THE CHOSEN · BATTLE WITH A CERBEROSIAN PRINCE
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The Chosen: Battle with a Cerberosian Prince 1st Projection
Two nights at each Camp was Dorjee’s standard. Camp 4
was no different. The morning of their final departure—the
final journey towards the great Summit of Mount Everest—
TJ woke up early. As exhausted as he was from the past six
days, his brain, as always, wouldn’t give him a break. He
knew he needed more sleep, but he was used to taking what
his body would give him. He made his way from his tent
to the general tent, where they all would gather to eat, visit
the doctors, contact family—only in the event of emergencies—or just hang out. That early in the morning, no one
was usually up. As he opened the tent, he found Fang in
there, sitting on one of the couches.
“Can I join you?” TJ asked.
“Sure.”
TJ sat on the couch next to the one that Fang was sitting on. A seat separated the two. They sat there for a few
minutes before anyone said anything.
“Tell me, man, why’d you come here?” TJ said.
Fang paused before responding. “Honestly,” he said as he
took another pause, this time longer than the first. “There’s
something I have to prove. To my family. To my father.”
He had some emotion on his face as he said that. Not
much, but enough for TJ to notice. He wanted to ask more,
but he knew that was probably all he would get from a guy
who rarely expressed himself.
“What about you, stars and stripes? What made you
‘accept’ the so-called destiny?”
The way he phrased the question made TJ chuckle.
“You know, I asked myself the same question before I
left home. I guess I’m on a journey towards self-discovery.”
They looked at each other. Fang shrugged a little.
“I know, heard it the moment the words left my mouth.
It’s very cheesy. But it’s true. I just feel like I don’t know who
I am at times. The past two years of high school have been
the same deal. Wrestling with the same question.”
They sat there for a while, saying nothing else to each
other. It was strange. There was always a tension about their
interactions. They didn’t hate each other; they just weren’t
fond of one another. Neither of them could figure out why,
but from the moment they met, something was off. In the
same breath, they had a respect for each other that was evident. There was something in the way they pushed each
other. The others saw it as petty competition. It was something else, something different. Yet they couldn’t describe
or define it.
“Morning, guys.” Dorjee walked in with a few of the
sherpas.
“Morning,” they both replied.
“So, are you guys ready for today?”
TJ quickly and eagerly responded, “Man, I’ve been ready
the moment I found out we were climbing Mount Everest.”
“That’s good to hear,” Dorjee said. “Let’s hope everyone
else shares your excitement.”
Dorjee spoke to the sherpas in what could have been
Nepali or Hindi. They gathered around a table, discussing
what seemed to be quite important. Looking at the time,
Fang and TJ stood up to go to their tents so they could
get ready. They could hear movement from the other tents.
Everyone else was awake. Ready for the big day, they went
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