The Departure Protocol

Chapter 4

It was the cool rain that woke Tarun. His eyes opened to a dark sky above him, a steady rain falling all around him. With a groan, he sat up and ran his fingers through his hair as he wiped the water from his face.. Where am I?

Although visibility was poor, he recognized landmarks that told him he was in the area around the trail head parking lot. He spotted the trail a handful of yards to his left and guest facility building that served needy hikers about fifty hards up ahead. How did I get here?

As he struggled to his feet, he realized his body ached. He noted scuff marks on his arms and elbows, and his pants were torn in several places. Every inch of his clothing looked like it had been rolled in dirt. Not an inch was dry. He felt as if he had been soaked in a bath tub.

The hike. Fragments of memories flashed through his mind. He stood swaying for a few moments, his hands on his knees. Hadn't he fallen on his way back to the parking lot? His mind was foggy but he was certain this wasn't the spot. Not this close to the parking lot.

He rubbed his eyes and tried to remember. The outlook, the hike back, the storm. The memory of those moments were real and vivid. He remember slipping in the wrong place and from there, he couldn't remember anything until the moment he woke up just moments ago.

After a few tentative steps, he was satisfied his legs could carry him. He returned to the trail and made his way to the parking lot as quickly as his bruised body would allow him to. By the time he found his car, his breathing was rapid and he felt his heartbeat hammer the inside of his chest, as if desperate to escape. Exhausted, he collapsed in the front seat.

As he closed his door, the on-board computer came alive.

"Driver authorized. Welcome back, Tarun. I trust you had a pleasant hike. What is your next destination?"

"Take me home, Alice, just take me home."

"Of course." Alice paused as the vehicle came alive, then continued. "I am detecting an abnormal heart rate and excessive amounts of foreign matter on your clothing. Do you required additional medical assistance on your return home?"

"I'm fine, Alice, I promise. I just fell."

"You fell?" Alice replied with as much emotion as an AI could muster. "Are you certain you are all right?"

Tarun nodded and rubbed his face. He should have adjusted the emotional add-on to Alice a long time ago. Most days, he found it endearing, but today it was just annoying. "Just drive, ok?"

"If you say so." Alice put the car in gear, backed out of the parking spot and headed towards the city. The rain continued to fall and increased in intensity as they followed the winding dirt road down to the valley at the base of the mountain. Even though they were shrouded in clouds and rain, steep slopes reached skywards on both sides of the road. Some peaks were great for hiking, others just beautiful to watch from afar. In the rain, it was difficult to even see the road, the wipers of the car working overtime to clear the view.

Not that it mattered. Tarun wasn't driving anyway. His need to see the road was minimal with Alice in charge. In theory, handing over the driving responsibilities to Alice should give him time to relax but in reality, he had never quite learned to trust the friendly AI. Instead, any trip with Alice in charge kept him alert and most of the time just drove himself. Today, he was too exhausted to care. He leaned back, closed his eyes and drifted off into a semi-awake state, kept on the verge of sleep by the uneven road. It wasn't until the car left the rough mountain roads behind that he drifted off to sleep.

He was awoken by Alice turning into the underground parking garage beneath his building.

"We have arrived at your place of residence," Alice stated as she pulled into his parking spot.