SODIUM:1 Harbinger (12 page)

As we sat by the fire Allie was her same quiet self that she had been the last several days. I didn’t really mind this evening as it gave me time to daydream and to plan out strategies. I thought we might have an advantage if we could lure one of the demons into a trap.

The girls backtracking had worked wonders and if we could outsmart these things with more trickery I was all for it. They had laid their own trap on us during our last battle, where the demon waited quietly for one of us to raise our heads. It had almost killed Bull with a rock from that encounter, which had barely missed, but had still managed to cut his scalp.

I wondered if we could lure one of them down into a ravine where we could attack it from above, or maybe we could gain advantage on the steep trail by rolling big boulders down at it. My mind was whirring away at coming up with any idea that we could use.

Up until this day I had been a curse on the outing; always getting injured, always with a negative attitude, always complaining. But I had blown a six inch hole in an alien machine the afternoon before, possibly saving us all with my one quick thought and move.

I didn’t want to take credit from the girls for their crossfire, but it was my one dead-on shot that had convinced the demon to turn and run. It was the one right thing I had done on the trip and I wanted a little pat on my back for it, even if it was only me doing the patting.

We kept just enough wood on the fire to keep it burning low. The light from it was good and the heat from it warm, but we did not want it to attract attention. The night was calm as were the woods surrounding us… up until about 3AM. That is when our night of terror began.

Several owls could be heard hooting out warnings during the normal quiet. I took Allie by the arm and gestured in the direction the sounds had come from. She replied in a low voice that it could be our demon, or possibly just one of the predators that lurked about, hunting at night. Many of the animals in the Yosemite area were nocturnal.

I kept a close lookout for signs of the demon in that area. For an hour there was nothing. But the demons were on the hunt that night and it was us who were their prey. The red demon eyes of an alien machine soon made themselves known as they peered through the woods. I scrambled to wake Bull and Susi.

We stayed low behind the rock wall we had constructed, peering intently into the woods. The eyes just stared at us as if in a contest of wills. Then, just as suddenly as they had appeared, they were gone. We waited patiently for their return, but they did not come. Bull made the decision to be the aggressor; we were going to walk the perimeter line of the woods.

I was not happy with the idea of scouting for the demon, but for some reason I volunteered to go along. The girls stayed crouched behind the wall as Bull and I made our way across the clearing before us. I was apprehensive and constantly turned my gaze from side to side.

When we reached the edge of the woods Bull stood quietly, staring into them for several minutes. The calm and quiet of the woods now somehow seemed sinister. I fully expected a rock to emerge from the darkness, striking me in the head at any moment. I began to shiver from the intensity of the situation and the cold night air.

I was then startled by the sound of splashing water. Bull had thrown a rock into the lake to see if it would draw attention, it did not. I chastised him in a low voice to which he replied that sometimes with a predator you need a diversion, they would be wary of any other activity that was close by.

We began a long slow walk along the treeline, peering constantly into the darkness that lay beyond. Just as we reached the halfway point of our journey, Bull turned and placed his hand out. In the distance of the deep wood, we could see a single red eye moving to the left. The demon was moving around behind our camp.

I pleaded with Bull to return to the security of our block wall, but he had another plan in mind. Suddenly, in a quiet sprint, he headed into the dark wood. He was intent on circling in behind the demon before it could do the same to us. I shook my head in disbelief as I quickly and quietly followed after.

It was madness, chasing into the dark woods after an alien machine. Bull carried his .45 and I my trusty bat, but the alien had a nearly unlimited supply of anything that could be thrown. I was not looking forward to confronting it. We were at a disadvantage, fighting an enemy we did not know.

For the better part of 20 minutes we worked our way in and behind the slowly moving machine, it continued to work its way towards the left side of the camp. Bull moved silently, like a lion in the tall grass, while I followed clumsily behind. It was not long before I stepped on a large branch causing it to snap loudly under my foot.

The red eyes spun around in our direction; Bull and I stood still. For several minutes the demon peered in our direction. I stood in plain view, holding my breath, only concealed by the darkness of the night. The demon took several steps towards me and then stopped. It continued to stare for several minutes, waiting for a foe to emerge. I stood frozen, frozen in fear, my breaths were slow and steady, my bat held firmly by my side.

The demon again took several steps towards me. It then stopped and turned slightly away, peering into the darkness from where it had come. Bull waited patiently behind the cover of a large tree, his weapon by his side and at the ready. The standoff lasted for several minutes before the alien machine again turned and continued on its previous path.

I wondered if perhaps their vision in the darkness was no better than ours. It was difficult for me to conceive of an alien race that could travel the stars, but whose vision was limited to visible light. It was an ability that I was ever so glad that they did not have. I took a long breath as the alien moved away.

I stood motionless for several more seconds before being able to take my first step, terrified that at any moment I would again give away our position. Each foot probed the forest floor gently in front of me before bearing any weight, my confidence slowly began to return.

We followed the alien machine for another half hour before it stopped and slowly turned towards the camp. It moved to a position just short of the tree line and began to probe around in the pine straw for items that could be thrown. Over the course of another half hour it had amassed a pile of several hundred projectiles. We watched quietly from the woods behind it. Again, the fear built up in me as only 30 meters of wood stood between us and our nemesis.

The demon then began to quietly take the stones it had gathered and to gently toss them into the clearing that separated the woods from our campfire. I was unsure of its purpose until Bull whispered that it was likely seeding the grounds in front of it before attempting another rock throwing advance.

I marveled at the intelligence the alien machine displayed. It was above and beyond my thinking, making me ever more thankful for the accompaniment of my friend. Bull had a way of figuring out people’s plans before there was an impact. He would then plan for his own actions to counter whatever was coming his way. He always seemed a step ahead and always played to win.

We watched quietly from behind as the demon rolled fist sized stones out into the open grass. Every few seconds Allie would pop up her head to scan the clearing, each time from a different position behind the rock wall. Once the demon picked up its final stone I clinched my bat tightly. The time for action was about to begin.

When the alien machine took its first quiet step into the clearing Bull decided to make his move. Without warning, he sprang forward yelling at the top of his lungs. Shots rang out as he closed on his target from an angle where his misses would not continue on towards the girls.

Several rocks flew in our direction as Bull continued to charge. The machine, caught off guard, then turned and sprinted further out into the clearing. Allie was ready with a barrage of her own. The demon, caught in a crossfire, made a hard left and headed back towards the treeline. The girls held their fire as they were unsure of our location.

The red eyes then turned in my direction as the beast moved into the trees. Bull continued to fire whenever he thought he had a shot. The demon raced directly towards me. I was standing beside a tree with my bat held high as the red eyed demon began to run past my position.

I brought the bat down hard just as it moved by and was rewarded with the feeling and sound of a deep metallic crunch, but the alien machine continued its sprint through the woods and quickly disappeared into the darkness. I stood with my bat at the ready should it decide to turn back my way.

Bull followed in chase, running past my position with his .45 aimed in the alien’s direction. He vanished into the blackness of the forest before two more shots were fired. I stood, listening, waiting for a sign that my friend was still alive. Five minutes of fear and anxiety passed before he began to emerge from the darkness. He stopped beside me, placing his giant hand on the back of my neck before shaking me lightly and smiling. He then gestured back towards the camp.

Only minutes after Bull’s rampage had begun, it was over. He had chased the demon from the vicinity of our camp. We returned to the comfort of the fire and settled in around its warmth. I continued to shiver from shock as we talked of what had just happened.

My nerves were frayed. I was suddenly nauseous. I stood and stepped quickly into the clearing beyond our rock wall. I then bent over violently as I threw up what dinner I had left in me from the evening before. Even though terrified, I acted bravely when the moment of need had arisen, but I was no warrior. The remains of the rabbit and fish spread out on the tall grass before me told of my true stature. I then stood and slowly walked to the lake’s edge, to clean off my humiliation.

When I returned to the campfire Bull again placed his hand on my shoulder and then began to tell the girls of how I had taken my stand in the face of danger. I stood firmly, in plain view, without giving away our position. I had then given the demon a pounding with my bat as it attempted to flee. I could tell he was genuinely proud of his little friend. It was a boost of confidence that I was desperately in need of.

As Bull continued to tell the girls what had happened, he reasoned that perhaps his actions had been foolish, but he felt as though he could no longer sit idly by while we were being stalked. He thought that the demons might leave us alone if they found us to be too aggressive. It was a gamble. I hoped it would somehow pay off.

Once we had settled down I realized that there were still several hours left in the night. We remained vigilant, watching and waiting for our enemy to return. Our fears were soon realized when a set of the red demon eyes again appeared deep in the woods. We watched intently as again the alien began its test of wills. Allie then formulated a plan of her own.

I was told to move over towards the left end of the clearing. I was given instructions to then jump up and down and to make noise. I would be a distraction to the demon as Bull and Allie attempted to crawl through the tall grass to the treeline on the right. they would then slip quietly through the woods, coming up behind the alien beast as it continued to watch my strange behavior. With luck, they would open fire and put an end to the alien machine’s existence.

It was a bold plan. As I stood and walked out into the clearing I again began to get the shakes. My nerves were frayed and the adrenaline coursing through my veins only added to my condition. When I reached my target spot, I laid my bat down in the moist night grass and then began to do jumping jacks.

I could not fathom what mechanical thoughts were going through the alien’s brain as it observed my bizarre behavior. I called out numbers as I completed each move. For several minutes I kept the alien’s undivided attention as Bull and Allie slithered quietly away. When they had reached the treeline I stopped and instead began to sing.

The demon continued to stare in my direction as I gave my best rendition of Camptown Ladies. I was a horrid singer and had a sudden thought of the alien turning away in disgust, but it continued its stare. When my rendition had ended I then picked up my bat and began to stretch as I belted out the National Anthem. Strangely, I began to feel a sense of pride that brought a calm to my nerves.

I lived in what I believed to be the greatest nation the world had ever known. We were a free people, who believed in justice and liberty. We had our issues, but being pushed around on our own soil was not one of them. I then began to look directly at the alien machine as I recited the pledge and pointed my bat at it in a taunting manner. For a brief moment, I had the urge to begin a charge into the woods of my own.

As I began to lean in the beast’s direction its eyes suddenly shifted to its left, it was to where I would have expected Bull and Allie to be. The red demon eyes then turned back in my direction and suddenly began to grow in intensity, it was coming my way. I lifted my bat and then began a charge of my own before three shots rang out from its left. The red eyes then quickly turned away and again disappeared into the darkness of the wood.

Twenty minutes passed before Bull and Allie emerged from the treeline. The demon had gone. It had stopped briefly on a small rise, looking back for a moment, before turning and continuing away. Bull and Allie had followed just long enough to convince themselves that it was indeed leaving.

We did not sleep for the remainder of the night as we each spent the final hours staring out into the darkness of the woods. The red eyes remained unseen and as the first light began to break I felt a genuine sense of relief. Our night of terror had finally come to an end.

Chapter 10

As the pre-dawn light began to glow I once again picked up Bull’s fly rod and headed over to the lake for an attempt at some breakfast. We would need it. The clouds from the day before were now completely gone and the stars were once again shining in the dimly lit sky.

We told Bull and Susi to return to their sleeping bags where they could sleep in for an extra hour before the sun would begin to show. It was an attempt to return the favor he had given me earlier. I wasn’t sure if it would do any good.