#this took another 25 to 30 hours and the eye strain with black on black killed me but honestly?

[cool-sepulchre]

Winter soldier but he slays the house down boots

[elladescent449-artspace]

It Started with the Milk: Chapter 6 - Respit

Note: Guess who finally figured out how Tumblr's "Read under the cut" system works!!!

When the woman brought the bell-bird in, April knew it was time to go, screw the rain. April scrolled down to the band’s store on ITunes, finally conceding and purchasing DIGG’s most recent album. She plugged in her earbuds and let the rapid beat of drums replace the screeching call of whatever was happening in the vet clinic as she opened her umbrella and walked out. Without a carrier, April had to carry Mayhem out of the clinic in her arms, not that either of them were complaining. She walked a few paces until she was on the outside of the clinics gate, just on the outskirts of the street.

Looking back, April noted that this place didn’t look anything like a human veterinarian clinic, it was comparable to a theme park. What April had gotten from the pamphlet was that “Squaker’s Creature Clinic” was a 6 acre property that provided care for any exotic creature (everything was exotic down here, April had a hard time telling the difference between pet and owner.) Sunita had been able to get her Dad, Exploding Frankie, to drop April off in front of the clinic a few minutes before the appointment, but April had had no idea what she was getting into. It was easy enough to find a seat, but while she was waiting in the clinic, the clerk had mistaken April for Mayhem’s pet, and had spent the first 10 minutes making baby noises at her. The doctor had made the same mistake, but they were eventually able to get down to business and take care of the appointment.

She tried getting into the beat of the music, closing her eyes for a moment as she tried to ignore the cold that was crawling up her ankle. She started pacing to try and get the blood flowing. When she felt the warm brush of Mayhem’s tongue against her face she reopened her eyes to see his worried expression. “I know buddy, i’m cold too.” She heard a gargling screech come from inside the clinic and cringed, “better out here than in there though, huh?”

April and Mayhem both sighed in tandem. Mayhem curled back up in her arm, breathing gently as he settled in for warmth. “Leo, where are you…” she muttered under her breath. At the thought of Leo she was reminded of Donnie, and with that she felt her blood pressure rise.

‘Why didn’t he come, he’s never not come.’ The fact that he hasn’t messaged her since last week was one thing, ignoring her six calls was another, and leaving her waiting for an hour was the tipping point. She tried to “zen out” to DIGG, but she kept thinking.

“Why would he ignore me?!” She looked to Mayhem who was startled by her abrupt start of conversation, “Sure, I kept calling him today before and after your appointment, but that was because we had made plans about this like five days ago…” She should have gotten Mayhem to the clinic sooner but there was such a long wait time. She held Mayhem a little tighter, “I haven’t done anything… right?” when he shook his head ‘no’, April continued: “Yeah! Donnie would have told me if something was up, it’s not like he’s one to mince words.” She scoffed at that and groaned, the cold was crawling back up her legs again. She picked up the pace, bouncing a little with the steps. She landed in a puddle large enough to soak into her socks and she made a noise of disgust.

When April turned a blur of blue rammed into her, knocking the umbrella out of her hand as the form tightly enclosed her. She wanted to shout, but her call was cut off by the guttural sob that bled into her shoulder.

“Leo?” He responded by fixing his grasp to hold onto her tighter. Mayhem chittered in complaint as he was squished between their two bodies, teleporting to the ground behind April to escape Leo’s hold. April wrapped her arms around Leo, feeling him shiver uncontrollably at her touch. “Leo what’s wrong?”

When he didn’t respond April pulled him away from her by his shoulders. She kept him close but now she could see a redness under his eyes. A purple mark was swelling on his left cheek and there was redness forming on his throat. He looked away from her before rubbing his face with both hands. April saw the charred cloth of his sleeve and gasped, “Leo, what-”

He spoke in a low tone of voice that April was not familiar with, it was shaky and it fought back a choke as he uttered, “can I please hang out at your place for a bit?” he removed his hands from his face and looked pleadingly, “please.”

She wanted to ask, now and here, but he didn’t look up for it. He was soaked from head to toe and even at their close proximity April could see that his legs were shaking.

She hugged him again, putting on a strained smile as she tried to stay calm. “Yeah, Leo… Of course.”

He broke the hug first and stepped away, rubbing at his eyes before pulling out his Odachi. He stood stationary as he tried to concentrate, taking a deep breath and stabilizing before swinging his sword to form an electric blue portal. Wow. First try. April picked up Mayhem and her umbrella, closing it as she walked up to Leo.

“It’s going to be okay, Leo,” She felt the cold rain speckle her hair and her cheeks, slowly soaking into her jacket as she put a hand on his arm. “You’re okay.”

April’s apartment was (thankfully) empty. Her parents were out and she knew that they wouldn’t be back until late evening, so her and Leo could hang out at least until then.

“How do you feel about a pizza,” April pushed Leo towards the couch as she pulled out her phone, “because I am famished.” She watched as he flopped down onto the sofa, he rubbed his eyes with a stiff sigh. She typed in the familiar number and paced into the kitchen to open the fridge. The number only rang twice before being answered with a familiar voice.

“Run of the Mill, this is Hueso speaking.”

“Hi,” she pushed over the carton of milk to get to the soda’s and juice. “Do you guys deliver?”

“Yes we do, what would you like.”

“Can you do a half cheese, half creepy-special, I got a friend who really likes that kind of stuff.” April squirmed at the thought of the creepy special, it was all of the boys favorite though.

“Brown, blue, or black?”

“Uhhh~” April drew out the sound in confusion, “you mean like… olives?”

“No.”

A chill shot up her spine but she choked it down, “... A- a mix, then?”

“Of course, would you like to add on an order of Garlic knots with that order?”

That sounded more up her human-palette-alley. “You know what, sure.” “Muy bien, what is your address?”

She relayed her address information and her card number from memory and was given an approximate time of 30 minutes for delivery. With the pizza on the way she shouted from the kitchen, “Leo! What do you want to drink!”

“I’m not thirsty.” This was worse than she thought. She sighed and pushed a hand through her hair, 30 minutes until pizza, what was she going to do for 30 minutes? April usually did this for Donnie (and the occasional Mikey), but the procedure always went like this: A Jupiter Jim movie, weighted blanket, pizza, soda, and then she would ask if Donnie (or Mikey) would want to talk about it. Donnie opening up about something was a good 75%-25%, Mikey was 100% going to talk about it before she even started the movie. Leo though, April had never seen him this upset before.

She walked into her bedroom and grabbed a thick blanket off of the foot of her bed, pulling it off messily before making her way back to the living room.

Leo snapped out of a distant stare when April sat next to him on the couch.

She spoke softly as to not startle him any further. “You wanna get out of that soaked jacket?”

He looked down, as if noticing his wet demeanor for the first time. “Oh, uh…” he put on a grin, “what, don’t like the way I sparkle?”

She rolled her eyes, “C’mon, Leo,” if he was cracking jokes maybe he was feeling better, “you’re turning my sofa a whole different shade of brown.”

She watched him chuckle as he began to peel the hoodie off of his but he stopped with a jerk. He was frozen as a darkness passed through his eyes.

She reached a hand out to gently rest on his shoulder, “Leo?”

He snapped, “I need to use your bathroom.” He jumped up from the sofa and stumbled through the hallways before April heard the bathroom door shut with a click.

She had the notion to follow him, but took his place on the couch instead. April looked to Mayhem who likewise looked at her with confusion. She threw the blanket on the chairs arm before getting up again, going to the cabinet below the TV as she started flipping through her collection of old dvds and (ugh) vcr’s. She heard her phone buzz and pulled it from her pocket, a text notification buzzed with Donnie’s name on the screen. She huffed and threw her phone behind her onto the couch. “You ghost me, I ghost you,” she muttered under her breath as she kept flipping through the video’s. Mayhem came up next to her and looked into the drawer.

April heard her phone vibrate again, “I’m trying to pick a movie to watch with Leo,” She pulled out two, “do you think he would like ‘Jitsu for Justice,’, or… ‘Punch Chowder, Directors cut’?” She looked to Mayhem who squinted at the weathered disks before pointing to ‘Jitsu for Justice’. “Yeah, you’re right,” April tossed Punch Chowder back into the drawer, “only criminals like ‘Punch Chowder’.”

She heard her phone vibrate a few more times but ignored it again with a huff. Mayhem teleported onto the sofa where he flipped over the phone to look at the screen, it vibrated again and again and he cringed. April turned on the television and powered up the vcr player, should she let the previews play now or wait until Leo came back into the room. Nah, only Splinter likes the previews. She loaded up the timely tape and let it start playing. Her phone started buzzing again and she groaned in annoyance. April went back to the sofa to snatch up her cell, “ugh, what?”

She opened her messages and was sent the first unchecked message. They kept coming in as she began to read:

Donnie 12:23 pm:

Hey April, did Leo come get you

Donnie 12:28:

Did Leo come get you

Is Leonardo with you

April are you back home safe

Sorry I couldn’t make it something came up.

Txt me back

Have you seen Leonardo

This felt… wrong. April looked to Mayhem who eyed her with mutual discomfort as he watched her from the sofa, she looked back to her messages as she scrolled down farther.

Donnie 12:29

Was Leo able to come get you

Leo’s not at home, have you seen him

Is Leo at your apartment

Text me when you see this

Donnie 12:30

Are you ignoring me

I need to know if Leo’s with you

*we

We need to know if Leo’s with you

We’re really worried pls respond

Donnie 12:32

Text me

Are you mad

April, Something’s up with Leo

Can you call me, Leo’s not picking up his phone

April was pulled out of the trance when she heard the clatter of falling objects and a frantic curse coming from the bathroom.

The excuse to drop her phone back onto the couch was welcome. She moved out of the living room to the start of the hallway. “Leo?” Silence.

She could hear the sink running as she walked further. “Leo,” she tapped on the bathroom door, “are you okay?”

“I-” A shaky breath bled through the thin wood. There was a pause laced with shaky breaths that April could hear despite the flowing sink. “No.”

Her heart sunk and she gripped the door handle, “can I come in?”

When he didn’t answer, a wave of dread washed over her. Should she go in now? Would breaking into the bathroom startle him? Would it make whatever was happening worse? Was he doing something bad?

“Yeah.”

April didn’t hesitate.

Leo stood over the vanity with his arm under the running faucet. She gasped when she saw the pale blistering skin under all the white bubbles. April nearly tripped as her foot kicked a bottle of some beauty product across the bathroom floor, sending it flying into the side of the tub. The cabinet under the sink had been opened and emptied, piles of bottles and scrubs organized frantically in search for something. She barely noticed his hoodie and sword, discarded into a messy pile in the bath. She covered her mouth with one hand while the other went to gently touch the top of his arm. He turned his head away from the sink with a forced smile, “I can’t find your med kit.”

She ran to her room where she slid a small green backpack out from the underside of her bed, a piece of worn and slightly peeling piece of scotch tape with a red sharpied cross adorning its front (she’s known the boys long enough to have one of these). She returned to the bathroom and turned the sink off. She gripped Leonardo firmly as she forced him onto the toilet, she took her place sitting on the side of the tub as she practically ripped open the bag.

“Leo, what did you do?” The burn was on the side of his forearm, starting an inch below the wrist and stretching all the way to his elbow. The skin was a dull and ashy green, distant from his healthy neon shade and covered in small, broken blisters. She reached for the towel hanging on the wall and dabbed at the skin gently to dry the sink water, Leo noticeably flinched at the contact but said nothing. She dived into her bag, retrieving a gauze, a roll of bandages and a burn spray that she sat next to her on the tub ledge. “Leo, what did you do?!” she repeated again. She applied the spray first, an antibiotic burn spray laced with lidocaine, spraying libberaly before applying the gauze loosely to the face of the burn.

“I- I don’t know.”

“What do you mean, you don’t know?!” her sudden shout made him flinch, “this is a second degree burn and you don’t know?!.” She started to loosely apply the bandage, too tight and it would cause more harm than good. Mayhem appeared in the bathroom on top of the sink, curiously looking down on the wound as April applied her first aid. She heard Leo suck a breath in and looked away from his arm to see him holding his face in his hand.

“I don’t know what he- what to-” Leo rubbed his hand down his face, a few tears falling down his cheeks as he spoke, “I don’t know what to do.” He choked and hiccuped with every word. Mayhem trilled quietly with concern, leaning closer to Leo as he watched the two of them interact.

“Leo...” April switched from restraining his hand to holding it, softening her tone as she looked him in the eyes. “Leo, take a deep breath. Can you breathe with me?” He nodded.

“In-” She inhaled deeply through her nose and he copied her, “out.” She exhaled through her mouth, and although his breathing was ragged he replicated the motion. April repeated this with him until his breathing was calmer. She finished wrapping his arm and hugged him, holding him tightly in the dim lighted bathroom.

“I’m sorry,” Leo hesitated, sniffling quietly into her shoulder as he considered what to apologize for, “about the mess, about you being left there in the rain, about Donnie not...”

April took a deep breath, “it’s okay, Leo.” She sat on the lip of the bathtub and swept him over with her eyes, “is there any other injury I should know about?”

He did a little shimmy on the toilet seat, “not that I can feel,” he said blankly. “I didn’t…” Leo looked at his bandaged arm, turning it over slightly before feeling the bandages with his other hand, “I didn’t even feel this, the burn.”

April tilted her head in concern and placed her hands awkwardly in her lap, she didn’t know where else to put them right now. “Were you in shock?” With how upset he looked in front of the vet, it wasn’t unlikely, but the boys usually nursed their own injuries together. April could feel her heart rate pick up as her mind started thinking the worst “Leo… Where are your brothers?”

He straightened and shook his head, “no… No, April they’re fine, this was…” he pulled his arm up to rub at the back of his neck, his hands ghosting over the formed bruise on his throat before moving away again, “Dad, Raph and Mikey are fine, they weren’t even there when it...” Leo paused and his eyes focussed on something distant.

“What about Donnie?” Leo shifted uncomfortably. April took his face in her hands, forcing Leo to make eye contact with her, “Leo, what. About. Donnie.”

“I think he’s… okay?”

“What?” Mayhem hopped onto the back of Leo’s shell, rubbing against his head as Mayhem took a closer look at Leo’s arm, going over the medical work with narrowed eyes. “What is that supposed to mean!”

Leonardo leaned back out of her hands. “April, I don’t even know how to explain it, he-” Leo groaned in frustration and grabbed Mayhem quickly to place him back on the floor, “It. It wasn’t even... It wasn’t even Donnie.”

April felt a wave of confusion roll over her. She balked, “what are you talking about?”

Leo laughed pitifully as he brought his hand up to his face, “ah-ha-ha~” he sputtered out, “I don’t even know where to start…” He rubbed over his eyes and leaned back in defeat on the tank of the toilet. He sighed deeply before quietly saying, almost to himself, “I think I'm going crazy, April.”

April said nothing, examining Leo as he laid back in defeat, not looking at her, not looking at anything really. She finally noticed the dark bags under his slightly bloodshot eyes, he looked utterly exhausted and she wasn’t sure what to do. Keep pushing for an answer? No. No not yet. She sighed and looked away towards Mayhem, who was circling the bathroom floor. Mayhem was still disgruntled from being placed on the floor but walked up to Leo’s leg, sniffing at his ankles and narrowing his eyes.

In the uncomfortable silence April could finally hear the TV going, the previews were coming close to an end. “Leo, do you want to go sit in the living room?” He looked uncertain at the question, looking over April as they both hesitated. She turned to a softer tone. “Go get comfortable on the couch, I’ll clean up here and I’ll be with you in a second.” He opened his mouth to say something but closed it again. “Okay?”

After another moment, Leo simply nodded and stood. Mayhem staggered back from the sudden movement and stumbled backwards as Leo moved out of the bathroom, Mayhem quickly followed, close behind his heels.

April breathed out with a sigh of relief, loosely running her hand through her hair as she leaned over her knees. What was going on? She took a deep breath in and tossed the burn spray back into the bag, zipping it up quickly and placing it on top of the toilet. April took to the floor as she began to place the miscellaneous beauty products back into the bottom of the sink. While looking for her medical kit, Leo had tried to place the cabinets contents in neat rows on the floor and counter, but somewhere along the way something must have fallen, causing a domino collapse and causing the noise that brought April to the door.She finished placing everything back into the cabinet and closed the door quietly before standing and approaching the bathtub.

Leo’s hoodie was soaked in her hands, would he even still want it with the massive burn on the sleeve? She considered hanging it on the curtains tension-rod to dry but reconsidered. Wouldn’t want to forget it's there and have her mom find it and asked questions. April reopened the med bag and stuffed it in there, she’d hang it up to dry later and ask if Leo would still want it. She bent down and clasped his sword, freezing as she got a closer look at the blade. Along the sharp edge was a thin stretch of red. His sword had blood. Was that normal? It was a sword so blood shouldn’t be unbelievable, but it was blood. Leo had never really cut people before though so what blood- whose blood was this? He was burnt, not cut. It wasn’t his, but it was blood so who…

April’s head ran around in circles. It was blood. On Leo’s sword. April turned the bath’s faucet on and quickly ran over the edge with a hanging washcloth, quickly removing the red and going it over a few more times for good measure. She took the hanging towel and dried it before setting the Odachi on top of the towel rack. Why did she do that? Should she have asked first? Asked what, if he wanted to keep it on it? If he wanted to keep blood on his sword?! April groaned and rubbed her hands over her face. They felt cold from the bathwater, it felt nice against her flushed cheeks.

April inhaled deeply and held it, holding her breath and counting to thirty before releasing it in a long, deep sigh.

“Okay.” She repeated the breath again as she held her hands together in front of her lips, holding for thirty before releasing another long, deep sigh. “Alright, April. You are going to go in there, and you are going to be there for your friend.” She paused and picked up the med bag, starting her trek back to her room where she returned her bag to the bottom of her bed, “he’ll tell you when he’s ready, it’s okay, he’s okay…” She felt calmer from talking to herself, she didn’t do it often, but it helped, and she could feel it helping her now as her nerves subsided, “it’s all going to be okay.”

-

April called from the kitchen, “water or soda?”

He wasn’t thirsty earlier, but he could feel the stripping dryness in his throat now. “Just water, please.” Leo could hear the refrigerator open and close with a clap.

Mayhem returned to Leo’s lap the moment he sat down, curling back into a ball and purring softly as Leo stroked his fur. For the first time in days Leo felt relief wash over him, and he gave a heavy yawn.

Leo snapped his mouth closed, he didn’t want to sleep just yet. April walked into the room carrying a bottle of water and a can of soda. Once she handed the water to Leo she plopped down onto the opposite side of the couch and cracked the can open.

Why did he say all that in the bathroom? Leo was filled with embarrassment and fear, did April think he was crazy now?

Might as well make small talk. “Why did Mayhem need to go to the vet?”

April swallowed the soda with a sigh, “poor little guy wasn’t eating, turns out he had some yucky stuff in his guts and now he’s gotta go on a “delicate tummy” diet and take some pills.”

“Yucky stuff as in…”

April took a sip, pushing out an audible sigh afterwards. “Some intestinal parasite, I think?”

Leo cringed. “Ugh,” it just had to be that. Leo brushed off the chill and sipped at his water, “how was the vet?”

“Oh don’t even get me started,” April sat her can on the coffee table with a hard tap. “I couldn’t get Mayhem to a vet up here for obvious reasons, so I call Sunita about it and she recommended this vet clinic,” her phone vibrates but she ignores it as she starts her tangent, “so I get there and it looks like a prison, I get Mayhem inside and the receptionist doesn’t take me seriously until I show her the appointment on my phone. I end up waiting an hour longer than I need to before the doctor finally sees me and Mayhem bites him!”

“He bit someone?” Leo carefully moves his hand off of Mayhem’s back, eyeing the comfortable yokai cat-dog who grumbles at the loss of the touch. “I thought he reserved that kind of stuff for Raph.” Leo chuckles dryly.

April gives a ‘Ha’, but continues “I know right! Anyway, after he pins Mayhem down with some ‘magic hands,’” April makes jazzy hands at those words, “he prods and pokes mayhem for like twenty minutes before putting like three shots in his tummy.” She leans over and picks Mayhem off of Leo’s lap to set him down on her own, gently petting his head until he was comfortable again. “Mayhem throws up like two times his body weight all over the doc’s shoes and that’s when the guy finally tells me that Mayhem was sick with some weird stuff before shoving me out the door with a bill.” April huff’s. In hearing April retell his traumatizing tale, Mayhem stands gruffly and hops back off of her lap onto the floor to start licking his fur.

Leo watched Mayhem tentatively and shifted his legs to be a bit farther away from the weird dog. “Sounds… awful.” Mayhem noticed Leo’s movement and started sniffing again, getting closer to his ankles as he inspected.

“Yeah, now he’s gotta take pills for like a whole month to make sure it all gets out of his system, apparently it’s some super persistent variety.” April sighed and leaned back. “For a doctor, he didn’t talk much and I barely understood anything he was saying when he did.” She moved her eyes to the screen of the T.V.. ‘Jitsu for Justice’ was starting now, the opening shot starting with Lou Jitsu (like most of his movies.) “But… I’m glad that it's over. This little guy was acting all kinds of weird, he’s acting way more like himself now.” She sighed.

‘Wish I could feel the same way,’ Leo thought. Leo tried doing the same, staring at the screen as he tried to zone out. He was suddenly aware of the blanket next to him as he pulled it off the arm and wrapped himself in it. A wave of heat shot through his arm up to his shoulder, making him wince just as he settled in for comfort. He ignored it and tried to focus on the screen... The fight with It… A visual of himself on the ground, with Donnie’s body hovering over him settled in his brain like a transparent filter. The rocketsetting on Donnie’s tech bo after he pushed the button. When the purple flames started and he felt the heat on his arm. Leo closed his eyes and took a deep breath. That must have been it. When the rocket setting started and he was so panicked that he hadn’t registered the pain.

Leo suddenly felt queasy as the burn on his arm visualized in his head. He leaned back until his shell was flush with the sofa, keeping his eyes shut as he took a deep breath. Painful heat went up his arm again. The hand on his neck. The choke hold he was forced into. Calling Raph. Being dragged away by the throat…. Donnie’s hand. His eyes snapped open, but not before the visceral picture of his twins gaping palm flashed through his mind. Oh no oh no nono. It was so deep and there was white. It was bone. Leo lurched forward into his hand. He cut someone. Hurt someone. Donnie. He sucked in a harsh breath. ‘It wasn’t Donnie. It’s not Donnie,’ the small voice - maybe it was Leo’s conscience, which, funny enough, took the form of Raph - tried to reason. Oh but it was a body. Maybe not Donnie’s but maybe it was Donnie’s and he just hurt him.

“Leo?” He heard April but he didn’t want to respond. He felt like he couldn’t respond without breaking down. He now realized that he still had the water bottle in his hands. Not wanting to crush it with his vice grip, he set it onto the coffee table between them, staring at the water as it quaked.

He exhaled shakily as he tried to get a grip on himself. ‘Don’t do this, not here,’ he tried repeating the words in his head. What if it was Donnie. What if it wasn’t? If it was? Then his brother is being puppet controlled by a worm the size of a python from the inside out. If it wasn’t, then Donatello might be dead already and there was nothing he could do about it.

“Leo.” A hand on his shoulder snapped him out of it. Her voice was so soft it was almost a whisper. “Do you want to talk about it?”

He opened his mouth and then closed it again as the words caught in his throat. He tried again, only a gargle coming out the second time before he snapped it shut again. April moved to hold his hand, patiently looking him in the eyes as she listened. He blinked the tremor out of his vision as he focused on her. “It started two days ago,” Leo started, “I didn’t think much of it… but then it started getting worse.”

She squeezed his hand when he hesitated and he swallowed. Closing his eyes as everything revisualized at once. He had already started, ‘keep it as “on-track” as you can, man’ the voice in his head - which he now knew was mind Raph - chastised gently.

“It’s Donnie.” He felt a sting in his throat again but he swallowed it down, “or maybe it was Donnie at some point... but isn’t any more. But I don’t want to think that because that would mean that…” that he’s dead. “I-” that Donnie’s dead. That he’s dead and something did it, and they didn’t stop it, that he didn’t stop it and Donatello, his twin, his brother their brother was dead. Leonardo tilted his head back as he fought tears. “I just knew that something was wrong, nothing was wrong, but…” He should have said something to Raphael, maybe he would have believed him more than Mikey did and none of this would have escalated like it had, but then again, “he wasn’t even acting weird!” April shifted back uncomfortably at the sudden outburst. “And the stupid milk!”

“Slow down Leo,” April kept her hand on his, squeezing it comfortably as she brought her other hand up defensively. “Can you start from the beginning?” She watched as Mayhem jumped onto the sofa and curled up in his lap. Leo looked down in surprise but hummed softly as he started to pet his fur.

He thought he was starting from the beginning. He breathed in and out, picking a better place in the story to start with. “It didn’t start getting odd until breakfast, the other day, when I asked him about why he was putting milk in his coffee, not a big deal.” April nodded, “But then he got uncomfortable with my questioning, so I tried leaving it alone. Then it got weirder… like,” Leonardo looked to April as he hesitated, she was paying attention to him as he spoke, taking in everything as he said it as she tried to understand, “he started trying to spend more time with me. He intentionally lost a game to me, which he would never do, and he didn’t care when Mikey broke the turtle tank!” Leo’s voice had risen again.

“Whoa whoa whoa, wait.” April briefly interrupted with a shocked tone. “Mikey broke the tank?”

“Well, no… just the soft-serve machine.” Leo trailed off, “but he wasn’t even annoyed!"

Mayhem rolled over on Leo’s lap but seemed to be bothered again, hopping up on all fours to jump off the couch.

April hummed, “he didn’t say anything?”

“Nothing! And I-” Leo stumbled over his words, “and I know that that’s so small! It’s like I said, nothing was bad, nothing was wrong. Just… off, and there was no reason for me to be suspicious, no real reason for me to be paranoid. And then, right after you called…” he forced himself to stop when he heard the quiver in his voice.

“It’s okay, Leo,” She took his hand again, rubbing her thumb over the back of his hand as she held it tightly. She gave a small, understanding smile. “It’s okay. Take your time.”

“There’s something inside of him.” Leo’s voice broke. “It crawled back inside of him and it’s not him, I think it’s his body but it’s not him who’s moving and talking,” Leo brought his hands up as he accentuated his words, breaking contact with April’s hand as he continued. “I don’t know what’s worse, the fact that there’s some monster impersonating him, or that nobody knows, or that I have no idea how long he- It has been like that.” Mayhem sniffed at Leo’s ankles again, squinting before poking at Leo’s shin guards (ankle warmers? socks?)

“What do you mean?” April felt unease at what Leo was insinuating, a similar feeling to when she had read those texts.

“It was like… a snake, or a worm, it was black and it came out of his mouth before Donnie- It attacked me.” He has it in his head that it’s not Donnie, but his mouth can't get it right. “It’s like...”

April hesitantly finished for him. “Like… like a parasite?”

Mayhem screeched.

Both Leo and April jumped at the sudden noise and Mayhem ripped off Leo’s shin guard with his (surprisingly strong) tiny hands. Leo jumped back farther into the couch with a yelp at the motion as April tried to grab the little yokai.

“Mayhem, stop!” She tried grabbing him but he dodged April’s hands as he jumped onto the coffee table between them, shaking Leo’s shin guard roughly.

Something struck the table, sticking stationary to the hard surface with a tap. Mayhem threw the guard over his shoulder - which flew over April’s head - and inspected the small item. He squinted his eyes as he took it between his tiny fingers and sniffed it once before growling. With a huff, mayhem showed it to them both, holding the small bead in the air for Leo and April to see. Mayhem held a black bead the size of a pinky nail between his tiny claws, it shined dully in the light of the T.V. Leo flinched in recognition. It was one of the beads that Donnie had pulled from behind his shell.

“Uh, Mayhem?” April asked, “what’s up buddy?”

Mayhem reached it towards her and April took it between her fingers, tapping it between her finger pads. “It’s… kinda sticky?” She offered the observation as she handed the bead to Leo, who did the same. Mayhem rolled his eyes as he watched her pass it off to him. It was sticky. As Leo rolled it between his fingers he could feel it’s pull on his skin, it was also kinda squishy under the pressure.

Mayhem pulled Leo’s water bottle over to the center of the table and quickly unscrewed the lid. He hopped onto Leo’s lap, snatching the bead from his fingers before turning back to the table. Popping the bead in quickly, he recapped the bottle before shaking the container vigorously with both hands. Both Leo and April watched silently (although definitely confused) as Mayhem performed the task with shut eyes. After what felt like minutes, Mayhem set the bottle back down with an tired sigh, keeping his tiny hand on the lid to hold it down. The bead was now three times its size.

April looked towards Leo. He was transfixed, his lips pressed tightly together as he stared with wide eyes. He gasped. April snapped her head back towards the coffee table. The bead squirmed and twitched before cracking open. A black, rounded point shot out from the crack, extending and expanding as it breached what they now knew as an egg. The thin tubular worm escaped its egg as it circled its environment, slowly expanding.

“What the-” April gasped. Leo was silent as he watched, unconsciously gripping the arms of the chair until the fabric squeaked. Horrified, they both watched over a span of minutes as the creature grew longer and thicker, soaking up the water until it filled the space of the entire bottle. Even when there was no space to grow, they could still see it slithering around and into itself, turning the water into a murky black.

Mayhem broke the silence with a chirp. Looking expectantly at them both.

“Mayhem, i’m going to assume that you…” April tried her best to avoid looking at the bottle, trying instead to focus on her pet/friend to fight the nausea. “Know what that is?”

Mayhem nodded.

“That’s…” April and Mayhem both looked towards Leo, who forced his words out with bated breath, “that’s the thing.”

Mayhem pushed the bottle to the side, getting back up onto all fours as he looked towards Leo pitifully. April jumped as the bottle shook on it’s own, she felt her skin crawl and shifted in her seat. Looking towards Leo she could see what only could be described as despair and disgust.

“That’s what’s in Donnie.”

The doorbell rang.

[litrally]

Be Enough

Summary: Damian knew he wanted to live up to the legacy he was given--he just had no idea hearing that he'd failed to do it would hurt so damn much.

Damian’s foot whirled out to the side, his heel connecting with the thug’s temple and making him drop like a rock. He ducked under another’s flying fist, jerking his head up to strike the man under his chin, throwing him off balance before slamming his fist into the side of the man’s head.

Damian’s body was aching, and though he would never admit it, his strikes had grown the slightest bit sloppy over the course of the fight. There were about 20 bodies dropped on the floor around him, but there were still another 10 men circling him, looking for an opening to with which to take him down. Damian vaguely noted the small puddle of blood that had pooled beneath his feet--actually, it probably had to do with the dull ache that was spreading across his lower back that made it a little hard to breathe each time his torso moved.

His comm crackled to life in his ear. “Robin,” Grayson’s voice came through as Damian ducked under another fist flying towards him. “I’ve located Crane, but he’s dispersed the toxin throughout the building. I’m going to start locating it.” Dick paused for a moment. “Unless you need backup.”

Damian rolled his eyes, despite having to fight to keep the breaths that were now coming out in gasps as even as possible. “I’m fine, Batman. I don’t need your assistance.”

There was a long gap before Grayson responded. “Are you--”

“Get the toxin out,” Damian snapped. “There are lives at risk and I don’t need your backup to take out a few thugs-for-hire.”

Damian could hear Dick’s tired sigh through the comms. “Alright. I’m on the roof of the building. I’ll work my way down towards you. Try not to die before I get there. Batman out.”

Damian took a deep breath, dropping low to sweep out the legs of the man in in front of him, trying his best to ignore the pain that took over his shoulder the second he was forced to put any weight on it. Inhale. Thug number seven hit the ground. Exhale. Only three left. He could do this. If only to avoid the humiliation that would undoubtedly prevail if he needed Grayson’s help.

Grayson had done enough for him. Training Damian and letting him work under him as Robin, even though Batman was his birthright, Damian grumbled to himself. But still. Grayson had taken him in and dismissed the incompetent fool that was the last Robin despite having no reason to do so, and Damian found himself working towards every expectation Grayson set. He preened at his praise, a reaction his mother would have killed him for, but Damian realized how much he enjoyed those encouragements; a hand squeezing his shoulder in approval or a grin and a nod when he finally mastered the move he had been working on for weeks--he had grown soft under Grayson’s guidance, yes, but Damian wasn’t entirely sure he disliked it.

Damian’s mind wandered enough about being torn between wanting more of the affection he had grown accustomed to with Grayson and screaming at himself for the weakness that he didn’t notice one of the men sneaking up behind him. He struck the temple of the one in front of him and watched him drop like a stone, but he barely held in the grimace when the last one came up behind him and struck him in the back, directly atop the bleeding wound he already had there. Damian whipped around and took the man down in two moves, but he stumbled as he did so. The world tilted dangerously, and a sort of black fuzziness overtook his vision as he struggled to right himself. Some subconscious part of him noted a faint hissing in one of the corners of the room, but Damian couldn’t do more than tap his comm before the world went black.

Dick was disarming the fourth gas canister when he heard Damian’s comm activate. According to Crane’s confession before Dick knocked him out and left him handcuffed to a flagpole on the roof, there were five canisters throughout the building that had to be taken out before the gas had the chance to overtake the vents. Dick’s hand crept up to his own comm, holding it down as he tried to understand the situation on Damian’s end. “Robin?”

Silence met him at the question. “Robin, are you in need of assistance?”

Something in Dick’s chest jumped at the lack of response, his jog as he approached Damian’s floor broke into a sprint.

Dick gaped at the scene that greeted him. Approximately 30 men scattered throughout the room, all of which covered in varying degrees of injuries but none of them, he noted with no small amount of relief and a little bit of pride, lethal. But his mood immediately faded as he noted the crimson-clad form slumped in the corner of the room.

“Robin?” he asked somewhat hesitantly, before noticing the slight green tinge that had taken over the air surrounding him. “Shit,” Dick murmured under his breath, noticing the vent a few feet from Damian that was releasing the dense smoke that was probably the last of the fear gas he had been unable to locate. Dick shoved a rebreather between his teeth and pried open the vent cover as fast as he could. As far as he could see, all of the thugs were still too far away to be affected, but Damian...Damian would probably be spending the night in the med bay of the cave.

As Dick worked, Damian’s quiet whimpers began to take over the heavy silence of the room. He didn’t seem to be moving much, likely due to the growing puddle of blood that Dick was trying to ignore for the moment, because if he thought about it too long he’d scoop Damian up and run him the cave as fast as he could, fear gas be damned. But Dick kept his composure, clipping the last wire on the canister to ensure no more of the gas would be released and tapped a few buttons on his gauntlet to redirect the building’s airflow outward.

Dick made his way over to Damian and gently pressed his fingers to his throat to check his vitals. He was still whimpering and his finger’s had began twitching as well, the only reason he likely wasn’t full out thrashing being that his body no longer had the energy for it.

Dick’s finger’s went to his ear. “Agent A, I need you to prep the medbay. Robin’s been gassed, and I can’t tell if it’s a new strain or one of the ones we have an antidote on hand for.”

“Understood,” Alfred’s voice came through. “Do I need to prepare any supplies for you?”

“No,” Dick replied, carrying Damian to the batmobile parked just outside the building. “I’m fine. I’m leaving with Robin now. ETA about 25 minutes.”

“Alright. I shall have everything ready for you when you arrive.” Alfred said.

Dick kept glancing over at Damian as they drove home, every twitch and mumble pulling his attention from the road. But Damian was remarkably...calm for someone on fear gas. It should have been reassuring, but something about it made Dick’s insides twist painfully.

Alfred was already jogging over before the car came to a full stop in the cave. Dick lifted Damian with an arm under his knees and the other behind his shoulders, careful to avoid jostling the long slice that ran laterally across his lower back. Alfred started an IV as Dick laid him down.

“I’m putting in the antitoxin for the latest strain we have on file,” Alfred said, slowly pressing down on the plunger inserted into the IV tube. “But he seems to be having some sort of delayed reaction to it, so I am not confident it will work.”

Dick pulled his cowl down, running a hand through his hair as Alfred began to dress the number of wounds covering Damian’s body. God, he looked so...small. So young. What the hell was Dick doing taking him out into the field and leaving him in a room with thirty men?

Alfred glanced back at him, seeming to take note of the anxiety in Dick’s stance. “Go take a shower, Master Dick. Master Damian is stable for now, and I’ll let you know if anything changes.”

Dick opened his mouth to object, but a look from Alfred had him turning on his heel and tossing the cape from his shoulders onto the chair in front of the batcomputer.

By the time he came out, Alfred was packing up the medical supplies and Damian was tucked firmly beneath the blankets kept in the medbay, looking borderline peaceful. Dick pulled up a chair and settled near Damian’s head.

“I’ll go upstairs to go prepare for tomorrow’s activities. You’ll be staying here, I assume?” Alfred asked.

Dick nodded, too tired to respond verbally. Alfred squeezed his shoulder gently as he passed by. “Let me know if you need anything,” he murmured. Dick nodded again, then leaned his head back against the chair, keeping his eyes on Damian. He made it almost an hour before falling asleep.

Damian shot up in his bed, his head sweeping frantically around the room to try and take in as many details as possible. Grayson was seated in front of him, and Damian tried to bring himself to his feet, but he found something pinning him down, like he was tied to the gurney. He didn’t like it--it made him feel caged. Boxed in. Too vulnerable.

Grayson stood and strode towards him, something about his gait making Damian far more nervous than it had any right to. Grayson’s stance and demeanor always reminded Damian of a cat--dangerous when it needed to be, yes, but light and gentle. But this...this Grayson reminded him of a wolf.

“What the hell were you thinking with that fight?” Grayson hissed, leaning forward in a way that had Damian unconsciously scrabbling backwards towards the edge of his bed.

“I--” Damian began, but Dick cut him off. “How the hell have you managed to stay alive this far? Why did Talia even bother dealing with you? You clearly didn’t inherit of her skills,” he scoffed, shaking his head and rolling his eyes towards the ceiling.

Some part of Damian flinched at that, but he rallied, even if the words came out in a whimper to his own ears. “My father was--”

“Your father,” Dick said, turning away from him with a humourless laugh. “Don’t even get me started on your father.” Dick turned back towards him, holding Damian’s gaze and spitting the words like venom. “Your father would be so disappointed in the way you turned out. You’re a pathetic excuse for Robin, and you’re not worthy of the cape you wear across your back. You are not worthy,” Dick repeated, “of anything.”

Damian began pulling at the invisible bonds tying him to the bed, every single word striking him like a knife to the chest. “You’re wrong,” he said, fighting to keep his words stable and yet still hearing a slight wobble to them as they spilled form his lips. “You’re wrong. You--You said--”

“I don’t give a damn what you think I said,” Grayson hissed, bringing his his face close to Damian’s in a lethal whisper. “I hate you.”

Damian wasn’t sure when the tears started spilling from his face. The words had struck something in him, something far deeper than what he had thought he was capable of feeling.

“You...” Damian’s voice came out small, even to his own ears. “You don’t mean that?” The phrase should have been definitive. Strong, Yet it came out as a question. God, Grayson was his partner. Damian should have known his true feelings like his own.

“I hate you,” Grayson repeated, his teeth grinding together in absolute loathing. “I hate you so. Damn. Much.”

Damian’s quiet tears of shock had changed into full out sobs. “Nonono wait, please,” he gasped in between whimpers. “I’ll--I’ll do better. I swear. Please, just, please don’t say that. Please don’t mean it.”

Grayson’s gaze remained fixed on him. His lip curled in distaste, and he only looked more disgusted with Damian’s pleading. “You’re a pathetic excuse for a Wayne or an Al Ghul. It was mistake taking you in. You’ll never be good enough to be my Robin, and you’ll never be worthy of anything your father left you.”

Damian’s vision blurred, no longer taking in anything around him. His world was fury and shame and exhaustion, but most of all, utter disappointment in the fact that he knew that everything from Grayson’s mouth was true. So he lost it completely. He sobbed and shook and screamed and begged Grayson to take him back. To let him prove himself as someone worthy of everything he had been given.

But Grayson’s face was like stone: utterly immoveable and ruthless. So Damian just went on pleading.

Dick jerked awake to the sound of the heart rate monitor spiking. Then he noted the alternated sobs and whimpers coming from the previously silent body asleep beside him. He pushed himself to his feet immediately checking over IV lines and oxygen masks before realizing, shit, the fear gas must have kicked in.

He touched Damian’s shoulder gently, trying his best to pull him out of whatever nightmare scenario that had him sobbing out in his sleep, trying to ignore then painful twist in his chest every time he heard some variation of “Grayson, please, I’m sorry!”

It took almost an hour of shaking Damian’s shoulders and yelling his name before his eyes flew open. Dick glanced at the clock and did the quick calculation in his head. The toxin should be more or less out of Damian’s system by now, but the haunted look in his eyes seemed to say differently.

“Grayson,” Damian began, his voice hoarse and raw from the events of the night. His eyes were red and puffy, and tear tracks ran all over his face. “I--how long was I unconscious?”

Dick looked at him cautiously. “A few hours. Actually, I think the sun will be up soon.” Dick fell silent, watching Damian try and slow his breathing again before continuing. “Are you alright?”

Damian stiffened, and Dick started frantically running through everything he’d said and done since picking Damian up that might have elicited that reaction.

“I’m fine,” he replied, though the utter exhaustion in his tone seemed to convey otherwise.

Dick turned away for a moment (and could have sworn Damian almost deflated at the action) but returned almost immediately, holding out a water bottle.

Damian reached out to take it, and if Dick didn’t know any better, he could have sworn his hands were shaking he slightest bit. Dick settled himself on the bed near Damian’s legs, crossing his arms and watching silently as Damian sipped slowly at his water. As he twisted the lid back onto the bottle, Damian opened his mouth to speak again, his eyes never wavering from some invisible speck on the floor.

“Do...do you hate me?” Damian asked, his voice wavering the slightest bit and Dick could have sworn something in his chest cracked at the question.

“No, of course not, Damian,” he murmured, trying and failing to ignore the way every muscle in Damian’s body relaxed at the response.

“I know I’m not an easy person to take care of,” Damian began, still refusing to make eye contact with Dick. “And I know I don’t live up to the legacy that father left behind. And I know I’m probably not good enough for it, but--”

Dick cut him off by wrapping his arms around Damian’s shoulders and tugging him against him. Damian’s breaths began coming out in harsh gasps and he was crying again before he could really register what had happened.

Dick shut his eyes and began rubbing soothing circles around his back, letting Damian ride out the emotional effects of the fear gas for as long as he needed to. After a few minutes, Dick started talking again.

“Your father,” he said, “left me some really big shoes to fill. And honestly, I’d be lying to you if I said that you weren’t one of the most difficult parts of that.” Dick felt Damian tensing up against him at that again. “But,” he continued, “You’re one of the best parts of it too.”

“I was terrified to be Batman,” he admitted, his voice sounding more vulnerable than Damian had ever heard it in the weeks they’d worked together. “But somehow...somehow having you with me, to train and to work with, made it a little better. Damian, you gave me something real to work for, something I could look at and watch grow when every single thing Bruce did seemed too big for me to handle. And that is why,” he continued, his voice shaking the slightest bit, “you are an amazing Robin.”

“I’m not saying you’re perfect,” he added with a soft laugh, “but your dad would have been so proud of you. Like I am. So no, I don’t hate you.”

Damian was crying in his arms again, but these tears seemed different than the ones from before. Dick stroked his hair and held him close, even when his shoulder became damp from Damian’s tears, and didn’t move from there until Damian pulled away just enough to look him in the eye.

“Thank you, Grayson. For all of it.”

[royalbluehues]

I Promise.

Title: I Promise.

Author: royalbluehues

Warnings:  No warnings.

Pairings: William Schofield x Reader

Author’s Note: For Come Back To Me, I’m not satisfied with what I’ve been writing so it’s been a lot of writing then deleting, but I got a quarter of a page written and should be up by the end of this week.

Until then, I’ve written this to sate everyone’s needs for Will. Would you be interested in seeing a drabble for Tom? Let me know. 

Thank you for all the wonderful comments and hearts I’ve received these past two days. I’m muy happy. :)

You were running to the railway station, bumping into people as you went who were coming from there. You nearly collided with old men and women, with mothers sobbing into their handkerchiefs as they led their younger children by the hand to home. With the parcels you brought with you cradled in the crook of your right arm, and your right hand stationed at the top of your hat to prevent it from flying away with the gusts of wind that blew to the east, you thought only of him.

The air was frigid, and you had even left in such a hurry that you had gone without your coat. The white high collared shirt your wore did nothing to keep the cold from seeping in, but you soldiered on. 

“Oh!” You let out in an irritated tone when you saw another small incline. You began to make your ascent, feeling the strains in your calves as you continued on.

Please, you silently prayed, please let him still be there. Please.

Your heart was hammering, your heels clicking loudly underneath you, reminding you of a lame horse lacking the ability to move any faster.

Out of all the blasted days in the world, Lady Shelly had to make a sudden appearance at the shop you worked in to surprise all her workers with a check-up on how her business was going.

You had even pleaded with one of the other girls to help you, but was dismissed with a look of indifference. The entire hour Lady Shelly was there, you were biting on your curled index finger with impatience and restless until she walked out the spotless glass doors, the ostrich feather in her hat bouncing each time she took a step.

By that time, it was half past one, and he would be leaving the station sharply at two. Unluckily for you, the distance between the shop and the station was about a 25-30 minute walk. 

So you did what you could only think of that would help your case, all proprietary out the window, and ran.

And once you made it to the top of the hill, panting, you nearly cried out in relief when you saw the familiar sign that read ‘Station Hill’. 

You bolted down the road, passing a horse drawn carriage, and hearing some comments about your lack of propriety, and another about how running would cause you fatigue.

Upon seeing the small red brick building, you saw the train’s smoke and heard the clamor of the men in trolley cars beside you as you ran by it. 

When setting foot on the platform, you whipped around madly for any sign of him amongst the last group of men that boarded the train. The train whistled, signaling for its final call.

“All aboard!” The conductor yelled from a window, waving a hand up in the air as the last few men entered the cart. 

Shaking your head, you looked around for any sign of him. “No, no,” you said desperately to yourself.

The wind was strong,your black skirt lifting and ruffling around your ankles angrily. Blinking and in a panic, you headed towards the conductor, “Sir, please, you have to help me-”

“Madam, I will have to ask you to kindly step back,” he told you, his dark eyes boring down at you as he gripped the railing leading into the cart.

“No, no you don’t understand- I wasn’t able to leave on time- his name is Schofield!” you jabbered quickly, desperately clutching onto the parcels in your hand, “His name is William Schofield. He had to have shown some form of documentation to have boarded, you must have seen him-”

“Madam,” he interrupted sharply, stepping on the second step inward, “We are on a tight schedule. Please step back.”

With a trembling lip and a look of desperation, you took a step back, watching as the conductor slid the door shut. 

You felt a tightness in your throat, eyes watering as you trembled from the unbelievable interaction.

Countless of terrible possibilities flickered through your mind, countless of “what if”. 

Was he mad at you? Did he think you would never present yourself?

What if he didn’t leave without a scarf? What if he were to get ill? Would he write to his mother and tell him you never showed? 

And the gut wrenching question that loomed over your head made your stomach turn sickly, the very question you have never allowed to enter into your thought until that very moment, What if he were to die and you would never see him again?

Wiping at the tear that fell down your cheek, you shook yourself out of your dreadful reverie, and walked to the first compartment. You banged on the window, grabbing hold of the young officers attention leaning against it.

You blinked away the tears that blurred your vision, and stood on the tips of your toes as one the boys shimmied the window down.

Their looks ranged from confusion as you desperately clung at the window sill, “Miss, the train’s about to move-”

“Is William Schofield there? Please!” You begged, “I-I wasn’t given the chance to say goodbye-” The young officer, retreated, making you cry out and another wave of dread washed over you, “No! Please come back-”

“Oi!” He shouted loudly into the hall of the cart, “Oi! Is there some chap named Schofield ‘ere?” He leaned his head further in from you line of vision.

“Eh?” You heard him ask in his thick Cockney accent, “Well then bloody ask around, you daft dolt! His girl’s out ‘ere crying her eyes out!”

Your lip trembled more, as you stepped back, hearing as the train geared up, and feeling as the steam beneath the train expanded around you. The young man came back, languidly leaning out the window, hand dangling freely, “He’s in one of the last carts, ma’am.”

You took his hand and kissed it in gratitude, feeling your chest blossom with hope, “Thank you!” you sobbed, letting go as you ran, head turned towards the windows.

“William!” You called desperately over the loco-motor’s churning, “William!”

And you just barely heard it above the noise when the train moved slowly forward. Your name.

His head was popping out from one of the last windows, and he was waving his right arm to get your attention.

You nearly wanted to collapse from you mixture of emotions, and you let out a strangle of a sob as you moved to him, “William,” you gasped out. When you reached him, you grabbed hold of his hands, “Will-”

“You came,” he said, his blue eyes searching your own, “I thought you wouldn’t come-”

“I’m sorry, I was held up,” you said in a rush, moving along with the train, “I was going to come earlier- Please forgive me- Lady Shelly came and I-”

“It doesn’t matter now.” He told you calmly, “You came.” 

You had forgotten about the parcels until they nearly fell out of your arms, “Oh,” you exhaled shakily letting go of his hand to briefly hand the items wrapped in parchment, “I brought you some things to take with you, I- Oh, William.” You let out sadly, looking at the distance ahead of you at the cut off before the train exited the station. It was moving a bit faster now.

You looked at him, noticing how handsome he looked, donning his officer’s hat and wearing his army greens. If only you could have made it on time. If only the war would have never started.

“You’ll write me?” He asked somberly, reaching for your hands once more, looking into your eyes as you picked up speed.

You nodded vigorously, tearing up again, “Everyday. Promise me you’ll return to me. If not for me, then for your mother and your sisters. They need you,” you hurriedly spoke, breaking into a slow jog.

“For all of you,” he promised, bringing his lips to the backs of your hands, “I promise.”

You looked down to see a small bar on the side of the train, and you stepped on it without a second to lose, and William’s hands took either side of your face and kissed you.

His thin lips pressed against yours tightly, as if it were the last time he would ever see you again. He let go before bringing you back to kiss him again. You transferred tears to his cheeks and sobbed loudly in between.

The back of the train was beginning to underpass the small overhead of the station:

you were losing time. When he pulled back, you were shaking again, “You keep your promise, then. You keep it, do you hear me?” You croaked, “I love you. You have my heart, so return it to me safely.” 

He kissed your entwined hands nodding, his large eyes filled with unshed tears, looking at you with a thousand unsaid words, “Always.”

You let go of him, opposing every atom in your body screaming not to, and hopped off the rusty bar, and onto the last bit of platform Cookham’s station had to offer.

Your hat had fallen, probably when you stepped onto the train’s bar, but you could care less. As the train carried on, carrying roughly around a hundred men, William also took everything you had with him.

You watched until William’s distance from you grew, and until you couldn’t hear the gears turn or the whistle blow. You stood still for minutes after it left your sight. 

Your heart felt heavy as you mulled over his words, I promise. 

William was not one to break his word. He would come back to you.

You breathed out shakily, the heat from your breath wafting above you in the cold air, blinking tears that were threatening to fall, and grabbing a fistful of your skirt.

Always.

.

.

.

Masterlist

[thefaeriequeenofthewest]

This Is My Confession

Request: @slightlyvicked asked: “Could I please request a Spencer x femOC one-shot where she's in love with him but haven't told him because she doesn't think he's interested, and they have a case with an UNSUB targeting women that looks similar to her, leading her to get kidnapped...”

Trigger warnings: torture, slight cussing

A/N: I cut the request short as to not spoil the ending! Hope this is what you were looking for. This was not proofread so please forgive me for any mistakes. Requests are still open at this time. 

I didn’t know how much more of it I could take. The way he walked, the way he talked, the adorable crinkle of his nose when something confused him. It was intoxicating, distracting, and totally not reciprocated by him. 

Spencer seemed to sense I was staring at him and raised his head, chocolate eyes confused. “Is there something I can help you with, Y/N?” 

I shook my head. “Nothing, Spence. We still on for a Star Wars marathon this weekend?” 

His eyes sparked with delight. “Absolutely.” His grin was dazzling. 

Spencer had been my best friend since I joined the BAU two years ago. It wasn’t long before I realized I was absolutely, hopelessly in love with him. And it also didn’t take me long to realize he probably didn’t feel the same. 

Spencer had been through a lot. If I’m being honest, I don’t blame him for not wanting to open up and be with someone. The woman he loved was killed in front of him. That kind of thing....that kind of thing changes a person. 

Before I could reply, JJ whisked past. ‘We have a case.” She beckoned us both towards the conference room, where the rest of the team was already waiting and ready. 

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“Does it scare you?” Spencer’s eyes were wary. We were on the jet heading to St. Augustine, Florida. Our case was gruesome. A sexual sadist was kidnapping women between the ages of 25-30, all with (Y/H/C) hair, (Y/E/C) eyes and similar body structures. All similar to me, actually. He was mutilating their bodies, torturing them before they died. There was evidence of sexual abuse as well. 

I knew if he was asking if the fact all the victims looked like me scared me. Prentiss had already floated the idea of using that to lure him out. “I’ll be okay, Spence. Once we figure out his hunting ground, I can lure him out and we will be done before you know it.” I shot him a smile, gripping his hand tight. “No need to worry about me, Boy Wonder.” 

He gave half-hearted smile in return. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He was hunting in a local bar called Red Rum. Like in the Shining. How original. A serial sexual sadist hunting in a bar that, spelled backwards, spelled murder. The irony of it wasn’t lost on any of us. 

I was lounging at the bar, twirling my straw around in my drink. Prentiss had dressed me in a black, form fitting black dress with a plunging neckline and red high heels. I was uncomfortable, but the outfit was necessary to draw attention. All of our victims had been wearing similar outfits at this bar at the time of their abductions. 

“Everything okay in there, Y/N?” Rossi’s voice echoed in my earpiece. The team was outside in a van; all except for JJ and Prentiss, who were across the bar watching me discreetly while they flirted with some guys. 

“I’m fine, Rossi. Nothing yet.” It had been about an hour and so far, nothing. I was beginning to think nothing was going to happen at all. 

I saw JJ excuse herself to leave to the bathroom. Prentiss continued talking with their companions. It was then I felt the eyes of someone on me. I turned my head slowly, making eye contact with a handsome, thirty-something year old man seated at a both. I shot him a coy smile, shifting in my seat to face him a little better. He raised his eyebrows and tilted his head towards the back door. I nodded. He stood up and walked out, beckoning me to follow. 

“I think I’ve got him,” I muttered to the team, following. “Back door.”

“Gotcha. Stay safe, we’re coming around now. Whatever you do, Y/N, don’t---”

Whatever Spencer was about to say next was abruptly cut off as something solid crashed into the side of my head, sending me spiraling into a dark oblivion. 

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The world came flooding back with a throbbing pain and a blur of colors. My vision swam as I scrambled to my knees. My hands were shackled to chains that were bolted into the floor. He had stripped me down to nothing but my bra and underwear. I took a deep breath, blinking as my vision finally cleared. 

It appeared to be a warehouse. Along with my dress, my earpiece was gone, as was my cell phone, and gun that had been holstered underneath my dress on my thigh. So were my credentials. 

“Finally awake, slut?” The man from the bar snarled from where he was seated in a corner of the room, eyes shining with malice. “Took you long enough. We’ve got some business to talk about.”

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The team was in chaos. Everyone was back at the precinct, desperately trying to find where the UNSUB had taken Y/N. Garcia had flown in from Quantico and had been able to find footage of the man dumping Y/N into a van, but after a few streets, they disappeared. 

Or so they thought. 

“Guys! Guys, you’re going to want to see this.” Garcia looked up from her computer, eyes brimming with tears. 

As the team huddled around her, they all sucked in a breath. It was Y/N. A live stream had been set up by the UNSUB. Blood caked the side of her face. She was on her knees, staring defiantly at the man beside her. 

“Agent Y/N Y/L/N.” The man’s voice was sharp. He looked at the camera. “And hello, rest of the BAU.” Y/N’s eyes flickered with shock for the briefest of moments before regaining their composure. “I see you’ve found out where I like to find my little playthings.” He walked over to a table and unrolled the black cloth there, tools gleaming silver in the dim light. “Since you seem to be such a huge fan of my work, why don’t you see it first hand?”

“Are you able to find out where this is streaming from, Penelope?” Spencer’s voice was quiet and strained. Garcia nodded. “He’s jumping the signal but its amateur at best. I should be able to crack it soon.”

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I hadn’t expected him to taunt my team like this. The shock had startled me for a moment, but I couldn’t let him see any weakness. I watched as he picked up a scalpel and advanced towards me. He pressed the blade against my stomach. 

“We’re going to play a little game, Y/N.” He smelled of alcohol and tobacco. He brushed his lips against my cheek. “For every question you answer, if I think it’s the truth, I’ll withhold a cut. If I think you’re lying...” He wiggled his eyebrows. 

“Are you in love?” 

I blinked. “Currently? No.”

Pain shot through my stomach as he slashed. I bit down on my lip, drawing blood to keep myself from howling. 

“I don’t believe you.” He wiped the blade clean on his sleeve. “You tensed. So I’ll ask you again.” He leaned in. “Are you in love?” 

I took a shaky breath. “Yes.”

“Better,” he cooed, stroking my cheek. “Are you in love with me?” He tugged gently on my hair. “I think you are. I could tell by the way you were looking at me in that bar. The coy smile you flashed. I could tell you wanted me. You needed me. So tell me, Y/N, is it me you’re in love with?” 

“No,” I growled. He clicked his tongue in disappointment. He slashed again, carving across the curve of my breast. I whimpered, straining against my shackles. 

“Are. You. In. Love. With. Me.” He ground out. 

“I said no,” I spat back at him, baring my teeth. 

Another slash down my sternum. The fabric of my bra was coming undone, and I could see the lust and enrapture in his eyes at the sight. It made my stomach churn. 

“ARE YOU IN LOVE WITH ME?” He bellowed, pressing the blade against my throat, eyes raging like fire. 

“No. I’m in love with someone else,” I hissed. “Someone better than you, smarter than you, and kinder than you. Someone who would never hurt me, someone who would protect me and love me if he felt the same way. Spencer....Spencer would never treat me like this. How could you ever think I would love you?” His breath was ragged now, the blade pressing against my throat. I could feel the blood dripping. “You probably tried to get those other women to say they loved you too, didn’t you? But they rejected you. So you killed them.” 

He snarled, and I could feel his arm shaking. I saw it in his eyes then. He was going to kill me, too.

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“No. I’m in love with someone else,” Y/N’s voice was a soft through the door as Spencer and Luke prepared to barge in. “Someone better than you, smarter than you, and kinder than you. Someone who would never hurt me, someone who would protect me and love me if he felt the same way. Spencer....Spencer would never treat me like this. How could you ever think I would love you?”

Spencer stifled a gasp. Luke looked across the frame at him, eyebrows raising in surprise. 

“DIE, BITCH!” The exclamation shook both the FBI agents out of their shock. Indicating to their S.W.A.T. team behind them, they barged in. 

“FBI! Chris Cortez, put the scalpel down.” Spencer’s voice was low with warning, his gun aimed at the man’s head. The scalpel was still pressed against Y/N’s neck, where blood flowed freely, mingling with the blood from wounds across her stomach and chest. Her bra was barely covering her anymore. Spencer kept his eyes plastered on Cortez. 

“Guess we’re both going down, baby,” Cortez cooed. In one motion, he made to slice Y/N’s neck. 

He didn’t get the chance. Spencer took his shot. Y/N slumped to the ground as Cortez was blown back from her by the force of the shot, her eyes closing.

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When I woke, everything was a blinding white. The soft beeping of monitors let me know I was safe. I was in a hospital. 

I groaned, blinking as I took in the people around me. Garcia smiled, relief shining on her face. Spence was seated in a chair close to my bed, his hand gripping mine. 

“Hey there, Y/N. You gave us all a scare there for a bit.” Garcia bent down to give me a soft hug. I raised my free arm to grip her back. 

“Thanks for finding me, Penny.” I murmured into her hair. “I know you found me through his stream. Thank you.” She nodded, tears splashing onto my shoulder. 

“Would you like some Jello?” She choked out, standing up. “I’ll go get you some.” She bustled off, leaving me alone with Spencer. 

The reality of what I said hit me. Spencer had walked into the room shortly after that confession. Which means.....

“You heard what I said, didn’t you?” My voice was barely a whisper. 

He nodded slowly. Heat rushed to my cheeks. 

“I’m so sorry, Spencer. I never wanted you to find out like that. I-I know you probably don’t feel the same way, so please don’t feel like....like this needs to change anything.” I couldn’t look at him. 

“Y/N, look at me.” I sighed and looked up, meeting his doe eyes. “You know what the only thing that bothered me was?” His voice was soft. “That you said if Spencer felt the same way.” He stood up and moved to sit on the side of my bed, still gripping my hand. “You didn’t consider that maybe I do? Maybe I always have?” He ran a hand through his hair. “I...yes, I don’t express feelings well and yes, I don’t open up as much since Maeve but Y/N....” His face was tragic and beautiful. “I love you, too. I’m sorry you couldn’t tell.” He bent slowly, his lips softly brushing against mine. “I love you,” he breathed again before closing the space between us and pressing his lips to mine. 

“Oh thank GOD.” Penelope’s voice startled us apart, Spencer jumping to his feet and shoving his hands in his pockets sheepishly. “I was wondering how this was gonna play out!” 

I laughed, her excitement mirroring my own. “We both were, Penny.” I smiled at Spencer, taking his hand again. 

“We all were,” he agreed, bending down to kiss me again, his lips parting into a smile against mine. I smiled back, twining my hand into his hair to pull him closer. 

I heard Penny leave. But at the moment, I didn’t care she had run away with the Jello I was promised. 

I had something far sweeter to savor. 

[bizzstfdreams]

The Initiative

Written by my friend so not my work

Sam checked his watch it was close to 5:30, "damn" he thought to himself, he was still two signatures short of his quota. Sam was a paid signature gatherer for a local company that gathered signatures for local initiatives and the like. Today he was working on the “No on I-69” campaign for a tax that was supposed to raise money for local arts or something. It was one of the few that he actually could see the logic in. Who the hell wanted to waste a bunch of taxpayer dollars on random art. Anyway, he had to get thirty signatures by the end of today the deadline for the initiative, otherwise he wouldn't get paid. He worked his way down his set canvassing route and was turned away at the next few houses. After ten more polite no thank yous, a few ruder door slams, and only one other signature, he was getting desperate. He watched as the sun started to set and the sky took on a faint yellow orange hue. He needed to get that last signature so he could get paid and make rent. He decided to stray from the set route and went down a few streets to an unlisted area. Signature gatherers had set lists for tracking purposes but Sam needed that last signature. The houses grew larger as he walked down the street, becoming fewer and far between as he walked, they had large yards filled with fountains and carefully groomed topiaries. The first house he came to had him feeling very underdressed in his faded blue polo, khakis and sneakers. It had a large front yard with tall hedges shielding hidden gardens to his left and right. He heard the faint trickle of water and caught a glimpse or two of a marble statues sitting on squared plinths through breaks in the leaf walls. The house was not the largest but the entrance was imposing, two large marble columns framed a large double paneled red door. It was once he had reached the door that he noticed a bronze plate with gold lettering that said “No Soliciting” just above a mail slot. He paused for a minute and again checked his watch 5:22 PM, shoot he would have to chance it. Taking a deep breath as did his best to straighten his tousled brown hair into a semi respectable appearance, he put on his best smile, puffing up all of his 5'9 frame. He rang the doorbell nervously, the three deep bell tones that announced his arrival didn't reassure him. They seemed to reverberate through the empty space behind the door. He waited. As he was about to leave he heard the slight jingle of the handle of the door as it opened.

An older man in his mid to late forties stood in the door. He was an imposing figure, almost as tall as the door. He was well groomed, with short neat dark brown almost black hair streaked with grey and a matching trimmed beard. He was broad and did not look amused at the interruption to his day. "Yes?" he said gruffly. "Hello Sir" Sam beamed trying to sound cheerful, the effect of which was ruined by his voice cracking a bit from the intimidating figure. "Are you tired of the city council wasting money on wasteful art projects while other more useful things like filling potholes and better public transit go unfunded?" Sam paused looking to the man for some reaction some sign he was interested or was about to slam door but the man was unreadable. With his deadline looming and undeterred by the lack of response, Sam continued "Just last year, the city council wasted close to $100,000 to rent a statue for Anderson Park. The indecent statue was a naked man with no censorship of his privates. This so called art imposed paid for by taxpayers like you, led to protests by local families." The man frowned, "Crap, I'm losing him" Sam thought to himself, as he hurried with the rest of his points. "Your signature could help prevent future wastes like the Anderson Park debacle" Sam finished presenting his clipboard. The man examined Sam intently, his deep green eyes pierced through Sam, he felt suddenly very small. "I'll consider signing" The man said finally, "But...I would like to hear more about I-69, would you care to come in and sit down." The man asked in a way that wasn't really a request. Sam checked his watch again 5:25 he had to text a picture of the signatures in five minutes or he wouldn't get paid, and he really needed to get paid. Shaking off both his better judgement and the intimidating man's presence he nodded. The man opened the door further and led him into the house. A large curving staircase dominated the room. A large empty marble pedestal stood next to the banister. Along the walls of the entryway held alcoves with similar pedestals, again empty, the effect unnerved Sam for some reason. He followed the man down the hallway into a living room. Two large brown leather couches stood parallel with an oddly shaped coffee table between them. Upon closer examination, Sam saw that the coffee table had been carved from wood to resemble a man, the figure was on all fours his hands and knees flat on the ground and his feet with flexed toes touching the ground exposing its arches. The face of the man disturbed Sam. Its head was raised, its mouth was open in an O shape as if it had been caught mid sentence. On its back, rested a large piece of glass that served as the top of the coffee table. Atop it was strewn some large photography books that all seemed to feature nude men and a cup of coffee still steaming. The detailing on the wooden figure was almost lifelike, it wasn't for the fact that the entire thing was wood grained, Sam would have sworn it was a real man. "Great this guy is probably some homo. Probably thinks he'll get a date or something out of this" Sam groaned to himself but whatever he needed to do to get that signature. The man motioned for Sam to sit and he took the couch opposite him. Slipping off his slippers he rested his black socked feet on the coffee table's head. "So tell me more about this initiative of yours" the man leaning back and waiting.

Putting on his charm Sam started again "Like I said before, currently city funds are being used on some questionable projects, these funds would be better spent on things like potholes and tax breaks for taxpayers like you. The projects include the naked statue in Anderson park and the painting of fish on the freeway wall; these art projects cost the cities millions and could be better used." Sam recited the speal his supervisors had made him memorize speeding up as he heard the distant tick of some clock in the house toward his rapidly disappearing paycheck. "...and that's why your signature is essential to stop wasteful spending." He finished. The man considered his for a second, "You make some good points. I think you have convinced me, I'll sign." The man said finally, Sam sighed in relief. "Great here you go" holding out the clipboard and pen. But instead of taking them the man stood up suddenly "Where are my manners, would you like a glass of ice tea or a soda son?" The man said, Sam looked down at his watch 5:27 shit it would be a photo finish, before he could respond, the man had already made his way to the kitchen. "Um sure, a glass of iced tea sounds nice" Sam replied as he thought to himself, “it had been a hot day” and but also with a desperate hope that he could hurry things along by just accepting the drink. The man returned with a tall glass of iced tea, cubes of ice clinking invitingly. "Here you go!" he said once again resting his feet on the coffee table's head. "Thanks" Sam said as he gulped it down, it was refreshing, a hint of lemon but also a slightly odd sweet taste, probably some fake sugar or something. The man looked like the type to count calories and watch his sugar intake, probably spent hours at the gym. Finishing off the glass Sam once again raised his clipboard. "So you'll sign" "Oh yes" The man said taking the clipboard. Sam was on edge, he needed that signature as the man started to sign his hand paused, he dabbed the pen on the paper a few times, then squiggled a few lines in the margin. "Damn" A dry pen was the last thing he needed, he screamed internally, he just needed that one damn signature, he was about to reach for the pen and try it out himself when it fell out of the man's hand and rolled underneath the coffee table. "I'll get that" Sam said a bit strained and panicked. He bent down and got on his knees to grab the pen. It had fallen underneath the top of the coffee table right under the wooden statue, right by under its waist just in front of its knees, as he bent down, Sam realized the artist or carver had even captured the statue's uncut erect cock in the same detail as the rest of the piece. Each fold and crease of the foreskin captured in wood, it even had a slight hanging wooden drip of precum on its tip. Sam shuddered and reached for the pen. As he did he felt a strange tingle, he brushed it off and reached again for the pen but his movements seemed slow, another tingle then another, quicker now, spreading through his body, along with it a strange cooling sensation radianted following the tingling. His movements slowed even more, it felt like he was pushing through jello just to move an fraction of an inch, and just as his fingertips touched the pen, his movements stopped altogether. Sam struggled, trying to wiggle, twitch, lift something, anything, but his body betrayed him. All of his efforts were useless. He couldn’t move even a millimeter. He was panicking, “what had happened” “why can’t I move”, “help” all of these thoughts ran through his brain as he stared ahead at the wooden figure and pen in front of him unable to change his gaze. The sound of footsteps and and the brief view of the man’s pants and shoes as he circled around him broke him out of his spiral of confusion and shock. “He’ll get help” Sam thought somewhat naively. Instead of a rescue, the next thing Sam felt was two large hands on his ample ass. “Mmm bubble butt very nice” He heard the man say to himself, as he fondled Sam’s ass rubbing it in a way that he would never let anyone, much less a man, touch him. Sam wanted to scream, to punch the guy out, something, but he couldn’t...all he could do was seethe in anger and humiliation as the man palmed his ass. The next sensation that Sam felt was the hands grasping and pulling, then the sharp tear of his khaki pants being ripped in half and stripped off his body exposing his bare legs and boxer clad ass. “Boxer shorts, must be straight, this just gets better and better” The man said, Sam could almost hear the leering smile in his voice. With another quick motion and sharp tear and the boxers fall in shreds, Sam can feel them sliding down his sides onto the floor, his most private parts now completely exposed. The man runs his finger down Sam’s crack brushing against the cheeks. The sensation of the touch brought up a strange new conflicting feeling in Sam, in his mind he was disgusted and angry trapped and manhandled by this gay man, but also something about what had been done to his body had magnified his senses tenfold. Just the simple touch of a finger was driving his more basic instincts wild, his cock though locked in position would have been straining out of his shredded pants if he had been able to move. The sensation was sensual at the same time deeply arousing, he was getting more turned on from that single sensation despite the fact that it was a man, than he had ever had before. As the man probed deeper with his finger, Sam’s pleasure intensified. humiliation and anger at the violation drowned out by the pleasure this one finger was giving him. He was straining inside as the finger slid home, Sam’s only thoughts arousal and a desperate need to touch himself and get off. As the finger started sliding in and out of his virgin hole, it only got worse the frustration and pleasure forming a back and forth rut. After the man fingered him for what seemed like both an eternity and instant Sam felt one final thrust and withdrawal of his finger from his ass and felt strangely empty. His more rational mind started to return, the humiliation and shame of being fingered while helpless started to kick in. His thoughts turned into the predicament, he was trapped and the man had obviously been responsible for it. His captor must have spiked his iced tea.What was he going to do to him next. Sam’s thoughts raced in his head, working in circles trying to find some solution or hope but each thought ending the same way, trapped unable to move in this man’s living room. He was off the set signature route so no one knew where he was. He had lost cell phone coverage at least three streets back so no one would be able to track his phone, He lived alone and had just broken up with girlfriend a week ago. It would be weeks before anyone even noticed he was missing. These thoughts were interrupted when he felt the man's hands on his ass again, this time both at his waist. He knew what the position of those hands meant, he had taken it himself countless times on countless women. The shame of being in that position would have been unbearable, except that after the fingering, some small but growing part of Sam wanted what happened next. That part of him did not have to wait long, as the man’s grip of Sam’s waist tightened and he slammed hard into Sam’s upturned ass. “UGhh, oh yeah, god I love a nice tight straight hole, bet you like the feel of a real cock too don’t you boy” The man groaned aloud. The man’s finger had not prepared Sam for the sensation of the man’s large cock plunging deep into his ass. The mixture of pain and pleasure Sam’s ass being stretched as the man’s cock slammed into his prostate overwhelmed Sam, his vision even in his frozen state blurred. The man held his thrust deep into Sam, then after a moment he withdrew, then thrust again, and again, speeding up and thrusting even harder. The man had no regard for Sam’s body, indeed in his mind Sam was just now another fuck toy. His to use as he wanted and use him he did, fucking Sam harder than he would a normal human person. Sam meanwhile was hovering between heaven and hell, the pain of his hole being stretched to its widest by the man’s thick cock a painful torture worthy of the deepest circle of hell, but the feeling of the head of the man’s cock as it slammed with almost targeted precision onto his prostate was in his heightened sensation state was a heavenly pleasure. The man’s stamina was endless, for almost an hour he pounded Sam’s ass, his body warming and dripping hot sweat onto Sam’s prone immobile form. Till even he could stand it no longer and finally came, spilling a burning hot load into Sam’s ass as he collapsed on top of him. When the man finally got up to clean himself, Sam could still feel his cock inside of him even though he was gone. His hole ached and he was also keenly aware of the cooling sperm deep inside of him and sweat on top of him but he could do nothing about any of it. He remained there still immobilized. As the sensations from the session faded, the familiar creeping feelings of shame and anger returned now firmly tinged with a need to be filled again, which only made the shame and anger worse. Footsteps announced the return of the man, the next sound that Sam heard was the metallic thunk of something heavy next to him. He didn’t have long to guess what it was as he was hoisted in the air by the man and thrust atop some pole. The pole had been mounted with some sort of plug that fit squarely in Sam’s ass plunging in almost as deeply as the man had. While it filled him somewhat it didn’t compare to the hot throbbing cock that had been in just a minute ago and though Sam hated it, he also longed for it. The pole held him suspended in the air his hand now pointing up reaching toward the ceiling, head facing up. Knees still bent as if he was kneeling in thin air. The man made quick work of Sam’s clothing stripping off his shoes and socks and then his polo shirt. Now that his victim was completely naked, he stepped back to take in a full view of his work. Running his hands over Sam’s body. The warm hands sending pleasure wherever they glided. “Hmmm, what to do with you now, what would you look good in, I have been doing a lot of wood lately, maybe marble, I haven’t done a marble in a few months, not since the twins in the garden.” The man said hand on his chin musing for a minute before he disappeared again this time returning with a pail of some sort of liquid. Sam could do nothing totally unaware of what was transpiring around his, his eyes were fixed toward his hand and the ceiling. His only indication of what was happening was the sensation of a roller or brush applying a thick white paste like substance on his skin. The liquid felt cool unctuous like a heavy oil paint or plaster on his bare skin. It dried quickly he could feel it tightening on his skin as it dried leaving his skin feeling heavier and stiffer. The man worked his way all over his body, the feeling of the brush on his sensitized skin brought back the deep arousal and need for release that was getting pent up on in again. Down his legs, up his firm ass, up his back and back down through his chest and abs. Brush...brush brush, he was coated, each movement of the brush turning him on more and more teasing him achingly as he had no release. As the man made his way down to Sam’s cock, he put on some gloves and dipped his hands into the liquid, rubbing it he applied it by hand to Sam’s cock. First cupping his balls massaging them rolling them in his hands and the liquid coating them in slowly and completely in the liquid. Sam meanwhile was going crazy with pleasure in his own head, he had no other thought then sensation and a pounding need for release. These feelings only intensified as he moved to Sam’s shaft gripping it in his hands lubed with the white thick liquid as he pumped up and down the shaft paying particular attention to the head. “I NEED TO CUM” Sam screamed mentally but to no avail, he would find no release. The man finished with Sam’s hair and face coating it in the white liquid before removing his gloves. Picking up a small case he inserts two larger than normal white contacts into Sam’s eyes. “There we go now, the perfect marble statue. If I do say so myself” He said stepping back and admiring the work. The next sensation he feels is the man spinning him on the pole he feels himself rising a bit after each full rotation till finally he hears a faint click as the plug in his ass separates from the pole and he falls into the man’s arms. The man picks him up “oof a bit heavier now aren’t ya” he says as he hefts him down onto a waiting marble slab. Applying the plaster to his one flat palm and balls of Sam’s feet and knees, the man rests Sam on the slab facing the coffee table and mirror. It is at this point that Sam realizing the table was not a table but another hapless soul like him who had fallen into this man’s grasps but what disturbed him even more was the sight of himself in the mirror. Instead of a flesh and blood man what stared back at him in the mirror was a white marble statue that had all of his features, each part of his naked body on display reaching for something that wasn’t there. If he hadn’t been him, he would have sworn he was a statue. The man got up and left him again this time turning off the lights. Sam sits there in the dark lost in a sea of shame, fear and curiosity about his new existence. Would he ever be able to move again? Was he stuck like this forever? And the one thought he kept trying to deny and push down, would he get fucked again? God he wanted that and hated that he did. His contemplation was interrupted by the brrring of a phone. The lights came back on as the man re-entered the room. The man picked up a phone “Hello, George speaking? He answered “Oh Kevin, great to hear from you, what can I do for you?” he paused and listened to the person on the other line. “Another commission for the City? I don’t know, didn’t you get into trouble for my last one, what did they call it, lewd? Stone pornography? Ha ha, yes I have heard about that ridiculous initiative.” George said patting Sam on the rump. Sam would have broken out in a cold sweat if he could as he realized who the man was. The statue in the park must have been a man like me. No wonder it had only been a temporary installation. He began to wonder what happened to him. “Well if the mayor is prepared for the blowback….. Oh really? 30 signatures short? That’s a relief.” George smiled wickedly picking up Sam’s discard clipboard and tossing it in a nearby bin. “Well in that case, I think I have the perfect piece… yes perfect timing…...just finished it today…...No no not a permanent one I’m afraid, I’m happy to loan it but you know all my work remains in my collection. Okay we’ll ship it out tomorrow. Great, bye bye.” he hung up. “Well well my boy” he cooed brushing Sam’s face “so much for wasteful spending. Looks like you’ll be spending some time thinking about the value of art in the public space.” He laughed somehow sensing Sam’s panic. “Oh don’t worry, I’m not a monster, it’s not permanent but maybe six months of being art will enlighten your perspective, though based on my experience you won’t mind it that much, Ed here” he said patting the coffee table “Has been a part of my collection for at least three years, this must be his second or third pose I can’t remember. The twins outside at least one but I guess we’ll see” he patted Sam again and once again left Sam there alone and immobile. The next day a mover and a truck came, the two men brought with them a large wooden pallet. The smaller of the two greeted George, as Kevin. The larger of the two men as Marco, he was almost as large as George, but more built and even broader, he had tan skin and dark hair, maybe latino, with deep brown eyes. Sam could tell from the bulge in his pants and the way it strained against the fabric as he handled his statue body that Marco was aroused by Sam’s naked form. “This is great work, amazing detail it's almost lifelike” he gushed to George who was directing Sam’s boxing. “Thank you, don’t worry too much, about the padding, there's a special finish on my statutes that prevents most common types of damage.” George said as Marco wrapped began to wrap Sam in batting before hefting him onto the pallet. Marco and Kevin, the other man, brought in large wooden panels and proceeded to nail into place forming the rest of the box that would transport Sam to his new home, Anderson Park. “Hey Marco, Would you consider modeling for me sometime? You would make a great subject.” George said as he watched the two men’s movements. Marco’s face brightened. George smiled. “Maybe after you load up the statue into Kevin’s truck you’d consider staying, you have your car here right? Kevin doesn’t mind taking the statue to the park himself, they’ll have staff to unload” “Sure, I’d be honored to” the Marco replied eagerly. As the last panel of the box was pushed into place Sam hear George addressing Marco, “After all that lifting you look parched, would you like a glass of ice tea or soda?”.

[deripmaver]

for the drabble game: viktuuri (ofc), 25, 30

Rating: G

Prompts:  

25- Being somewhere you’re not supposed to be30- “You smell nice.”

Yuuri creeps through the dark woods, eyes flitting back and forth tothe foliage surrounding him. The chain link fence stands, dark andimposing, around the fleet of bulldozers.

He bites his lip underneath the mask, clambering up the links,tossing a thick jacket over the barbed wire on top. It shakes,shudders, clinks painfully loud among the chirping insects deep inthe night.

The bag of tools clanks as Yuuri drops it to the ground, and Yuurifreezes, looking around to make sure no one’s heard the clatter ofknives and paint and screwdrivers. Then, peering down at theprecarious drop, swings his legs over the jacket and clambers downthe other side of the fence.

He grabs a knife from the bag, pushing his glasses up his nose tomake sure he can see around him. These bulldozers are going to startwork tomorrow, uprooting the ancient trees in the forest, scatteringthe local spirits – disrupting the volcanic streams that keep hisparents’ business running, all in the name of a new industrialpark.

Well, Yuuri thinks, Ifthe mayor won’t stop Feltsman Corporation from destroying our home…

He positions a wrench at the tires of the bulldozer, pulling apartwhatever bits he can, when-

Rustling echoes behind him. Yuuri whirls around, raising the wrenchhigh above his head instinctively. The person flinches back, raisingboth hands up protectively.

“I’m not gonna stop you!” he gasps, peering up at Yuuri withstartlingly blue from behind a black mask. Yuuri thinks… He thinksthose eyes are familiar, maybe – but he can’t quite place fromwhere. “I want to help!”

Yuuri narrows his eyes, suspicious. “How’d you know I was goingto be here?” he hisses.

“Didn’t,” the person says, hands still up in front of him. “Icame here to… To do the same thing.”

Yuuri starts. He’s stillsuspicious, but he relaxes alittle, thinking with some relief that dismantling all theconstruction equipment was a tall order for him to do by himself inone night.

“You can’t wrench off those bolts,” the man says, nodding tothe bulldozer, “They’re welded in. But, if you open up this panelunderneath, you can dismantle the whole engine.”

Yuuri blinks. “How did you know that?”

A strange look crosses over the man’s eyes for a second. Then, hesays, “I uh, I’m an engineer for a firm that makes equipment likethis.”

“Who are you?” Yuuri whispers, “You’re not… You’re notfrom my town.”

“Ah, you know I can’t tell you that,” the man says with a wink.“If you need me, though, call me V.” He takes a step closer. “Andyourself?”

Yuuri snorts. “I can’t tell youthat. Call me… Uh. Call me… Katsudon?”

V nods, eyes shimmering. “Okay,Katsudon.Here, help me with the engineon this thing.”

He pulls out a fat black backpack, unzips it to reveal a whole set ofwhat must be brand new power tools, and tosses a battery-powereddrill to Yuuri.

Yuuri takes it, still wondering if this is a trick, and he puts on apair of night vision goggles so he can see deep into hissurroundings.

“Why are you doing this?” Yuurimurmurs, settling in for a long night of work.

“Oh,” V murmurs, “I’m justtrying to impress a boy.”He winks at Yuuri, and Yuuriflushes right down to his toes, though V can’t see it. He’swearing a mask that covers most of his face, but Yuuri can somehowtell that V is handsome. Maybe it’s the way he carries himself, hisconfidence – Yuuri shakes his head. This isn’t important, he hasbetter things to be worrying about.

“How are you going to impress the boy if he’ll never know who youare?” Yuuri teases.

They cut the brakes of the machine.

V puts his hand over his forehead in mock-faint. “How cruel! I’msure I’ll tell him eventually. Once this stupid project iscanceled, of course.”

Yuuri smiles as they move on to the next machine.

“What about you?” V says, sidling in next to Yuuri.

Yuuri snorts. “Do you really need to ask that?”

V turns to him, and Yuuri is suddenly aware of how close he is. Howhe’s slightly taller than him, and his shoulders are broad beneathhis thin black jacket, and his eyes are so blue the night visiongoggles make them blend in with his corneas.

“I can guess,” he murmurs, “But I’d rather hear it from you.”

Yuuri swallows, heart pangingpainfully. It’s been so, so hard – the mayor looking at theirpoor, failing fishing village, at the unemployment, at thediscontent. The mayor ignoring their pleas for work, selling them outto the first big corporation that offered to build a workingwarehouse, saying this will bring you jobs, butjobs with Feltsman Corporation mean long hours with low pay andstifling, stuffy factory work and collapsing on the job-

Not to mention the destruction of the forest, the ruination of theanimals habitats – and angering the spirits. No matter how poor,how run down, the residents of Hatsetsu always have had enough fishto survive, even in winter. Their crops have flourished, even whenblight struck the nearby villages. Children, tripping over rocks intothe unrelenting sea, always washed up safe upon the shore.

Yuuri doesn’t know which outcomewill be worse for his home – Feltsman destroying the forest so thespirits flee andfisheries run dry, or Feltsman angering something deep and ancient,raining destruction on his people and Yuuri’s.

“This is a bad idea,” Yuuri says, simply. “Feltsman doesn’tknow what he’s doing. This is… This will help him, in the longrun.”

V stares at him, curiously. He’s still very, very close.

“Katsudon,” V murmurs, lifting his chin and staring into hisgoggles. “…You smell nice.”

Yuuri stumbles backwards, spluttering. “What?” he all butshrieks, “What on earth – get back to work, stop laughing!”

“Sorry, sorry!” Snorts V, eyes sparkling with mirth. “It’strue, though.”

Yuuri hums, suddenly serious. Heholds up a satchel of sage and bergamot. “Someof the creatures in the forest are unfriendly. This keeps them away.”

V nods, and they go back to work.

“You know,” Yuuri murmurs assparks splutter and sizzle from another ruined engine, “I neverliked Feltsman, but his son, Victor…Once he took over business operations, he said he was taking thecompany in a new direction. He was gonna change things, stop…Stop destroying. I really, really admired him, but, well. I guess henever meant any of that, after all.”

V’s expression is unreadable. “It must be hard,” he says,carefully, “Even if you’re high up, when your father is the CEO.Trying to balance doing your own thing and not disappointing him.”

Yuuri snorts. “Oh yes, I’m surehe’s lived a very hard life. Don’t give him that much credit, V –he just lied, likethey all do, and the press ate it up.” Yuuri’svoice goes very quiet. “I really wanted to trust him. Stupid of me,right? I should have… Should have realized he never meant to helpus.”

He hits a pipe, perhaps a little harder than he means to, and steamshoots up into the night air. There’s another machine made useless.

V doesn’t respond, very busy in dismantling something else. Hesighs, softly, standing up and stretching, and Yuuri tries not tostare at the little bit of his tummy that peeks out from beneath hisshirt.

“Mm, I think you may have been right,” V jokes, though it seems alittle strained. “Maybe impressing the boy will be harder than Ithought.”

Yuuri pats his shoulder, sympathetically. “One day you’ll be ableto tell him you did this,” he soothes, and V offers him a smallsmile – or, at least, Yuuri thinks he does, behind the mask. Hiseyes crinkle like he’s smiling.

They dismantle the last of the machinery just as the very beginningsof sunrise glow across the horizon. Yuuri starts when he notices thebits of light, wiping the sweat from his brow. V holds out his hand,and Yuuri shakes it, the warmth of pride in himself making him feellight, giddy.

“I’ll see you around, Yuuri,”V smirks. Then, with a little mock salute, he takes off running inthe direction opposite to Yuuri.

Yuuri watches him go, backpackswinging and clinking. It’sonly once he’s out of sight that it hits him – Yuuri never told Vhis name.

[forksofwisdom]

Embers of the Sun

Pairings: Bella/Paul, eventual Angela/Leah

A/N: I’m happy to take any suggestions if you want something in particular to happen. It can be something as minor as Quill giving Embry a high five or more significant like Bella ramming Edward’s Volvo with her truck after he provided Tyler with a chance to ask her out. The whole point of writing this fic is so we can all enjoy it together!

(Note that this doesn’t mean I’m going to change the plot on demand!)

To wrap this up:

Imprinting is still a thing in this AU, BUT I’ve developed my take on it for this story. If you’re interested in knowing more about my feelings on Imprinting, you can read it here.

I’m also thinking about writing the main storyline in Bella’s POV and keeping alternating POV’s and drabbles that happen in the same universe separate so that it’s easier to navigate. Seriously, go wild with the suggestions, guys!

I’ve taken the liberty of changing the ages of some of the characters. Bella will be 19 and a senior when she moves to Forks, so only Edward and Alice are still in high school. She arrives two years later than in canon. Paul and Jared will be the same age as Bella. Sam and Emily will both be aged somewhere between 25-30 (like their actors).

Enjoy!

Chapter 1

Bella closed her book with a sigh as the seatbelt sign flickered on. The plane would be landing soon. She’d passed the time reading, but the story wasn’t her usual cup of tea, preferring Jane Austen to all else. She ran her thumb over the raised picture of a spyglass on the cover in contemplation. The Collector by James Fowle was not a Victorian romance, and each page Bella read dispelled any romantic notion she might have had about such obsessive love.

Her mother had been going through one of her phases when she’d purchased it, having fancied herself to be a lepidopterist after she’d bought a collection pinned butterflies in an antique store. She hadn’t checked the back of the novel to see what it was actually about, having thought it to be a guide to butterfly collecting. Bella remembered her excited gasp when her mother realized the book was about a deranged stalker instead. Another phase bloomed, and Renée now bought every serial killer study and documentary she could get her hands on, forgetting about her beloved butterflies. She’d put her butterfly collection on display in the hallway and Bella could admit that they were beautiful in a morbid sort of way that unnerved her a little. Their colorful wings were much more appealing if they were alive and could flutter from flower to flower. Not pinned down and spread in death to an old frame.  

A stewardess asked her to put up her tray table, and Bella shoved the book into her rucksack and kicked it under the seat in front of her. She put the small cactus her mother had given her as a memento in her lap. She wondered if Renée had forgotten that she’d inherited her green thumbs, which were nonexistent, and that the climate in Forks would be the kiss of death for the plant if Bella weren’t careful.

Her stomach plummeted as the plane dipped and she closed her eyes and took deep calming breaths through her nose. She wasn’t fond of flying, preferring to keep her feet firmly on the ground, and was relieved when they landed in Port Angeles’s small airport with little fanfare.

She spent a good minute hauling her large suitcase off the conveyor belt in the baggage claim. Renée had insisted on helping Bella pack, but she’d forgotten how cold it was up North and Bella had spent a good hour putting all her shorts and tank tops back into her closet in Phoenix. While she would miss Arizona, its warmth and the anonymity that came with living in a metropolis, she had to keep an open mind about Forks, for her father’s sake. She knew she’d hurt him deeply by refusing to visit him for the last four years, demanding that he travel all the way to California to see her.

Nerves bubbled up to the surface as she walked through the arrival gates. She hadn’t seen her dad for so long, and she was riddled with guilt that the main reason she was moving to him was that she didn’t want to impose on Renée and Phil anymore. They were newly wedded, and Bella couldn’t count how many times she’d walked in on them in various compromising positions. She hadn’t hesitated to bring up Fork’s when they decided to move to Florida with Phil’s baseball career. Bella was relieved when they agreed to her plan. A few years ago, she might have felt resentful, but she’d matured enough to see their genuine wish for her happiness and wellbeing.

She would finish her last year in high school in Forks, and it filled her with tremulous excitement to live with her dad for the first time. She had the whole summer to settle down and reacquaint herself with him until school would start in two weeks.

“Bells!” Her father called when he caught sight of her. He was wearing his uniform and Bella could see that he had a few more crows feet since she’d last seen him. He opened his arm, and she hastened to him, feeling genuine happiness as she was swept up into his arms. “I missed you, sweetheart!”

“Dad!” She returned his embrace, overwhelmed by his joy at seeing her. Prolonged absence from him had made her start to doubt his affections for her. She’d imagined an awkward greeting and a quiet trip home in his police vehicle.

“How are you? Was the trip okay?” he asked her, pulling away to study her with warm eyes.

“Yeah, I’m a bit sore from sitting for so long, but otherwise it was fine,” Bella said, and he clapped her on the back.

“Well, you better stretch your legs now because it’s a long ride home,” he said, taking her suitcase from her hand and waved away her protests. “I got a surprise for you when we get home.”

“Really? You didn’t need to get me anything, dad. I’m staying with you, and that’s enough for me,” Bella said in dismay. She wasn’t expecting any gifts and hadn’t thought to get Charlie anything. It seemed ungrateful of her now that she couldn’t show him how glad she was that he’d come to pick her up.

“Oh, heck, Bells. Let an old man spoil his daughter once in a while. I haven’t seen you in so long, and I promise that you’ll need it while you’re staying here,” he said gruffly, not meeting her eyes as they walked out of the airport.

“As long as you give me your word that you won’t get me anything else I’m happy,” Bella said grudgingly.

“You haven’t changed,” Charlie said with a small amount of relief and Bella rolled her eyes. She’d never liked it when people made a fuss about her, except when it was Christmas or her birthday.

“I’ve changed plenty,” she protested.

“Yeah, your hair has gotten longer,” Charlie observed, and Bella caught the wistful note in his tone. She could remember the times she’d sat on a stool while her father trimmed her hair with a pair of shears, both singing to the tunes of the Beatles in his kitchen. Her heart warmed at the memory, and she gave him a small smile.

“Well, I didn’t have my personal barber to cut it,” she said teasingly, and Charlie brightened. They pulled out of the airport and made it onto the highway in the direction of Forks.

“Do you want me to give you a trim when we get home?” he asked after a moment of silence. He’d hesitated in bringing it up like he feared rejection and Bella was quick to reassure him.

“Yeah, I’d like that,” she said quietly, staring out of the front window to avoid Charlie’s eyes. They’d never broached the subject of Bella’s distance, but this felt like a small olive branch between the both of them. She was here now.

“Good, ‘cause no daughter of mine will be seen with split ends!” he said with mock grimness, and Bella burst into laughter. She’d missed him.

He turned on the radio when the silence became strained, and a wave of nostalgia rushed over her when his old CD of classical rock started playing. Charlie hadn’t changed either, keeping the same collection of CDs in his glove compartment, and Bella took a small amount of comfort from it as they hummed to the tune.

There was an overwhelming display of green and gray that sped past their windshield, and Bella huddled deeper into her coat. She didn’t miss the cold and the wet weather of Washington, but it had been a long time since she’d seen a forest or the sea. She wondered if Charlie visited La Push anymore, remembering the times they’d spent on First Beach, or if he still fished with Billy Black and Harry Clearwater.

Her question was answered when they drove up to Charlie’s house, now Bella’s home as well, and saw two big pickup trucks in the driveway. Billy’s son, Jacob, was helping his father out into his wheelchair when Charlie greeted them cheerfully.

“What brings you here boys?”

“Sue sent us over with some more of Harry’s fish fry, told us to put it in your freezer,” Billy answered, tossing a bag of wrapped fish to Charlie, who fumbled to catch it.

“You could have handed it to me,” Charlie said wryly as he closed the distance between them to clasp Billy’s hand in greeting. Billy laughed and thumped him on the back. Charlie held up the bag. “Tell her thanks. I was all out.”

Bella swallowed her nervousness as she stepped out of the car and waved at them in greeting. She’d learned through trial and error that ‘fake it until you make it’ was the best approach to social interactions. She hadn’t seen them in three years, and Jacob had grown like a weed since then, now almost as tall as Charlie. The times for making mud-cakes had long since. A broad smile split across his face when he caught sight of her.

“Bella!” He nearly lifted her off the ground in his excitement, and Bella laughed, overwhelmed by his enthusiastic greeting. His childhood crush on her hadn’t ebbed it seemed, and she smiled at him awkwardly, uncertain how she should reciprocate without encouraging his affections.

“Let the girl breathe, Jacob,” Billy scolded and nudged him out of the way to give his own greeting, shaking Bella’s hand firmly. “My how you’ve grown! You hardly reached my waist the last time I say you.”

“She was thirteen. Besides, my daughter was never that short, Billy,” Charlie said with wry amusement as Bella gave a surprised laugh. She’d forgotten how Charlie’s dry humor made his jokes seem accidental, and it helped her loosened up as the two men bantered good-naturedly. It’d been a long time since she’d seen her father look so relaxed, having only communicated with him through brief phone calls. Both of them were reticent by nature.

“Charlie hasn’t shut up about you Bella, ever since you told him you were coming here,” Billy teased.

“Oh, come on. There’s no need to exaggerate,” Charlie said and turned away from them with a light blush. “Keep it up, and I’ll slip you into the mud.”

“Not if I ram you in the ankles first,” Billy warned, and Charlie jumped back when he pretended to make good on his threat. Bella couldn’t believe that two adult men, one of them being the Chief of Police, were fooling around in the middle of a street like a pair of rowdy boys.

“Are they always like this?”

“Unfortunately. Come on, you’re gonna love this, Bella,” Jacob said and grabbed her hand to lead her over to the behemoth truck resting beside the one the Blacks had arrived in. He patted it. “Charlie got you a homecoming present.” Bella felt a burst of excitement when she realized that this must be Charlie’s surprise.

“Dad?” she called him over, hardly believing that he’d gotten her a car. She forgot her dismay at Jacob’s casual touch when she saw Charlie’s nod. “I can’t believe you!” She rushed over to the driver’s seat and pulled open the heavy door to climb inside.

“Yep, I just bought it off of Billy,” Charlie said, and Jacob hopped up and hung onto the side to watch her admire the console and test the steering wheel. Then she noticed that something was missing.

“Um, where’s the gear stick?” she asked when she didn’t find it sticking out of the floor like she was used to.

“Oh, it’s a 'three on the tree,’” Jacob explained and leaned over her to point out the shift which was positioned behind the steering wheel.

“I’ve never driven a car like this,” Bella admitted, flummoxed at the design. She’d been prepared to drive a manual car, used to her mother’s battered old Toyota back home.

“It’s old, a 1953 Chevy, but Jacob here fixed it up. I thought you’d rather drive yourself to school instead of getting a lift in my police car,” Charlie said with a grin and Bella returned it with apprehension. She was touched by his thoughtfulness because she’d dreaded to deal with the attention that came with having the Chief of Police as a chauffeur. Considering the mortification of being nineteen-years-old opposed to eighteen and still in high school, the sentiment was appreciated.

“Yeah, it should run smoothly but don’t hesitate to call me if something comes up,” Jacob said, his face glowing with pride. “I’ve been driving one like this for years so I can teach you how to drive it.”

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that since you only got your permit back in January,” Charlie said, and Jacob glanced at the shining badge on his chest sheepishly.

“I’ll remember that,” Bella said, and privately wondered if she could teach herself automobile repairs. It was a handy skill to have, and Jacob’s obvious crush was making her a little uncomfortable. She’d always thought of him as the younger brother she’d never had.

“I don’t have a shift so why don’t we go for a test drive tomorrow,” Charlie offered.

“Yeah, why don’t you come to the Rez,” Jacob said, turning to her with the full force of his smile. “It’ll be like old times!”

“Why not,” Bella agreed, infected by their combined enthusiasm. She chided herself for making plans to avoid him and made herself promise to treat Jacob with fairness. He was the only person her age she knew and had always been welcoming during her short visits.

“Good, good,” Billy said and clapped his son on the back. “We need to get going, son. Sue needs that garden hose, and I’m not prepared to face her wrath if we keep her waiting any longer.”

“Bye, Bella,” Jacob said with reluctance but took care of Billy’s wheelchair after he hefted himself into their truck.

“We’ll see you tomorrow,” Charlie called as he carried Bella’s suitcase into the house. Bella stood awkwardly as she waited for the Black’s to leave and smiled weakly when Billy rolled down his window.

“Charlie missed you, Bella,” he said, and she blushed as they pulled out of the drive.

Bella retrieved her cactus from Charlie’s car and made her way inside. Nothing had really changed; Charlie’s armchair was still in front the TV inside the living room, the walls painted a light blue, and the old ship in the bottle was even mounted above the fireplace.

Bella stopped to examine the pictures taken throughout the years of them together. The sight of her parents holding her as a babe and Renée’s dim eyes and tired smile while Charlie looked happier than Bella had ever seen him sent a jolt through her and she moved on. The one hanging at the base of the stairs showed a much lighter memory; Charlie giving a six-year-old Bella a piggyback ride while she beamed with a gap-toothed smile. Above it was a picture of a pre-teen Bella smiling awkwardly at the camera with Jacob’s arm around her hunched shoulders, and sharing its frame was a picture of her and Charlie eating off of plastic plates on a park bench. They were both laughing at something, and Bella remembered that Billy had taken the photo during her last visit when they’d had a picnic in La Push.

“I left everything like it was the last time you were here,” Charlie said when Bella found him in her room. He scratched the back of his neck and gestured around. “You’re free to change it as much as you like.”

“Thanks, dad.” She set her cactus on the windowsill, hoping the heat from the radiator and the sliver of sunlight would be enough to keep it alive.

“I cleared some shelves in the bathroom as well,” he continued. Bella nodded, and they shared a moment of strained silence, both trying to figure out what to say. Charlie finally cleared his throat. “I’ll let you get settled in. Call if you need anything.”

Bella nodded, grateful that he didn’t intend to hover and set to unpacking. She hefted her suitcase onto her bed and frowned when her nose was assaulted by the sickly sweet smell of strawberries and cheap sunscreen. It was not a pleasant combination. Bella pulled aside the first article of her clothing and cursed when she saw the white goopy mess.

“Ugh!” The tap on the bottle of sunscreen Renée must have snuck into her bag had cracked, and the air pressure had caused her supply of shampoo to burst. Bella threw down her shirt. “Dad, we got a bomb alert!”

“What!” Charlie shouted. Bella poked her head out of her room when she heard him thunder up the stairs.

“No! My shampoo exploded,” she exclaimed. He was fumbling with the walkie-talkie that was clipped to his uniform. Charlie liked to keep it on his person, even when he was off duty.

“Honey, you cannot do that to me.” He slumped against the rail with a sigh and put a hand to his chest as he tried to calm his heart. “I thought you were serious.”

“Sorry,” she grimaced, holding up a t-shirt that smelled overwhelmingly of strawberries. “Think my whole suitcase can fit inside your washing machine?”

Thankfully her white cotton shirt escaped unscathed, but the same could not be said for her jeans. Charlie helped her load everything into the machine and showed her how to turn it on.

“Why don’t you call your mom to let her know how your trip went and then we’ll eat dinner,” he asked. The sun had already set, but Bella knew her mother would be waiting to hear from her. Arizona was only one hour ahead of Washington, but Renée and Phil had a flight to Jacksonville early next morning. Bella didn’t have a cell phone, but Charlie kept a cordless landline, so she sat on her bed and listened to the dial tone.

“Bella, it that you, honey?” her mother’s voice crackled through when she picked up.

“Hey, mom.”

“How was the trip? Did you have any trouble during your layover in Seattle? Did Charlie come to pick you up?” Renée asked, sounding doubtful when she mentioned her ex-husband.

“Yes, yes. Everything went well. Charlie was waiting for me in Port Angeles, just like we’d discussed,” Bella reminded her. She wondered if other divorced parents were as occupied with being the better parent like Renée. “Did you put sunscreen in my bag?”

“I’m not sure. Why? Did you need it?” Renée asked distractedly.

“No, there was a tube in my suitcase, and it burst.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry, honey!” Renée exclaimed. “I just thought that you might need it, you know if you decided to go to the beach - the one in La Push. You know that you can still get a sunburn even if it’s cloudy.”

“No, it’s fine, mom.” Bella didn’t dispute, having heard her mother’s lectures on the importance of protecting one’s skin to prevent cancer many times before. She changed the subject. “How’s the packing going?”

“Oh, Phil’s loading the moving truck as we speak. He’s been a godsend these past few days. You know how awful I am at packing,” she laughed, successfully diverted.

“Yeah.” Bella was relieved she hadn’t inherited her mother’s hoarding tendencies. They spoke for a moment.

“I can hear Phil calling. It was nice hearing from you, sweetie.” Renée said abruptly. “Call me if you need anything!”

“Bye, mom,” Bella said and sighed when she was met with the dial tone. She rolled out of bed and went to join her father.

Charlie was standing by the stove, poking the boiling potatoes with a fork to see if they were ready while two portions of Harry’s fish heated in a pan.

“Can you put the rest of this is the freezer?” He gestured at the bag Billy had brought which lay on the dining table. She picked it up and felt her brain stall when she saw the contents of his freezer. It was packed with frozen pre-cooked meals. With a huff, Bella put the fish in and turned to Charlie.

“How are you still alive, dad?”

Charlie barked out a surprised laugh, looking away sheepishly. “I usually eat at the diner.”

“Not while I live here,” Bella muttered as she lay the table. Charlie rolled a couple of potatoes onto their plates and divided the fish into two portions. They sat down and ate in companionable silence.

“I’m going grocery shopping as soon as possible. I can’t have you dying on my watch,” Bella said after she swallowed the last of her dinner.

“Take as much money as you need from the jar,” Charlie said good-naturedly, sitting back in his chair and pushing his empty plate away.

“Thanks, dad.” Bella took their empty plates to the sink. Charlie had gotten a dishwasher, and she started to clean up.

She was washing the frying pan when Charlie drew her attention by pulling out a chair and holding up his old pair of shears. “We’re still doing this aren’t we?”

“Yeah, just let me go and wash my hair,” Bella said. Charlie took the pan from her hands to dry it with a dish towel. She took a quick shower and used the remnant of her strawberry shampoo. Bella made a mental note to restock soon, or else she’d have to use Charlie’s scentless stuff.

She came downstairs, having dressed in a sweatshirt and a ratty pair of gym shorts she found in her old wardrobe. She handed Charlie her hairbrush as she dried her hair with a towel so she wouldn’t drip water everywhere. Neither of them spoke as Charlie trimmed a good two inches of her hair. The silence was only interrupted by the soft croon of the radio and the occasional gurgle of the dishwasher. The snips of the scissors relaxed Bella to the point where she started to doze off.

She yawned and startled when Charlie tapped her on the head. She was exhausted. He took the towel from her shoulders so she could stand up.

“Thanks, dad,” Bella said and rubbed the bleariness from her eyes with another jaw-breaking yawn.

“I’ll take care of the cleanup, Bells. You should get some rest,” Charlie murmured, and Bella nodded in agreement. She stumbled up to the bathroom and brushed her teeth sluggishly.

Bella melted into the mattress her new - old - bed. The exertion of her travels made itself known, and she listened to the soft sound of the game Charlie was watching in the living room as she drifted off. She was out like a light in a matter of minutes.

Next update: The Swan family visit La Push. (chapter 2)

[danielyrosner]

Fanfic - Neil's Chains - Chapter 8

Chapter 8 - Freedom is Near

 July 3, 2001

 I promised that I would help Cassandra generate and give birth to a child, but this will be something a little more difficult, the good thing is that the boys have reduced the amount of blood intake which has helped me a lot. After Jefford's beating I found out that the Dhampirs have an extremely accelerated cure so much that you can hear their skin healing, it is activated when they feed if they are injured and this is a very good thing, because even the oldest vampires like me, they have this kind of ability, with this kind of gift they will be invincible during a fight, they will always be with a lot of food and with a charged force.

.

 August 19, 2001

 It has been a month since Cassandra has been feeding on my blood and her relationship with her husband has improved, but with that she has moved away from our children, I think it is so that she will not suffer when we leave and neither will the children. I have found this very noble attitude on her part and with that Jefford has also calmed down, but he has not stopped being a psychopath with us.

.

 August 30, 2001

 Cassandra has been feeling bad lately, a lot of nausea and some fainting, I believe it has been because of my blood, maybe it is better to stop giving her every day. Jefford took her for an appointment to find out what's going on with her. Sometimes I ask them to have an accident and not to come back to torment us, ever again.

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 September 01, 2001

 Cassandra is finally pregnant, Jefford has treated her like a queen and to stay away from me he has held me more in my room and the children in their room, when they ask questions he hits them and they are only allowed to leave the room to go school or going out with Dyton, which at least has calmed me down, he takes them to the chalet on the edge of the property and Lukka told me that he has been teaching them to play instruments and she is the best at violin and piano, Gil he didn't fall in love with it, he likes to carve more and is very good at it.  Being stuck with Cassi, she has to rest and not stress or strain, but that has not helped because she started bleeding again, the doctors said she would lose the baby and this time she would never be able to get pregnant again, because his body, his uterus couldn't take it anymore and that was why he was dying.

.

 September 17, 2001

 Jefford has been desperate lately and has become aggressive with everyone again, said he could help, but he wanted my partial freedom for now and he would have his much desired son with it. He reluctantly accepted, but I was able to stay with my children again all night.  I gave my blood back to Cassandra and she got stronger, the bleeding stopped and she can walk around the house, Jefford has been doing the experiments with me and I still maintain that feeling that he is very strange as if he were more greedy and was getting more and more that more unbearable.

.

 December 25, 2001

 Today is Christmas and as Cassandra is doing well Jefford invited me to spend the night with him because Cassi would tell the boys that they would have a little brother.

~ • ~

 Lukka runs and hugs his father “Daddy! Will you stay with us today? ”  “Yes dear” he picks her up “Today we will have great news for you” Gil finishes getting ready and goes to his father too. Gil was linked to his father, but not as much as Lukka, she was his most loved girl and what he says to her was very sacred, there was nothing that could separate these two.  "We will?" Neil asks the two of them and they agree and go towards the door, leave and go down the stairs. After the beating Jefford gave Gil, the twins did not detach from their father or leave their mother's side when he was in the same room. We enter the small hall and the children run to the mother “Merry Christmas mom!” they yell at her and hug her, look at Jefford “Merry Christmas Uncle Jeff” they speak softly.  "Children have a surprise for you" Jefford tells them to approach and they retreat behind their mother "Don't be afraid" he says  "Jefford, you know very well that they are afraid of you" Cassandra tells her husband who just sits in the armchair. Neil sits by the fireplace just watching everything that happens.  Cassandra takes the hand of her children and looks into their eyes "Mommy has some good news for you" the twins only look at each other "Did you know you are going to have a little brother or sister?"  Gil smiles "Are you and Dad going to have another baby?"  Cassandra looks at Neil and then at her husband "No boys, mommy is Uncle Jeff's wife" she rubs their faces "So that's Uncle Jeff's baby and not Daddy's"  "And when will he be born?" Lukka asks  "In a few months and you will be able to meet him or her" she replies  “But it's not just that” Neil speaks from the background “The three of us are going to travel after your brother is born”  "Where are we going?" They ask  "Too far" Neil says "We will take a long time to come back"  Lukka looks at his brother and smiles "We never went to the sea, can we go to meet him?" They run to the father who smiles “Of course, my love”  Jefford makes a face of disgust and fury and Neil realizes "Boys why won't you see what you have won?" the children look at each other and run to the tree.  "As well?" Jefford speaks furiously  "Cassandra and I made a deal" Neil replies "A son for our freedom"  "But I never ..." Jefford starts to speak but is cut off by Cassandra "It doesn't matter if you agree or not, they will leave after that because our research is over and that was the agreement we made with him seven years ago back ”Jefford just looks at her and leaves the room.  "I'm sorry, but we will keep our promise, don't worry" Cassandra tells Neil.

 ~ • ~

In the following months Cassandra tried to stay away, but present in the boys' lives, because soon they would be separated as long as they lived. She knew that I would never let her or the psychopath see us again.

.

 April 25, 2002

 The boys stopped feeding on blood because they turned eight and they went back to being human to grow up to maturity, when they are ready to become what they were born to be, but something has been bothering me, as if something very serious was happen, as if it hadn’t already happened, for this reason, compelled Lukka to change Gil’s memories and if necessary, even though he’s no longer half a vampire, this side of them can wake up briefly to protect them and then go back to sleep until the expected day, for that she would know exactly the moment when she should do it and that way they would be safe and live a normal life, in fact i have been thinking a lot about it lately, letting them live a common life until they wake up and from that moment and we would live together for all eternity ...

.

 April 27, 2002

 Cassandra went into labor and as I was the only one who knew how to deliver a baby I had to help Cassandra, it all took more than two hours until a little girl with black hair and very white skin was born, Jefford started to cry and I knew very well how it was that feeling of seeing a little thing like that being born and being connected to you, Cassi also cried, she hadn't even cried when our children were born, she knew that the feeling was different because those two loved each other and wanted it for a long time, Cassandra called her Eloise and as soon as I saw that everything was fine I went to my children and gave them the news and I also told them to leave things tidy that at any moment we would part, but I was mistaken, when I went to the room I felt only one needle penetrate my neck and the words "You never left this house".  When I woke up I was chained and gagged. One thing I knew, that was what my instinct was talking about, the feeling that everything was going to get worse and I would soon know why ...

[inhibitor00711]

Question thingy

I know that the normal thing is to let your followers ask you the number of the things that they wish to know about you, but I don’t feel like waiting to be asked.

1: Name: If I told you you would think I was trying to be an anime knockoff.

2: Age: 25

3: 3 Fears: Lack of an afterlife, spiders, and drowning

4: 3 things I love: My husband, my son, and my friends

5: 4 turns on: Singing, bass playing, blood, and dancing

6: 4 turns off: Country music, bad breath, body odor, and anger

7: My best friend: @immolare

8: Sexual orientation: Straightish? I’ve honestly done done enough to define myself

9: My best first date: “Your candy holding capacity has been reduced by fifty percent!”

10: How tall am I: 5″9′

11: What do I miss: The feeling that I could be anything that I wanted to be

12: What time were I born: 2:30pm

13: Favorite color: Red

14: Do I have a crush: as a matter of fact I do

15: Favorite quote: “You don’t need a reason to help people.”

16: Favorite place: The field

17: Favorite food: Thai

18: Do I use sarcasm: More often than I mean to

19: What am I listening to right now: Mumbles of my coworkers in other rooms

20: First thing I notice in new person: Their smile

21: Shoe size: 8 (usa)

22: Eye color: Hazel (green/brown)

23: Hair color: Naturally dark brown, currently dyed soft black

24: Favorite style of clothing: Goth

25: Ever done a prank call?: Probably back when I was in elementary school, but I can’t remember

27: Meaning behind my URL: You need to at least be a level 10 friend to know my tragic back story

28: Favorite movie: I honestly don’t think I have one

29: Favorite song: The Outsider, A Perfect Circle

30: Favorite band: Tool

31: How I feel right now: A little meh. I have a slight headache

32: Someone I love: My husband

33: My current relationship status: Married

34: My relationship with my parents: I’m really close with my mom and a bit strained with my dad

35: Favorite holiday: Halloween

36: Tattoos and piercing i have: Tattoos: 9  Piercings: 15

37: Tattoos and piercing i want: I at least want full sleeves for tattoos and I want a few more ear piercings

38: The reason I joined Tumblr: My group of Diner friends convinced me it was a good idea XD

39: Do I and my last ex hate each other?: Well technically my last ex is now my husband.... But if we’re not counting him I haven’t spoken to my ex in years

40: Do I ever get “good morning” or “good night ” texts?: Not typically

41: Have I ever kissed the last person you texted?: Yupp!

42: When did I last hold hands?: Uhhhh...... Two or three weeks ago maybe?

43: How long does it take me to get ready in the morning?: For work: 30 minutes    For family or friend functions: up to an hour

44: Have I shaved your legs in the past three days?: Yes I have, and I will again tonight

45: Where am I right now?: At work

46: If I were drunk & can’t stand, who’s taking care of me?: Either my husband or my best friend (I wouldn’t get that drunk without them)

47: Do I like my music loud or at a reasonable level?: Loud

48: Do I live with my Mom and Dad?: Nope! Moved out years ago

49: Am I excited for anything?: I’m excited to be able to eat more than just plain fruits and veggies tomorrow. I’m doing a detox fitness thing right now

50: Do I have someone of the opposite sex I can tell everything to?: Yes I do

51: How often do I wear a fake smile?: Most days. I work with the general public

52: When was the last time I hugged someone?: About an hour ago (I work in the same building that my mom does)

53: What if the last person I kissed was kissing someone else right in front of me?: I honestly wouldn’t care. He usually ends up kissing dudes at parties and I have free range to kiss who I want as well.

54: Is there anyone I trust even though I should not?: Nope! All of the people that I trust are carefully selected and then stick around after I push them away

55: What is something I disliked about today?: I threw up from overexertion at the gym this morning...

56: If I could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be?: Maynard James Keenan

57: What do I think about most?: A lot of what ifs.... And a lot about food hahaha

58: What’s my strangest talent?: I can mimic Gullum/Smeagol perfectly

59: Do I have any strange phobias?: Fireworks terrify me

60: Do I prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it?: It depends. I love candid photos and I love being in them, but I love taking pictures too

61: What was the last lie I told?: “I’m just tired”

62: Do I prefer talking on the phone or video chatting online?: Video chatting

63: Do I believe in ghosts? How about aliens?: I do! There isn’t any evidence that shows that there isn’t beyond a shadow of a doubt

64: Do I believe in magic?: Not in the Abra Kadabra kind

65: Do I believe in luck?: Yes

66: What’s the weather like right now?: Freezing rain

67: What was the last book I’ve read?: The Gunslinger

68: Do I like the smell of gasoline?: I don’t mind it, but I don’t like it

69: Do I have any nicknames?: I know I used to.... I think they are mostly used for jokes now

70: What was the worst injury I’ve ever had?: When I fractured my right ankle (I did have my nose broken, but that was by a doctor to fix it)

71: Do I spend money or save it?: I save most of it and I splurge occasionally

72: Can I touch my nose with a tongue?: Nope

73: Is there anything pink in 10 feet from me?: A pink highlighter and a pink pen

74: Favorite animal?: Wolf

75: What was I doing last night at 12 AM?: Either sleeping or tossing and turning

76: What do I think is Satan’s last name is? I think this question needs editing...

77: What’s a song that always makes me happy when I hear it?: Dirrrty

78: How can you win my heart?: With honesty, faithfulness, and a nerdy personality

79: What would I want to be written on my tombstone? “Don’t believe them about the curse...”

80: What is my favorite word?: Scuttle

81: My top 5 blogs on tumblr: I follow too many to have a top 5

82: If the whole world were listening to me right now, what would I say?: “Why can’t we all be kind? If we all took a little more time to be aware of our fellow man and aware of the nature around us we could make the world a better place.

83: Do I have any relatives in jail?: I don’t know if they are still in jail or if they got out...

84: I accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow me with the super-power of my choice! What is that power?: I would want to be able to control the elements

85: What would be a question I’d be afraid to tell the truth on?: I don’t think there is a question that I would be afraid to tell the truth on. It may be hard, but I’d answer it honestly

86: What is my current desktop picture? I don’t have one since my work computer is being switched out tomorrow.

87: Had sex?: Yes

88: Bought condoms?: Yes

89: Gotten pregnant?: I have not

90: Failed a class?: I honestly never have

91: Kissed a boy?: Yes

92: Kissed a girl?:yes

93: Have I ever kissed somebody in the rain?: Yes

94: Had job?: at one right now

95: Left the house without my wallet?: I haven’t done it in a few years, but I have

96: Bullied someone on the internet?: Nope!

97: Had sex in public?: Technically?....

98: Played on a sports team?: Yes

99: Smoked weed?: Yes

100: Did drugs?: Nothing beyond weed and alcohol

101: Smoked cigarettes?: Yes

102: Drank alcohol?: Yes

103: Am I a vegetarian/vegan?: I am vegan

104: Been overweight?: Nope

105: Been underweight?: I was up until about 4 years ago

106: Been to a wedding?: I been to a lot of them!

107: Been on the computer for 5 hours straight?: I do that at work every day

108: Watched TV for 5 hours straight?: Yup! I love a good tv binge every once and a while

109: Been outside my home country?: Nope

110: Gotten my heart broken?: Yes, very badly

111: Been to a professional sports game?: I’ve been to a few

112: Broken a bone?: Not by myself

113: Cut myself?: I did for about 16 years

114: Been to prom?: Yes, I was sick that night and had a track meet the next morning

115: Been in airplane?: Nope

116: Fly by helicopter?: No

117: What concerts have I been to?: Oh lord.... I’ve been to too many to list, but the last concert that I went to was to see A Perfect Circle

118: Had a crush on someone of the same sex?: Yupp!

119: Learned another language?: I’m still trying to learn French.....

120: Wore make up?: I do almost every day

121: Lost my virginity before I was 18?: Mhmm

122: Had oral sex?: Yes

123: Dyed my hair?: Yupp

124: Voted in a presidential election?: I have!

125: Rode in an ambulance?: Not yet thankfully

126: Had a surgery?: Yupp!

127: Met someone famous?: I don’t think so

128: Stalked someone on a social network?: Mhmm

129: Peed outside?: Yes.... Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do

130: Been fishing?: About 10 years ago

131: Helped with charity?: I do every year at work!

132: Been rejected by a crush?: Yes

133: Broken a mirror?: I think so.... I think I punched one

134: What do I want for birthday?: I never really want anything specific. It’s just another day

[evodex]

14 days of Everest Base Camp: Pages From My Travel Journal II

14 days of Everest Base Camp

Sometimes in life, all you have to do is turn up! And for me, this trek was just faith..

I am in no way the fittest, strongest or the bravest of the people who head for this trek but one thing I have is the willpower and an attitude that says never give up and I have seen that it gets you through the toughest of times.

Continuing my story of the trek to Everest Base Camp from the previous post…

Day 4- Namche to Tengboche (3850 mtrs)(6-8 hours)

The first half of the trek you will do along Dudh Kosi river again and reach the rhododendron forests and it is mostly downhill and you cross a few more suspension bridges. The second half is an uphill climb of two hours and we were in Tengboche in Khumbu valley by 4.30. Here you can visit the world’s highest monastery, the Tengboche monastery. We reached here by 4 pm which was not so bad, it had just started to drizzle. While we had a common toilet in the tea house that we were staying today, the bakery there was awesome. They had cafe latte, freshly baked apple pies, carrot cake, mudpie, black forest cakes. It was like we had seen water in a desert. Here we all couped up in a heated room and bonded over playing cards, learning new games like ‘Dhumaal’ and ‘Gulam chor’. It turned out to be a very interesting evening, as everytime anyone lost they had to perform. Someone did pushups, someone sang and we even got Justin to dance to the tunes of ‘Lungi dance’ with Meera choreographing. They were all such wonderful sports. From here we got the first view of Everest and a panoramic view of the well-known peaks of Tawache, Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse, Ama Dablam, and Thamserku.

ps. Please remember the Tengboche Monastery closes at 4.30 pm. 

First view of the Everest

Day 5 &6  — Tengboche to Dingboche (4350) (5-6 hours)

Day 5 was supposed to be an easy walk, as per Sanjeev. However, it was a lot of downhill and uphill as well and not as easy as I had expected. I was really slow today and walked from 8.30 am to 3.15 am. Meera found her trekking partner in Justin. I walked slowly with Rahul and Anita today taking a lot of pictures, in fact, when I reached the tea house I couldn’t believe my eyes. Our tea house was called ‘The Summit’  and was a nice wooden lodge. It had attached baths and a shower area but it was cold and no one was looking for a bath. Here is the place where we lost signal, even the local Nepali number stopped working. You can buy wifi but it is not very effective and is expensive. We had a rest day here. The next day we ascended another 250 meters for acclimatisation. Sanjeev, our guide, was very happy with the group’s progress. On the way, we met Shannon and Rebecca again(remember the two nurses from Las Vegas?) and we told them how sorry we were to hear of the Las Vegas shooting(a crazy guy in had opened fire in the Hotel Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas injuring over 500 people). They were caught unaware as they had no access to news and we were the first ones informing them. It felt quite horrible to be the bearer of bad news. Later they came to our tea house just to inform us that everyone they knew was safe and they were thankful to us for informing them.

I developed a mild fever and was weighed down again by worries on how the trek forward will be. Garlic soup and ginger lemon honey tea helped me sail through. What we realised was that Justin, Madhur and me were all reading books on the 1996 Everest expedition by Scott Fischer and his team(on which the movie Everest is based) but we were all reading different authors. Sunil suggested we should finish our books and exchange. In the meanwhile, it was fun to exchange notes on how Lena Gammelgård(Climbing High) and  ‎Anatoli Boukreev(The Climb) had shared the same expedition in such different lights.

Our typical days during the trek playing Dhumaal and Oh hell! I can’t get over the silly cap I wore throughout the trek.

p.s. Our guide had advised us not to bath after Namche to avoid catching a cold. However, if you are keen you can pay for a bucket of hot water and have a bath here. 

p.s. Eat light throughout the trek as there is a highly likely chance to feel queasy and have an upset stomach with change in weather, water and food that you will be consuming on the trek. Almost all of us fell prey to this during our trek.

Days 7&8 — Dingboche to Labouche(4910 mtrs)

The air starts thinning from here and you feel your lungs taking the load. During my trip to Ladakh in August, I had developed a slight cough which aggravated and became worse now. Most people term it as Khumbu cough and is quite common here. Slowly the trail disappears and soon you are climbing over rocks. We reached Thukla where we took a break for lunch at a tea house near the river. Here we saw a dead horse in the river, a gruesome sight which I will witness again on my way back.

No one removed the dead horse, quite sad.  Throughout the trek, you keep meeting fellow trekkers who are either in the same state as you or are on their way back with a sense of achievement but almost everyone looks tired, paled and strained. I might this beautiful Moroccan lady who was glowing. She was basically doing EBC, Gokyo Ri and Chola pass in twenty-five days and it does make a difference. We were trying to do EBC in 14 days and that takes a toll on your health and skin. If you have time and are planning to do the trek, do think about increasing the number of days. The better you acclimatise, the easier the trek will be.

Right after lunch, you start a sharp ascent and on the top, you see memorial stupas strewn all over the place were dedicated to the climbers and trekkers who lost their lives to Everest. I got excited to see Scott Fischer’s memorial, the guy that I had been reading about from the 1996 expedition. I paid homage to them, shot a small video as it was an honour to be standing amongst these departed souls.

From here the walk is mostly flat or downhill but you tend to become a bit sluggish due to altitude.

The terrain completely transforms to give a peek view of Mt. Lobuche, Mt. Pumori and the Nuptse. You also get a view of the Chola lake when you are slightly higher up. Towards the end, it started raining and we experienced light hailstorm. This place is remote and you don’t see any kids around and hardly any population too. Finally, the trek started reminding me of Iceland trail dwelling beautifully in it’s virginity.

When we reached Labouche we were staying at the tea house called ‘Oxygen’, which was quite a pun. It was a nice cozy place and I was rapidly trying to finish my book but playing cards kept me distracted. I was very excited now as I knew from here the next stop is EBC.

Of all the eleven of us, only Raghav and Rahul were the only ones to have survived without Diamox till now, yet, Raghav always managed to stay ahead of the pack during the treks. In fact, I used to tease the three Karnal brothers saying that they should be grateful to their mothers for feeding them the pure air and food that they have been consuming over the years.

P.S. While these three survived well, I would not recommend this trek to first-time trekkers. You should have experienced 4500m altitude treks before this one to see how your body acclimatises to the lack of oxygen.

Next day was a rest day so as usual, we went for a small trek went berserk clicking slo-mo videos and some crazy pictures.

p.s. Do pay homage to the summiteers who have lost their lives during their expeditions on your way to Labouche. 

p.s You get NCell (which is the local network) signals here.

Day 9 – From Lobuche(4910 m) to Gorak Shep (5180m) and Everest Base Camp (5364m)- 15km (6-8 hours)

The next day, the weather was beautiful and bright and we head out sharp at 7.30 am. The entire trail was rocky with the trail converging into the horizon at the edge. As the oxygen levels deplete mother nature takes over. Did you know why the national park is called Sagarmatha? The Himalayan ranges were thrust upward by tectonic action about 40 and 50 million years ago. The Himalayas themselves started rising about 25 to 30 million years ago. So initially the area was actually a sea. You will see heaps of white sand towards Gorak Shep.  On our way, we saw landslides occurring commonly. In fact, we had to climb one such path. I waited for the landslide to stop before starting to climb the same hill where it had occurred a few seconds ago. The entire hill was porous but we didn’t have a choice. This was the first time I froze in the trek but there was no choice, no alternate route so we kept going on, walking with faith. My cough was getting worse. Sherpas here say that everyone gets it and if we don’t then wouldn’t we all be sherpas? We arrived at the village of Gorak Shep, nestled under the soaring summits at around 10.20 am. Here we dumped our bags, had brunch and headed out again at 11.30 am to the much sought after EBC.

pic credit: Justin Brown

  pic credit: Justin Brown

The landscape starts with white sand and then becomes rocky and finally we walk along the Khumbu glacier. Towards the end is a really long, endless ridge of moraine which is actually accumulated glacial debris. This goes down a bit into the Khumbu Valley and onto the glacier. We reached EBC marker at around 2.30 pm. Elated we posed for many pictures around the EBC landmark and I tied a prayer flag there praying to Sagarmatha for letting me achieve this huge feat and making it so special. Interestingly, while EBC marks the base for Everest summiteers, you cannot see Mt. Everest from here. This is why most trekkers hike to Kala Patthar from where you get spectacular views of the Everest and it’s sisters.

This is how the last leg to EBC looks like;

I am wearing at least 4-5 layers of clothing. Me, Meera, Justin and Arun(left to right)

Walk back is easy and we just took around 1.30 hours to get back to our tea house.

The accommodation at Gorak Shep was pretty basic. We stayed in a place called Snowland and had common toilets again. We had to wear head torches to go to the toilet and our door didn’t even lock. We retired early as the next day was a tough one.

p.s. This is also the place where you find the highest Shivaji statue in the world, while I don’t understand why is there a statue of Shivaji in Nepal, it was an interesting fact not to be missed.

Days 10 Kala Pathar(5550 mtrs)  & Decent to Thukla  Walking distance: km (5-6 hours)

A lot of trekkers skip this because they are either tired or it is not on their list. However, we had only Ashok skipping this one and once again my group surprised me. We started the trek at 6 am and it was freezing cold. The moon shone beautifully in the sky and the valley bathed in moonlight made for a beautiful painting. The climb up is very steep and today you want to layer up in all your warm layers, maybe put one or two extra ones. It was a never-ending walk with breathtaking views of the Himalayan sisters along the side. You hear a glacier breaking every fifteen minutes and wonder how summiteers survive up there. We even saw an avalanche and thanked our lucky stars for being on the other side of death. You realise like never before global warming is very real and is rapidly advancing. It was cold and two more people decided to turn back and return to the tea house. I walked like a zombie for the next few hours till Sanjeev told me arrived. This was the first viewpoint of Kala Patthar and I posed for pictures here. Sun God was finally smiling on us.

First viewpoint on the way to Kala Patthar

We could see people going further ahead but Sanjeev told us to turn back from here. That’s when my absolute heroes that day, Anita and Sunil, who were slowly crawling up behind me said something that I couldn’t resist. ” You cannot go back from here. If you go back you will regret not seeing the top for the rest of your life”. That was it! We were going to further climb painfully slow as the limbs were dead but the mind took over. I remember almost dragging my body up the last climb which is just randomly placed rocks to climb to the top of Kala Patthar and trust me when I did reach the top, I felt more elated than reaching EBC. From Kala Patthar, you get dramatic close-up views of the Everest and its sisters. I tied prayer flags here and thanked Sagarmatha for being kind to us. The descent back was really quick for me and I did it in 1.30 hours. 

pic credit: Sunil Nehru

  View from the Kala Patthar

  pic credit: Sunil Nehru

We had breakfast at Gorakshep before starting our descent. The initial plan was to break at Labouche for lunch but once we reached there, one of our guides told us to go ahead to Thukla as we would not be breaking there. By now I was dead, cold, hungry and pissed. My body was breaking but I had no choice and had to carry on. We crossed the Stupa of Scott Fischer again and by the time I reached Thukla it was 5.30 pm and was misty and getting dark. This was an unusually long day for us and today my body took the toll. Our tea house today, the Rest Point was the worst of the lot. We had an attatched toilet but the floor wet, there was no light in the night, no flush, no seat cover, and there was no carpet in the rooms as well. The cold just came in through the window.

Day 11- Thukla to Tengboche 

It was a beautiful sunny day and we walked through the valley of Pheriche towards Tengboche skipping Dengboche. I realised Anita was suffering from the runner’s knee issue and still she had managed to walk with us throughout. In fact, Anita had already trekked to EBC in 2015 and she had come back with us in this condition as she wanted Angad, her son, to experience it. I was super impressed with her dedication. The downward climb made it worse for her. We decided to take it slow and enjoy the view and click pictures.

There was no rush, we had met our goals and now we just had to walk back. It was the time to enjoy our last few days in the mountains because I knew they were going to keep popping in my memory for months later on. We broke for lunch at Pengboche. And here again, in high spirits, Ambeer and Madan performed a song and dance routine for us. Everyone was relaxed and happy. As usual, after Pheriche, we had an hour plus of climbing but today we were looking forward to the bakery at Tengboche and didn’t feel as bad. The fresh smell of brewed coffee and mudpie cake and brownies were all that we needed to add the sparkle to our day. I was rapidly concerned about finishing my book before the trek ended to live in the moment. I was also being quizzed on it every day by Sunil, Justin, and Meera and with my memory, I was now reading facts 2-3 times to be able to answer them :).

pic credit: Sunil Nehru

Day 12-Tengboche to Monjo

We retraced our steps with a  hike down a steep trail to the Dudh Kosi and climb to Namche Bazaar. Here we stopped for lunch and bought some souvenirs. It was also Meera’s birthday today so I wanted to get her the Sherpa t-shirt that she had liked on our way up. From here we walked all the way to Monjo, finally walked out of the Sagarmatha National Park crossing all the beautiful Mane stones and I thanked each of them for a safe return. We reached really late today at 6 pm. It was a lovely evening as we celebrated Meera’s Birthday. Everyone sang, danced, we opened a bottle of wine.

The White Magic team arranged for a lovely cake for her and we even made a group of Germans sing ‘Happy Birthday’ for her. The rooms here had an attatched bath with a hot shower running, carpeted floors and we realised that we had become unused to luxury. 

  Day 13- Monjo to Lukla (9-10 miles, 6-7 hours)

Today was our last leg,  and it started raining in the morning but luckily by the time, we stepped out weather had cleared.

We passed through the Sherpa villages and stopped at Phakding for lunch. It was here I got a call from my dad that my grandmom was counting her last breath and I should reroute my trip to Delhi and come and see her. The next part of the trek for me was a blur. I slowed down initially trying to change my flights and then when I couldn’t get signals, I walked uphill with a pace I didn’t know I had to reach Yak Donald’s where we were staying that night at Lukla. I reached, managed to change my tickets and that’s when I calmed down. This was our last evening on the trek together with the porters and the guides and they had arranged for a small party. It was fun and towards the end of it, Sunil made a speech on our behalf. We thanked each one of them for bearing our luggage and our tantrums. They had been wonderful. We all got very emotional as we had reached the end of our trek. We knew in the world outside we were different people with different lives. It’s an inexplicable feeling where you get connected so well and then you depart to go on leading lives that may not interconnect ever. 

Day 14 — Lukla/Kathmandu

You fly back to Kathmandu from Lukla in a small plane and by the flights that I saw passing before us, it was the most thrilling part of the trek. The plane has a very small runway after which it dips into the valley to rise up. It was our final adieu to the mountains.

Meera and me with the female porters.

p.s. The flights from Lukla are very dicey. They get canceled every now and then due to bad weather. Our flight too was delayed for about two hours. A friend of mine who went on a trek after me had to do a helicopter evacuation as she did not want to miss her connection from Kathmandu. Keep an extra day in your itinerary just for this.

Kathmandu to back home

The next two days we explored Kathmandu like tourists. Visited the temples and palaces of Durbar Square. Very few structures still exist after the Nepal earthquake. I also managed to visit Pashupati Temple on my way to the airport. Sanjeev came to bid me goodbye with my certificate and a Nepali stole which is a tradition. While I bid my goodbyes my heart stayed back with the mountains and somewhere in my heart I knew I am coming back. Once the mountain bug bites you it stays with you. 

p.s. The Nepal gives you a certificate which states that you have completed the trek after it is certified by your guide. 

At the Kumari residence in Durbar Square. Pic credit: Justin Brown

The cremations happening at Pashupati nath

Pic credit: Justin Brown

Enjoyed reading this? Inspired to head to the Himalayas? Stay tuned for more posts on how to prepare for EBC and things you should know before heading to EBC.

Until the next adventure, ciao!!

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[sherristockman]

Air Pollution Is Linked to Poor Sleep Dr. Mercola By Dr. Mercola If you’re among the 35 percent of U.S. adults who are not getting the recommended seven hours of sleep each night,1 a silent intruder in your bedroom could be to blame: air pollution. With well-known adverse effects on your heart and lung health, research presented at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) 2017 International Conference suggests poor air quality may also disrupt your sleep.2 The study looked closely at the effects of two widespread pollutants, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), which is traffic-related air pollution, and PM2.5, or fine-particle pollution, which is less than 2.5 micrometers in size and is responsible for reduced visibility. Both of the pollutants had an influence on study participants’ sleep efficiency, which is a measure of the time spent actually sleeping as opposed to lying in bed awake. In fact, the people in the top quarter of NO2 exposure were 60 percent more likely to have low sleep efficiency over a five-year period compared to those in the lowest quarter. Among those exposed to the highest levels of fine-particle pollution, there was a 50 percent increased likelihood of low sleep efficiency. The researchers suggested high air pollution levels may also lead to acute sleep effects after short-term exposures, but they did not have adequate data to study the potential connection. Lead study author Dr. Martha E. Billings, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Washington, said in a press release:3 “We thought an effect was likely given that air pollution causes upper airway irritation, swelling and congestion, and may also affect the central nervous system and brain areas that control breathing patterns and sleep … These new findings indicate the possibility that commonly experienced levels of air pollution not only affect heart and lung disease, but also sleep quality. Improving air quality may be one way to enhance sleep health and perhaps reduce health disparities.” Is Poor Air Quality Interfering With Your Sleep? Past research has also linked air pollution with poor sleep, adding credence that environmental factors may significantly influence the quality of your shut-eye. In 2015, for instance, researchers investigated the link between black carbon, a marker of traffic-related air pollution, and sleep among participants of the Boston Area Community Health Survey.4 They found that long-term exposure to black carbon may be associated with shorter sleep duration, especially in men. Among children, meanwhile, exposure to particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 10 μm (PM10) was associated with sleep disturbances,5 as was exposure to another form of air pollution — secondhand smoke. In the latter case, children with asthma who were regularly exposed to tobacco smoke at home were more likely to suffer from sleep problems, including longer delays in falling asleep, sleep-disordered breathing, daytime sleepiness and overall sleep disturbance.6 One Bad Night’s Sleep May Slow Your Metabolism It’s well-known that interrupted or impaired sleep may contribute to a pre-diabetic, insulin-resistant state, making you feel hungry even if you've already eaten, which can lead to weight gain. What’s less known is that you don’t have to be a chronic insomniac for the lack of sleep to affect your waistline. In research outlined at the 2017 European Congress of Endocrinology in Lisbon, it was found that disrupted sleep patterns, even for one night, may increase your appetite and slow your metabolism.7 The researchers, from Uppsala University in Sweden, conducted one intriguing experiment that included 14 participants who got varying amounts of sleep, ranging from none at all to normal amounts. Their eating habits, blood sugar, hormone levels and metabolic rate were monitored, revealing that even one night of poor sleep slowed metabolism, including rates of breathing and digestion, by up to 20 percent. Further, after poor sleep, blood sugar levels rose as did levels of stress hormones and ghrelin, the “hunger hormone” that might work in your brain to make you keep eating "pleasurable" foods when you're already full. Other experiments by the research team found sleep disturbance reduced insulin sensitivity and altered gut bacteria, the latter of which is also important for healthy metabolism. In short, skimping on sleep sets up the perfect storm for metabolic disturbance and weight gain. As The Guardian reported:8 “[The researchers] found healthy but sleep-deprived people prefer larger food portions, seek more calories, exhibit signs of increased food-related impulsivity, experience more pleasure from food, and expend less energy than control groups. Part of the problem stems from the fact that sleep loss shifts the hormonal balance from those that promote fullness (satiety), such as GLP-1, to those that promote hunger, such as ghrelin. As a result, people think they are hungrier than they really are.” Lack of Sleep Could Affect Your Social Life If you’re sleeping in an air-polluted space that’s keeping you up at night (or otherwise have difficulty sleeping), even your social life could suffer. In a study published in the journal Open Science, 25 people were photographed after normal sleep and two days of sleep restriction.9 The photos were then rated by 122 people, based on how much they would like to socialize with that person, attractiveness, health and other factors. The raters were less likely to want to socialize with people who were sleep-deprived and also perceived them to be less attractive, less healthy and more sleepy. The findings suggest that not only can others likely see it on your face if you’re sleep deprived, but they may be less inclined, by 20 percent to 30 percent, to want to socialize with you as a result.10 If You Have Metabolic Syndrome, Lack of Sleep Increases Risk of Early Death If you’re struggling with a chronic disease, poor sleep may make it harder to control and increase your risk of serious complications — even premature death. Among people with metabolic syndrome, for instance, those who got more than six hours of sleep per night were 1.5 times more likely to die of stroke during the 16-year study period compared to 2.1 times as likely for those who slept for under six hours.11 Among people with metabolic syndrome who slept for six hours or less, the risk of death from any cause was also nearly twice as high as it was among people without the condition. “Short sleep in individuals with MetS [metabolic syndrome] may be linked to greater central autonomic and metabolic dysfunction,” the researchers added, suggesting that future trials should look at whether getting more sleep improves outcomes in people with the disease.12 The latter appears to be likely. In 2014, poor sleep was once again found to have a significant bearing on metabolic disorders such as obesity, hypertension and type 2 diabetes, and the researchers suggested addressing your sleeping habits may be key for both the prevention and treatment of these disorders.13 Losing Sleep Takes a Toll on Your Heart Your whole body suffers when you don’t get enough sleep. Some of the repercussions you can feel (via daytime fatigue, for instance) but many, like the adverse effects on your heart, you cannot. Researchers from the University of Bonn in Germany took images of radiologists’ hearts before and after a 24-hour shift, during which they got only about three hours of sleep. Significant heart strain, a precursor to heart problems, was noted following the sleep deprivation.14 Other concerning changes, including an increase in blood pressure, heart rate and thyroid hormones, which is indicative of a stress response, were also noted. Getting back to air pollution, if you’re sleep deprived and exposed to air pollution, it’s a double whammy to your heart health, as even sporadic exposure to PM2.5 was associated with an increase in endothelial cell death and elevations of specific immune cells that could contribute to the development of atherosclerosis and acute coronary events.15 How to Improve the Air Quality in Your Bedroom The featured study looked at the role of outdoor air pollution and sleep, but there’s good reason to believe that in creating your bedroom sleep sanctuary, attention to proper indoor air quality should also be given (plus, while you can’t control the air quality outside of your home, you can control, to some extent, the quality of the air inside it). Filtering your home’s air is a good start. Commercially purchased air filters may change measurements of health, include lowering the amount of C-reactive protein and other measurements of inflammation and blood vessel function.16 Not all filters work with the same efficiency to remove pollutants from your home, and no one filter can remove all pollutants, so be sure to do your research on the different types of air filters to meet your specific needs. Another option is to add houseplants, which help to absorb indoor air pollution. Further, one of the simplest and easiest ways to reduce the pollution count in your home is to open the windows and let a little fresh air in (assuming the outdoor air isn’t overly polluted). Because most homes have little air leakage, opening the windows for as little as 15 minutes every day can improve the quality of the air you're breathing. You may also want to consider cracking the window at night while you sleep. Installing an attic fan is another way of bringing fresh air into your home and reducing your air conditioning costs. The Basics of Good Sleep Air quality is just one of many factors that influence the quality of your sleep. Perhaps the most important natural "trick" of all for improving your sleep is to make sure you're getting proper exposure to bright light during the day and no exposure to blue light at night. In the morning, bright, blue light-rich sunlight signals to your body that it's time to wake up. At night, as the sun sets, darkness should signal to your body that it's time to sleep. Ideally, to help your circadian system reset itself, get at least 10 to 15 minutes of natural light first thing in the morning. This will send a strong message to your internal clock that day has arrived, making it less likely to be confused by weaker light signals later on. Then, around solar noon, get another "dose" of at least 30 minutes' worth of sunlight. A full hour or more would be even better. If your schedule is such that you have to get up and arrive at work before sunrise, aim to get at least that half-hour of bright sunlight sometime during the day. In the evening when the sun begins to set, put on amber-colored glasses that block blue light. You can also dim your lights (whether they're LED, incandescent or compact fluorescent lamps [CFLs]) and turn off electronic devices to reduce your exposure to light that may stifle your melatonin production. Better still, swap out LEDs for incandescent or low-voltage incandescent halogen lights (and please be sure to read my article on the dangers of LED lights). After sundown, you can also shift to a low-wattage bulb with yellow, orange or red light if you need illumination. A salt lamp illuminated by a 5-watt bulb is an ideal solution that will not interfere with your melatonin production. Candle light also works well. If you’ve already optimized your light exposure and air quality and are still struggling with sleep, see my 33 healthy sleep secrets for a more comprehensive list of strategies for a better night’s rest.

[bloggaiasailinglove-blog]

A Day in the Sea Hobo Life: Exhibit B

When we left her, Gaia was riding prettily at anchor on the emerald waters off Love Beach, on New Providence's west coast.  The day was cloudy and promised rain in the evening, but we thought we had time to get into town and do some provisioning before the storm set in.  The bay was flat as we zipped into Lyford Cay Marina in the dinghy with no trouble.

The return setting was drastically different.

The wind had arrived early and set in long enough to raise a sizable swell.  As we exited the marina loaded with groceries, the little rubber boat was forced to bang into the waves for the half-mile ride to Gaia.  We took the swell at a 45 degree angle but I couldn't prevent us from getting soaked by the spray.  Five minutes into the ride, the rain set in; it came hard and horizontal and stung my eyes such that I was forced to put my sunglasses on.  The palm trees on the shore beside the jillion-dollar mansions were leaning heavily in the wind.

Approaching Gaia from the rear, it was obvious that the transfer between boats was going to be tricky. While the green swell wasn't massive, at maybe six feet, her transom was jumping up and down on a different wave pattern than the dinghy.  I nosed the little boat in as close as possible without risking getting her caught under the big steel hull. Diego paused on the bow, waited for a sympathetic swell, then jumped a two-foot gap to the swim ladder.  He held the dinghy's painter loosely so as not to pull us under and gestured for Liza to start handing up bags.  

All four of us made it on board safely, along with our drenched bags of groceries.  Liza and Diego took the supplies into the cabin while David and I discussed our options for the dinghy.  There was no way we would be able to lift off the engine in that swell, so we'd have to tow it and hope for the best.  Another cruiser was anchored beside us and radioed that he expected the wind to ease in an hour.  Looking at the black north-western sky, I wasn't sure what the basis of that assumption was, but it gave us time to get Gaia prepped.  

A sharp metallic clank rang out from the cockpit and I turned to see the wheel spinning freely.

“Steering chain snapped,” David said.  We looked at each other flatly as the boat bucked under us.  We were at anchor and in no real danger yet, but the wind was supposed to increase all night and it was a lee shore.  Gaia had to be moved if possible.

Lifting the top of the steering console confirmed the damage; we could see the chain resting in the engine compartment eight feet below us. David went downstairs to open the engine while I looked around for a line to drop through the console to bring the chain back up.

Joining the crew as they crowded around the captain, David showed me the broken link at one end of the chain.  A two-foot chain connected at either end with cables that ran through the boat to the rudder.  With no brake on the rudder, the whole assembly had been banging through its full range of motion for the past hour-plus, and the stress had snapped the weakest connection.

“I can fix this, temporarily at least,” David said.  He directed Diego to steady the emergency tiller (a four-foot steel pipe) in the aft cabin while he worked, and sent me to the cockpit to bring up the ends of the chain.  Liza brought him tools from the workbench and he set about replacing the snapped link.

Half an hour of work, made difficult by the movement of the decks, resulted in a patched assembly that seemed solid enough to get us the half-mile into Lyford.  We had radioed the marina about a possible tow if the repair was unsuccessful, but only one person remained on a stormy Sunday night and there was no chance of sending out another boat.  

The Captain and Diego moved forward to pull up the anchor, holding tight to the life-lines as the waves crashed over Gaia's rails.  The water deepened into an angry grey-green and heavy storm clouds rolled in as the sun started to set.  I pushed the throttle and Gaia's 75 hp diesel drove her forward into the swell as the guys brought up her anchor.

A sharp wind gusted more westerly and forced me to fight with the wheel to keep Gaia over the anchor chain.  I responded as gently as possible, but I knew I was putting stress on the patched steering assembly.  The guys successfully brought the anchor out of the water and I turned to port, pushing us out between two shoals into deeper water.  

Another, familiar, clank rattled the steering console and her bow immediately began drifting to starboard, turning us into the beach.

“Chain snapped again!” I yelled over the wind.

“I'm on the emergency tiller,” David called up, “Which way?”  The emergency tiller on Gaia connects to the rudder post in the aft cabin, giving the pilot no view of the water.

“Hard to port!” I replied, and gunned the throttle to keep water moving over the rudder.  I felt her move to port, then a huge wave crashed over the bow and turned her nose away from the wind, which then caught her on the side and started pushing her back to shore faster than the engine could pull her out.

“Drop anchor!” I yelled to Diego and Liza up on the bow.  Gaia's oversized hook dropped into the sand and we ran out as much chain as we could risk, so close to shore.  She jerked as the anchor caught and Diego wrestled with the chain to put out a snub-line to take the strain.  We were no more than 20 yards from shore, in nine feet of water.

Everyone returned to the cockpit thoroughly soaked, but all seemed calm.  

“She's not going anywhere,” David said, clearly running through our options in his head.

“Second anchor?” Diego proposed.  David nodded and moved forward to engage the smaller, second anchor on the bow.  Diego and Liza went belowdecks to pack for an orderly departure.

David prepped the equipment on the second anchor as the light began to fade.  Standing next to him on Gaia's wildly bucking bow, I considered that we'd have to drop the anchor from the deck into the dinghy to run it out for a safe position.  Given the difficulty of even just getting in the dinghy, I thought the swinging anchor would put someone seriously at risk.

“Dude, you're going to get brained trying to catch the anchor in the dinghy,” I told him as he worked.  

He paused and looked over the bow at the pounding waves.

“Fuck, you're right,” he said.  “I'm gonna end up eating that thing.” He stood up.

We had one heavy anchor out in good holding, but were facing a lee shore and winds increasing to 25 – 30 knots; not a worst-case scenario, but also not an enviable one.  The swell was riding in from the west while the wind was north-west, so the boat was rolling around violently, rather than just banging up and down in the waves.  It was about 5 pm; I didn't know if we had 30 or 90 minutes of light left in the storm.

“Ok, let's get to shore,” David said.  I turned to tell the other crew but they were already prepped.

We made sure all the hatches were tightly secured then headed to the dinghy.  Getting everyone in the little boat took almost five minutes as David danced it in and out from Gaia's crashing transom.  Diego came last and jumped into the boat while Liza steadied him.

As we pulled away from Gaia, we all looked back at her riding in the storm.  Her anchor had never been tested in these conditions; in theory, it would be more than sufficient to hold her steady in the sand, but after only ten days of sailing, it was a hard thing for David to leave her.  He was putting his crew's safety above his anxiety about the boat, but it was obvious he wasn't going to sleep that night.

Pulling into Lyford Cay again, we were met by John, the only person on the premises.  He was apologetic about being unable to help with a tow, and began making calls to find us a hotel for the night.  After an hour of last-minute calling we found a place with a decent price, and all piled into a cab.  We had been wet for four hours straight, and everyone was exhausted and cold.

That night we shared two rooms at a one-star hotel where a block-party went on until 3 am around the empty concrete pool.  No one slept much.

The next morning, David and Diego, with the help of Vaughan at Lyford, machined a better fix for the chain.  We didn't even know if she was still at anchor or resting on her hull on the beach.  The wind hadn't abated and the seas were still an angry green.

David and I motored out into the swell in the dinghy to install the repaired part and bring her into the marina.  I was facing aft from the bow of the dinghy, huddled under my rain jacket against the heavy sea spray.  We rounded the point towards Love Beach and David let out the breath he'd been holding.

Gaia was where we'd left her, rolling wildly as she got hammered by the waves, but otherwise sound.  

Two hours later we limped into Lyford, where we spent a five-star night at the most expensive marina on New Providence.  The Gaia crew would like to thank (in order of appearance) Vaughan, Kenya, Mr. Rahming, John, and Charlie at Lyford Cay Marina for going above and beyond to get us and Gaia sorted out safely.

[evodex]

14 days of Everest Base Camp: Pages From My Travel Journal II

14 days of Everest Base Camp

Sometimes in life, all you have to do is turn up! And for me, this trek was just faith..

I am in no way the fittest, strongest or the bravest of the people who head for this trek but one thing I have is the willpower and an attitude that says never give up and I have seen that it gets you through the toughest of times.

Continuing my story of the trek to Everest Base Camp from the previous post…

Day 4- Namche to Tengboche (3850 mtrs)(6-8 hours)

The first half of the trek you will do along Dudh Kosi river again and reach the rhododendron forests and it is mostly downhill and you cross a few more suspension bridges. The second half is an uphill climb of two hours and we were in Tengboche in Khumbu valley by 4.30. Here you can visit the world’s highest monastery, the Tengboche monastery. We reached here by 4 pm which was not so bad, it had just started to drizzle. While we had a common toilet in the tea house that we were staying today, the bakery there was awesome. They had cafe latte, freshly baked apple pies, carrot cake, mudpie, black forest cakes. It was like we had seen water in a desert. Here we all couped up in a heated room and bonded over playing cards, learning new games like ‘Dhumaal’ and ‘Gulam chor’. It turned out to be a very interesting evening, as everytime anyone lost they had to perform. Someone did pushups, someone sang and we even got Justin to dance to the tunes of ‘Lungi dance’ with Meera choreographing. They were all such wonderful sports. From here we got the first view of Everest and a panoramic view of the well-known peaks of Tawache, Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse, Ama Dablam, and Thamserku.

ps. Please remember the Tengboche Monastery closes at 4.30 pm. 

First view of the Everest

Day 5 &6  — Tengboche to Dingboche (4350) (5-6 hours)

Day 5 was supposed to be an easy walk, as per Sanjeev. However, it was a lot of downhill and uphill as well and not as easy as I had expected. I was really slow today and walked from 8.30 am to 3.15 am. Meera found her trekking partner in Justin. I walked slowly with Rahul and Anita today taking a lot of pictures, in fact, when I reached the tea house I couldn’t believe my eyes. Our tea house was called ‘The Summit’  and was a nice wooden lodge. It had attached baths and a shower area but it was cold and no one was looking for a bath. Here is the place where we lost signal, even the local Nepali number stopped working. You can buy wifi but it is not very effective and is expensive. We had a rest day here. The next day we ascended another 250 meters for acclimatisation. Sanjeev, our guide, was very happy with the group’s progress. On the way, we met Shannon and Rebecca again(remember the two nurses from Las Vegas?) and we told them how sorry we were to hear of the Las Vegas shooting(a crazy guy in had opened fire in the Hotel Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas injuring over 500 people). They were caught unaware as they had no access to news and we were the first ones informing them. It felt quite horrible to be the bearer of bad news. Later they came to our tea house just to inform us that everyone they knew was safe and they were thankful to us for informing them.

I developed a mild fever and was weighed down again by worries on how the trek forward will be. Garlic soup and ginger lemon honey tea helped me sail through. What we realised was that Justin, Madhur and me were all reading books on the 1996 Everest expedition by Scott Fischer and his team(on which the movie Everest is based) but we were all reading different authors. Sunil suggested we should finish our books and exchange. In the meanwhile, it was fun to exchange notes on how Lena Gammelgård(Climbing High) and  ‎Anatoli Boukreev(The Climb) had shared the same expedition in such different lights.

Our typical days during the trek playing Dhumaal and Oh hell! I can’t get over the silly cap I wore throughout the trek.

p.s. Our guide had advised us not to bath after Namche to avoid catching a cold. However, if you are keen you can pay for a bucket of hot water and have a bath here. 

p.s. Eat light throughout the trek as there is a highly likely chance to feel queasy and have an upset stomach with change in weather, water and food that you will be consuming on the trek. Almost all of us fell prey to this during our trek.

Days 7&8 — Dingboche to Labouche(4910 mtrs)

The air starts thinning from here and you feel your lungs taking the load. During my trip to Ladakh in August, I had developed a slight cough which aggravated and became worse now. Most people term it as Khumbu cough and is quite common here. Slowly the trail disappears and soon you are climbing over rocks. We reached Thukla where we took a break for lunch at a tea house near the river. Here we saw a dead horse in the river, a gruesome sight which I will witness again on my way back.

No one removed the dead horse, quite sad.  Throughout the trek, you keep meeting fellow trekkers who are either in the same state as you or are on their way back with a sense of achievement but almost everyone looks tired, paled and strained. I might this beautiful Moroccan lady who was glowing. She was basically doing EBC, Gokyo Ri and Chola pass in twenty-five days and it does make a difference. We were trying to do EBC in 14 days and that takes a toll on your health and skin. If you have time and are planning to do the trek, do think about increasing the number of days. The better you acclimatise, the easier the trek will be.

Right after lunch, you start a sharp ascent and on the top, you see memorial stupas strewn all over the place were dedicated to the climbers and trekkers who lost their lives to Everest. I got excited to see Scott Fischer’s memorial, the guy that I had been reading about from the 1996 expedition. I paid homage to them, shot a small video as it was an honour to be standing amongst these departed souls.

From here the walk is mostly flat or downhill but you tend to become a bit sluggish due to altitude.

The terrain completely transforms to give a peek view of Mt. Lobuche, Mt. Pumori and the Nuptse. You also get a view of the Chola lake when you are slightly higher up. Towards the end, it started raining and we experienced light hailstorm. This place is remote and you don’t see any kids around and hardly any population too. Finally, the trek started reminding me of Iceland trail dwelling beautifully in it’s virginity.

When we reached Labouche we were staying at the tea house called ‘Oxygen’, which was quite a pun. It was a nice cozy place and I was rapidly trying to finish my book but playing cards kept me distracted. I was very excited now as I knew from here the next stop is EBC.

Of all the eleven of us, only Raghav and Rahul were the only ones to have survived without Diamox till now, yet, Raghav always managed to stay ahead of the pack during the treks. In fact, I used to tease the three Karnal brothers saying that they should be grateful to their mothers for feeding them the pure air and food that they have been consuming over the years.

P.S. While these three survived well, I would not recommend this trek to first-time trekkers. You should have experienced 4500m altitude treks before this one to see how your body acclimatises to the lack of oxygen.

Next day was a rest day so as usual, we went for a small trek went berserk clicking slo-mo videos and some crazy pictures.

p.s. Do pay homage to the summiteers who have lost their lives during their expeditions on your way to Labouche. 

p.s You get NCell (which is the local network) signals here.

Day 9 – From Lobuche(4910 m) to Gorak Shep (5180m) and Everest Base Camp (5364m)- 15km (6-8 hours)

The next day, the weather was beautiful and bright and we head out sharp at 7.30 am. The entire trail was rocky with the trail converging into the horizon at the edge. As the oxygen levels deplete mother nature takes over. Did you know why the national park is called Sagarmatha? The Himalayan ranges were thrust upward by tectonic action about 40 and 50 million years ago. The Himalayas themselves started rising about 25 to 30 million years ago. So initially the area was actually a sea. You will see heaps of white sand towards Gorak Shep.  On our way, we saw landslides occurring commonly. In fact, we had to climb one such path. I waited for the landslide to stop before starting to climb the same hill where it had occurred a few seconds ago. The entire hill was porous but we didn’t have a choice. This was the first time I froze in the trek but there was no choice, no alternate route so we kept going on, walking with faith. My cough was getting worse. Sherpas here say that everyone gets it and if we don’t then wouldn’t we all be sherpas? We arrived at the village of Gorak Shep, nestled under the soaring summits at around 10.20 am. Here we dumped our bags, had brunch and headed out again at 11.30 am to the much sought after EBC.

pic credit: Justin Brown

  pic credit: Justin Brown

The landscape starts with white sand and then becomes rocky and finally we walk along the Khumbu glacier. Towards the end is a really long, endless ridge of moraine which is actually accumulated glacial debris. This goes down a bit into the Khumbu Valley and onto the glacier. We reached EBC marker at around 2.30 pm. Elated we posed for many pictures around the EBC landmark and I tied a prayer flag there praying to Sagarmatha for letting me achieve this huge feat and making it so special. Interestingly, while EBC marks the base for Everest summiteers, you cannot see Mt. Everest from here. This is why most trekkers hike to Kala Patthar from where you get spectacular views of the Everest and it’s sisters.

This is how the last leg to EBC looks like;

I am wearing at least 4-5 layers of clothing. Me, Meera, Justin and Arun(left to right)

Walk back is easy and we just took around 1.30 hours to get back to our tea house.

The accommodation at Gorak Shep was pretty basic. We stayed in a place called Snowland and had common toilets again. We had to wear head torches to go to the toilet and our door didn’t even lock. We retired early as the next day was a tough one.

p.s. This is also the place where you find the highest Shivaji statue in the world, while I don’t understand why is there a statue of Shivaji in Nepal, it was an interesting fact not to be missed.

Days 10 Kala Pathar(5550 mtrs)  & Decent to Thukla  Walking distance: km (5-6 hours)

A lot of trekkers skip this because they are either tired or it is not on their list. However, we had only Ashok skipping this one and once again my group surprised me. We started the trek at 6 am and it was freezing cold. The moon shone beautifully in the sky and the valley bathed in moonlight made for a beautiful painting. The climb up is very steep and today you want to layer up in all your warm layers, maybe put one or two extra ones. It was a never-ending walk with breathtaking views of the Himalayan sisters along the side. You hear a glacier breaking every fifteen minutes and wonder how summiteers survive up there. We even saw an avalanche and thanked our lucky stars for being on the other side of death. You realise like never before global warming is very real and is rapidly advancing. It was cold and two more people decided to turn back and return to the tea house. I walked like a zombie for the next few hours till Sanjeev told me arrived. This was the first viewpoint of Kala Patthar and I posed for pictures here. Sun God was finally smiling on us.

First viewpoint on the way to Kala Patthar

We could see people going further ahead but Sanjeev told us to turn back from here. That’s when my absolute heroes that day, Anita and Sunil, who were slowly crawling up behind me said something that I couldn’t resist. ” You cannot go back from here. If you go back you will regret not seeing the top for the rest of your life”. That was it! We were going to further climb painfully slow as the limbs were dead but the mind took over. I remember almost dragging my body up the last climb which is just randomly placed rocks to climb to the top of Kala Patthar and trust me when I did reach the top, I felt more elated than reaching EBC. From Kala Patthar, you get dramatic close-up views of the Everest and its sisters. I tied prayer flags here and thanked Sagarmatha for being kind to us. The descent back was really quick for me and I did it in 1.30 hours. 

pic credit: Sunil Nehru

  View from the Kala Patthar

  pic credit: Sunil Nehru

We had breakfast at Gorakshep before starting our descent. The initial plan was to break at Labouche for lunch but once we reached there, one of our guides told us to go ahead to Thukla as we would not be breaking there. By now I was dead, cold, hungry and pissed. My body was breaking but I had no choice and had to carry on. We crossed the Stupa of Scott Fischer again and by the time I reached Thukla it was 5.30 pm and was misty and getting dark. This was an unusually long day for us and today my body took the toll. Our tea house today, the Rest Point was the worst of the lot. We had an attatched toilet but the floor wet, there was no light in the night, no flush, no seat cover, and there was no carpet in the rooms as well. The cold just came in through the window.

Day 11- Thukla to Tengboche 

It was a beautiful sunny day and we walked through the valley of Pheriche towards Tengboche skipping Dengboche. I realised Anita was suffering from the runner’s knee issue and still she had managed to walk with us throughout. In fact, Anita had already trekked to EBC in 2015 and she had come back with us in this condition as she wanted Angad, her son, to experience it. I was super impressed with her dedication. The downward climb made it worse for her. We decided to take it slow and enjoy the view and click pictures.

There was no rush, we had met our goals and now we just had to walk back. It was the time to enjoy our last few days in the mountains because I knew they were going to keep popping in my memory for months later on. We broke for lunch at Pengboche. And here again, in high spirits, Ambeer and Madan performed a song and dance routine for us. Everyone was relaxed and happy. As usual, after Pheriche, we had an hour plus of climbing but today we were looking forward to the bakery at Tengboche and didn’t feel as bad. The fresh smell of brewed coffee and mudpie cake and brownies were all that we needed to add the sparkle to our day. I was rapidly concerned about finishing my book before the trek ended to live in the moment. I was also being quizzed on it every day by Sunil, Justin, and Meera and with my memory, I was now reading facts 2-3 times to be able to answer them :).

pic credit: Sunil Nehru

Day 12-Tengboche to Monjo

We retraced our steps with a  hike down a steep trail to the Dudh Kosi and climb to Namche Bazaar. Here we stopped for lunch and bought some souvenirs. It was also Meera’s birthday today so I wanted to get her the Sherpa t-shirt that she had liked on our way up. From here we walked all the way to Monjo, finally walked out of the Sagarmatha National Park crossing all the beautiful Mane stones and I thanked each of them for a safe return. We reached really late today at 6 pm. It was a lovely evening as we celebrated Meera’s Birthday. Everyone sang, danced, we opened a bottle of wine.

The White Magic team arranged for a lovely cake for her and we even made a group of Germans sing ‘Happy Birthday’ for her. The rooms here had an attatched bath with a hot shower running, carpeted floors and we realised that we had become unused to luxury. 

  Day 13- Monjo to Lukla (9-10 miles, 6-7 hours)

Today was our last leg,  and it started raining in the morning but luckily by the time, we stepped out weather had cleared.

We passed through the Sherpa villages and stopped at Phakding for lunch. It was here I got a call from my dad that my grandmom was counting her last breath and I should reroute my trip to Delhi and come and see her. The next part of the trek for me was a blur. I slowed down initially trying to change my flights and then when I couldn’t get signals, I walked uphill with a pace I didn’t know I had to reach Yak Donald’s where we were staying that night at Lukla. I reached, managed to change my tickets and that’s when I calmed down. This was our last evening on the trek together with the porters and the guides and they had arranged for a small party. It was fun and towards the end of it, Sunil made a speech on our behalf. We thanked each one of them for bearing our luggage and our tantrums. They had been wonderful. We all got very emotional as we had reached the end of our trek. We knew in the world outside we were different people with different lives. It’s an inexplicable feeling where you get connected so well and then you depart to go on leading lives that may not interconnect ever. 

Day 14 — Lukla/Kathmandu

You fly back to Kathmandu from Lukla in a small plane and by the flights that I saw passing before us, it was the most thrilling part of the trek. The plane has a very small runway after which it dips into the valley to rise up. It was our final adieu to the mountains.

Meera and me with the female porters.

p.s. The flights from Lukla are very dicey. They get canceled every now and then due to bad weather. Our flight too was delayed for about two hours. A friend of mine who went on a trek after me had to do a helicopter evacuation as she did not want to miss her connection from Kathmandu. Keep an extra day in your itinerary just for this.

Kathmandu to back home

The next two days we explored Kathmandu like tourists. Visited the temples and palaces of Durbar Square. Very few structures still exist after the Nepal earthquake. I also managed to visit Pashupati Temple on my way to the airport. Sanjeev came to bid me goodbye with my certificate and a Nepali stole which is a tradition. While I bid my goodbyes my heart stayed back with the mountains and somewhere in my heart I knew I am coming back. Once the mountain bug bites you it stays with you. 

p.s. The Nepal gives you a certificate which states that you have completed the trek after it is certified by your guide. 

At the Kumari residence in Durbar Square. Pic credit: Justin Brown

The cremations happening at Pashupati nath

Pic credit: Justin Brown

Enjoyed reading this? Inspired to head to the Himalayas? Stay tuned for more posts on how to prepare for EBC and things you should know before heading to EBC.

Until the next adventure, ciao!!

The post 14 days of Everest Base Camp: Pages From My Travel Journal II appeared first on Maa of All Blogs.

14 days of Everest Base Camp: Pages From My Travel Journal II published first on http://ift.tt/2Afzj22

[evodex]

14 days of Everest Base Camp: Pages From My Travel Journal II

14 days of Everest Base Camp

Sometimes in life, all you have to do is turn up! And for me, this trek was just faith..

I am in no way the fittest, strongest or the bravest of the people who head for this trek but one thing I have is the willpower and an attitude that says never give up and I have seen that it gets you through the toughest of times.

Continuing my story of the trek to Everest Base Camp from the previous post…

Day 4- Namche to Tengboche (3850 mtrs)(6-8 hours)

The first half of the trek you will do along Dudh Kosi river again and reach the rhododendron forests and it is mostly downhill and you cross a few more suspension bridges. The second half is an uphill climb of two hours and we were in Tengboche in Khumbu valley by 4.30. Here you can visit the world’s highest monastery, the Tengboche monastery. We reached here by 4 pm which was not so bad, it had just started to drizzle. While we had a common toilet in the tea house that we were staying today, the bakery there was awesome. They had cafe latte, freshly baked apple pies, carrot cake, mudpie, black forest cakes. It was like we had seen water in a desert. Here we all couped up in a heated room and bonded over playing cards, learning new games like ‘Dhumaal’ and ‘Gulam chor’. It turned out to be a very interesting evening, as everytime anyone lost they had to perform. Someone did pushups, someone sang and we even got Justin to dance to the tunes of ‘Lungi dance’ with Meera choreographing. They were all such wonderful sports. From here we got the first view of Everest and a panoramic view of the well-known peaks of Tawache, Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse, Ama Dablam, and Thamserku.

ps. Please remember the Tengboche Monastery closes at 4.30 pm. 

First view of the Everest

Day 5 &6  — Tengboche to Dingboche (4350) (5-6 hours)

Day 5 was supposed to be an easy walk, as per Sanjeev. However, it was a lot of downhill and uphill as well and not as easy as I had expected. I was really slow today and walked from 8.30 am to 3.15 am. Meera found her trekking partner in Justin. I walked slowly with Rahul and Anita today taking a lot of pictures, in fact, when I reached the tea house I couldn’t believe my eyes. Our tea house was called ‘The Summit’  and was a nice wooden lodge. It had attached baths and a shower area but it was cold and no one was looking for a bath. Here is the place where we lost signal, even the local Nepali number stopped working. You can buy wifi but it is not very effective and is expensive. We had a rest day here. The next day we ascended another 250 meters for acclimatisation. Sanjeev, our guide, was very happy with the group’s progress. On the way, we met Shannon and Rebecca again(remember the two nurses from Las Vegas?) and we told them how sorry we were to hear of the Las Vegas shooting(a crazy guy in had opened fire in the Hotel Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas injuring over 500 people). They were caught unaware as they had no access to news and we were the first ones informing them. It felt quite horrible to be the bearer of bad news. Later they came to our tea house just to inform us that everyone they knew was safe and they were thankful to us for informing them.

I developed a mild fever and was weighed down again by worries on how the trek forward will be. Garlic soup and ginger lemon honey tea helped me sail through. What we realised was that Justin, Madhur and me were all reading books on the 1996 Everest expedition by Scott Fischer and his team(on which the movie Everest is based) but we were all reading different authors. Sunil suggested we should finish our books and exchange. In the meanwhile, it was fun to exchange notes on how Lena Gammelgård(Climbing High) and  ‎Anatoli Boukreev(The Climb) had shared the same expedition in such different lights.

Our typical days during the trek playing Dhumaal and Oh hell! I can’t get over the silly cap I wore throughout the trek.

p.s. Our guide had advised us not to bath after Namche to avoid catching a cold. However, if you are keen you can pay for a bucket of hot water and have a bath here. 

p.s. Eat light throughout the trek as there is a highly likely chance to feel queasy and have an upset stomach with change in weather, water and food that you will be consuming on the trek. Almost all of us fell prey to this during our trek.

Days 7&8 — Dingboche to Labouche(4910 mtrs)

The air starts thinning from here and you feel your lungs taking the load. During my trip to Ladakh in August, I had developed a slight cough which aggravated and became worse now. Most people term it as Khumbu cough and is quite common here. Slowly the trail disappears and soon you are climbing over rocks. We reached Thukla where we took a break for lunch at a tea house near the river. Here we saw a dead horse in the river, a gruesome sight which I will witness again on my way back.

No one removed the dead horse, quite sad.  Throughout the trek, you keep meeting fellow trekkers who are either in the same state as you or are on their way back with a sense of achievement but almost everyone looks tired, paled and strained. I might this beautiful Moroccan lady who was glowing. She was basically doing EBC, Gokyo Ri and Chola pass in twenty-five days and it does make a difference. We were trying to do EBC in 14 days and that takes a toll on your health and skin. If you have time and are planning to do the trek, do think about increasing the number of days. The better you acclimatise, the easier the trek will be.

Right after lunch, you start a sharp ascent and on the top, you see memorial stupas strewn all over the place were dedicated to the climbers and trekkers who lost their lives to Everest. I got excited to see Scott Fischer’s memorial, the guy that I had been reading about from the 1996 expedition. I paid homage to them, shot a small video as it was an honour to be standing amongst these departed souls.

From here the walk is mostly flat or downhill but you tend to become a bit sluggish due to altitude.

The terrain completely transforms to give a peek view of Mt. Lobuche, Mt. Pumori and the Nuptse. You also get a view of the Chola lake when you are slightly higher up. Towards the end, it started raining and we experienced light hailstorm. This place is remote and you don’t see any kids around and hardly any population too. Finally, the trek started reminding me of Iceland trail dwelling beautifully in it’s virginity.

When we reached Labouche we were staying at the tea house called ‘Oxygen’, which was quite a pun. It was a nice cozy place and I was rapidly trying to finish my book but playing cards kept me distracted. I was very excited now as I knew from here the next stop is EBC.

Of all the eleven of us, only Raghav and Rahul were the only ones to have survived without Diamox till now, yet, Raghav always managed to stay ahead of the pack during the treks. In fact, I used to tease the three Karnal brothers saying that they should be grateful to their mothers for feeding them the pure air and food that they have been consuming over the years.

P.S. While these three survived well, I would not recommend this trek to first-time trekkers. You should have experienced 4500m altitude treks before this one to see how your body acclimatises to the lack of oxygen.

Next day was a rest day so as usual, we went for a small trek went berserk clicking slo-mo videos and some crazy pictures.

p.s. Do pay homage to the summiteers who have lost their lives during their expeditions on your way to Labouche. 

p.s You get NCell (which is the local network) signals here.

Day 9 – From Lobuche(4910 m) to Gorak Shep (5180m) and Everest Base Camp (5364m)- 15km (6-8 hours)

The next day, the weather was beautiful and bright and we head out sharp at 7.30 am. The entire trail was rocky with the trail converging into the horizon at the edge. As the oxygen levels deplete mother nature takes over. Did you know why the national park is called Sagarmatha? The Himalayan ranges were thrust upward by tectonic action about 40 and 50 million years ago. The Himalayas themselves started rising about 25 to 30 million years ago. So initially the area was actually a sea. You will see heaps of white sand towards Gorak Shep.  On our way, we saw landslides occurring commonly. In fact, we had to climb one such path. I waited for the landslide to stop before starting to climb the same hill where it had occurred a few seconds ago. The entire hill was porous but we didn’t have a choice. This was the first time I froze in the trek but there was no choice, no alternate route so we kept going on, walking with faith. My cough was getting worse. Sherpas here say that everyone gets it and if we don’t then wouldn’t we all be sherpas? We arrived at the village of Gorak Shep, nestled under the soaring summits at around 10.20 am. Here we dumped our bags, had brunch and headed out again at 11.30 am to the much sought after EBC.

pic credit: Justin Brown

  pic credit: Justin Brown

The landscape starts with white sand and then becomes rocky and finally we walk along the Khumbu glacier. Towards the end is a really long, endless ridge of moraine which is actually accumulated glacial debris. This goes down a bit into the Khumbu Valley and onto the glacier. We reached EBC marker at around 2.30 pm. Elated we posed for many pictures around the EBC landmark and I tied a prayer flag there praying to Sagarmatha for letting me achieve this huge feat and making it so special. Interestingly, while EBC marks the base for Everest summiteers, you cannot see Mt. Everest from here. This is why most trekkers hike to Kala Patthar from where you get spectacular views of the Everest and it’s sisters.

This is how the last leg to EBC looks like;

I am wearing at least 4-5 layers of clothing. Me, Meera, Justin and Arun(left to right)

Walk back is easy and we just took around 1.30 hours to get back to our tea house.

The accommodation at Gorak Shep was pretty basic. We stayed in a place called Snowland and had common toilets again. We had to wear head torches to go to the toilet and our door didn’t even lock. We retired early as the next day was a tough one.

p.s. This is also the place where you find the highest Shivaji statue in the world, while I don’t understand why is there a statue of Shivaji in Nepal, it was an interesting fact not to be missed.

Days 10 Kala Pathar(5550 mtrs)  & Decent to Thukla  Walking distance: km (5-6 hours)

A lot of trekkers skip this because they are either tired or it is not on their list. However, we had only Ashok skipping this one and once again my group surprised me. We started the trek at 6 am and it was freezing cold. The moon shone beautifully in the sky and the valley bathed in moonlight made for a beautiful painting. The climb up is very steep and today you want to layer up in all your warm layers, maybe put one or two extra ones. It was a never-ending walk with breathtaking views of the Himalayan sisters along the side. You hear a glacier breaking every fifteen minutes and wonder how summiteers survive up there. We even saw an avalanche and thanked our lucky stars for being on the other side of death. You realise like never before global warming is very real and is rapidly advancing. It was cold and two more people decided to turn back and return to the tea house. I walked like a zombie for the next few hours till Sanjeev told me arrived. This was the first viewpoint of Kala Patthar and I posed for pictures here. Sun God was finally smiling on us.

First viewpoint on the way to Kala Patthar

We could see people going further ahead but Sanjeev told us to turn back from here. That’s when my absolute heroes that day, Anita and Sunil, who were slowly crawling up behind me said something that I couldn’t resist. ” You cannot go back from here. If you go back you will regret not seeing the top for the rest of your life”. That was it! We were going to further climb painfully slow as the limbs were dead but the mind took over. I remember almost dragging my body up the last climb which is just randomly placed rocks to climb to the top of Kala Patthar and trust me when I did reach the top, I felt more elated than reaching EBC. From Kala Patthar, you get dramatic close-up views of the Everest and its sisters. I tied prayer flags here and thanked Sagarmatha for being kind to us. The descent back was really quick for me and I did it in 1.30 hours. 

pic credit: Sunil Nehru

  View from the Kala Patthar

  pic credit: Sunil Nehru

We had breakfast at Gorakshep before starting our descent. The initial plan was to break at Labouche for lunch but once we reached there, one of our guides told us to go ahead to Thukla as we would not be breaking there. By now I was dead, cold, hungry and pissed. My body was breaking but I had no choice and had to carry on. We crossed the Stupa of Scott Fischer again and by the time I reached Thukla it was 5.30 pm and was misty and getting dark. This was an unusually long day for us and today my body took the toll. Our tea house today, the Rest Point was the worst of the lot. We had an attatched toilet but the floor wet, there was no light in the night, no flush, no seat cover, and there was no carpet in the rooms as well. The cold just came in through the window.

Day 11- Thukla to Tengboche 

It was a beautiful sunny day and we walked through the valley of Pheriche towards Tengboche skipping Dengboche. I realised Anita was suffering from the runner’s knee issue and still she had managed to walk with us throughout. In fact, Anita had already trekked to EBC in 2015 and she had come back with us in this condition as she wanted Angad, her son, to experience it. I was super impressed with her dedication. The downward climb made it worse for her. We decided to take it slow and enjoy the view and click pictures.

There was no rush, we had met our goals and now we just had to walk back. It was the time to enjoy our last few days in the mountains because I knew they were going to keep popping in my memory for months later on. We broke for lunch at Pengboche. And here again, in high spirits, Ambeer and Madan performed a song and dance routine for us. Everyone was relaxed and happy. As usual, after Pheriche, we had an hour plus of climbing but today we were looking forward to the bakery at Tengboche and didn’t feel as bad. The fresh smell of brewed coffee and mudpie cake and brownies were all that we needed to add the sparkle to our day. I was rapidly concerned about finishing my book before the trek ended to live in the moment. I was also being quizzed on it every day by Sunil, Justin, and Meera and with my memory, I was now reading facts 2-3 times to be able to answer them :).

pic credit: Sunil Nehru

Day 12-Tengboche to Monjo

We retraced our steps with a  hike down a steep trail to the Dudh Kosi and climb to Namche Bazaar. Here we stopped for lunch and bought some souvenirs. It was also Meera’s birthday today so I wanted to get her the Sherpa t-shirt that she had liked on our way up. From here we walked all the way to Monjo, finally walked out of the Sagarmatha National Park crossing all the beautiful Mane stones and I thanked each of them for a safe return. We reached really late today at 6 pm. It was a lovely evening as we celebrated Meera’s Birthday. Everyone sang, danced, we opened a bottle of wine.

The White Magic team arranged for a lovely cake for her and we even made a group of Germans sing ‘Happy Birthday’ for her. The rooms here had an attatched bath with a hot shower running, carpeted floors and we realised that we had become unused to luxury. 

  Day 13- Monjo to Lukla (9-10 miles, 6-7 hours)

Today was our last leg,  and it started raining in the morning but luckily by the time, we stepped out weather had cleared.

We passed through the Sherpa villages and stopped at Phakding for lunch. It was here I got a call from my dad that my grandmom was counting her last breath and I should reroute my trip to Delhi and come and see her. The next part of the trek for me was a blur. I slowed down initially trying to change my flights and then when I couldn’t get signals, I walked uphill with a pace I didn’t know I had to reach Yak Donald’s where we were staying that night at Lukla. I reached, managed to change my tickets and that’s when I calmed down. This was our last evening on the trek together with the porters and the guides and they had arranged for a small party. It was fun and towards the end of it, Sunil made a speech on our behalf. We thanked each one of them for bearing our luggage and our tantrums. They had been wonderful. We all got very emotional as we had reached the end of our trek. We knew in the world outside we were different people with different lives. It’s an inexplicable feeling where you get connected so well and then you depart to go on leading lives that may not interconnect ever. 

Day 14 — Lukla/Kathmandu

You fly back to Kathmandu from Lukla in a small plane and by the flights that I saw passing before us, it was the most thrilling part of the trek. The plane has a very small runway after which it dips into the valley to rise up. It was our final adieu to the mountains.

Meera and me with the female porters.

p.s. The flights from Lukla are very dicey. They get canceled every now and then due to bad weather. Our flight too was delayed for about two hours. A friend of mine who went on a trek after me had to do a helicopter evacuation as she did not want to miss her connection from Kathmandu. Keep an extra day in your itinerary just for this.

Kathmandu to back home

The next two days we explored Kathmandu like tourists. Visited the temples and palaces of Durbar Square. Very few structures still exist after the Nepal earthquake. I also managed to visit Pashupati Temple on my way to the airport. Sanjeev came to bid me goodbye with my certificate and a Nepali stole which is a tradition. While I bid my goodbyes my heart stayed back with the mountains and somewhere in my heart I knew I am coming back. Once the mountain bug bites you it stays with you. 

p.s. The Nepal gives you a certificate which states that you have completed the trek after it is certified by your guide. 

At the Kumari residence in Durbar Square. Pic credit: Justin Brown

The cremations happening at Pashupati nath

Pic credit: Justin Brown

Enjoyed reading this? Inspired to head to the Himalayas? Stay tuned for more posts on how to prepare for EBC and things you should know before heading to EBC.

Until the next adventure, ciao!!

The post 14 days of Everest Base Camp: Pages From My Travel Journal II appeared first on Maa of All Blogs.

14 days of Everest Base Camp: Pages From My Travel Journal II published first on http://ift.tt/2Afzj22

[evodex]

14 days of Everest Base Camp: Pages From My Travel Journal II

14 days of Everest Base Camp

Sometimes in life, all you have to do is turn up! And for me, this trek was just faith..

I am in no way the fittest, strongest or the bravest of the people who head for this trek but one thing I have is the willpower and an attitude that says never give up and I have seen that it gets you through the toughest of times.

Continuing my story of the trek to Everest Base Camp from the previous post…

Day 4- Namche to Tengboche (3850 mtrs)(6-8 hours)

The first half of the trek you will do along Dudh Kosi river again and reach the rhododendron forests and it is mostly downhill and you cross a few more suspension bridges. The second half is an uphill climb of two hours and we were in Tengboche in Khumbu valley by 4.30. Here you can visit the world’s highest monastery, the Tengboche monastery. We reached here by 4 pm which was not so bad, it had just started to drizzle. While we had a common toilet in the tea house that we were staying today, the bakery there was awesome. They had cafe latte, freshly baked apple pies, carrot cake, mudpie, black forest cakes. It was like we had seen water in a desert. Here we all couped up in a heated room and bonded over playing cards, learning new games like ‘Dhumaal’ and ‘Gulam chor’. It turned out to be a very interesting evening, as everytime anyone lost they had to perform. Someone did pushups, someone sang and we even got Justin to dance to the tunes of ‘Lungi dance’ with Meera choreographing. They were all such wonderful sports. From here we got the first view of Everest and a panoramic view of the well-known peaks of Tawache, Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse, Ama Dablam, and Thamserku.

ps. Please remember the Tengboche Monastery closes at 4.30 pm. 

First view of the Everest

Day 5 &6  — Tengboche to Dingboche (4350) (5-6 hours)

Day 5 was supposed to be an easy walk, as per Sanjeev. However, it was a lot of downhill and uphill as well and not as easy as I had expected. I was really slow today and walked from 8.30 am to 3.15 am. Meera found her trekking partner in Justin. I walked slowly with Rahul and Anita today taking a lot of pictures, in fact, when I reached the tea house I couldn’t believe my eyes. Our tea house was called ‘The Summit’  and was a nice wooden lodge. It had attached baths and a shower area but it was cold and no one was looking for a bath. Here is the place where we lost signal, even the local Nepali number stopped working. You can buy wifi but it is not very effective and is expensive. We had a rest day here. The next day we ascended another 250 meters for acclimatisation. Sanjeev, our guide, was very happy with the group’s progress. On the way, we met Shannon and Rebecca again(remember the two nurses from Las Vegas?) and we told them how sorry we were to hear of the Las Vegas shooting(a crazy guy in had opened fire in the Hotel Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas injuring over 500 people). They were caught unaware as they had no access to news and we were the first ones informing them. It felt quite horrible to be the bearer of bad news. Later they came to our tea house just to inform us that everyone they knew was safe and they were thankful to us for informing them.

I developed a mild fever and was weighed down again by worries on how the trek forward will be. Garlic soup and ginger lemon honey tea helped me sail through. What we realised was that Justin, Madhur and me were all reading books on the 1996 Everest expedition by Scott Fischer and his team(on which the movie Everest is based) but we were all reading different authors. Sunil suggested we should finish our books and exchange. In the meanwhile, it was fun to exchange notes on how Lena Gammelgård(Climbing High) and  ‎Anatoli Boukreev(The Climb) had shared the same expedition in such different lights.

Our typical days during the trek playing Dhumaal and Oh hell! I can’t get over the silly cap I wore throughout the trek.

p.s. Our guide had advised us not to bath after Namche to avoid catching a cold. However, if you are keen you can pay for a bucket of hot water and have a bath here. 

p.s. Eat light throughout the trek as there is a highly likely chance to feel queasy and have an upset stomach with change in weather, water and food that you will be consuming on the trek. Almost all of us fell prey to this during our trek.

Days 7&8 — Dingboche to Labouche(4910 mtrs)

The air starts thinning from here and you feel your lungs taking the load. During my trip to Ladakh in August, I had developed a slight cough which aggravated and became worse now. Most people term it as Khumbu cough and is quite common here. Slowly the trail disappears and soon you are climbing over rocks. We reached Thukla where we took a break for lunch at a tea house near the river. Here we saw a dead horse in the river, a gruesome sight which I will witness again on my way back.

No one removed the dead horse, quite sad.  Throughout the trek, you keep meeting fellow trekkers who are either in the same state as you or are on their way back with a sense of achievement but almost everyone looks tired, paled and strained. I might this beautiful Moroccan lady who was glowing. She was basically doing EBC, Gokyo Ri and Chola pass in twenty-five days and it does make a difference. We were trying to do EBC in 14 days and that takes a toll on your health and skin. If you have time and are planning to do the trek, do think about increasing the number of days. The better you acclimatise, the easier the trek will be.

Right after lunch, you start a sharp ascent and on the top, you see memorial stupas strewn all over the place were dedicated to the climbers and trekkers who lost their lives to Everest. I got excited to see Scott Fischer’s memorial, the guy that I had been reading about from the 1996 expedition. I paid homage to them, shot a small video as it was an honour to be standing amongst these departed souls.

From here the walk is mostly flat or downhill but you tend to become a bit sluggish due to altitude.

The terrain completely transforms to give a peek view of Mt. Lobuche, Mt. Pumori and the Nuptse. You also get a view of the Chola lake when you are slightly higher up. Towards the end, it started raining and we experienced light hailstorm. This place is remote and you don’t see any kids around and hardly any population too. Finally, the trek started reminding me of Iceland trail dwelling beautifully in it’s virginity.

When we reached Labouche we were staying at the tea house called ‘Oxygen’, which was quite a pun. It was a nice cozy place and I was rapidly trying to finish my book but playing cards kept me distracted. I was very excited now as I knew from here the next stop is EBC.

Of all the eleven of us, only Raghav and Rahul were the only ones to have survived without Diamox till now, yet, Raghav always managed to stay ahead of the pack during the treks. In fact, I used to tease the three Karnal brothers saying that they should be grateful to their mothers for feeding them the pure air and food that they have been consuming over the years.

P.S. While these three survived well, I would not recommend this trek to first-time trekkers. You should have experienced 4500m altitude treks before this one to see how your body acclimatises to the lack of oxygen.

Next day was a rest day so as usual, we went for a small trek went berserk clicking slo-mo videos and some crazy pictures.

p.s. Do pay homage to the summiteers who have lost their lives during their expeditions on your way to Labouche. 

p.s You get NCell (which is the local network) signals here.

Day 9 – From Lobuche(4910 m) to Gorak Shep (5180m) and Everest Base Camp (5364m)- 15km (6-8 hours)

The next day, the weather was beautiful and bright and we head out sharp at 7.30 am. The entire trail was rocky with the trail converging into the horizon at the edge. As the oxygen levels deplete mother nature takes over. Did you know why the national park is called Sagarmatha? The Himalayan ranges were thrust upward by tectonic action about 40 and 50 million years ago. The Himalayas themselves started rising about 25 to 30 million years ago. So initially the area was actually a sea. You will see heaps of white sand towards Gorak Shep.  On our way, we saw landslides occurring commonly. In fact, we had to climb one such path. I waited for the landslide to stop before starting to climb the same hill where it had occurred a few seconds ago. The entire hill was porous but we didn’t have a choice. This was the first time I froze in the trek but there was no choice, no alternate route so we kept going on, walking with faith. My cough was getting worse. Sherpas here say that everyone gets it and if we don’t then wouldn’t we all be sherpas? We arrived at the village of Gorak Shep, nestled under the soaring summits at around 10.20 am. Here we dumped our bags, had brunch and headed out again at 11.30 am to the much sought after EBC.

pic credit: Justin Brown

  pic credit: Justin Brown

The landscape starts with white sand and then becomes rocky and finally we walk along the Khumbu glacier. Towards the end is a really long, endless ridge of moraine which is actually accumulated glacial debris. This goes down a bit into the Khumbu Valley and onto the glacier. We reached EBC marker at around 2.30 pm. Elated we posed for many pictures around the EBC landmark and I tied a prayer flag there praying to Sagarmatha for letting me achieve this huge feat and making it so special. Interestingly, while EBC marks the base for Everest summiteers, you cannot see Mt. Everest from here. This is why most trekkers hike to Kala Patthar from where you get spectacular views of the Everest and it’s sisters.

This is how the last leg to EBC looks like;

I am wearing at least 4-5 layers of clothing. Me, Meera, Justin and Arun(left to right)

Walk back is easy and we just took around 1.30 hours to get back to our tea house.

The accommodation at Gorak Shep was pretty basic. We stayed in a place called Snowland and had common toilets again. We had to wear head torches to go to the toilet and our door didn’t even lock. We retired early as the next day was a tough one.

p.s. This is also the place where you find the highest Shivaji statue in the world, while I don’t understand why is there a statue of Shivaji in Nepal, it was an interesting fact not to be missed.

Days 10 Kala Pathar(5550 mtrs)  & Decent to Thukla  Walking distance: km (5-6 hours)

A lot of trekkers skip this because they are either tired or it is not on their list. However, we had only Ashok skipping this one and once again my group surprised me. We started the trek at 6 am and it was freezing cold. The moon shone beautifully in the sky and the valley bathed in moonlight made for a beautiful painting. The climb up is very steep and today you want to layer up in all your warm layers, maybe put one or two extra ones. It was a never-ending walk with breathtaking views of the Himalayan sisters along the side. You hear a glacier breaking every fifteen minutes and wonder how summiteers survive up there. We even saw an avalanche and thanked our lucky stars for being on the other side of death. You realise like never before global warming is very real and is rapidly advancing. It was cold and two more people decided to turn back and return to the tea house. I walked like a zombie for the next few hours till Sanjeev told me arrived. This was the first viewpoint of Kala Patthar and I posed for pictures here. Sun God was finally smiling on us.

First viewpoint on the way to Kala Patthar

We could see people going further ahead but Sanjeev told us to turn back from here. That’s when my absolute heroes that day, Anita and Sunil, who were slowly crawling up behind me said something that I couldn’t resist. ” You cannot go back from here. If you go back you will regret not seeing the top for the rest of your life”. That was it! We were going to further climb painfully slow as the limbs were dead but the mind took over. I remember almost dragging my body up the last climb which is just randomly placed rocks to climb to the top of Kala Patthar and trust me when I did reach the top, I felt more elated than reaching EBC. From Kala Patthar, you get dramatic close-up views of the Everest and its sisters. I tied prayer flags here and thanked Sagarmatha for being kind to us. The descent back was really quick for me and I did it in 1.30 hours. 

pic credit: Sunil Nehru

  View from the Kala Patthar

  pic credit: Sunil Nehru

We had breakfast at Gorakshep before starting our descent. The initial plan was to break at Labouche for lunch but once we reached there, one of our guides told us to go ahead to Thukla as we would not be breaking there. By now I was dead, cold, hungry and pissed. My body was breaking but I had no choice and had to carry on. We crossed the Stupa of Scott Fischer again and by the time I reached Thukla it was 5.30 pm and was misty and getting dark. This was an unusually long day for us and today my body took the toll. Our tea house today, the Rest Point was the worst of the lot. We had an attatched toilet but the floor wet, there was no light in the night, no flush, no seat cover, and there was no carpet in the rooms as well. The cold just came in through the window.

Day 11- Thukla to Tengboche 

It was a beautiful sunny day and we walked through the valley of Pheriche towards Tengboche skipping Dengboche. I realised Anita was suffering from the runner’s knee issue and still she had managed to walk with us throughout. In fact, Anita had already trekked to EBC in 2015 and she had come back with us in this condition as she wanted Angad, her son, to experience it. I was super impressed with her dedication. The downward climb made it worse for her. We decided to take it slow and enjoy the view and click pictures.

There was no rush, we had met our goals and now we just had to walk back. It was the time to enjoy our last few days in the mountains because I knew they were going to keep popping in my memory for months later on. We broke for lunch at Pengboche. And here again, in high spirits, Ambeer and Madan performed a song and dance routine for us. Everyone was relaxed and happy. As usual, after Pheriche, we had an hour plus of climbing but today we were looking forward to the bakery at Tengboche and didn’t feel as bad. The fresh smell of brewed coffee and mudpie cake and brownies were all that we needed to add the sparkle to our day. I was rapidly concerned about finishing my book before the trek ended to live in the moment. I was also being quizzed on it every day by Sunil, Justin, and Meera and with my memory, I was now reading facts 2-3 times to be able to answer them :).

pic credit: Sunil Nehru

Day 12-Tengboche to Monjo

We retraced our steps with a  hike down a steep trail to the Dudh Kosi and climb to Namche Bazaar. Here we stopped for lunch and bought some souvenirs. It was also Meera’s birthday today so I wanted to get her the Sherpa t-shirt that she had liked on our way up. From here we walked all the way to Monjo, finally walked out of the Sagarmatha National Park crossing all the beautiful Mane stones and I thanked each of them for a safe return. We reached really late today at 6 pm. It was a lovely evening as we celebrated Meera’s Birthday. Everyone sang, danced, we opened a bottle of wine.

The White Magic team arranged for a lovely cake for her and we even made a group of Germans sing ‘Happy Birthday’ for her. The rooms here had an attatched bath with a hot shower running, carpeted floors and we realised that we had become unused to luxury. 

  Day 13- Monjo to Lukla (9-10 miles, 6-7 hours)

Today was our last leg,  and it started raining in the morning but luckily by the time, we stepped out weather had cleared.

We passed through the Sherpa villages and stopped at Phakding for lunch. It was here I got a call from my dad that my grandmom was counting her last breath and I should reroute my trip to Delhi and come and see her. The next part of the trek for me was a blur. I slowed down initially trying to change my flights and then when I couldn’t get signals, I walked uphill with a pace I didn’t know I had to reach Yak Donald’s where we were staying that night at Lukla. I reached, managed to change my tickets and that’s when I calmed down. This was our last evening on the trek together with the porters and the guides and they had arranged for a small party. It was fun and towards the end of it, Sunil made a speech on our behalf. We thanked each one of them for bearing our luggage and our tantrums. They had been wonderful. We all got very emotional as we had reached the end of our trek. We knew in the world outside we were different people with different lives. It’s an inexplicable feeling where you get connected so well and then you depart to go on leading lives that may not interconnect ever. 

Day 14 — Lukla/Kathmandu

You fly back to Kathmandu from Lukla in a small plane and by the flights that I saw passing before us, it was the most thrilling part of the trek. The plane has a very small runway after which it dips into the valley to rise up. It was our final adieu to the mountains.

Meera and me with the female porters.

p.s. The flights from Lukla are very dicey. They get canceled every now and then due to bad weather. Our flight too was delayed for about two hours. A friend of mine who went on a trek after me had to do a helicopter evacuation as she did not want to miss her connection from Kathmandu. Keep an extra day in your itinerary just for this.

Kathmandu to back home

The next two days we explored Kathmandu like tourists. Visited the temples and palaces of Durbar Square. Very few structures still exist after the Nepal earthquake. I also managed to visit Pashupati Temple on my way to the airport. Sanjeev came to bid me goodbye with my certificate and a Nepali stole which is a tradition. While I bid my goodbyes my heart stayed back with the mountains and somewhere in my heart I knew I am coming back. Once the mountain bug bites you it stays with you. 

p.s. The Nepal gives you a certificate which states that you have completed the trek after it is certified by your guide. 

At the Kumari residence in Durbar Square. Pic credit: Justin Brown

The cremations happening at Pashupati nath

Pic credit: Justin Brown

Enjoyed reading this? Inspired to head to the Himalayas? Stay tuned for more posts on how to prepare for EBC and things you should know before heading to EBC.

Until the next adventure, ciao!!

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