The Wastelands: Out of the Frying Pan ...

We gathered our stuff leaving a lot of it behind to save weight and began heading back. We walked through what remained of that day and into the night. Finally exhaustion took us and we bedded down for a few hours sleep, shivering, and beyond thirsty.

I'm a little concerned about banky, he keeps talking to pantysue, who hasn't been with us since we hit the first set of dunes on the first day. Well it looks like they're becoming fast friends so I decide not to get in the middle of it. But I'm really worried about that 'third nipple' I commented on the first day. Banky never said anything to me but was pretty secretive about it.

Why am I concerned? Well it just winked at me! It's an eye! And now there's a forth nipple. Do you think banky is growing pantysue's head out of his shoulder? That's why he's always talking to her? I shudder. MsGrace isn't gonna like dat billyLucy! Will she charge double or half on banky's next call, there are compelling arguments either way. If we survive I have just the stuff back at the labs, Second Head B-gone. I know it works too, because I use to have banky's problem, but that story is for another day.

Dawn light awoke us and we left the rest of our supplies behind making our final push to get out of the desert alive. It's funny what becomes important when you're in real trouble. We all were clothed, wearing hats and using our walking sticks. We each carried empty water bottles in the vain hope that we'd stumble across an oasis and one more thing. For me it was this journal, what the other three carried out you'd have to ask them, it's none of my business.

Our pace is glacial. Have you ever been in real trouble? I have once or twice. Real Trouble is not fun, or exciting, it is simply dreadful.

When I was seventeen I use to love to body surf, still do. I was at Atlantic Beach North Carolina when I got caught in a serious riptide. Not fun. At first I panicked and it's an interesting sensation to note that no matter how hard you swim against the tide the further away from shore you got! It took me a bit of time to recognize that I was actually in a riptide.

Those things are potential little funnels of death and I'm terrified. By this time I'm far enough way that shouting for help would have been pointless, I'm far enough away that the shoreline is now being blocked by the waves as I bob up and down. I was a pretty good swimmer and probably in the best shape of my life at that point in time. I knew what I was suppose to do but my mind wasn't ready to unlock those secrets. I coast in the riptide trying to think. I know there are two things.

Keep the shore in sight because once you've lost sight of that bad boy you're most likely going to die unless you're very lucky. Mainly because you won't know which way to swim once you've broken out of the riptide. Then the second occurs to me, swim parallel to the shore! I start doing this with a fairly good crawl. In other words I'm not side-stroking my way to safety because I don't want to loose sight of the shore and this riptide was a fast one. At first you kinda despair because the shore is still receding but soon enough you notice it's not and you make that first hopeful angle towards home.

Anyway I got through that so that I could live long enough to bore the shit out of you with this post.

So we're in Real Trouble out here in the desert, marching along trying hard not to fall because each of us is so consumed with our own thoughts, suffering from heat stroke, that there's a good chance we wouldn't even notice if one of us fell until it was too late. I'm trying to keep us clumped together so all of us are in each other's line of sight. We're each trapped in our own riptide now. The shore is out of site.

Various scenes and remembrances are flowing freely thorough my head dancing in and out of focus. I haven't been here on the playground that long but I think I've made a bit of an impression on some.

One time when I went home for lunch and found ace in the chatroom all by himself. We talked for awhile there and I started to get to know him better.

IMing jem for the first time right around the time I became a pet because I was freaking out about the time I blacked out during a Princess call.

Getting an incredible story from lucky about the early days of Princess.

Laughing at banky's jokes in the chatroom because he was funny as hell that night.

Realizing what an absolute blast MsTara is in the chatroom if you let Her. The time Tracer, Friday and ace spun the room completely out of control was one of my favorites.

Getting to know MsReese during the TeaTimes. Hopefully getting to know MsAva and MsVeronica before they kill me.

I like some of these people and love others. They are becoming pals and or dear friends. When we cross paths I always smile.

And always there's Princess, but in this harsh sun it's hardest to focus on her. Her memories are like dazzling motes, darting just out of reach. I grab one and examine it. It was the time during Thanksgiving when I was working on some idle blog post and my IM windw pops open from Her. Tracer was born as a result of that IM.

Another where I just randomly enter the chatroom on some Saturday morning which was odd for me and find Her there, goofing around and having fun.

The memories I most want to examine dart and dash before me just out of reach.

Suddenly the motes coalesce into a slinky feminine figure dancing, catwalking towards me, bringing a sandstorm at Her back.

Bringing The Wrath.

A vision dances before the storm

I'm so focused on Her I don't notice the sandstorm until it's completely upon us.

The prophet billybear leads the pets through the storm

We quickly loose sight of one another. Oh I'm in so much trouble, this time I've not only put myself in jeopardy but others too. I can't cotton that, I circle back, I must find my friends! I can't hear, can hardly see and I'm no longer sure which way to go. Where are they? I'm hopelessly shouting into the raging storm, jem! lucky! banky! where are you? Suddenly, I make a figure out through the swirling sand. It's Princess!!! She's before me beckoning me to follow Her! Mote memories dance from Her finger tip.

I follow Her deeper into the heart of the storm ...