Word Count: 114,009
Summary of Events:
Nadia arrived at Vitaly's apartment after work and ended up getting into an argument with Vitaly, who told her that he'd not sent Horea to walk with her, and that he didn't want her leaving Moldova with Horea, but she still intended to. Borden was feeling tired, as his bruise from falling on the mountain still hurt and was making it hard for him to sleep, but he and Honour reached their last camping spot for the trip regardless. Nadia woke up early and snuck out of Vitaly's apartment to meet Horea; she was not pleased to find he had three strong male friends with him, and that she was forced to sit between two of them in the backseat, including one who brandished a hypodermic syringe and told her to be quiet if she didn't want him to inject her with it . . .
Excerpt of the Day:
Suddenly Nadia wished that Vitaly had been awake and had heard her, that he would come after her. She felt that she had been a fool not to listen to him, deceived by the romance that she had shared with Horea the night before, and now she felt a severe regret for having snuck out on Vitaly.
Before long Nadia realised that they were on Highway M2, heading north of Chișinău, especially when a sign proclaiming Stăuceni was approaching.
“We’re going the wrong way Horea,” Nadia said.
“No we’re not,” Horea replied.
“The airport is south of Chișinău, not north,” Nadia said. “It’s on the R two, not the M two.”
“Did I tell you that our flight was going out of Chișinău?” Horea asked.
Nadia was silent, thinking it over. No, actually, he hadn’t.
“No,” she replied.
“Then don’t make presumptions,” Horea replied.
“But Chișinău’s airport makes the most sense,” Nadia said. “Seeing as we’re in Chișinău.”
“The cheaper flights are out of Mărculești,” Horea replied.
“Mărculești?” Nadia asked. “But that’s two hours away.”
“Two hours of driving saving hundreds of dollars in flying seems like a good exchange to me,” Horea replied. “Now will you be quiet please?”
“But why?” Nadia asked. “You’ve never disliked me talking to you before.”
“You’re asking too many questions,” Horea said. “Especially for this hour of the morning.”
“But this isn’t like you Horea,” Nadia said. “You’ve never been like this.”
“And is there something wrong with me being like this?” Horea asked.
“Yes,” Nadia replied. “It’s unkind, and it’s evasive. You’ve never been evasive with me before.”
“I have to be,” Horea replied. “The last thing I want is to attract attention.”
“What kind of attention are you going to attract?” Nadia asked.
“You say any more and in ten seconds I am injecting you,” the man to Nadia’s left warned, brandishing the syringe again.
“Please Nadia,” Horea said. “Just keep quiet, maybe get some more sleep. It will help you be more rested for our flight.”
Nadia looked warily at the men flanking her, but leaned her head back against the seat anyways. Tears flooded her eyes and she felt very afraid, as well as very foolish. The words that Vitaly had spoken in his sobs returned to her mind: He is going to sell you Nadia.
What did that mean? Was Horea actually going to sell her like an article of clothing or an animal? Was there going to be actual money exchanged? Nadia really didn’t want to find out, but she was very afraid and wished desperately that Vitaly had woken up, that he’d heard her leave, and that he was hot on the heels of Horea.
Maybe there was even some way that Vitaly would make it to Mărculești before she, Horea, and the three strangers she was with made it. That would be wonderful, but Nadia wasn’t sure, she’d done her best not to be heard, and she was very afraid that she had succeeded.
Pronunciations:
Stăuceni: stahwchehnee
Mărculești: mahrchoolehstee
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