Chapter 7: Heading Nowhere, Fast
After a while, we stopped in
the middle of nowhere on a road, next to a roadside vendor. They had little plastic packets that
always make me think of condoms, but they are probably a more benign
candy. I went off and pissed on
the side of the road too drunk to care that I might get a cop beating my
Caucasian, western ass so he could get a few bills off me for indecent
exposure. Fuck, it happened enough
in Santa BarbaraÉ
We eventually got back in
the rik, and kept on going. Down
down down into the unknown. The
rik driver seemed certain he knew where to go, but neither of the passengers
did. We both got the ÒWell I
dunnoÓ shrug continuously between the two of us as our most preferred means of
communication.
After 40 minutes, I started
to worry. Where the FUCK were
we!? This rik driver was most
definitely either taking us somewhere remote where he could either mug us, mug
us and beat us, mug us/beat us/rape us, or mug us/beat us/rape us/& kill
us. At best, I figured, he just
didnÕt know where the fuck to go and wanted to work us all night for a hefty
fare.
My brain planned out the
course of action once things got too sketchy. Do I jump out of the rik while it is moving? I almost did it a few times. Once we had gotten miles and miles away
from any sort of inhabitance I,
on a few distinct occasions, almost decided to do a drop and roll out the side
of the rik and pick my chances that way.
I wondered what I would be able to use for water out in these
parts. We hadnÕt seen a damned
car, rik or bike in a very long time, so if I did ditch the scene it would
probably be a few days before I got help.
Then, if I did get help,
what then? They wouldnÕt know
English out here. They probably
wouldnÕt even know Hindi for that matter.
I couldnÕt figure the best thing to do, so I put off my Movie Action
Hero Escape until it got really bad.
After, only god knows how
long, I started to see lights in the distance. Oh my, there was something out there.
Even if it wasnÕt a party, there was a civilization there. SomethingÉ.My hopes crept into the back
of my head making me relax a little.
ÒLetÕs see where this takes us for a while before we jump.Ó And, oh my brothers, I was ready to
jump.
After a few hairpin turns
and a skirt through a farm village we ended up, finally, and with so much
amazement on my end (I honestly didnÕt expect to get to a well managed party!),
we came to a gaggle of cars, riks and taxis standing outside the gates of some
estate, or so it seemed. The
ÔestateÕ turned out to just be a dirt road and a field of small thirsty looking
trees, but that was beside the point.
There were a good 100 people out there in the middle of nowhere.
We were in the middle of
absolutely nowhere. An hour out of
town, at least. And at least a 30
min drive from any real sort of civilization, if you will. I was relieved to see real cars, kids,
people, and they were wearing things that I could relate to. Westernized clothes usually meant that
there would probably be westernized water. The possibly very dangerous ride had sobered me up a bit,
but that still put me at Level 6: Pretty Damned Drunk. I felt that I was OK now, and I assumed
IÕd find some kids who spoke English towards the heavy beats coming from down
the star lit road.