Radiation: Tales of the New Age - Volume 1: Skallen

Chapter 5: Enter The Dragon

Katrina led Jager to a small cabin near the lake as Blanche hobbled off. It had a small bathroom in the corner of the room, a cot, and a desk with spare pencils, markers, and extra paper. Jager walked inside and stretched, flopping down onto the cot, which creaked under its weight. Katrina turned to leave.

"So when can I expect results?" She asked, facing away from him.

"I can translate it in eighteen hours, if you can get me caffeine, twelve hours."

She nodded.

"We can get something to help you stay awake."

"Oh it's not to stay awake, I just want some coffee," Jager stood up and sat at the desk, pulling out the map and beginning to copy down phrases and markings, "I used to know a place up North that would put syrup and this little candy in it, a little red and white twisty thing that hung on the rim of the mug. Damn best thing in the morning."

Katrina nodded.

"I'll see what I can do."

Jager studied for hours in near-silence, his head jerking back and forth from the map to his own notes. It was dark when Katrina returned. She slowly opened the door and stepped inside, slowly closing it, trying to make as little noise as possible. Jager still noticed, he turned to the door and saw her holding a thermos.

"This is as good as we could come up with." She said, placing it down on the desk.

"Thanks." he said, unscrewing the top and sniffing the concoction.

Jager swiveled his chair away from her and lifted the bottom half of his mask, taking a sip, then pulling it back down and setting the thermos on the desk.

"It's good, you need anything else?"

She walked over and sat on the cot, crossing her legs and propping her hand up on her knee.

"What's up with the mask? You haven't taken it off in all the time you've been here, even when drinking you turned away from me."

Jager hung one arm over the back of the chair and thought for a moment.

"Well, it's for one of two reasons, either, I think that I'm going to die soon, and I want someone else to use my image to terrorise the Legion, or, maybe I just think it looks cool."

He shrugged. She cocked her head.

"So how far along on the map are you?" She said, standing.

"Oh," Jager kicked his feet up, onto the desk, "I finished with that like, an hour ago."

"What?!" she exclaimed, snatching the map off the desk.

"Yeah, these guys have been using the same codes for forever."

Katrina stared at the map, trying to make sense of his scribbles. Jager sighed and snatched the map away, then handed her a folded piece of paper.

"You probably want the translated version."

She unfolded it and saw a rougher version of the map, with every landmark now written in mostly legible handwriting.

"You not only translated it, you remade it?"

"I figured it was easier than reading the original covered in scribbles."

"And this can lead us to their base camp?"

"Damn straight. It's about thirteen miles due east."

"This is... Amazing!" she said, gazing in awe of the map, "Jager, was it?"