Chapter 1

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The desert at Black Rock City was an inhospitable landscape of burning sand and dry, blowing wind, and I already felt like I was dying. I tugged the brim on my wide-brimmed straw hat down, adjusted my goggles, wiped the sweat off my face with the red-checkered dust mask I wore, and took a long swig from my canteen. I wished I had taken my friends a little more seriously when they told me to prepare for a real desert camping trip.

"You're looking a little sick, Jake!" My friend Tony poked his head out from the group tent I was sharing with him and our other Burner friend, Kara, and grinned at me. "Don't tell me you're already punking out on our adventure."

I put on a brave face. "Nah, dude. I'm fine. I just wish I brought a little more water."

"I told you that you needed a serious amount of water, dummy," Kara added as she finished unpacking the rest of the supplies she'd brought. "You guys never listen to me."

"That's because Jake thinks girls are dumb, and have dumb ideas, and talk too much," Tony teased. Kara just rolled her eyes and kicked at him, but he ducked back into the tent. I chuckled at the exchange.

"Oh, you think that's funny, huh?" She put her hands on her hips and glared at me. "Well, laugh it up. You'd better figure out what you're gonna go trade for some extra water, smart guy, because Tony and I only brought enough for ourselves."

She might be annoying, but she was right that I'd need to get more water. "Isn't this place supposed to be about giving?" I asked. "I'll just go looking for someone handing out water, I guess."

Kara tsked. "You're really violating the spirit of the place, ya know? Man. That's just taking, Jake. I hope you learn a thing or two about real giving out there."

I wanted to make a crack about Kara probably knew a thing or two about being giving as a very sexually active bi chick, but decided to spare myself from a tiny, pissed off hottie attacking me in the desert.

I shrugged and went to go dig through my bag for some cash, just in case. I'd packed lazily, only tossing a few sets of clothes and the bare minimum of food and water, like we were going on any other weekend camping trip. I hadn't bothered bringing anything to barter because I figured that if I couldn't find what I needed from generous gifters, everyone wanted cash. I couldn't believe that I wouldn't be able to find someoneto sell me water and the good party drugs I had read about if I needed to. That was what I was most excited about. A chance to party in the desert with some hot babes, see some cool stuff, and just kind of let my inner animal loose on some really good E. I knew chicks were always begging for some dick when party drugs were around, and I was planning to give it to them.

"I'm gonna go take a walk and see what I can find," I said with a wave of my hand, lifting my dust mask to cover my face. Kara ignored me, arranging her supplies on a flat rock near the tent, and Tony grunted his assent from inside.

As I reached the edge of our space, Kara called out, "Hey, Jake. Be careful, okay? Get back here around sundown so we can all party together."

Aww. She really does care about me. For all our banter, my friends and I were pretty tight, and I was excited to Burn with them for the first time. But first, I'd need to take care of my supply situation!

Black Rock City was fascinating, and I found myself entranced by the unique sights, sounds, and smells of the ramshackle, pieced-together community as I wandered the windblown desert roads between the tents. It resembled an actual city in some sense, with a busy series of circular dirt street grid rings oriented around the central "man" sculpture, but in another sense it was completely surreal: people around me walked half-naked in furs and glitter, and art cars shaped like mystical creatures, ships, and rockets pumped booming electronica as they purred gently through the throng.

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