Razor Mountain

Chapter 17.3

When the sun was above the horizon, they continued walking. Harold took some jerky from his pack and gave a piece to Christopher and another to Garrett. They walked in silence.

Christopher noticed that Garrett seemed to be scanning the ground as they went, and he finally stopped and picked up a straight stick about three feet long, with all the bark missing. He paused to take a plain white tee-shirt from his pack, and using his pocket knife he cut a square of fabric from the torso with two extra strips hanging off. Then he used the strips to tie the fabric to the stick. Finally, he tied the flag to his backpack so that it stuck up just above his head, hanging like a dead thing in the still air.

He also unloaded the rifle and slotted it onto the opposite side of the pack, through a series of straps that seemed to be designed for it. He pointed to Christopher and looked at Harold.

"Keep an eye on him."

It didn't seem to matter much whether Harold kept an eye on Christopher or not, because Garrett also made Christopher take the lead while the brothers walked behind. That meant Christopher would be the the first thing any sharp-eyed resident of the mountain would see, and the first thing they'd be likely to shoot at. Christopher thought about asking if he could wear the flag, but he already knew what Garrett's answer would be.

"It won't be long now," Garrett said to Christopher. "We'll either run into a patrol or be seen by a spotter. If you want to stay alive, don't do anything that could be construed as remotely threatening."

"That's actually my standard operating procedure," Christopher replied.

"Cute. If you've got any info that we could use to negotiate, now's the time."

Christopher shrugged. "Even if I did, wouldn't it be better for me to hold onto it? Why would you do anything to help me? All you've done so far is kidnap and insult me."

"What helps us helps you," Garrett replied. "If they have reason to believe you've been cooperative, it might make you look a little better."

"You think they'll be lenient on the supposed spy who collaborated with the traitorous deserters?"

Christopher glanced back in time to see Garrett's irritated frown. Harold looked oddly unperturbed for a man who had very recently suggested they might all be murdered before they had a chance to realize what was happening.

Christopher sighed.

"You want real truth? The truth is that, as far as I can tell, all of you have been wildly misinformed about what the outside world is like. Nobody has been very eager to share much with me, but it seems like you think it's a lot worse out there than it really is. You're all worried about Russia and I can't tell if you think the Cold War is still going. I suppose it makes sense, being right next door to them, but you all still seem way too concerned.

"I realize it doesn't really matter what I say. I'm an outsider, and everyone here has a lot of trust issues. I don't know whether that's justified or not, but the fact that your people are on the run from the military and might just go to prison or get shot makes me think at least some of the fear is reasonable. Meanwhile, I'm stuck out here, having been dropped down the shittiest rabbit hole this side of wonderland, and I'm more and more of the belief that I'm going to end up dead because of you. So thanks for that."

"Just walk."

"Sure thing, boss."

They kept walking, a thin, hard layer of snow crunching beneath their feet. Despite the talk of being shot, Christopher couldn't stop his mind from wandering. The human brain could only keep up the tension for so long in the face of sheer boredom.