So I suppose I knew how they’d found me. The kid in the internet cafe must have reported his wallet and mobile phone as stolen, and they had tracked it to me here. Apparently it doesn’t need to be switched on to be tracked, the battery must have died a long time ago. Glasses had even been there at the cafe, he was watching me so he knew I had it, even if I had totally forgotten all about it. I recalled now how I had intended on ditching it along with the wallet, instead I had absently popped it into my bag and neglected to dispose of it. Damn.
So stupid to have forgotten that.
Okay, so now I knew how they had found me. If they were following the phone, then I still needed to lose the phone. I had risen early so I should’ve been tired, however the adrenaline was really pumping now and I had a mission. Operation ditch the damn phone.
I thought of my options. Wait here until either they found me, or until they give up and leave, which I didn’t believe they were going to do. They would follow their trackers for the phone which would eventually lead them right here.
Leave here and go somewhere else. Okay, where would I go? I still had the map, I could set up a new camp somewhere else, start again. And if I left the phone here, they would be kept busy trying to find it here, for a while at least, giving me time to get away. The drone would have to be on the ground when I make my move though, otherwise the heat-seeker would find me the moment I step outside of my burrow.
The microdrone had been flying intermittently, and I guessed the ground time was them recharging its battery, so with the timing right I should be able to get out of here without them detecting me.
With some sadness I gathered up the few things I had, stuffed them into the rucksack, and rolled up the sleeping bag. I was ready in no time, and sharp stick in hand, I waited until the moment was right.
I could hear the drone up there now. It circled this clearing many times but it also followed the route of the stream, so perhaps they weren’t exactly certain of my location after all. They didn’t know I had a burrow to hide out in. I could hope.
It occurred to me that they might be waiting, just as silently, outside the entrance, for me to make my move. They may have had the same thought process as I had, and already figured out what my plan would be.
That may be true, I thought, but I have several advantages over my pursuers. When I jump out of here they will be surprised, and they won’t have the drone to back them up. There was no moon tonight so it’s pitch back out there. I know these woods inside out and back to front - they don’t - they’ll be lost, get tangled in undergrowth, fall down pot holes and trip over stones, while I’m making a swift getaway via rabbit paths and through dense bushes that appear impenetrable from the outside but are actually hollowed on the inside, most people wouldn’t even dream of entering.
I made sure the mobile phone remained in the burrow, buried under earth, right at the back, to hopefully keep them occupied and distracted a little longer.
Slowly and carefully I crawled toward the entrance. Peeking out through the gaps, I tried to see if there was anyone outside, it was very difficult to tell in the darkness. So many shadows, most were familiar to me now, but I was afraid to take such a chance with these high stakes.
After watching for about ten minutes, I decided that I would have to go soon. The drone would be running low on power in a few minutes and that would be my cue to move out. I had my bags ready on my back, the stick in one hand, the other hand resting on the cover in readiness to slide it slowly down to the ground.
Then the sound of the drone ceased. It was on the ground.
I used both hands to dislodge the cover and gently slid it downwards, looking around me all the while. Nothing stirred.
Grasping the stick, I stepped out of the burrow, my home for the last six months, and without looking back I skipped off into the darkness.