The First Realm: Lee Ki Jung's story
Copyright© 2019 by Diederik Rask
Chapter 2: Taken
A new fad, if you dared call it that, is on the rise. People are carrying Shit Hit The Fan (SHTF) kits wherever they go. Ki Jung is no exception. Her SHTF kit is the most basic, but it is deemed to be enough to give one a chance to survive, based on the accounts of those who have returned, like CPO Boomer and SSG Kim of the ROK SF.
Ki Jung’s kit contains some MREs, a Tanto combat/hunting knife, a segmented carbon shaft spear with stainless steel spearhead, a pair of 1 liter canteens, 100m of 550-Paracord, a hammock, parka, four changes of underclothes, two tees, and a sweatshirt all rolled up the way she was taught by Master Jamison. She also carries a Shinken attached to the side of the backpack. The Shinken was a gift from her instructors. There is room for more, but she doesn’t anything else that would make a difference to add.
Walking to the dojo is part of Ki’s daily routine. She helps open the dojo each day. Her duties include sweeping the floors, cleaning the mats and laying them out. In general, it is down to making everything ready for the day. It does not matter what the weather is like. Rain or shine, hot or cold, windy or calm, Master Jamison and the other instructors know they can count on Ki Jung being there on time and doing her part. The tasks she performs are not considered to be menial. Master Jamison and the other instructors do the same work.
On this particular day, she is reaching for the door to enter the dojo. She looks inside and waves a greeting to Master Jamison, the owner, who returns her greeting with his usual smile and a wave. Then, to his shock and horror, she vanishes before his eyes. Jim knows what this means and falls to his knees in shock. He knows he should contact the widow Lee and tell her about what just transpired, but it will be a few minutes before he pulls himself together. It is the longest two minutes of Master Jamison’s life before another instructor enters to find him sobbing.
One moment Ki Jung is about to enter the dojo. The next, she is standing on the bank of a bubbling brook. Instantly Ki Jung becomes alert. With practiced ease, she extracts the sections of her spear from its special pocket on one side of her SHTF bag and assembles them by feel.
While she assembles the spear, she turns in a circle to get a better idea of her surroundings. Survival is her first goal, but her ultimate goal is to find her way to one of the towns or cities that she knows exist. It is only a question of which way to go. She can only guess, but standing still will not do her any good.
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