was the only thing I could think when I heard the Captains pronouncement.

There was only so much my brain could take at any given time, and it was definatley beginning to overload round about now.


OK, 48 hours ain't a long time to find someone who's missing God knows where in a place where we haven't a clue where to start looking. But it's a bloody long time for something hungry enough to start sniffing around here, and the idea of being a toothpick wasn't exactly comforting at the best of times.

Debriefing over, I went back to my lean to. I was bone tired, as was everyone, but sleep didn't seem to want to knock on my door any time soon it seemed.

In another world, eons ago it seemed, whenever something really pressed on my mind, exams, problems or just day to day life, I found meditation and self hypnosis helped me to focus on the important things, and filter out the rest.

The good thing was I didn't need to ready myself, I could do it at a drop of a hat, which was what I did, dropped my hat from my head and I was in the nothingness which was dangerously close to becoming my entire inner self.

I remebered that I'd heard Hecate using her ability to conjnect with me once before, even though I'm not an empath, I realised she was.
"Hecate, can you hear me?"
Nothing, not even a whisper came to me.
Maybe I should go deeper into myself, I thought.
Using my heart as the pendelum, I withdrew deeper into my psyche, calling to Hecate all the time.
I could still hear everything going on around me, but from a vast distance, orders being barked, the noise and bustle of the camp, and strangley, the deeper I imersed into myself the clearer I could hear everything.

"Hecate, we only have 48 hours left until the Portals opens and we have to go, can you describe where you are? We're organising a way to find you, and bring you back."

Still nothing.
I kept trying, determined not to give up until I knew there was no chance of contacting her.
My heart rate was slowing, the slower it went, the deeper I got.
Vaguely,I heard a voice calling my name.
"Hecate, thank God, where are you?"
"The one you seek is close, but not close enough to hear you. Your companion is safe, but time is slipping away from us, and we must not waste any of it."
"Who are you, how do you know Hecate's ok, do you have her, tell me where she is, we have to leave, and we'll not go without her!"
"If you leave now, you will undo everything that your presence here has set in motion Trini, to leave will bring about the destruction of you, your companions and this place will cease to exist. You must not leave until you have completed your mission to this place."
"I don't even know what the mission is, how can I complete it if I don't know what it is?" (I'm not embarrased to say the hystria coming into my "voice" at this point wasn't slight)
"The fact that you aknowledge your ignorance is a mighty weapon in this mission. This world has become as it is as a result of excess.Use your collective ignorance to defeat the thing that preys on you all. You are all primitive in comparison to this place. Use your primtivness to gain mastery of your would be conquerer, become the bane, not the prey."

I'm a blunt person at the best of times. I think it's a pre requsit of being a theologian, I mean you can't go pussy footing around, and sucking up to arty farty ideas and people just to get ahead. People have one inherant flaw, they think, but not as much as they talk. We need to listen more. God gave us 2 ears and 1 mouth,the logic sort of speaks for itself really(pardon the pun)do twice as much listenening and a whole lot less talking, and things will pretty much work out for themselves.
I've expounded this philosophy many a time, and as a consequence, have pissed of many people, many a time. This voice was beginning to rub me the wrong way, and I was beginning to seriously bristle.

"Look, stop farting around and tell me exactly what you mean for f**** sake. You sound like a flaming fortune cookie.Just say, you have to go there, do this that or the other, and then you can go back home. You sound like a badly written tv series. What is it we're supposed to, when and how. Can you do that?"

Astonished silence, then,
"Well! I was only tring to inject some gravitas into my message, so you'd take more notice. Has anyone ever told you that you are an extremely rude person?"
"Yep, loads of times, so are you going to tell me or what?"
"Fine! the answers you seek are with the one you call Jinx. Talk with her, and you shall find Hecate, and the answers you need to finish what you have started."
"So why didn't you just say so in the first place, instead of waffling on all this time then?" My impatience was really beginning to show through by this time.
More offended silence greated me.
"You still there, whoever you are" I asked.
Nothing.
"Sod you then, I'm off. By the way, thanks for the information, hopefully we'll soon be out of this place."
Faintly I heard "such rudeness, such rudeness.." and I swear I also heard a faint chuckle.

I brought myself out of my hypnosis and got to my feet.

I pelted out of the lean to, shouting at the top of my voice,
"JINX, JINX, WHERE ARE YOU, DAMMIT WOMAN, WHERE ARE YOU?"
Jinx appeared from the Captains tent, scowling.
"What do you want, and stop shouting, STOP SHOUTING!!"

"Where were you attacked, you have to take us there now if we've any chance of finding Hecate and leaving this place."

"What the hell are you talking about?" she said, totally bewildered.

"Just get the people we need together, and lets make a move and I'll tell you on the way."

She just stood there looking at me.

By this time, half the camp was gathering around to see what all the commotion was about. The expression of everyones faces said it all, "poor cow, she's losing it, she's finally gone over the edge"

"Please, just trust me, sort out who we need to come with us, and let's move, we don't have much time if we've any chance of finding Hecate."