May's Workshop Stories

The Faraway Place

We have always been the type of family who loves adventures and going on quests together. Those quests could be as simple as finding the best restaurant in a new town or something as complicated as discovering a long-lost city at the bottom of the ocean.

However, our last mission turned out different and more dangerous than that. Furthermore, it was far more mysterious than we were used to. Still, we were determined to face the challenge head-on.

We were contacted by a non-profit organization that tasked us with finding a secret military base. The base was rumored to be experimenting on animals, but on a much grander scale than usual.

Now, don't get me wrong. I am not much into conspiracy theories, but since we already heard rumors about the so-called Animal Farm, we were more than eager to dive into it. Even though we knew that what was at stake was far higher than ever before.

Still, our curiosity and sense of justice spurred us on, as some of the experiments were reported to be far from humane, and a few of the substances used were illegal.

We knew that if we found the truth in those allegations, there would be a big scandal and backlash from the government. However, lost as we were in the notion of saving the helpless little creatures from big mean humans, we didn't think about the consequences when we accepted the gig.

I am recording all the events that happened since that fateful day for posterity as it doesn't seem likely that I'll be able to share my findings in my lifetime. Anyway, let me go back to the beginning.

"So, what do you think? Are you in?" I asked Roger, my brother, once he finished reading all the information we gathered.

Some of it was from the shadowy person who contacted us and other, more reliable sources.

"It sounds far-fetched, to say the least," Roger said, biting his nails. "But traversing a huge desert looking for an off-the-books government research facility... How can I say no to that?"

He grinned from ear to ear after saying that, and I began to realize why people considered us weird. Where most reasonable human beings would have shied away from such a dangerous and potentially fruitless mission, we lived and breathed for it.

"Is Monica coming as well?" I asked.

I wondered if his wife, the wife he just got married to, would approve of such reckless behavior.

"Of course she is," he said, seeming shocked that I would even ask. "Besides, we'll need her expertise."

"Are you telling me that she approves of these crazy adventures of ours?" I asked, remembering how each of my previous boyfriends had tried to stop me from doing 'those senseless and unnecessary stunts' that were my life.

"Yes, absolutely! Why do you think I married her? She is as crazy as I am about this adventure stuff!" Roger exclaimed.

"I do hope that's not the only reason you married me," Monica said, coming out of the kitchen with our coffees.

"Of course not, darling. Part of it was your irresistible beauty," Roger said undeterred.

Only then do I realize that they are doing one of those lovebirds' banters that I didn't fully get. So, I drank my coffee as fast as possible, burning my tongue in the process so that I could leave as soon as possible. Being the third wheel all the time, even in your own family, is never fun.

"Anyway, I need to get going to arrange everything. Apparently, the organization or whatever bored billionaire is behind it, wants to give us this fancy new vehicle they say is out of this world. I need to check it out beforehand to make sure it's not some fancy junk that we'll go dead on us as soon as we hit the desert," I said, gulping down the rest of the scolding hot coffee.