Sorry for the wait, but things are busy here. I have to share a moment with you all. If you don't know by now, I'm currently living in India (well for the next 39 days). I am a student in the University of Hyderabad and I had the most moving experience the other day and I wanted to share it with you…
As you all know by now, Obama was elected president of the United States of America. Being in India we watched the vote tallying live in the morning and all political affiliations aside, the most moving thing I've ever experienced was standing in a crowded room at out hostel (20 other students from all over the US from all different walks of life in a 10x10 room) watching Obama's acceptance speech on a television set with bad reception.
The feeling of comradely and pride that filled the room was over whelming. This is a group of people from the age of 19 to 24 who are involved in politics (enough to go through the hassle of sending in an overseas ballot) and the world. The hope of the future contained in a small room, brimming with tears was so amazing that I don't think you will understand my meaning when I say it was heart moving, but it gave me hope that the future will be brighter, despite the problems of today because there are people, young people, like that who care and invest time and effort.
That is what makes the United States of America great!
Now on to the story… Enjoy!!!
The Fall-Day 2
The wind whistled by Josef's ears as he fell. He took a moment to enjoy the view. The countryside (he was glad to see that he had jumped over land) was a solid golden color, which puzzled him. He'd never seen land a solid color before, it was usually dotted with colors from towns or farms or forests.
As he continued to fall he was forced to close his eyes. The wind stung and again Josef thanked his lucky stars that it was dark, or else this fall would be a lot more painful than it was already going to be. Josef grabbed the corners of his suit jacket, using it as a small parachute. It would slow his fall, not enough that a mortal could survive, but a vampire, maybe.
Josef tried to focus on the ground below. He needed to be careful about his landing site, a city would bring too much attention and could be possibly hazardous. A forest was the worst case scenario since splintered trees made excellent stakes and Josef didn't relish the idea of surviving the fall only to end up skewered.
The ground was quickly approaching. Josef's speed had not increased, but it had not decreased either. He searched the area below him. The golden expanse continued to the horizon. A Desert! That's what it is!
Josef started to hope. A desert meant no obstacles for landing and soft sand might cushion his fall some, resulting in fewer broken bones. Josef quickly looked around for any sign on civilization. He saw no bright lights in the vast darkness, but he thought he saw twinkling like firelight in the far horizon.
The lights disappeared as the ground approached. Josef closed his eyes, gritted his teeth and waited for the impact.
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BOOM!
A sound like a sonic boom rang through the desert.
A group of frightened gypsies awoke with a start. They looked around frantically, trying to calm their camels and regroup their scattered goats. The frightened children huddled closer to the fire; sure it would protect them from the evil spirits in the darkness. The adults talked in hushed whispers, worried about the strange noise and if it was a threat to them.
Hours later, as the sun rose and with the fear of the noise behind them, the gypsies headed out.
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Josef groaned. Every part of him ached. He wished to die, the pain was unbearable. Then he remembered, he was dead…and it was what saved his…un-life?
Josef tried to just concentrate on a single area, to lessen the pain, but it just made it hurt worse all over. He tried a different tactic and tried to assess the damage to his internal organs. He remembered flipping over to his back before he hit the ground. He'd read somewhere that that was suppose to limit the damage.
Josef thought his abdomen felt okay, but his chest was too tight, Probably some broken ribs… He didn't relish the thought of what shape his lungs were in, but being that he didn't need then, it would be alright.
Josef tried flexing his shoulder, to see if it was still intact. He couldn't move it. Did I break my spine? Am I paralyzed? No, no, no I can feel everything, I just can't move anything. Josef tried moving his leg, but was unable to. Next he tried flexing his finger, which did move, but it was hard.
Josef retook stock of the situation. His finger felt like it was moving through something. Like it had to move something aside, something like…SAND! He had landed in the desert after all, with the speed of his impact he probably buried into the sand!
Josef forced his arm through the sand. It was heavy and with his injuries it hurt all that much worse, but the feeling of being trapped scared him worse than the pain shooting through his body. Josef tried reaching up, but all he felt was more sand.
Josef stretched further, but still found only sand. He couldn't be too deep, or the weight of the sand would be crushing him. Josef tried again, this time he used his torso too, sitting up to reach farther. The sand felt warm, damn near hot. Josef's fingers made it out of the sand. It burned.
He quickly retracted his hand. He knew that burning sensation all too well. Sunlight and not just any sun, the desert sun. No wonder the sand felt warm it was high noon in the desert. Suddenly the idea of landing in the desert didn't seem all that great.
Think, think…I'm buried in the sand, in the middle of the desert, in a foreign country, that could be anywhere between Shanghai and Saudi Arabia…actually, Saudi Arabia wouldn't be too bad, he had friends and connections there, I need blood and a plane ticket home.
Josef decided it was best to stay put until dark. The sand was protecting him from the sun and keeping him cool for now. When it became dark he would need to climb out of the sand and make his way to the nearest village. He'd need blood soon before he went feral, but that was not as important as staying out of the sunlight. He'd address the blood issue when he came to that.
He didn't know how long he'd need to wait since he couldn't open his eyes to see his watch. Not that it'd do him any good since he didn't know what time zone he was in. So he waited…and waited…and waited.
Finally, he stuck his hand up to check if the sun had gone down and he no longer felt any pain. Josef slowly started to maneuver his way through the sand. He didn't want to push too hard only to find himself buried deeper in the sand.
First his hand, then his arm and then his head and shoulders were out. He shook the sand from his face and hair, but knew it was pointless; he'd have sand in everything for weeks. Josef took stock of his situation. There was nothing around, just more sand dunes.
Josef slowly pulled the rest of his body out, lying across the sand to avoid sinking back in. When his feet were finally free Josef breathed a sigh of relief. He immediately wished he hadn't. This lungs were still collapsed and his ribs still broken. He needed blood.
Josef stood up slowly. He discarded his tattered jacket, shirt and shoes; they'd do him no good here. He searched his pockets for his phone, but only found a pocket full of microchips. The impact must have smashed it…the compound! Josef frantically searched for the small box that held the root of all his problems. He found it, in his inside jacket pocket, just where he'd left it. It was still intact.
Josef slipped the box into his pants pockets. He then found his wallet. He checked his cash, maybe enough to get him home and he still had his bank card. His collections of passports were still on the plane, but he'd bribed government officials before. Besides, he could argue that he was a kidnapped US citizen. All they had to do was look up Josef Konstan and he'd be home free.
After taking stock of his possessions, Josef looked around, hoping to see some sign of life. The call to feed was getting worse by the moment. He braved a deep breath and smelled the air around him. Ignoring the pain, he examined the smell. It was a blessing the desert was so barren, it made every smell crisper.
He smelt the offending odor of a camel heard not far away and where there where camels, there would be people. At least, he hoped. Josef followed the trail across the dunes. He was getting closer when he smelled the presence of humans and they were coming to him!
He took another breath and saw the whole thing in his mind. Two men were running towards him, leading a heard of camels…that weren't theirs. They'd stolen them from a band of traveling traders, craft people, nomads…something. The watch boy had fallen asleep and they'd untied the camels and made off with them.
Josef stood his ground. He'd take these men by surprise, thieves didn't deserve to live and besides, he was hungry. The men continued to approach him. Just as they got to the dune he was standing behind the camels started to protest. They could smell Josef's presence and where frightened by the predator.
The men started to argue. If the camels kept making noise, surely the group would wake-up and come after them. The men seemed to decide that one of them needed to go ahead and see what was scaring the camels. The other stayed behind, holding the camels' reigns.
Josef waited as the man approached. He was cautious and held a sword in front of him. Josef couldn't wait for him to round the dune, the call of his heart was too strong and Josef had been without blood for too long. He sprung from behind the dune and pounced on the man.
Josef slashed the man's vocal cords, but his body made a thumping noise as it hit the sand. Josef didn't care. He buried his fangs in the man's neck and drank his fill. He drank so fast he collapsed the artery and had to bite again on the other side to finish the man off.
Only after he had finished his meal did he realize the commotion behind him. His attack had frightened the camels and the man holding them had fled. Josef caught up with him easy enough, now that his body was back in full working order.
Josef appeared before the man, who screamed. Josef didn't waste time with the hunt, he slashed the man's throat and drank from the blood that spilled over. As the man's lifeless form dropped to the desert floor, Josef heard voices approaching.
The man's scream had awoken the party of nomads. Most were herding the camels back to the campsite, but one man approached Josef. Josef quickly hid his fangs. He'd had his fill for the evening and these people might be able to point him towards the nearest town.
The man approaching Josef, did so with caution. Josef stood still, waiting for the man to make the first move. The man raised his sword, to strike Josef, but was stopped by and older man holding a torch. The older man dismissed the youth and looked at Josef.
Josef was sure his pale skin was smeared with blood from his kill and he was only wearing a pair of tattered suit pants. He probably looked like a ghosts to the man holding the torch. Josef took a moment to observe the man's dress. It was conservative, baggy pants and a long shirt and he wore a turban, but not the kind native to the Middle East. It was more like colorful rope tied around the man's head.
The man's skin was dark, like the people of Afghanistan Josef had seen a century and a half before, but his colorful dress was definitely not native to Afghanistan. The man said something that sounded like a question from the intonation of his voice, but Josef didn't understand the language.
Josef just stood there, waiting for the group to make a decision. Another man dragged the body of Josef's first kill to where they stood, slowly a crowd was gathering after the camels were safely tied up again.
A young man went through the pockets of the dead men, taking whatever little possessions the men had. Josef looked on, it was the way of the desert; waste not, want not. The man pulled a necklace off the men that brought a murmur from the crowd. Josef looked at the symbol on the necklace, which he didn't recognize, but it seemed the group knew the symbol, their fear and hatred welled up.
The young man turned on Josef, his sword out, yelling something Josef couldn't understand, but if he had to venture to guess, he was being accused of working with the men he'd just killed who were an enemy to this group.
Again the old man with the torch stopped the youth from attacking Josef. Josef caught the word Sahib in the man command. It was a word he recognized from his time in Afghanistan. It was the title given to the white men or British by the natives in India. The British carried the term with them to Afghanistan.
So I'm in India. That accounts for the colorful dress and strange language… Josef had never visited India. He had learned Sanskrit a long time ago to be able to read the ancient texts and philosophies, but he had never learned any modern languages. He knew most of India was tropical, but the Northwest was a desert region. Wait, the British partitioned India about fifty years ago. The Northwest became Pakistan…
Josef hoped he wasn't in Pakistan. It would be harder to get clearance to the US from Pakistan than India. His attention was refocused on the elder in front of him as the torch was waved in his face. Josef stepped back to avoid the flames. All attention was focused on him. The man tried speaking to him again, but Josef just shook his head. He said, "Mein ek mitraw hue." (I am a friend.)
The group gasped. They recognized the language, even if they didn't speak it. It was the language of the priests. The head man smiled and ushered Josef to the campfire.