Cold

The Park

Morning came rather quickly. I moaned as I rolled over on one of the couches, vainly attempting to escape the rising sun. It had been an uneasy sleep, as my body knew it was in mortal peril. The dream I had earlier did not return for the second round, which was a pity. There were so many questions I had to ask my subconscious, but that could wait. 

I finally sat up, rubbing my eyes. Fumbling beneath the pillow, I pulled out the M9 and inspected the gun for signs of lint or stray hairs. A long time ago, a man by the name of Alec Johnson told me that even the slightest strand could make a difference in how your weapon operated. It stuck with me, despite the fact that the man probably had no idea what he was talking about. I holstered the weapon, and reached for my shirt. It took me a moment to realize that it was still in shreds in that parking lot. Sighing, I put on my backpack and slung the carbine over it, and searched the former occupant's desk for anything that might help me get by. All I found in the top drawer were some sunglasses and several sheets of lined paper. I couldn't understand most of what was written on the latter, but it didn't concern me. I grabbed the sunglasses and put them on before departing the building.

I reached into the lowest pocket on my bag for  the map, and laid it out on the street. I wasn't far from Prospect, and Lemay wasn't far down that road either.  However, I had a gut feeling that it wouldn't be as easy as it seemed. There were probably thousands of commies along the way, and getting by undetected with my gear seemed absurd. Folding the map back together, I walked south along the oval. As uncomfortable as the thought was, I knew that I would have to stow away my weapons in an inconspicuous area. I walked down East Drive, and the building on the left caught my eye. There was a large bush growing on the side, surprisingly still alive and green. If I could get in deep enough, that would be a perfect spot to stash everything. Looking this way and that, I made my move and jumped into the bushes. I soon regretted it, though; used condoms and many beer bottles littered the ground. Still, it was as good as any, I just had to take care as to where I put the weapons. I leaned the carbine up against the wall of the building, and laid the pistols squarely around the stock of the former. I crawled out carefully, minding the various rubber and glass products, and stood up. I thought about retrieving any possible coats or jackets from the building, but it was much too risky. I simply was running out of time, and breaking in would definitely not help. Besides, the sunglasses and the sports bra I was wearing made for a good story; I was out jogging.

I followed East south to Lake, and made a left to College, where I took a right. Like last night, I got whistled at by many squads on patrol as I made my way. Thank God it was broad daylight; they wouldn't do anything that would jeopardize their units. I checked my watch as I cut across the intersection at Prospect. 12:04. I had plenty of time to get back to my makeshift hideout. 

After running a mile or so, I spotted a couple soldiers casually walking towards me, and my jog slowed to a walk. Even though I was wearing shades, I felt I had to avoid all eye contact regardless. It was pointless, however. I was a half naked female, and these were two men who hadn't seen their wives or loved ones at home for quite some time. I knew this would not end peacefully, so I looked for an escape. Lemay was just ahead by about a hundred feet, I could make the turn there and see what the road had for me. The two men started muttering to each other, pointing at me and making rude gestures. I made for the right of them in an attempt to get by. As I had expected, they blocked me from going any further. 

"Where you going, womon?" the taller one asked. I said nothing, knowing full well that it didn't matter to them

"I ask you question, why no answer?" The smaller one snickered. 

"Let me be," I tried to sound scared, and quickly sidestepped around them. 

"Come back, we have question, ha ha!" I could hear them following me, gradually picking up their pace. Twenty feet to Lemay. 

"Now, womon," the broken English was getting serious. I silently laughed at the thought as I turned the corner. Ahead of me and to my left, there was a heavily wooded area. Perfect for what I intended to do.

I rushed across the street, and the men followed in hot pursuit. "Stop, okay? Stop immediate. Now!" Frustration was rising, my plan was working. I looked over my shoulder at them, their rifles at the ready. I ran into the greenbelt and weaved through the trees, ignoring their calls. Then, the last thing I wanted to hear roared throughout the area. A warning shot, of course, but still loud enough to gather attention. I dove behind a nearby bush, body at full alert. Peaking through the small leaves, I saw the soldiers slowly advancing towards my position. Suddenly, a Jeep roared around the corner and blared its horn at the bastards. In a swift fluid motion, the two about  faced and saluted.

Great, an officer. My heart plummeted. There goes my plan to get out of this alive. I strained my ears in an attempt to eavesdrop on what their superior had to say. I wasn't quite fluent in Chinese, but I knew a rudimentary dialect.

What followed nearly floored me with surprise. That officer spoke not in Chinese, but.... Spanish?

"¿Por qué has hecho de disparar, el cabo?"

The shorter one was the one to speak this time.

"Señor, que fue un fallo de encendido. Cabo Tseng había tropezado con una raíz de árbol pequeño, y su arma disparó sin previo aviso. Un error, señor, no vuelva a suceder."

The officer sighed. After muttering a few words under his breath, he motioned for the two soldiers to sit in the rear seat of the vehicle. He stared out a few yards to my left, shrugged, and returned to the wheel. I waited until they were safely out of sight before I stood up. Taking a deep breath, I pulled the map out of my back pocket and searched for my location. My destination was less than a tenth of a mile away. I whirled around. I just had to clear the small creek, and I was there. Brushing off the dirt and various blades of grass, I returned  the map  to its rightful place, and pulled out the picture.

The first clue was about to unravel itself.