Retreat

CHAPTER 5 – II

(Urissa)
Sinking into my seat
Chest encased in concrete
Hands tremor
Breath short
Sweat, chills, blurriness
Other symptoms of the sort
Abe Sir, mom and dad
Please forgive me
I promised retribution
I feel so lonely
So bad
Surrounded by destitution

Despite their boundless enthusiasm, Urissa’s band of rebels was no match for the sheer numbers that Geryman and Harry Augustina could bring to bare. Augustina called on every associate, ne’er-do-well, and mercenary with whom he had relations. Cronies were now embedded in just about every haunt and watering hole in the city, inquiring into the whereabouts of their enemies. As the siblings attempted to hideout downtown, it became clear that Augustina had put too large a price on Urissa’s head. She was even more hunted than she had imagined. Additionally, Geryman was spreading word around town that he was tracking another woman, other than his sister. Carenf and Glendan were able to stay one-step ahead of pursuers, but after several close calls, Urissa realized that she had to lay low with some friends in Portland for a while with the hopes of recruiting some folks loyal to her greater cause who would return with her to Seattle.

While on the train heading south, Urissa vacillated between feelings of hopelessness and fury. The fight must continue, but she was currently outgunned. She didn’t know what to do. She craved an easing of both her fear and her anger. Out came (and down went) a bottle of laudanum. She had never touched the stuff before, however she hoped for a brief reprieve from this non-stop hell she had been living in ever since Abe Sir’s death. Whiskey and wine had suited her just fine in the past, yet this new tingling experience was a pleasant surprise. What made the drink more palatable was mixing it with raspberry pudding, or “Raspudin” as she had named it.

Though that train ride seemed like a good time to experiment, the opportunity for more destructive vice awaited her in Portland. There the heroine would first taste heroin. Her fog would not lift for some time.

No weight off my feet
Yet rising in my seat
Heart rate slows
Feel the blood flow
Living, leaving
No longer feeling
It’s me
In control
Giving myself away
Agency, I must hold
Off I go

Fatigued; don’t look back, proceed
Escape once more; primal drive
Smell the stench, closer indeed
The imminent capture…oh to be alive