Lesbian Eco-Warriors

Arrival

I check my phone, making sure the description of the area matches my location. This moment has been three years in the making, and I'm finally ready to join the commune. I found out about them through Instagram, a group of young eco-warriors camping together, living sustainably and protesting whenever they can, it sounds like a dream. I finally gathered the courage to join them a couple of months ago, so I raised money from selling old books and clothes, trained relentlessly to become fitter and stronger, and bought myself some camping essentials. I take a deep breath and dial Bill's number. He picks up after a couple of rings and I hear his voice on the other end.

"Hello?"

"Hi Bill, it's me."

"Natalie?"

"Yeah, I'm at the edge."

"Alright, you wait there, Paul will be over in five to help you get set up. Then I'll give you a proper tour."

"It sounds awesome, I'm really excited to finally be here."

"I'm excited you're here too, it's always nice to have a new member. I'll see you soon."

"Okay, goodbye."

"Bye for now."

I sit down and take a swig of my water, cooling me down instantly. I lay on the grass and rest my head on my rucksack, closing my eyes and listening to the birds singing. I'm so relaxed that I fall asleep waking up to the sound of a vehicle getting closer. I open my eyes to see a man a few years older than me driving a solar-powered golf cart. He parks and gets out, walking towards me with a cheesy grin and outstretched palm.

"Paul, I take it."

"And you must be Natalie. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"You too." Bloody hell this guy has a strong grip

"Let me take your bag, I'll put it in the back."

"Okay, just be careful with it please."

"Don't worry, I haven't broken or lost anything yet."

Paul straps my bag down and gets behind the wheel, gesturing for me to take my seat.

"Naturally we take quite a lax approach to following the stupid laws around here, banning pot for example, but anybody will tell you that you want a seatbelt on when I'm behind the wheel of this thing so, y'know, buckle up."

I fasten my seatbelt and he floors it as we set off at 30 miles per hour. I know it doesn't sound like much, but Paul's a bit of a reckless driver with lots of last second turns to avoid trees or big rocks.

"How come we have a golf cart?!"

"Don't hold it against me, but my parents are super rich! They're in the oil industry and I saw all of the shady shit they got up to, I trained myself in hacking from 15 and when my 18th birthday came, I hacked into all of their bank accounts and sent the money to a bunch of green organisations! Officially it was the work of Anonymous, but behind closed doors my parents knew it was me and disowned me! The official story for me was that I went on a spiritual retreat for my mental health, which I guess is kinda true, I packed my essentials and left in the night, taking the cart with me! A few years later I met Bill and we started this place!"

"And what about your parents?!"

"They had to liquidate everything they had to get their money back!"

"You're fucking awesome man!"

"Thank you, I know!"

A couple of terrifying minutes later, we reach the main area in a large clearing. I see groups of tents set up around the place, lots of people milling about, a campfire is in the middle with a large pile of wood a few metres away. There's a couple of large metal buckets, in which recycled paper is being produced. I smell an aromatic collection of vegetables being prepared, presumably for dinner tonight. There are some composting toilets and behind them is a vegetable garden and a greenhouse. A couple of hammocks are set up in the shade, in which two people are fast asleep.