." Mindy, the housekeeper's wife walked over.

"She's fast asleep. This all has made quite an impression on her."

"Kevin, you'd better GET out of my FACE before I get you into DE-TEN-TION!" Jane imitated Mr. Demartino at breakfast the next morning.

"That's Pop-eye, no doubt about it." Jack laughed, "Who would have thought that he would turn out to be a teacher."

"Yeah'll tell ye' moit, I would really loik to meat him agoin." Sparky added. "Well we'd better get going. Jane and I have a long trip ahead of us, thanks for everything moit."

"Take care of yourselves." Mindy shouted after them when Jane and Sparky made their way towards the railroad again.

"We will and thanks once again!" Jane shouted back.

But every move they made was carefully watched through a pair of binoculars. "Splendid, now we can make our move."

Jane and Sparky walked towards the railroad, they passed a rocky mountain way with a large river flowing below. But suddenly a ver familiar feeling overcame Sparky. "Oye, nature calls, woit 'ere for me." Jane smiled

"Don't worry, come on Zippo let's put all of this on paper." She said while Sparky made his way into the bushes.

Click-Clack… BANG!

Jane rushed over to the spot when she heard Sparky's outcry. The scene made her freeze in fear, there he was, a big spot of blood on his chest and barely alive. Zippo rushed over to his fallen master and licked his face.

Sparky opened his eyes. "Zippo, ye'old devil… …we've been through a lot…didn't we moit? …Jane… ye're a good and strong girl…there's a package in my backpack…give that to Anthony… …and take care of Zippo…" He managed to say while his life flowed away from him. "I… …I…can see me mum and dad… …the… …almighty… …JC…"

Jane closed Sparky's eyes as he died, Jane's upper lip began to tremble and she broke down. Zippo began to howl as both of them grieved over the loss of their friend.

"My condolences." A voice suddenly spoke. Jane looked up and saw the four boys standing there with shotguns. Jane gritted her teeth

"Murderers…" The boys aimed their guns at her.

"Eh-ah, little girl. Know your place. And besides we have some unfinished business to take care off." The leader spoke up while pulling out a stiletto knife.

"NO I'D RATHER DIE!" Jane howled while standing up and making an escape.

"Don't let her get away!" the leader shouted. One of the boys aimed his gun and shot.

Jane felt a sharp pain in her shoulder after she heard the shot, fear, pain and the will to survive took over as she ran to the river's edge and dove in.

To be continued in "Snow blind."