“Yeah I’m not looking forward to letting people know that my new address is some impossible-to-write name of an Iranian prison, either. But on the other hand, I’m not looking forward to receiving a bunch of lead slugs.”
Both Jayden and Carter had been to Iran before, on deployment with the US Navy. But serving the largest military force in the world and wandering into a hostile nation alone and unaffiliated with any official purpose, with no travel papers, permits or visas of any kind, were completely different stories.
“We’re Westerners, Jayden. Americans, even. We will stand out like sore thumbs if anyone sees us.”
But Jayden already seemed to have made up his mind as he pulled a bandana from his pocket and wrapped it around his face, sunglasses over that, hat pulled down tight. “We can’t go all the way back the long way, Carter. Never mind the threat from Treasure, Inc. We don’t have the supplies—food, water.” He checked the phone map again. “We just need to skirt the edge of Iran for fifteen miles or so, then we can duck back into Turkey and head back to Dogu.”
Carter brought the binoculars to his eyes again. “I don’t see anybody or anything, anywhere.”
“That’s good. Maybe we should get going before that changes.”
They each ate a Power Bar and drank some more water before setting out into Iran, Carter shouldering the pack, Jayden with the binoculars around his neck in case they needed to see what lay ahead. Walking northeast, they hiked down all the way off the mountain until the land was flat, at first with hard-packed dirt, but then they found themselves trudging through a layer of loose, brown sand; not as much as a classic Sahara type landscape, for they could feel hard dirt beneath the sand, but there was enough loose sand to be blown about by the formidable wind that persisted here.
Carter kept a close eye on the compass as they trekked, knowing that they could not afford to veer off course and wander deeper into the anti-Western nation. Not only that, but their water supply was perilously low to be travelling on foot in such a hostile environment. He mentally kicked himself as they walked along for getting them into such a dicey situation. The only consolation was the heft of his backpack, which he knew contained the enigmatic map from the Titanic. By the time the sun was nearly straight overhead, its heat pushing down on them like a physical force, Jayden stopped moving forward to check something with the binoculars. Not realizing he had stopped, Carter kept walking. When he turned around after not hearing the shuffling footfalls he’d become accustomed to somewhere behind him, he saw Jayden staring into the binoculars.
“See something?”
Carter looked in that direction but saw only the same unbroken expanse of blowing sand and brown, hard-packed dirt.
“I think so, yeah. Weird.”
“What is it?” Carter didn’t want to walk all the way back to him if he could help it. But at the same time he could tell that Jayden was definitely transfixed by whatever he was looking at through the lenses. Could it be just a trick of the optics? He was certain it was too soon for them to begin experiencing hallucinations due lack of water.
“I think I see a road.”
Carter looked in the same direction Jayden still focused on with the glasses. He couldn’t see anything, not even a break or anomaly in the blowing sand.
“You positive?”
“Not positive, but I see shimmering heat waves, and for just a second I thought I saw a flat strip…” He trailed off as he continued staring through the binoculars.
Carter reflected on what this would mean if it were in fact true. A road was both good and bad. Good because it offered a landmark, something to orient themselves by, perhaps an easier means of travel at least for some distance, as well as possible encounters with people who might be of assistance. They could hitch a ride, for example. On the other, darker, hand, a thoroughfare represented potential interactions with authorities, including military, or militia groups, bandits, the possibility of stepping on an Improvised Explosive Device; he and Jayden were only too familiar with the dangers of IEDs from their time serving in the middle east.
All of these thoughts were swirling around in his brain when Jayden said, “It’s a road. Positive. Just saw a truck drive past.” He pointed off to their left, indicating that the road led away from them on a perpendicular path.
Jayden checked his compass, very glad now that he had gotten into the habit of never going into the wilderness without a real, physical compass, not an electronic app. “The road, if it does actually lead off the way you’re pointing, is not heading in the direction we need to go in.”
“Figures,” Jayden said, letting the binoculars drop around his neck. “Water?”
Carter took the single remaining canteen from his pack, shook it so that they could hear the low volume of water remaining that sloshed around inside, and handed it to his friend. “Just a sip,” Jayden said, aware for the need to conserve. He took one, handed it back to Carter, who did the same before putting the canteen away in his pack.
“Looks like we have no choice but to cross the road to follow our course back into Turkey,” Carter said as they began to hike again. “It must be a pretty small road, though, since we didn’t see any major highway or anything like that when we were camped out up the hill last night.”
“No, it’s just a little dirt road,” Jayden said.
“We’ll find out soon enough.” But as they walked through the sand, the wind continued to pick up to the point that visibility was reduced to only 100 feet or so ahead of them in any direction. They tightened their clothing, pulled down their hats and bandanas, but Carter could still feel the sand chafing his skin. He had to recheck the compass frequently to make sure they still headed toward the road. He began to worry about how difficult they would be to see now — what if they wandered out onto the road and were hit by a passing truck that couldn’t see them? With the howling wind and scraping of sand, it was hard to hear much, either.
Walking on, they glanced periodically in all directions but still saw nothing but a disorienting world of shifting sands and muted brown hues. Both found it tiring to be sandblasted as they walked, hunched over into the wind and stinging particles. Conversation became impractical and they struggled on in silence, with Carter keeping a close eye on the compass. After a while, when he confirmed they were still heading in the intended direction, he grabbed Jayden’s shoulder.
“We must have passed it by now.”
“We probably crossed right over it,” Jayden agreed. “Let’s just keep moving, then.”
They set out once more, toughing it out against the elements as they forged across the wind-blasted desert, heads hunched over against the blowing sand. Conditions deteriorated to the point that Carter was about to suggest that they simply hunker down in the sand and wait for it to clear, when the wind began to let up. Not a whole lot, but enough to make the pelting grains more bearable and to lessen resistance as they trudged forward. They continued travelling until the sandstorm abated and Jayden was able to use his binoculars again.
They stopped for a water break — getting very low now — while Carter checked the compass heading and Jayden scoped out their environs through the optics.
“Okay, I definitely see something now,” Jayden said. “Wow!”
Chapter 26
Jayden kept looking through the binoculars as he answered Carter. “People. Animals. Some kind of caravan, by the looks of it. I don’t see any motor vehicles, don’t see any road. Just a group of people wandering the shifting sands, like us. I guess we should meet up.”