OTHERBORN: THE CREVASSE

EPISODE THREE, PART ONE

So, Second was right! Somebody had been under a truck. We find the skeleton corpse under vehicle 20, or maybe it's 23 now, as we sweat in the sun.

The dead soldier provides me with parts of his attire, and bundled up in a tarp, he's made it easy for Second to yank him out.

I piece together his clothes and some kit from another—a mummy—we'd found earlier on. This body in the back of a truck, still frozen mid crouch behind a large crate...Was he hiding? We don't know why.

Inside the truck, I peel off a vest, but I do break off the guy's bone. It's an arm! "Here, hold this," I say to Second, who, tossing my old clothes out of the back canvas door as fast as he can, almost tosses the arm.

I cry, "Gimme that back!"

"I think you'll smell better."

"I will? Than a corpse?"

"That's right!" Second raises one side of his bushy eyebrow expression, and does his squinty-eyed thing.

Now outfitted with all kinds of gear, the feeling is weird. Don't even know if I've put all the parts of it on right. I hardly remember. I didn't get any further.

I had been still 11B...infantryman, for those who don't know...then Preparation for Training. But really, my visions! I couldn't tell you.

And then, Second and I ready to cross open desert.

I am coming for you... I write in a note and tuck it into a bottle on top of an altar, I set up from rocks, on the hood of vehicle 3.
Then, having collected bits of gas from the last of the rusty vehicles, and me riding Second like a camel—with water jugs provided, and the gas cans all looped around him like a giant necklace—we are now a long ways off, on rougher terrain and testing the wind.

Under Second's arm, canvas topping—the covers from trucks—plus a selection of poles for making shelter with the canopy spines, we trek a bit further and ready our camp wherever we stop, according to the sun.

"You're really quite useful today, Buddy," I tease.

Second grunts as my hands pull on his hair.

"Don't whimper," I tell him.

We trek through most of the day.

We've eventually set up camp and make padding, plus a hole for Second when he curls to bed down.

"Could have been really important," he whines.

"I know, Buddy." I comfort him. "But you'll find her somewhere. She is out there. You are not insane."

Second huddles, arms around his knees. I jot notes of our journey on something I've found, and I tell him, "I just wish you would give me something to quote. Then I could prove you are here."

There is silence.

Later Second wakes and, seated by moonlight, I see him moving around. He's eating something. Then as I drift and revive, he's trying to make different tools out of items he's dragged with him here.

I see he is frustrated...pretty much downcast.

He notes I'm awake and tosses a water pistol. "You can use this."

It's an offering. I prefer something better than his food. Bait of dry rations, I toss them around.

I use the water pistol to soak little mice—no baby birds in the night—and then through the night, the morning and whole afternoon I watch and herd them in the direction of an animal cage we constructed (well... actually Second) to catch them...

A chunk of time passes.

I'm silent, but chewing, till a huge hairy arm grabs the back of my neck and lifts me right up.

"You're biting the heads off all the mice...Yuck! Don't like to see you do that," he says.

I give him the pistol.

Then, in broad daylight, we go back to sleep. It's still afternoon. We need only a nap, but then I sleep long.

~~~/

To be continued... (just thought we'd post something quick to mark our post-break return) and Will keep chapters short for the next few as well (as off-WP life is taking some time).

Thanks for tuning in to check on Cor and his friend!? 😻 How did that happen? What? Where? & When?🙀

Will see you again in one story or t'other as soon as we can!