Mandy's Journey
Deep down, Mandy knew that her boss Vardoger was hiding something from her. Was Mandy really working as a supposed office worker or had she been set up the whole time? Was she supposed to be there? Meant to be there? She decided it was time to find out the truth. She had a feeling that looking at her employee file on Vardoger's computer would help her do that.
It was easy enough. One morning, when hardly anyone was around, Mandy snuck into Vardoger's office, which was conveniently unlocked. Of course it was, she thought. And of course Vardoger's computer was merely in sleep mode, not having been shut down. She clicked and was able to get to the folder with employee files very easily. She opened her employee file to see...Mandy. Yes. Her name was actually Mandy, not Emily or whatever she had been calling herself previously. Why Vardoger would have this information on her, she had absolutely no idea, as she considered herself the same as all the other workers there. O.k., maybe she'd had some weird experiences, but then so did everybody...didn't they?
She thought back to her time with the Readers, after Lucas beat Joe. It was then that everybody's telepathic connection began to grow weaker and weaker. And although sleeping with Lucas that night had been exciting, and a triumph for Lucas, what if someone else won the next fight? Somebody did, and that someone was Joe, about a week later. She couldn't sense any of Joe's thoughts or feelings and it was then that it occurred to her. Joe didn't really want to fuck her. Not really. He wanted to beat Lucas, more than he wanted her. He wanted to get one over on Lucas. He did not want to know her, as a person. And now, sitting with Joe, she would be pretty much obligated to go through with it, as that was what their new system was based on. Their new system of sexual bartering was deeply flawed, and an unfair system at its core. And she felt afraid. Very afraid. But -- she'd do it. She'd perform and then- go on to whatever was next. The thought of continuing this night after night made her ill. She obliged Joe, indulged Joe. He was pleasant enough if not entirely focused on her pleasure. When Joe fell asleep she got up, packed a few day's worth of drinks and snacks, and her tent. She did not have an ID. Nobody carried them anymore. Your word was literally your bond. She figured she'd try to get back to Mildura, or thereabouts. She wasn't against trying to hitch a ride. It was that, or walking. She didn't really want to walk, though. And she didn't want to stay there. So she had to take her chances, pretty much. She left a note for Eileen. It was vague enough, just enough to say that she wasn't missing, she had chosen to leave of her own volition. Hopefully they wouldn't do anything crazy like track her. Hopefully they stuck to the old rule that said people were free to come and go as they pleased. But who knew? She couldn't really trust Lucas.
She had a vague idea of taking the Barrier Highway out of Flinder's Ranges. Or, in Augusta, or thereabouts, she could take the Sturt Highway. From there....Port Augusta, Broken Hill...and south to the Silver City Highway.
If a human didn't track her, there was the Arkaroola monster to worry about that supposedly lived in these ranges. No choice. She made her way down towards the road and kept walking. She wasn't really concerned. If she grew tired, she could always set up the tent somewhere and sleep. And she had plenty of water, about five day's worth. As she walked, she smelled some kind of animalistic scent. She had a vague sense of eyes watching, although she did not see them. If the monster indeed existed, it was not like a Bigfoot. Or even, really, a Yowie. People made the distinction that they were different things. And very few regular people had even heard of the thing. It was supposed to make weird screaming noises in the bush, with the low, mysterious undertone of a dijeridoo. Was supposed to be covered with reddish-brown fur and could be six, seven, even eight feet tall. Much bigger than a man, easily. People were supposed to feel a great cloud of fear come over them when these things were close. She'd rather meet a textbook Sasquatch. The female Sasquatch in the Patterson-Gimlin footage seemed gentle enough. As opposed to this thing which seemed dangerous. Unpredictable.
If she heard any animal screaming, she didn't know what she would do. She didn't even have a dog with her, which were reported to fend these things off. But if she'd brought a dog, maybe it would have attracted too much attention. Maybe it would have run off, and straight back to the compound. Then, her cover would have been blown. Best to go quickly, as she was doing. And quietly. Quickly and quietly. Her reverie was interrupted by the sound of a distant car that grew closer and closer. It pulled up beside her. It was driven by a man in perhaps his thirties to early forties, attractive enough in an everyday manner, yet slightly mischievious.
"Hey darlin'. Where you headed?"
"I'm trying to get to Mildura."
"Yeah, I can have ya there in six to seven hours. I'm Gavin. Hop in."
"I'm Mandy." She hesitated. Should she do it? Trust this complete stranger?
The advice she would have given anyone else would have been, No, don't do it but she hardly had a choice, she felt. She didn't know when/if another car would show up. And so, she did.
She took the back seat, placing her backpack beside her. She noticed Gavin seemed pretty fit, as well as easygoing and normal enough.
"So," he asked "Were you at the Flinder's Range compund?"
"Yes."
"Oh, okay. I was in the one in the Blue Mountains, myself." He sighed.
"What happened?"
"Oh, the usual. Politics. Bullshit. I came to the Blue Mountains to get away from all that, but them some arsehole called Aidan took over."
"Ah."
"Yeah. We were good to the women there though."
"Yeah?"
