Cornelius has a brilliant mind, and it's killing him. His thoughts are a torrent of fragmented memories and visions. And secrets...so many secrets. Determined to save his girlfriend, he ventures out into the wilds. Lost and alone, he finds an unlike...
In the morning, the animal's gone...and I know it couldn't be Second with it.
I find I have streams, mini fissures in the desert collecting some water, some of it's stayed. It trickles at points.
I trap a rabbit and jump a small javelina that has come for some water, and make quick use of my knife. Now better equipped, watered, and having had sleep, I make a fire, but the clouds soon roll in. Apparently, the storm is not done with me yet...
I cling to my gear as sliding mud threatens, and then I decide I must stand, so I continue to hike.
I make my way through the rest of the storm in the night. I don't know why, but it seems like I should.
I am fast asleep now, mostly, too tired to know how far I've come or where I should go.
I hear Second moving but fall back in disbelief when I wake to a far away trumpeting.
The sun hits my eye. I scramble up, yelling, "Second!" And then I'm reminded. He isn't here.
The land is dry. I now spot tracks. I dive for my boots.
I rush towards them. The tracks go forever. They're moving away. I try to give chase. I run out of drinkable water, so I follow mine back. It's taken all morning.
"Second, I need you...Please come back...You can be real..."
But, no...I face an empty desert alone..."I will find you...need help..."
I sit by myself on a hillside, trying to figure out where on earth I might head.
Sand gives me no clue.
I'm burnt and peeling as a huge airliner passes.
I am unseen. I pour sand from my water container onto me, in case that might help, and I try to rinse sweat from my eyes with the inside of a cactus.
I try to flag the next plane.
I grab my mirror, sun making me wince. And I flash myself blind.
Eventually, half-heartedly flash...in every direction. I slump, holding my mirror. The light still seems to be talking back...I flash. It flashes. I squish blurry salt from my eyes with my palm...
And I pass out again.
* * *
I come to. A ranger beside me holds his walkie-talkie in front of his face.
I cannot speak.
I can hear him: "Yes that's the man I've got." Then he gets serious, listening, not saying a word.
He turns to me and frowns... "Wouldn't want to be you, friend. Seems you're in a mite of trouble back there. You left prints where you was at." He scowls. "You're a wanted man now."
I'm hearing words, like I'm still in a dream. "Seems your family reported you missing several years back, but you've got yourself wanted by the Road Dogs... And they want you bad! Don't know what it's all about, but it seems I'm to turn you over to them."
I can hardly make a sound, but I blurt out Angie's name, grabbing the sheriff and sharing desperation filling my eyes...
"C...aaaall," I rasp.
Then he lets me reach into my pocket and pull out the likeness of Second...No. Wait. I quickly hide that.
He goes off on his own, making sure I'm secured; and I cannot run off. "I'm sorry, fella. She's on assignment. That's all I can do."
The MPs arrive.
~~~/
Sigh. Custer does not even have poor luck—it is the worst!!
& from here, we have to confess... we pull a bit of a time jump and we're leaving chunks out, as we must, while the main story unravels, or you'd know "all the things"!!
We cannot have that!
But we haven't left you completely high and dry... you just won't know what happens for the next chunk of time, but there's another three episodes following our necessary gap here and then... and then... well, you'll have to see...
Thanks for staying with poor Custer, 🥴 dear fellow! ⏱ See you in another six years... ⏳
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