Duskwood: Love's Beginning

23 - Jake

I slept fitfully on the bus from Redding. I hopped off in Medford in the middle of the night, where I knew a guy who could get me a car with a clean set of license plates and new IDs. Then I drove up to Eugene and went to a different person to get some untraceable tech. By this time the coffee shops were starting to open, so I treated myself to something better than the gas station caffeinated sludge water I'd been mainlining for days now.

All along the way, I'd seen #IAmJake everywhere. It felt like Jayna was there with me. At times it was the only thing that kept me going.

While I savored the feeling of my body coming back to life thanks to a triple Espresso, I pondered my situation. I was in a fork in the road; turn east, and I would be at Duskwood in about 2.5 hours. Turn north, and I could reach Jayna in less than 2 hours.

I slammed my palm against the steering wheel in frustration. I wanted to see her, so badly. But my pursuers were on high alert right now. I couldn't possibly put her in more danger. It would kill me if something happened to her.

But, if I got closer to Duskwood, I would be that much farther from her if she should need me. That settled it. I would stay in Eugene. I found a place to stay and started setting up my new network.

The second I connected, I started getting notifications that Nymos was actively defending Jayna's phone. My heart pounded in fear; I had not expected this. That app was a hastily constructed program, and I clearly underestimated the persistence of my pursuers. I linked in to her device and got to work.

The attackers continued with their virtual warfare. I struggled with my puny laptop and makeshift internet connection to keep up with them. I felt sweat beading at the back of my neck and running into my shirt. I could not let her down! I knew first-hand what these people did to innocent bystanders, and I would not allow that fate to fall upon Jayna.

Just as they were about to break through to her camera, I cut them off. But I didn't stop there. I spent several minutes back-tracing their connection and remotely destroying their hard drives, doing it with a sadistic smile on my face. Lastly, I went in and fortified the protections around Jayna's phone.

I sat back, exhausted. I had done it. I went to the bathroom sink and splashed water on my face, and then slurped more from the faucet. I was grimy from almost a week on the road and probably a tenth of the sleep that my body required. But before I could shower and take a nap, I needed to reach out to my girl.