NationStates Jolt Archive

On the Goobergunchian border

Natasha was not a pretty girl. Thick glasses, long red hair, and a nerdish face all came together into almost a certain guarantee of loneliness. She always thought she would die alone. But she never thought it would be so soon.
She dropped her map and compass - she didn't know where or when - and now she was pointlessly trudging on and on, dripping with sweat, cooking alive slowly in her girl-scout uniform. It was hot. Way to hot for her. Her legs were aching, and she threw out her last water can an hour ago. She stumbled and nearly fell, exhausted. Suddenly, she saw a flock of wood ducks pass overheat. With a glimmer of insane hope, she swung her M-16A1 rifle and fired it three times, and smiled as a duck fell out of the sky, wounded by one of the shots.

Unbeknownst to Natasha, she had crossed the Goobergunchian border into the province of Libertus, a rather peaceful border province dominated by the Monrov Wildlife Preserve.

At the ranger station, MoEP-PAED Agent Mark Hopkiss (MoEP-PAED stands for Ministry of Environmental Protection, Parks Authority, Enforcement Division) heard the gunshots. He ran out of the cabin and saw the badly wounded duck. Examining it, he noticed the bullet wound.

Agent Hopkiss didn't have far to look if he wanted to determine the injurer of the bird. He saw Natasha with the rifle in her hands. "What are you doing with a firearm in a wildlife preserve?" he asked. "Come with me to the ranger station; you're under arrest for violations of Title III of the Environmental Protection Act and section 103 of the Firearm Prevention and Citizen Safety Act."

Natasha looks at the strange man, the sweat getting into her eyes and obscuring her vision. She is about to faint from dehydration, but she leans on her rifle and stays standing. She squeezes out the words:

"What the are you talking about? Better... get me.. some water..."

Agent Hopkiss glared at Natasha. Although not without sympathy, Hopkiss was a bit tired, as his shift was about to end, and not in the mood for dealing with children with firearms.

"There's lots of water back at the ranger station," he told the girl. "If you can't walk, I'll carry you, but please come with me."

Natasha's grip on the rifle suddenly lapses. Her vision of the world blurs completely, and she reaches for her glasses reflexively.

"I'll walk...' she struggles to say.

Ever before she can touch her face, she collapses next to the dying bird.