“Well, that’s a good question and I’m glad you asked.” William turned away and started walking towards the small bathroom.
“And that’s William’s que to leave, I guess,” Katherine replied to his retreating back.
William stopped and heaved a weary sigh as his face scrunched up in a grimace as he knew that Nicolas, at least, would never let this go. Turning back around to his friends and pack mates he came clean, “I spent the entire night searching a really cool plateau in the middle of the mountains thinking that I had found the city. When the sun came up, I was shown just what a retard I had been and that there was nothing there except rocks, some gangly brush grass, God only knows how it grows up there, and…oh yeah, more rocks.”
Katherine arched an eyebrow at him as a small smile played across her lips while Charles looked bemused.
“Guess no one ever told you to not look for something with your eyes closed, eh Will?” A rough slap impacted William’s shoulder blade from behind, “Or in the dark? You really are stupid, aren’t you?”
“Nicolas, why don’t you go back to playing your dumb video game? I don’t see you out there searching for anything like the rest of us, you worthless piece of crap!” William snapped back at Nicolas as he turned to face the smaller blond-haired man.
“First of all, I am doing exactly what I was told to do, which is to stay here just in case somebody needs something or needs me to do anything, as you very well know.”
William did know, Nic had complained endlessly for the first few days we were here about how he had to sit and rot in this apartment and how unfair it was that everyone else got to go out and explore and do something useful while he just sat on his ass. At the time he had felt a little sorry for him, but right now, he was tired and not in the mood for Nicolas’ crap.
“Yeah, I do know and why do you think that was Nic? It’s because you’re an asshole and Huan Li doesn’t want to have to flee the country because a white guy, who thinks he’s a bad ass, got into a fight with a native and somehow managed to kill someone!”
This stopped Nicolas dead and the smaller man’s face got stone rigid as it very quickly took on a very pink hue. He looked William up and down, and with a cold smile said, “You know what Setford? F you, F you right up the B.” With that Nicolas turned around and went back to his video game, but not before turning up the volume on the TV to an obnoxiously loud level.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Katherine shook her head, “What is it with you two? Can you guys not be civil with each other for even one day?” Katherine asked for what seemed like the millionth time since meeting the two men all those many, many months ago. William looked at Katherine and didn’t see even a hint of bemusement or sarcasm within her eye’s bright green depths.
Charles too, did not seem sympathetic towards William either. “My friend, you and I have been through a lot since we met each other almost two years ago, but you need to find a way to control yourself around Nicolas. He seems to be the one in your dynamic who is trying between the two of you. You should take that into consideration before insulting our pack mate again without provocation.” With that, the quiet dark-skinned man turned back to his computer screen.
Well, shit. Now I feel like shit, as well as being tired, dirty, and a little rank as well.
He decided to not push the subject with any of them at that juncture and went into the bathroom to clean himself up.
* * * * *
He awoke slowly in the late afternoon. The smell outside had not gotten any better, not that he had expected it to. He rolled off the couch that served as his bed and went to the bathroom to clean himself up.
He immerged and walked over to his pack mates who were watching the TV, some kind of soap opera or some such if the quality of the cinematography was anything to go by. An elderly, somewhat large woman, with a gold nose ring attached by a chain to her earrings was yelling at a much younger, far more fit woman whose black hair draped down her back past her hips and her red sash like thing wrapped around the lower part of her two piece sari. Yup, definitely a soap opera. Not that he could tell, there weren’t any subtitles and he didn’t understand a word of Hindi aside from ‘Namaste’.
“What’s going on guys?” he asked the room casually.
“The mother-in-law is yelling at her new daughter-in-law about how she doesn’t know how to serve tea in the proper fashion, not showing her new husband’s mother the proper amount of respect, and her curry is too sweet and she doesn’t know how to use spices properly,” answered Charles dryly.
William arched a questioning eyebrow, “Charles, I didn’t know you knew Hindi.”
“I don’t,” he replied, “but I understand mothers-in-law and it’s pretty easy to follow.”
William nodded with a small smile to himself. “Has Aceso come back, or anything?”
“Nope,” Nicolas answered a little too loudly.
William, ignoring the comment, asked the group, “Do we have a flashlight or anything around that I could use?”
Charles looked over at him, “You aren’t thinking of going back up into the mountains at this time of day? You only have three hours of daylight left.” The concern in his voice was audible.
William smiled wryly at his friend, “Charles I’ll be fine, beside I told you, I found a plateau that I really want to finish exploring. I won’t stay out all night this time I promise.”
“You going to remember to bring back your oxygen tanks and pack this time?” Nicolas asked harshly while still watching the TV.