Uncertainty

By Mark Fittall

When an unknown disaster befalls two people separated by many thousands of kilometres, both struggle to comprehend what has happened and reunite.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Apr 9, 2018
• ISBN: 9780244080068

Book preview

Uncertainty

Uncertainty

Copyright © 2018 by Mark Fittall

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

First Printing: 2018

ISBN 978-0-244-08006-8

Chapter 1

The plane leaving contrails overhead in the clear blue sky made him wonder who was going where and why, because he knew he was going nowhere, at least not without some serious effort. The slight humming in his ears he always noticed whenever he'd been driving for a long time gradually faded and he realised the silence was loud in the way that only silence can be.

I’m stupid. I am really, really stupid, he thought.

Just to add emphasis he repeated it out loud casting a furtive look round to make sure nobody had heard. But then again, he observed, nobody would hear him as he was alone and miles from anywhere. The grey and yellow sand lay unbroken from horizon to horizon. The undulations in the surface, at times haphazardly irregular and at other times looking for all the world like a scaled up version of corrugated paper, had slowed him down to often no more than a crawl.

I suppose I’d better get on with it, he muttered.

Jumping out of the car he stretched his left leg, the leg that had for a few days been uncomfortable and prone to shooting pains. He thought he must have sciatica but surely it couldn’t be as only old people get that, don’t they? He was only in his late thirties and even though he’d led a fairly active life he couldn’t believe he’d worn his body out to the extent that vague problems were appearing. It crossed his mind that it’ll be varicose veins next, just like his grandmother.

He had a moment of indecision as his hand hovered over the ignition key as to whether he should switch the engine off or leave it running? If he switched it off there was never any guarantee it would start again, though it had never missed a beat all the way from Capetown. If he left it on he'd just be wasting the fuel that might mean all the difference later. He decided to switch it off and trust his luck.

Utter quiet, no wind, no traffic noise, and no people talking, shouting, arguing or making any noises that people normally do. The odd ping from the cooling engine wasn’t intrusive and just served to remind him that he wasn’t completely ‘alone’. Though how much life a car can have is up for debate. He did talk to it though, cajole it in difficult times, shout at it when he thought it deserved the telling off and even, at the end of every day, gave the bonnet a little pat and a Well done.

He stretched his back, gave his legs a shake, felt the warm sun on his shoulders and looked around. Sand, sand everywhere and not a drop to........... hold on a minute, that refers to water doesn’t it? Something to do with Ancient Mariners?

Certainly no water round here, just miles and miles of sand and desert, as he smiled to himself. For some reason, probably to do with being brought up in the cold, wet and windy north of England, he loved the heat, the solitude and the pure alien type scenery of the desert. For him this was the best place to be.

He looked down at the car and saw all four wheels were mostly buried. He nodded to himself and acknowledged it was his fault. He’d misjudged the depth and softness and made the cardinal error of trying to power through it when he felt the wheels bogging down. All that did was push the car in deeper and deeper until there was no way it was going to go anywhere without some serious human powered digging.

He opened the tailgate of what he called a pick-up but in South Africa where he’d bought it, they called them a ‘bakkie’. An ideal vehicle for traversing Africa. He’d bought it from a family who’d done a lot of travelling but now, because of extra children arriving on the scene, they’d decided to settle down at Fish Hoek, a little outside of Capetown.

The cost had been reasonable considering it had most of the kit he needed and being an older vehicle had few, if any, electronics to make life complicated out in the wilds. All he had to do was update some of the accessories buy a few extra things like a GPS for navigation and new recovery equipment and that was enough. He was ready to fulfil his dream of driving all the way through Africa, south to north, and finish back at home in England.

As he unstrapped the shovel from the inside to start digging himself out he noticed once again his name written on it with a black permanent marker.

Ethan.

Attached to the same strap was a small bright green plastic spade, just like the one kids use on a beach to make sand castles. On there was written another name.

Adrijana.

She’d presented them to him one evening just before they’d set off saying, If you’re daft enough to get the car stuck, guess how much digging I’ll be doing to help you. Fortunately, through a combination of more luck than judgement, both had remained secured inside the rear for many months apart from one failed attempt to drive a short cut through what was known as ‘black cotton’ type soil in northern Kenya.

Ethan set about clearing the sand away from the wheels placing the sand mats carefully to the tyres and making sure the angle wasn’t too steep to climb out of the holes. He’d let the tyres down quite a way when he came off the tarmac to increase the footprint, to help ‘float’ over the sand, but he didn’t want to let them down any further. Though he had two spares, better safe than sorry, he didn’t want to damage them especially as being such a long way from civilisation and on his own. A little extra work won’t hurt he thought as it was far too easy for him to pile on the weight due to a liking for any fried food. Any at all. If it was fried, it was edible and good. Adrijana had weaned him off it to a certain extent, substituting a number of healthy options into his diet, but at times he couldn’t resist an English breakfast or fish and chips.

After replacing the shovel he returned to the driver’s seat, breathed a small sigh of relief as the engine started, engaged a low gear and slowly drove forward out of the holes. He stopped a little way ahead on more solid ground and returned on foot to retrieve the sand mats. These he man-handled back onto the side of the covered pick up body where he clipped and locked them in place. He took a drink of cool water from the small fridge/freezer the previous owners had thoughtfully fitted and set off once more.

Following the arrow pointer on his GPS for the next few hours Ethan counted back the days since he’d left the tarmac. Three was the answer and he knew that within the next day he’d reach his destination – the Gilf Kebir.

He’d already driven several hundred kilometres through the sand from the nearest oasis and intended to reach the south western most point of Egypt, famous in a way for the The Cave of Swimmers, located at Wadi Sura on the plateau, and the resultant book and film The English Patient. He intended to camp here for a couple of days to explore and then return to Cairo. The Gilf Kebir area though is in the ‘badlands’ close to the border of Egypt with Sudan and Libya, so Ethan knew he was taking a bit of a risk, never mind going all the way alone against all the advice, also knowing the area was a smuggling route, both for people and goods. Plus, you were not supposed to go there without the relevant permits issued by the Egyptian authorities.

Looking at his watch he decided that as he was in a small depression between the dunes, sheltered from any prying eyes, it would make a good place to camp for the night. In a desert at certain times of the year the cool night winds could make life a little uncomfortable cooking and sleeping outside and he hoped he’d have at least a little protection from them. He turned the car round in the depression so it was facing a little downhill and slowly coasted to a stop. Fortunately the sand wasn’t too soft at all; it looked favourable for getting away in the morning. The heat of the day had softened it and overnight, in the cool air, it would firm back up some anyway.

Ethan opened the door, slid out from the seat flapping his shirt around to dry some of the sweat that had built up in the small of his back. Using the front he wiped across his face trying to clear the gritty feeling around his eyes. He estimated the sun wouldn't stay with him for too long before it began to dip behind the nearest dune. He took another drink of cool water and commenced his usual routine.

No matter how hot or cold the day the first job was to get the kettle brewing for some strong tea. ‘Builders tea’, tea almost strong enough to stand the spoon up in. He naturally added an extra spoon of sugar because Adrijana wasn’t with him and with a sigh of appreciation walked a couple of circuits around the car to stretch his legs, especially the painful one and to check he still had all four wheels on. He obviously would have noticed if in reality one had fallen off, but it was just something he always did.

His next job was to contact Adrijana on the satellite phone to check in and let her know all was in order with him, then check the fluids on the car while it was still light, make an evening meal and then settle down to update his diary on the small laptop he carried. This was religiously done every day, uploading the photos from his camera and backing it all up onto a spare hard drive.

When that task was completed he’d open up the roof top tent and depending on the weather, settle down in the soft sand with another cup of tea, a small portable short wave radio tuned to the BBC World Service and watch the stars and Milky Way turn across the sky. In the last few days he’d noticed a comet lazily making its way from the east. Bright enough and close enough now that it could be seen during the day. The news had said it was slowly accelerating as it approached the Earth, pulled towards it by the gravity maybe, but would slingshot away into space missing the earth by a comfortable margin. Later, as he either began to get cold or too tired, he’d climb up into the tent and snuggle down for a well earned sleep.

He grabbed the sat phone from the charger placed in the glove box and walked up to the top of the nearest small dune. He rang a number he knew well, waited for the connections to be made via the satellites and land lines and heard the phone at the other end ring.

Then ring and ring.

Damn, thought Ethan, she must be busy. He looked at his watch, worked out the time difference between Egypt and the UK and decided to wait a short while. He walked back down noticing his footsteps on the way up were beginning to be filled in by the ever growing breeze, cooling as it did so. He returned to the car, lifted the bonnet and spent time visually checking around, checking the fluid levels and then slipping down to lie at the side to peer underneath to make sure nothing was falling off. The sand was warm to the touch but as he maneuvered around the cooler layer underneath touched his skin. The wind being channeled under the car was beginning to whip the sand up as it gusted causing him to shield his eyes.

When he’d looked to his satisfaction he opened the tailgate, pulled out a wheel spanner and checked the tightness of the wheel nuts. Another habit he had.

Feeling enough time had passed, he trudged with the Sat phone back up to the top of the dune noting he couldn’t see his previous footprints now at all. The thought of not straying too far from the car when it’s dark flitted across his mind. As he reached the top he extended the phone aerial as far as it would go and rang again. The same ring for the same length of time heralded that she still wasn’t available, but this time he let it go to voice mail where he left a short message to say he was fit and well.

As he turned to walk back down he noticed the comet seemed to be more visible than he remembered from a few hours ago. The sand in the air was distorting his view a little as he stood looking at it for a few minutes and could swear blind he could see it moving. No chance, he thought. It must be a trick of the desert air. He felt the need to speak to his wife, so digging through the contacts menu on the phone he rang another number. A number he rarely used, but he was sure they’d understand at her work. If she was still there, that is.

It rang only twice before a female voice said, Good afternoon, German Embassy London, how can I help you?

I’d like to speak to Adrijana Garforth if she’s available.

Can I say who is speaking?

Yes, I’m her husband, Ethan. I wouldn’t normally contact her at work but….

Oh! Are you still out in the desert? She’s told us all about her adventures. I'm Sherry, she said…..

Yes, yes, and I don’t have long, I’m on the Sat phone so if I could just….. interrupted Ethan.

Sorry, certainly, I’ll put you through.

Ethan heard the ring of another phone and a breathless voice picked up. Hello, can I help you?

Ethan instantly recognised the mixed German and Slovenian accent of his wife. Slovenian was her first language, German the next, English the third, Spanish the fourth and Arabic the fifth.

How on earth she could keep them all without them being mixed up was a miracle to him. He’d learnt conversational German at best, but that was the extent of his language abilities.

It’s me.

Great, I was in the store room when I heard the phone ring, is everything ok?

Yes fine. I should be there tomorrow. The wind’s getting up though and the temperature is dropping.

Have you got enough water? Adrijana had a bee in her bonnet about water. Whenever Ethan was by himself he always had to have twice as much water with him than he could ever need.

Yes, plenty. I could have a bath every night if I wanted and still have enough.

What about food?

I’ve run out of the fresh stuff but still got plenty of dried and canned. No problem there. I’ve rung your mobile and left you a message.

I’m staying……….. There was a crackle from the sat phone and Ethan heard a …I’ll be… crackle …the new… crackle …don’t worry… remember…me…. and then nothing.

Ethan swung round to try and get a better reception. He looked at the phone and saw no indication of any reception at all. The battery was still strong, after all he kept it charged up every day.

Adrijana, Adrijana… he said. Can you hear me? Hello hello…

He ran from the top of the small hill to another nearby and was virtually shouting into the phone.

Don’t worry about what? That was the question he thought. As soon as someone says ‘don’t worry’ what is the first thing people do? Worry. Remember what? Remember Adriana? Of course he would anyway.

He tried for the next few minutes to re-establish a connection but no matter where he went or how many times he switched the phone off and on, there was none to be found. He tried ringing anyway just in case but there was no sound at all.

Bugger, shit, bugger, shit. he said out loud to the rhythm of his footsteps back to the car. He decided to try again later.

As he got back to his little camp the shadows were lengthening so that his car was now completely in the shade. He looked to the west and couldn’t see the sun at all, it had disappeared behind the low dune. He turned back to the east and the sunset had lit up the comet to a vibrant red. It looks like the devil’s bellybutton, he thought.

Ethan then noticed the tail seemed a lot shorter than he remembered. Either some of it had been left behind or the only other alternative he could think of was that it had turned to face the Earth more and some of the tail was hidden behind the main body of the comet. A worried frown creased his brow. Surely not, no way could it hit the Earth, could it?

He stood there for a minute feeling the cooling sand around his toes where he’d dug his sandals into the pleasant softness. Ethan was the type that if there was a problem, he‘d try to solve it. If nothing immediately came to mind he’d worry at it until a solution occurred. In the unlikely event that he couldn’t think of one, he’d just accept it but feel aggrieved and try to think of how he could plan so that it never happened again.

He felt this was an asset but he also understood that the flip side was that he’d been accused of lacking empathy. Whenever someone had spoken of a problem, all he could focus on was finding a solution rather than empathizing with the person and saying all the comforting things that seemed to come so easily to Adrijana.

Must be a male thing, he thought.

The comet looked now to be a problem, or at least a potential one, but Ethan also knew there was not a thing all he could do about it.

A shrug of his shoulders indicated he’d mentally moved on and thought now only of what he could have for dinner. He dragged out the two burner gas cooker and set it up on the folding table he retrieved from the rear of the pick up. The light was fading fast so he set up the florescent light, hooked it on the outside and plugged it in to a socket he’d rigged up just inside the tailgate. It flickered into life casting a small pool of white light over the table. A rummage through the food boxes revealed a forgotten onion and a clove of garlic. That’s a start he thought. A tin of baked beans just seemed to leap into his hand as well as a tin of corned beef. A further mental and physical cast around the boxes for ideas turned up a small bag of flour.

That’s me sorted, he thought, oniony garlicky baked beans and corned beef fritters for dinner. A little soy sauce in the beans, salt and pepper in the batter for the fritters, a splash of oil for frying them up and the result would be a meal fit for a king. A king that just so happens to be camping, but never mind.

The light faded even further as he cooked, he grabbed hold of his head torch while he could still find it and strapped it on. A quick test showed the batteries were still strong so he switched it off again whilst only needing the camping light. The smell of the onions and garlic softening in the saucepan wafted around the car. It reminded him of the times he and Adrijana has shared the cooking. He always added a bit more garlic when her back was turned and he knew for a fact that even though too much salt was unhealthy, she always added a bit more when he was distracted. He whipped up a little batter with the flour and water, coated slices of corned beef and dropped them in the frying pan. As they sizzled away he opened the baked beans and added them to the onion and garlic. A dash of the soy sauce added a little extra flavor.

When it was all cooked he sat down on the camp stool thanking that with being in the desert he had few night insects to share his meal with, the plate balanced on his knees. As he ate he seemed to naturally turn his stool to face the comet, his eyes flicking up to it every time he lifted his fork to his mouth.

He felt too long had passed with the cooking, he wolfed the last of the food down and even before tidying up he strode with the sat phone back up to the nearby dune. He switched it back on and waited for it to locate a signal. It searched and searched for seemingly ages, but not even the slightest sniff of a satellite. He tried ringing anyway in case the display was faulty, but to no avail.

Nothing, not a sign of a connection. He switched it off.

Forlornly he stepped back down to the car. The light clipped to the roof throwing the side of the car in relief. The small pool from his head torch, now switched on to climb the dune, illuminated a circle at his feet. His mind made a connection; it was just like the small comet approaching the larger Earth in the complete blackness of the desert/space. He shivered. He didn’t believe in omens at all, he wasn’t religious, but he still felt a little unnerved.

Ethan made himself another cup of tea that brewed whilst he washed up his cooking kit, made sure the gas was well and truly switched off and packed it all away tightly so it didn’t rattle when he drove over uneven ground. With the tea and the small portable radio he sat down on the sand with his back against a car wheel and switched it on. Normally it virtually immediately came on to the BBC World Service he’s preset the dial to. Nothing this time but static. He stood up and moved around, eventually climbing back up the small hill again. As he reached the top he could faintly hear a voice, the voice of the newsreader.

……is approaching the earth a lot closer than expected. Scientists admit they are at a loss to explain why but feel certain it will still swing away into space in a ‘glancing blow’ with the upper atmosphere. People are advised to remain indoors with their windows and doors closed and stay tuned to the news reports. The BBC will continue with a rolling report until…………… static, static and more static.

As with the sat phone, no matter how the radio was tuned or where he stood, there was no signal. He tried off and on for the next half an hour, his tea still down by the car now cold, the wind gusting and cutting through his T shirt.

He felt cut off from everything. Even when he chose to be away from civilization and people, as with the trip to the remote region of Egypt, he knew that he could still be in contact with the radio and sat phone if needs be. Now he felt frustrated and even more alone. Back at the car he gulped down his tea and slung the mug in the back. He couldn’t be bothered to open up his netbook and fill out his diary or download the few photos he’d taken today so with a practiced movement reached up to the roof of the car, unstrapped the roof tent and swung it open. The aluminum ladder allowing access was attached, he grabbed hold of the sat phone, the radio and a full bottle of water, unzipped the flap and placed them inside. His sleeping bag was still there from the previous night as was a book he’d promised himself he would one day read – The Physics of Blown Sand and Desert Dunes, by Ralph A. Bagnold.

Ethan did a quick teeth clean, locked up the car, deposited the keys in his pocket and walked a little away for the last toilet of the night. He was used to the desert in the cool of the night but this night the chill seemed more pronounced. Pull yourself together, he told himself. There is nothing you can do, you’re just being……… well I don’t know what. Ethan was normally very level headed and this feeling was unusual to him. He couldn’t frame it into words. Even though it was still relatively early he felt a lethargic and decided bed was the best place to be.

He climbed up, slipped into the tent, stripped off his clothes, and placed his