Zen's War: Captivity

Zen’s thoughts centered on Sahara. It was difficult not to become pessimistic about finding her. Children disappeared every day. Most children who were kidnapped were never recovered. Some were traded as slaves for food and water, while others were abused, tortured, and even killed. It was impossible to know what had happened to her.

They continued onward from their previous campsite. Zen and Aurora led the way while Hector and Derek followed. From the position of the sun it looked to be late afternoon. The street they walked down was like most other streets. Due to lack of maintenance it had innumerable fissures and holes. The asphalt was crumbling in many places, revealing the desert sand beneath. One had to be careful not to get their foot caught in a hole. They followed the winding path of the dilapidated street. On both sides of the street it was lined with houses. Just as the house they had entered before had been, these houses were falling apart as well. Most of them were brick, while others were stucco over brick.

The sun hung low on the western horizon. You could feel the heat of it searing your skin. This was a sensation they all recognized. The desert heat was something that you never really got used to, rather you learned to accept it.

Their first priority was to find water. Their only hope was to find a water trader. Fortunately Aurora knew of one who camped in the Rillito wash. It would take some time to reach him, but would be well worth it. They had little to trade. The only thing they did have were a few quartz crystals Derek had found. Hopefully these would be sufficient.

This particular water trader’s name was Pablo. He was part Tohono O’Odham Indian and Mexican. It was hard to know where he had acquired his water. Water could be found but it was not easy. You had to know where to look, and it was incredibly time-consuming. He might’ve found it by digging a hole in an arroyo. Beneath the dry riverbed water could sometimes be found. Many desert plants such as the barrel cactus also were sources of water, but not a substantial amount. He could have gotten it from the Mexican Revolutionary Front for all they knew.

When they finally reached the Rillito it was nearly dusk. It was hard to believe that at one time the Rillito wash had been a flowing river. It had taken them about half an hour to arrive there. They had followed what had once been Campbell Avenue until they reached River Road.

As they approached River Road, they saw the crumbling ruins of St. Phillips Church. To their right was an old abandoned shopping center. In the parking lot of the shopping center were at least five cars. The cars had been sitting there for many years. Due to years of sun exposure, their paint was incredibly faded. Their surfaces had barely rusted from being in such a dry climate. The tires of all five cars were completely flat. Many of the windows were broken, and a couple of the cars windshields were smashed. One car that stood out from the rest was a Chevrolet Bel Air from the nineteen fifties. The other few cars were probably from the nineteen nineties and early twenty first century. These cars all looked very similar, causing the Bel Air to stand out from the rest. The Bel Air had at one time been dark blue, but now was faded to a sky blue.

On one of the old storefronts was a sign that read Starbucks. Signs like this and old billboards were some of the only reminders of the long extinct corporate world. Zen remembered a time when he had had a latte there. Now coffee was nearly impossible to get.

How could he think about coffee at a time like this? Water was what he should really be concerned about. He focused on the task at hand and continued onward.

The sky was becoming increasingly dark. The sun had nearly disappeared beyond the western horizon. At the horizon the sky was a light blue color. The higher you looked above the horizon, the darker the sky became. The sky faded from light blue to violet and eventually became black at its apex. As Zen looked at the sky, the stars began to sparkle into existence. The brightest point of light in the darkening sky was to the northwest, and was not a star but a planet. Zen recognized it as the planet Venus. Zen had taken astronomy in college, having always had had a fascination with the cosmos.

The sidewalks were crumbling and in disrepair. The square pieces of concrete that made up the sidewalks had each fractured into many pieces. The stoplights at the intersection no longer lit up. All four of the stoplights were leaning to their side; one of them was leaning at such an angle, that at any moment it looked as though it would come out of the ground.

Aurora could not remember exactly where she had seen that water trader. She knew he camped somewhere beneath the bridge that led across the wash. Hopefully he would still have the same campsite. Instead of a tent, he used a Winnebago camper. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing.

They crossed River Road where there was another shopping center on their left. This one like the others was falling apart as well. It was made up of a number of individual buildings that were constructed of rust red bricks. Parts of the walls were missing, with bricks lying strewn on the ground.

“I’m so hungry I could eat a horse,” Derek suddenly blurted out. It had been almost two days since any of them had eaten anything. The last thing they had eaten was javelina. Actually the only thing they had eaten for two weeks straight was javelina. It grew tiresome eating the same thing day in and day out. The worst part was trying to capture it. Javelinas were not the gentlest of animals. They were actually quite vicious. Their teeth were very sharp and they had the tendency to bite. If you weren’t careful you could lose a finger. Not to mention the fact that they had two large tusks protruding from their mouths.

“Anything would be better than javelina. If I have to eat one more piece of javelina meat, I’m gonna vomit,” Hector said in response, with no intent to hide his sarcasm.

Finally, they came to the bridge leading across the Rillito wash. It had grown dark. Slowly their eyes adjusted to the decreasing light. The smell of burning mesquite wood suddenly filled the air. Aurora then noticed smoke rising over the right side of the bridge.

“Who’s there?” a voice called from below the bridge. “State your business, I’m armed.”

“Pablo, don’t worry it’s only us,” Aurora yelled down into the wash.

“Aurora, is that you?” Pablo asked.

“Yeah, it’s me,” Aurora answered.

“Why didn’t you say so? Come on down,” Pablo said, emphatically.

Pablo was a drifter, just as they were. But unlike him, they weren’t alone. They had each other. Most people were more apt to rob you or murder you, then to befriend you. If you were hungry or thirsty enough, there wasn’t much that you would not be willing to do. In contrast to the majority of people he came across, they weren’t completely insane. Their presence was a welcome reprieve from his own inner dialogue.

“Tienes agua?” Zen asked, showing off his limited Spanish skills.

“As a matter of fact I do. You got anything to trade?” Pablo answered in response.

“I found some quartz crystals. Are those of any interest to you?” Derek asked, hopeful that his trade would be accepted.

“I’ll have to take a look, they could be fake. Come down here, so we don’t have to yell to each other.”

“We’re on our way,” Zen replied.

Running along each side of the banks of the wash were two dirt paths. On both sides of the two paths was metal railing. To their right was a chain-link fence. The gate that led through the fence was open. One of its hinges was broken in half. Beyond the gate was a pitched concrete driveway leading down into the wash. It had once been used for service vehicles.

They followed the concrete driveway down into the wash. To their left, down below the bridge they could see Pablo’s encampment. He had made a small fire pit next to his camper. Within the fire pit he had lit a fire. The fire glowed brightly, which was in stark contrast to the pervasive darkness surrounding it.

When they finally reached Pablo, he stood up next to the fire to greet them. He had darkened skin and high cheekbones. These were both indications of his Native American ancestry. He stood about five foot five. He smiled, revealing his teeth, or lack thereof. Many of his teeth had rotted and fallen out. When he smiled, he had a close resemblance to a jack-o’-lantern. Not that any of them had good dental hygiene. He wore no shirt, revealing a tattoo of the Virgin Guadalupe on the right side of his chest. The tattoo was old, it’s ink turned green by time. His hair was jet black and tied in a braided ponytail that hung to his lower back. He had to be around fifty or so. Fifty was relatively old, considering most people no longer made it to forty. His face was weathered from so many years of being exposed to the elements.

To the left of his encampment he had dug two storage pits. They both extended around four feet beneath the ground. They were both shaped like upside down bells. He had lined the walls of both pits with mud and desert grasses. The openings of both were covered by some kind of animal hide. This had been how Native Americans for centuries had stored food and water.

“One of your family members I do not see. Your daughter, where is she?” Pablo asked with a note of worry in his voice.

“Our first priority is water. You said you have some, right?” Zen asked, trying to avoid the topic of his daughter’s abduction.

“Let me see the quartz crystals first, then we’ll talk about water,” Pablo answered.

Hector and Derek had both placed their large backpacks on the ground. Derek knelt down on the ground and unzipped a small pocket on the side of his backpack. He then reached into the pocket and pulled out four small pieces of quartz. He stood up and showed them to Pablo. Derek walked over to Pablo and showed him the quartz crystals. Pablo looked them over, appraising their quality. The crystals sparkled intensely in the glow of the fire.

“These seem to be authentic; where did you find these?” Pablo inquired, curious of their origin.

“I found them near our last campsite, at the foot of the Catalinas, just at the end of Campbell. They were lying beneath a Mesquite tree,” Derek answered.

“I’ve searched around this area, but I have been unable to find any minerals, let alone quartz. Quartz crystals conduct a lot of spiritual energy. They also can be used to conduct electricity as well. I’ll accept these crystals in trade for water,” Pablo said with a grin.

“Give us the water first, then the crystals are yours,” Zen told Pablo.

Without saying another word, Pablo walked over to the first of the two storage pits. He removed the round cover made of some sort of animal hide and set it aside. He then descended down a ladder into the hole. It had to be pitch dark within the chamber. How would he be able to find what he was looking for? Moments later, to their surprise, he reemerged toting a large leather bag across his back. In his right hand was a long leather braid that was connected to the bag, which he supported across his shoulder.

Out of one of the large pockets of his backpack, Hector retrieved a large stainless steel thermos. The thermos was large enough to fit a liter of fluid. It glowed in the yellow light of the fire. Hector then unscrewed the lid of the thermos, getting it ready to be filled. Each of them was responsible for their own water supply. Of course if they had little they would be forced to share.

Pablo placed the large leather bag on the ground and breathed a sigh of relief. Around the opening at the top of the bag was a leather tie. He loosened the tie, then motioned with his hand for Hector to hand him the thermos. Hector walked over to where Pablo stood and passed it to him.

“Why does he get water first?” Derek asked. “I’m the one who found the crystals,” Derek said, in protest.

“You’ll get your water; just relax,” Hector said, in his own defense.

“He has a point. If not for him finding those crystals, we wouldn’t be getting any water in the first place.” Zen said, in agreement with Derek.

Hector and Derek like most brothers had some amount of sibling rivalry. They could either be the best of friends or the worst of enemies. Sometimes they would get into knockdown, drag out fights. Usually a simple argument would set it off. Power struggles between them were common, but seldom led to a brawl. Even when they did fight, they were always quick to forgive each other.

Derek reached in a side pocket of his backpack and pulled out his own thermos. It was stainless steel just like Hector’s, but was a light green color. Derek handed it to Pablo, who then set down Hector’s on the ground, which was in his opposite hand. Pablo unscrewed the lid and placed it on the ground next to Hector’s thermos and lid. He took the thermos and dipped it in its entirety into the opening of the leather bag. He pulled it back out of the bag along with his hand, which were both dripping wet.

“Alright, alright, give him his water first,” Hector said, giving in to his younger brother.

“Is this water safe to drink, or do I have to boil it first,” Derek asked Pablo.

“I’ve already taken care of that,” Pablo answered. “Here’s your water.”

Derek grabbed his thermos from Pablo’s hand and took a giant gulp of water. He wiped his lip and exhaled with satisfaction.

When all four of them had collected their own water and quenched their thirst, they ended up sitting around the fire as humanity had done since the Stone Age. The fire was used more for light then warmth, due to the fact that it was still rather warm out. Pablo offered them some food, which they took graciously. They ate jackrabbit that Pablo had caught, skinned and prepared. They were so hungry they would have accepted almost anything, as long as it was edible. Still, it was nice to have something other than javelina for a change.

For around half an hour or so they all sat around the fire, eating and drinking water. All four of them felt drained of energy. Thoughts of Sahara weighed heavy on their hearts and minds. Hector felt guilty, because he believed he was responsible for Sahara’s disappearance. Derek felt guilty as well, but he did not entirely believe her disappearance was their fault. Aurora felt a mixture of fear and guilt, but mostly fear. As Zen was, Aurora was afraid that Sahara had been killed, or injured. She could be getting physically or sexually abused. Her fate was unknown to them, and that was the most frightening of all.

There was no sense in searching for Sahara at night. Besides the fact that there was no light besides the stars, it was extremely dangerous. Night was when the monsters came out. It was not Dracula or the Wolfman. Instead it was the worst kind of monster. It was human. The best way to survive the night was to remain in one spot, and even then survival wasn’t certain. They would have to remain at Pablo’s campsite until morning.

They were safer together then alone. Zen remained awake while the rest of them slept. He suffered chronically from insomnia, but his worry about Sahara made this night worse. He didn’t even try to sleep, because he knew it would be pointless. Thankfully because it was summer the night would not be as long. He waited patiently for the first rays of the rising sun to peak over the eastern horizon.

The light of the fire had begun to fade, leaving a few remaining embers burning. They had chosen not to pitch their tents. Instead, they unrolled their sleeping bags and slept with the stars glowing above their heads. Pablo slept soundly beside them in his camper shell.