NaNoWriMo Day 13
Word Count: 22,593
I wake up a short time later and immediately panic because Joseph is gone. I jump to my feet and ask Sakti, our gracious hostess, if she knows where he is. She smiles at me and nods, but that’s all she is able to offer. Poor thing, there’s not much left up there. Before I can run out in full emergency mode, Joseph comes back inside casually. I ask where the hell he went in an angry hiss and he tells me to calm down, he just went to use the bathroom outside. Calm down indeed, we’ll see how calm he is if I just up and disappear on him like that. I tell him to be more careful and to get ready to leave. It is dark out now so I think it will be safer to see what’s up with my people.
We sneak out, keeping behind the various shacks and shanties and out of sight as much as possible. Pratima lives on the outskirts, in one of the better places. Her father sends money each month from the States, but it is not enough to afford much. Her mom died when she was little, so it’s up to her to raise her hellion brothers. She’s doing a hell of a job, I must admit, I would have sold them for beans ages ago.
Her house is dark, but it is pretty late. I cautiously approach the door and give the secret knock that we came up with ages ago. The door opens almost immediately and there is Pratima looking scared but relieved. She tells me what Yao told me, that the new soldiers have been raiding the slums and dragging people off seemingly at random. No one knows the reason behind the arrests. I tell her everything is going to be ok, not because I think that it will but because she is the kind of sap who believes stuff like that when she hears it. I tell her to lay low for a while and if she needs anything try to get in touch with me through the normal channels, if they still exist. I give her a hug and a kiss on the cheek and we are back out into the night.
I really need to know if my supply lines are still open, so I decide to contact Thom. Thom is a British expat who lives in a remote cabin just over the border. He helps me get stuff in by truck, car, bike, donkey, whatever it takes. The man is talented and his services are reasonable, though I suspect I get a discount because he likes me. And that is just fine by me. He has been an absolute godsend, hopefully the regime change hasn’t spooked him away from doing business with me.
To contact Thom I need to get back to the shortwave radio in my apartment, and that is the part of the plan that isn’t sitting too well with me. Getting to my place from Pratima’s is a bit of a hike on foot, and of course, Joseph complains every chance he gets. My whole building is just as quiet as everything else tonight, the streets are mighty spooky. I guess everyone is hiding inside and watching their asses. I’m not really worried that they would have tracked me down from the fight in the Ministry, but if they have picked up someone that I regularly deal with, things could get a bit dangerous. I decide that if I am going to visit my apartment it will be the only time until things cool down, so I plan on grabbing everything I might need. We take the stairs amid much huffing and puffing and more complaining from Joseph. The halls are quiet as a tomb so I creep to my door and slip the key into the lock without a sound. I let the door swing open and I stay crouched there for a second, scanning for anything out of place. Everything looks ok so I hustle Joseph inside and close the door as softly as possible.
The dumbass sits on my bed with a greatly exaggerated weary sigh and I hush him furiously. He examines my décor with some distaste while I gather up everything I think I might need into a backpack. Thankfully, I didn’t bring anything important when I took the room in the hotel. Once everything is ready, I pull out the shortwave and try to raise Thom on our predetermined emergency frequency. Much to my relief, he answers almost immediately and asks where I’ve been and if I’m ok. I assure him that I am and ask what the situation is. He tells me that the new guys have only stopped one of his convoys so far, and that the usual bribe was enough to get them to look the other way. That is good, it means we are dealing with the same class of tyrants and that hopefully things won’t change much. I tell Thom I will need to have someone extracted to a safe country as soon as possible. He says he’ll see what he can arrange, but it might take a little bit of time. I thank him and sign off, stuffing the radio in my backpack with all of the other gear.
The slums are too dangerous with these bizarre patrols and my apartment is obviously not going to work, so the only option left is good old roughing in the mountains. I ask Joseph if he’s ever camped before and he gives me a look like I asked him if he ever licked a frog’s ass before. I assume that’s a “no” and sigh. I can just imagine him bitching nonstop already. Added on to the fact that my tent is just barely big enough for two. This ought to be fun.
Joseph
Oh this is just great, out of nowhere Candy asks me the ridiculous question of if I’ve ever been camping before and now she’s shoving a collapsed tent into my arms and gathering up what I assume is camping gear. Here we are in the first somewhat habitable shelter that I’ve been in all day and she is so paranoid that she would rather live like a vagrant. Whenever I start to suggest that we stay here or go back to my hotel she shushes me and continues to gather supplies. I wander into her sorry excuse for a kitchen and rummage around for something edible because I am near the point of collapse from hunger. I am hoping that there is a liquor cabinet in here somewhere as well, a little booze would go a long way toward soothing my nerves. I find a bottle of cooking wine in the cupboard and seeing as there don’t appear to be any other options at the moment, this will have to do. The first swig tastes terrible but the second, then the third, progressively less so. I find some bread and some peanut butter and set about making myself a nice sandwich. Candy comes in just as I’m cutting off the crusts and gives me a poisonous look before collecting food items for our little adventure ahead. It seems I can’t do anything without provoking her wrath today.
As I stand there eating a dry peanut butter sandwich and drinking cooking wine, a bright light hits me through the window and dazzles me for a moment. I squint into the beam and part the blinds to see if I can figure out where the light is coming from. Just as I realize that it looks kind of like a searchlight, Candy bounds into the kitchen and tackles me to the floor, which makes me drop my sandwich. She asks what the fuck is wrong with me and I reply by asking her the same thing because I am angry about the sandwich. She growls in frustration and grabs me roughly, pulling us both to our feet. She tells me to grab the tent and run. As we burst into the hall there are heavy footsteps coming up the stairs toward us. Candy curses and pulls me the window with the fire escape, where I promptly freeze in my tracks. There is no way I am risking my neck on that rickety old iron ladder. Candy tells me that if I don’t start climbing down it she is going to throw me out the window and I actually kind of believe her. I toss the tent down to the ground below and gingerly lower myself down to the fire escape, certain at any moment it will collapse and kill us both messily. I can’t seem to go fast enough because Candy keeps shouting at me to pick up the pace and stepping on my fingers. There is a terrible commotion going on in the hallway we just exited but I don’t dare look up to see what it is. Mercifully, we reach the bottom without incident and I hop to solid ground with great relief. I am very proud of myself but Candy is right behind me and in no mood to celebrate the fact that we just cheated death. She stuffs the tent into my chest and takes off running like a shot, prompting me to have to catch up. I can hear shouts behind us and some sort of vehicular commotion, which only serve to help me run faster.
My lungs are on fire when Candy finally slows down and I collapse to my knees and beg her to stop for a moment. She is breathing pretty hard too, but I am on the verge of passing out. She crouches down and in an unexpected kind gesture, offers me water from a bottle in her bag, which I drink gratefully. When I finally have my composure regained to the point where I can speak, I ask her where we are going. The answer is not something I wanted to hear. Apparently, she’s got a spot in some sort of mountains that she camps in when things get hot. Mountains of all things, I ask her if there will be snow and she laughs at me like I’m retarded. She assures me that the weather will be just fine and that we should get going because it is a long hike. I sigh and struggle to my feet, to weary to complain any more. I figure if the soldiers don’t find and kill me this trip probably will so I might as well get it over with.
Hours later, we are making pretty good progress into the mountains, a nice sunrise is coming up in front of us, and I am coasting nicely on my second wind. The air is crisp and invigorating, not like the stale stifling air back in town. Birds are singing and there is dew underfoot and I can’t believe that I am actually in a good mood now. Candy’s mood seems to have lightened as well, she hasn’t scolded me over anything in at least an hour. Cautiously, so as not to disturb our tenuous peacefulness, I ask how much further her campsite is. She points to a ridge ahead and says the spot is just past there and this is good news because it is not far at all.
The spot is an interesting little clearing that is nicely hidden from site by a number of large sheets of rock that just up from the ground, creating kind of a natural sunken courtyard. I get the tent set up, well, Candy mostly does it but I hold the poles, and it looks like we are in pretty good shape. Candy tells me that I should really get some sleep and I agree whole-heartedly. The moss under the tent makes the ground just soft enough and I wrap up in the blanket that Candy gave me and then I am out like a light.
The pleasant smell of meat cooking and wood smoke wakes me and I peek out of the tent to see that it is almost dusk. Apparently, I really needed some shuteye. Candy smiles and offers me the grub that she rustled up over the campfire she built. I accept it gladly and practically wolf down the sausage and bread. I ask how she knows how to do all of this stuff and she tells me it’s just practice, she comes out here a lot because it is so nice to get away. Although I can’t understand actually wanting to subject yourself to this, I nod understandingly and continue eating. Candy says that she is going to make a supply run so that we can hold out for a few days. I ask if this means that she is going back into town but she tells me that there is a sort of rogue’s depot out in these mountains that caters to those who need supplies but can’t go into town for whatever reason. She says it is a two-hour round trip and asks if I will be ok here for that long. Sensing my apprehension, she assures me that she has never seen another soul in this area while camping here, and she gives me a badass giant knife to protect myself with in case anything goes down. I am sold with the knife and I assure her that I’ll guard the campsite until she gets back. Candy smirks and heads off into the darkening wilderness.
It is hard to tell time without a watch in the pitch-black mountains but it really feels like it has been more than two hours. I couldn’t even pick out what direction we first hiked in from if I had to get out of here, without Candy I am truly screwed. I keep fidgeting with the knife nervously, and I have now cut myself three times with it. I wince as the third slices my thumb and I suck on the blood that starts seeping out. I darn near bite it off when something starts crunching through he brush around the site, heading in my direction. I hope to God that it is Candy coming back but the fire has died down to embers so there is only a faint glow around the campsite that I can’t see past. I get into the best defensive crouch that I can come up with and hold the knife in striking position. Instead of an attacker, a flashlight beam hits me right in the eyes and I hear Candy laughing while I wince. She asks why I let the fire go out and I realize, much to my embarrassment, that it had not occurred to me that I would have to keep putting wood in it to keep it alive. She tuts at me and jokes that she forgot to bring along her PowerPoint presentation on basic survival skills. Which I have to admit, is pretty funny. She tells me that she is going to get some sleep, and that I should wake her if I think anyone is coming. I assure her that I am on top of things and start tending to the fire, trying to be somewhat useful for once.
I wake up a short time later and immediately panic because Joseph is gone. I jump to my feet and ask Sakti, our gracious hostess, if she knows where he is. She smiles at me and nods, but that’s all she is able to offer. Poor thing, there’s not much left up there. Before I can run out in full emergency mode, Joseph comes back inside casually. I ask where the hell he went in an angry hiss and he tells me to calm down, he just went to use the bathroom outside. Calm down indeed, we’ll see how calm he is if I just up and disappear on him like that. I tell him to be more careful and to get ready to leave. It is dark out now so I think it will be safer to see what’s up with my people.
We sneak out, keeping behind the various shacks and shanties and out of sight as much as possible. Pratima lives on the outskirts, in one of the better places. Her father sends money each month from the States, but it is not enough to afford much. Her mom died when she was little, so it’s up to her to raise her hellion brothers. She’s doing a hell of a job, I must admit, I would have sold them for beans ages ago.
Her house is dark, but it is pretty late. I cautiously approach the door and give the secret knock that we came up with ages ago. The door opens almost immediately and there is Pratima looking scared but relieved. She tells me what Yao told me, that the new soldiers have been raiding the slums and dragging people off seemingly at random. No one knows the reason behind the arrests. I tell her everything is going to be ok, not because I think that it will but because she is the kind of sap who believes stuff like that when she hears it. I tell her to lay low for a while and if she needs anything try to get in touch with me through the normal channels, if they still exist. I give her a hug and a kiss on the cheek and we are back out into the night.
I really need to know if my supply lines are still open, so I decide to contact Thom. Thom is a British expat who lives in a remote cabin just over the border. He helps me get stuff in by truck, car, bike, donkey, whatever it takes. The man is talented and his services are reasonable, though I suspect I get a discount because he likes me. And that is just fine by me. He has been an absolute godsend, hopefully the regime change hasn’t spooked him away from doing business with me.
To contact Thom I need to get back to the shortwave radio in my apartment, and that is the part of the plan that isn’t sitting too well with me. Getting to my place from Pratima’s is a bit of a hike on foot, and of course, Joseph complains every chance he gets. My whole building is just as quiet as everything else tonight, the streets are mighty spooky. I guess everyone is hiding inside and watching their asses. I’m not really worried that they would have tracked me down from the fight in the Ministry, but if they have picked up someone that I regularly deal with, things could get a bit dangerous. I decide that if I am going to visit my apartment it will be the only time until things cool down, so I plan on grabbing everything I might need. We take the stairs amid much huffing and puffing and more complaining from Joseph. The halls are quiet as a tomb so I creep to my door and slip the key into the lock without a sound. I let the door swing open and I stay crouched there for a second, scanning for anything out of place. Everything looks ok so I hustle Joseph inside and close the door as softly as possible.
The dumbass sits on my bed with a greatly exaggerated weary sigh and I hush him furiously. He examines my décor with some distaste while I gather up everything I think I might need into a backpack. Thankfully, I didn’t bring anything important when I took the room in the hotel. Once everything is ready, I pull out the shortwave and try to raise Thom on our predetermined emergency frequency. Much to my relief, he answers almost immediately and asks where I’ve been and if I’m ok. I assure him that I am and ask what the situation is. He tells me that the new guys have only stopped one of his convoys so far, and that the usual bribe was enough to get them to look the other way. That is good, it means we are dealing with the same class of tyrants and that hopefully things won’t change much. I tell Thom I will need to have someone extracted to a safe country as soon as possible. He says he’ll see what he can arrange, but it might take a little bit of time. I thank him and sign off, stuffing the radio in my backpack with all of the other gear.
The slums are too dangerous with these bizarre patrols and my apartment is obviously not going to work, so the only option left is good old roughing in the mountains. I ask Joseph if he’s ever camped before and he gives me a look like I asked him if he ever licked a frog’s ass before. I assume that’s a “no” and sigh. I can just imagine him bitching nonstop already. Added on to the fact that my tent is just barely big enough for two. This ought to be fun.
Joseph
Oh this is just great, out of nowhere Candy asks me the ridiculous question of if I’ve ever been camping before and now she’s shoving a collapsed tent into my arms and gathering up what I assume is camping gear. Here we are in the first somewhat habitable shelter that I’ve been in all day and she is so paranoid that she would rather live like a vagrant. Whenever I start to suggest that we stay here or go back to my hotel she shushes me and continues to gather supplies. I wander into her sorry excuse for a kitchen and rummage around for something edible because I am near the point of collapse from hunger. I am hoping that there is a liquor cabinet in here somewhere as well, a little booze would go a long way toward soothing my nerves. I find a bottle of cooking wine in the cupboard and seeing as there don’t appear to be any other options at the moment, this will have to do. The first swig tastes terrible but the second, then the third, progressively less so. I find some bread and some peanut butter and set about making myself a nice sandwich. Candy comes in just as I’m cutting off the crusts and gives me a poisonous look before collecting food items for our little adventure ahead. It seems I can’t do anything without provoking her wrath today.
As I stand there eating a dry peanut butter sandwich and drinking cooking wine, a bright light hits me through the window and dazzles me for a moment. I squint into the beam and part the blinds to see if I can figure out where the light is coming from. Just as I realize that it looks kind of like a searchlight, Candy bounds into the kitchen and tackles me to the floor, which makes me drop my sandwich. She asks what the fuck is wrong with me and I reply by asking her the same thing because I am angry about the sandwich. She growls in frustration and grabs me roughly, pulling us both to our feet. She tells me to grab the tent and run. As we burst into the hall there are heavy footsteps coming up the stairs toward us. Candy curses and pulls me the window with the fire escape, where I promptly freeze in my tracks. There is no way I am risking my neck on that rickety old iron ladder. Candy tells me that if I don’t start climbing down it she is going to throw me out the window and I actually kind of believe her. I toss the tent down to the ground below and gingerly lower myself down to the fire escape, certain at any moment it will collapse and kill us both messily. I can’t seem to go fast enough because Candy keeps shouting at me to pick up the pace and stepping on my fingers. There is a terrible commotion going on in the hallway we just exited but I don’t dare look up to see what it is. Mercifully, we reach the bottom without incident and I hop to solid ground with great relief. I am very proud of myself but Candy is right behind me and in no mood to celebrate the fact that we just cheated death. She stuffs the tent into my chest and takes off running like a shot, prompting me to have to catch up. I can hear shouts behind us and some sort of vehicular commotion, which only serve to help me run faster.
My lungs are on fire when Candy finally slows down and I collapse to my knees and beg her to stop for a moment. She is breathing pretty hard too, but I am on the verge of passing out. She crouches down and in an unexpected kind gesture, offers me water from a bottle in her bag, which I drink gratefully. When I finally have my composure regained to the point where I can speak, I ask her where we are going. The answer is not something I wanted to hear. Apparently, she’s got a spot in some sort of mountains that she camps in when things get hot. Mountains of all things, I ask her if there will be snow and she laughs at me like I’m retarded. She assures me that the weather will be just fine and that we should get going because it is a long hike. I sigh and struggle to my feet, to weary to complain any more. I figure if the soldiers don’t find and kill me this trip probably will so I might as well get it over with.
Hours later, we are making pretty good progress into the mountains, a nice sunrise is coming up in front of us, and I am coasting nicely on my second wind. The air is crisp and invigorating, not like the stale stifling air back in town. Birds are singing and there is dew underfoot and I can’t believe that I am actually in a good mood now. Candy’s mood seems to have lightened as well, she hasn’t scolded me over anything in at least an hour. Cautiously, so as not to disturb our tenuous peacefulness, I ask how much further her campsite is. She points to a ridge ahead and says the spot is just past there and this is good news because it is not far at all.
The spot is an interesting little clearing that is nicely hidden from site by a number of large sheets of rock that just up from the ground, creating kind of a natural sunken courtyard. I get the tent set up, well, Candy mostly does it but I hold the poles, and it looks like we are in pretty good shape. Candy tells me that I should really get some sleep and I agree whole-heartedly. The moss under the tent makes the ground just soft enough and I wrap up in the blanket that Candy gave me and then I am out like a light.
The pleasant smell of meat cooking and wood smoke wakes me and I peek out of the tent to see that it is almost dusk. Apparently, I really needed some shuteye. Candy smiles and offers me the grub that she rustled up over the campfire she built. I accept it gladly and practically wolf down the sausage and bread. I ask how she knows how to do all of this stuff and she tells me it’s just practice, she comes out here a lot because it is so nice to get away. Although I can’t understand actually wanting to subject yourself to this, I nod understandingly and continue eating. Candy says that she is going to make a supply run so that we can hold out for a few days. I ask if this means that she is going back into town but she tells me that there is a sort of rogue’s depot out in these mountains that caters to those who need supplies but can’t go into town for whatever reason. She says it is a two-hour round trip and asks if I will be ok here for that long. Sensing my apprehension, she assures me that she has never seen another soul in this area while camping here, and she gives me a badass giant knife to protect myself with in case anything goes down. I am sold with the knife and I assure her that I’ll guard the campsite until she gets back. Candy smirks and heads off into the darkening wilderness.
It is hard to tell time without a watch in the pitch-black mountains but it really feels like it has been more than two hours. I couldn’t even pick out what direction we first hiked in from if I had to get out of here, without Candy I am truly screwed. I keep fidgeting with the knife nervously, and I have now cut myself three times with it. I wince as the third slices my thumb and I suck on the blood that starts seeping out. I darn near bite it off when something starts crunching through he brush around the site, heading in my direction. I hope to God that it is Candy coming back but the fire has died down to embers so there is only a faint glow around the campsite that I can’t see past. I get into the best defensive crouch that I can come up with and hold the knife in striking position. Instead of an attacker, a flashlight beam hits me right in the eyes and I hear Candy laughing while I wince. She asks why I let the fire go out and I realize, much to my embarrassment, that it had not occurred to me that I would have to keep putting wood in it to keep it alive. She tuts at me and jokes that she forgot to bring along her PowerPoint presentation on basic survival skills. Which I have to admit, is pretty funny. She tells me that she is going to get some sleep, and that I should wake her if I think anyone is coming. I assure her that I am on top of things and start tending to the fire, trying to be somewhat useful for once.
Labels: NaNoWriMo
posted by B at Tuesday, November 13, 2007
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