A Path To
Freedom Rebecca
Chapter 9
the mirage
"Oh no, please don't die on me, come on, you can't do this to me… I hate you, you piece of junk," Diana hollered angrily as she kicked the side of the jeep.
"Now what are we going to
do? We're stranded in the desert again,
and it’s SO
"Oh shut up.., Screaming won't help," Diana said calmly. "I'm going to check the trunk."
"What's the point we’re all going to die out here anyway," I told her sarcastically.
"Hey guys, come look what I found in the trunk," Diana said ignoring my whimpering.
"What? What is it?" Jonathan and I asked together.
To our amazement we found three more canteens of water, another gun with extra bullets, and a walky-talky. "Thank you, God. I bet this is for all the good things I've done in the past. Thank you, God!"
"Well, there goes another good thing down the drain," replied Diana.
"What? What happen?" I asked.
"The radio is busted, sorry to burst your bubble," Diana said.
"Oh man," Jonathan cried behind us.
"Well, I guess we should start walking," suggested Diana as she grabbed a canteen and a rifle.
"I'm tired, can we take a brake?" I cried.
"No, we haven't taken more than ten steps and your already tired, just suck it up and deal with it—or else!" she warned.
"Hey what's that?” Jonathan's mouth gaped opened, as he whispered, "It looks like a very fat gorilla."
"What?" Diana and I asked in unison.
I looked out, slowly surveying our surroundings, until my eyes came to rest on something about a mile away. It definitely was something, but surly not a gorilla. As it got closer, I could see it had on bright pink boxer shorts with yellow polka dots. The closer I looked the clearer the figure became until I realized what it was. "CAPTAIN T.J. PORTER!" I hollered gleefully.
It was him! It was my Captain. I couldn't believe it. Then my face turned bright red with embarrassment. He was playing in the sand with nothing on except his underwear. Just a little further away were his clothes, all spread out on the dusty ground. "Please say this is a mirage, please, please, please," I said to no one in particular. But it wasn't a mirage, it was real. I told Diana and Jonathan to stay put and started running towards the Captain.
I was about five feet from the Captain when suddenly my foot slipped on a rock and I was airborne. My arms flailed wildly from side to side, grasping desperately towards Captain Porter, hoping to break my fall and avoid landing on my face. Seconds later, I was sprawled out, flat! Dirt blew from my nostrils as I painfully exhaled. Slowly, I turned my bruised cheek to the side and saw the angry face of my Captain in his underwear.
As I pulled my hands underneath me to push myself off the ground, I realized there was something brown and fuzzy clenched in my fist. Startled, I sprung to my feet and threw the furry wad to the ground. Screams issued from my mouth as I hysterically stomped on it, "Rat, rat, rat, rat gross! Aaaahh! It’s, it's it's a r-r-r-r-rat!” Slowly my heartbeat began to return to a normal pace, as I realized that the fur ball wasn't moving. Then I tilted my head slowly to the side, studying the strange object. It actually didn't even look like a rat, or any animal for that matter. I carefully took the tip of my boot and nudged it. It didn't move. I nudged it again.., nothing. I scratched my head curiously and finally, feeling quite brave, positioned my shoe under the object and flipped it over. My eyes bulged out as realization struck me. I slowly looked over my shoulder to find Captain T.J. Porter watching me. Steam actually appeared to be coming out of his ears and he was holding his bald head between his clenched fists.
“Give me my wig you, you, you...” But before he could finish speaking, he just realized what he had thought was water, was in reality, a mirage. And that he was standing in front of one of his soldiers with only his boxer shorts on.
He grabbed his wig out of the dirt, blushing slightly, took a deep breath and closed his eyes before murmuring stiffly toward the ground, "Umm… Could you hand me my uniform, soldier?"
"Yes, sir," I said, trying my hardest not to burst out laughing. Just then Diana and Jonathan caught up.
I saluted, "Here you go, Captain, sir." I was still trying not to laugh and my mouth quivered slightly as I presented him with his clothes…
— © Rebecca