Survival Can Be Deadly by Charlotte Stuart

Author:Charlotte Stuart
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Amphorae Publishing Group, LLC
Published: 2019-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Friday morning I woke up angry at the world. When I discovered there was no hot water for my shower, I wasn’t surprised. When the toaster failed to eject my toast voluntarily, I didn’t rail against the god of toasters; I simply scraped off the burnt parts and ate it anyway. I was starting out on what would undoubtedly be a very challenging weekend, so why should I expect anything to go smoothly?

Traffic was backed up for several blocks at the canal bridge. Since I was already committed to the route, I stayed in line and waited, resenting the fact that I had to sit there breathing exhaust fumes while the bridge opened to let someone’s fancy yacht through. It didn’t help any that there was loud rap music coming from the throbbing car in the next lane.

A group of young men ran by, their runners’ shoes flashing white against the gray morning light. One of the runners stood out from the rest, not just because of the wide chartreuse stripe down the side of his tights but because of his Greek god body. For a moment I forgot about everything and gave myself over to admiration for the way his muscled thighs propelled his body forward as his sculpted arms pumped purposefully back and forth. Then I remembered why I was sitting there and felt irritated all over again.

When the bridge finally opened and the traffic began to move, I managed to catch up with and then pass the runners. They were still looking fresh and energetic, whereas I already felt wilted and in need of a rest.

Yuri was waiting on the street corner just like the last time. He had the same collection of blue bags, two pillows, and a sleeping bag. He tried to kid around a little as we loaded the car, then apparently figured out that I wasn’t in a talking mood and retreated into his own cone of silence.

I pulled out into traffic with a screech of tires and headed north. From time to time Yuri would switch on the radio, listen for about five minutes to some talk show, then grumble about how stupid the hosts were and switch it back off. After a while I began to feel guilty about the way I was acting, so I mumbled an apology and made an effort at small talk. Yuri cheerfully obliged by giving me a mini lecture on the pros and cons of ostrich farming. He told me that ostriches are not mean like most people think, just territorial and unpredictable. I wondered if he was trying to make some kind of parallel with the Island Survivalists, then concluded that was too subtle for him. He really was interested in ostriches, as least for the moment.

The drive to Anacortes went far too quickly. All the way there I held on to a scintilla of hope that something would happen to prevent me from having to go through with the plan. A flat tire and my spare had mysteriously gone missing.

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