The Race to Freedom

Maria 3

"Why in good's name would I want to help you?" She demanded, the carcass of the goose flopped upon the swaying stick latched on her back. She eyed him warily, unsure of what his intentions were. 

He looked far too calm, far too relaxed. His posture was slumped into an irreversibly transcendent opulence. He had everything figured out. There was nothing to worry about, nothing to scavenge, nothing to gain. Except one. Her. It was his only intention. 

He shrugged. "I need your help". 

This took her aback. Men never admitted to such things, and if they did, it was an intense performance of begrudging resentment over the matter, and even then there was no direct admittance that she could help them. It was just nature. 

"How?" She asked him uncertainly. "Stay back" she shouted as he stepped closer, muscled arms swaying lazily by his sides. 

"Okay, okay, I'll stand here". He said, standing directly to a leafy bush. "How's that for you?"

She nodded. "That will serve". 

"I will serve"

Her forehead creased at the weird fellow. "What do you imply?"

"Let me help you and you help me. We'll be a team".

"Look, I already told you. I do not require your assistance!" She was becoming impatient. Perhaps she should just run.

"I know where we are. I know exactly where we are".

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "How could you possibly know that?"

"I spent most of my life upnetted to the virtual networks" he began. He hoped he could describe his intel in a way that wouldn't utterly confuse the poor woman. He liked her, but he didn't know how much fresh shocking information she could handle. "I'm connected to this technology that allows me to virtually exist in a second intangible place, kind of like a dream, but a machine dream. In this machine dream, I just love to explore the world and walk around different parts of America. And I've walked here in the machine dream". 

"Machine dream... you're a madman".

"And ain't this mad? You've just been teleported all the way from your fancy pancy castle in the middle of rainy United Kingdom to the coast of California in the States of America. That's why you're speaking to me, a guy who lives thousands upon thousands of miles away and centuries and centuries away in time. Welcome to America. Please enjoy your stay" he spread his arms around wide, and grinned again quickly. 

California. Another bizarre name to add to the parchment list. He knew a lot, it seemed, but if there was an escape, surely he would have left by now. Or perhaps he chivalrously wanted to help her and that's why he was following her? Was he locked in boredom and just wanted to seek an adventure with a distinguished high-born lady such as herself? She processed this, mulling over her options like washing clothes in a bucket. "Why have we been sent here?"

"Absolutely no clue. But I know it's a game. We've been sent here for a reason, but it's definitely a game. I'm certain about that. We're locked in some kind of virtual reality that's super advanced. I mean, it's 3000 BE! Who knows what's happenning at that point in time!" he chuckled at the thought. "Truth be told, I'm excited. I wanna win".

"Win?" She asked. "I see no competitors. Just you and I". 

"It seems not everyone got told why we're here. The man in the hologram said there were thousands of others. California is a big place. They're most likely littered everywhere across the coast". He looked around as if seeing an army in the shadow. "Ohh, they're here alright, and I bet most of them are walking right inland right at this very moment. They'll be thinking that the finish line is their only escape. Their one single ray of hope to return to their families, their friends, their careers, their livelihoods. Everything has been stripped away from them to be left by this unforgiving and desolate landscape where all they have is mind and body to help them survive. 

You might like that. I sense you've been locked away in some kind of oppressive gender role for far too long and you're excited. You're finally free and you're out of there, you're on an adventure. But California is a treacherous place, believe me".

"Stop talking nonsense" she scoffed again. "I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself". She shook the goose behind her as proof. "I'm already far more well-fed than you, strange young fellow".

He laughed. But he was concerned. She had no idea. No idea of the jaws of agony she was stepping into so stridently into. "Do you know why this place is called California?" He asked her.

"Why?"

"Because it's a burning hot furnace of heat. Some places, it's nice, I'll grant you. But in other parts, you'll feel like you're stepping into the gates of" 

He pointed in the direction she was about to head . "That way on the path ahead of you leads to Death Valley. You do not want to go there. The hottest recorded temperature in the world was recorded in Death Valley. Without heaps of water, no one can survive out there. That landscape will boil you alive, eat all your insides, suck up every drop of water you've ever ingested in your life, and spit you out into death as a sizzling mess".

Death Valley. Valley of Death... that did not sound good to Maria at all, was he telling the truth?

He then pointed  his finger to her right. "That way leads to the Mojave Desert. You don't have those in the UK, but trust me that place isn't much better than Death Valley".

Then, he pointed to her left. "That way is to Yosemite. I love walking through there. It's got some lovely places to go through, warm temperature and great places to hunt and get food, water, anything you really need. I'll help you get there".

"And in payment, you desire me to become your companion in this race you speak of?"

"I can't do this alone. I value human company too much and you're all there is right now" his grin seemed more comforting to Maria now, which frustrated her. It was quite a compelling argument. 

She sighed, loudly. Far too much to process, far too much to handle. But she could grant him walking rights next to her and still not trust him. She just had to keep her eyes open and her ears sharp. That was all. "Very well". 

He burst into a relieved smile, that happy sense of relief washing over him once more. 

She flicked her head in the direction he had pointed to Yosemite. "Let's go your way then, sir"

Back to calling him 'sir'. Golly, did her mind just choose to respect him? 

As he walked closer, he saw some bloody bites on her arms and shoulder. "Whoa-a, hey, we need to get those washed and bandaged" he said in a tender voice. 

"I'm perfectly alright, thank you" she responded tensely. 

"Naw, those bites could get infected. I have some medical know-how. Next stream, we can wash the possible bacteria out of your arm and prevent any further irritation. Hopefully we can find some sort of makeshift bandage somewhere, but we can't just leave it. I don't want you dying on me".

She sighed impatiently, "very well, very well", but couldn't help a brief smile flickering across her lips. "How do you know Spanish?" she was curious. That was a language of the larger mainland outside of England. She hated the Spanish, constant invaders and always trying to stick their conquests where they weren't wanted. 

"Information is everywhere. It's been like that forever to me. But fuck the Spanish. Spain is gone now anyway. No one speaks Spanish in my time".

She shook her head wearily, another bizarre confusingly detail she would need to comprehend eventually. But she was tired now, the sun was setting and she and this man, Salvo, had a jolly big walk ahead of them. It was this very time to reinvigorate into a grinding rhythm of routine and resilience. It was time to truly travel.