Don’t Shoot The Messenger: Narrow Escape

Turtle 14

Yes, yes, okay, Turtle is telling you things out of order. I’m sorry. But if you want to know what’s happening to Turtle in order, the events he’s chronicling are suddenly messed up. Either way something’s out of order. So you get this now.

I may be panicking just a bit right now. I’m worried about Rachael. She had been trying to get me Donovan’s notebook. She must have gotten her hands on it because she’s sent it to me, along with a note.

“I dug a bit too deep this time. I think he knows I’m meddling. I don’t think he knows you’re involved, but be careful. This isn’t your fault. My luck just ran out. I’m glad I could at least do this much.

I’m sorry, Turtle. This is goodbye.

Sincerely,

Rachael.”

I don’t know what she means by “this is goodbye.” It could be a lot of things. It could even be a bluff. It’s probably not. But no matter what she decides to do or what happens to her, this much is clear: she thought this notebook was important enough to risk so much by hunting it down and sending it to me.

Of course, you don’t know about Donovan yet or why he’s important. That changes now. This is roughly where he needs to be introduced, so this is where his story begins.

Donovan 1

Well, I’m still alive.

Didn’t get yesterday written down because last night was a bit busy.  Some headhunters tracked me down. Barely got away. The RV saved my life again. Almost makes her worth living in. Still, she’s a costly little bitch. Mileage isn’t great, which is bad considering how pricey gas is. Plus if she breaks down, I’m SOL. Getting enough money to fix her would require selling her, which kind of defeats the point.

I think they found me because I used my card. People don’t like checks anymore. Money might not actually be there. They like to know if you’re broke right away. Means either using a card or paying by cash. Carrying too much cash is dangerous in lots of ways, but apparently these people can track cards. Maybe I can lay low in a city but using it in a smaller town shows them pretty much exactly where I am. Real rock and hard place.

Sometimes, I wish I could just drop off the grid completely. Find some friends, build a cabin in the woods and live off the land. But that means you’re dependent on the land. Maybe they wouldn’t be able to find me, but HE still would. Best way to get away from HIM is to keep moving, which means I have to be part of the system, which means I can’t be self-sufficient.

Wish I didn’t need so much money. Funds are dwindling. Can’t hold a job while running. Jobs require paperwork and time. It’s worse now that it’s springtime. Can’t even go door to door raking leaves or shoveling snow for half a year. Best shot right now is busking, and busking means cities. Probably my best move right now. I’ll see if I can reconnect with the networks there some.