SODIUM:1 Harbinger (13 page)

The hour gave me enough time to reel in a few extra fish, giving us a hardy meal for breakfast. After gutting and cooking the catch myself, the others joined me around the campfire. When the fish had been consumed we began packing up for our next leg of the hunt for an alien base.

Before leaving, we took a few minutes to talk about what we might do when we next encountered the demons. That’s when I sprang my ideas on the others. We could set up different traps as we got closer to where we thought they might be. We would then attempt to lure them into them, giving us an advantage in our fight.

In my growing confidence and boldness I offered to be bait for at least one of the trap ideas. Bull looked at me curiously and asked where this new guy had come from. I didn’t know what to say, so I just gave him a shrug. My compulsive behavior was turning away from fear and towards the cockiness that I sometimes showed. In my younger days it was a trait that usually appeared just before I got myself into trouble. It was a lesson that I could never seem to learn.

We slipped on our packs and started back down to Frog Creek towards the east end of Lake Eleanor. We would follow the lake around to Eleanor Creek and then Eleanor Creek to Cherry Creek. We would then continue up Cherry Creek and cut over to Woods Ridge to the southwest of Cherry Lake. We thought that would take us right to the area where I had seen the meteor fall several nights before.

Frog Creek brought with it a half mile stretch of steep canyon walls on either side. The canyon could only be accessed from one end or the other, so we were confident that there would be no sneak attacks along the way. As we hiked the rough terrain along the creek, I ran idea after idea through my head. I dreamt of how we might make use of the particular area we were in. I looked for loose boulders that could be rolled downhill or for logs and trees that we might be able to somehow turn into snares.

The further along we walked the further into this deadly game of war I fell. I pictured myself as the triumphant hero standing on top of one of the demon machines that I had just pummeled with my bat. The press would be all around me, snapping pictures, and the ladies in the crowd would all be giving me flirtatious smiles.

I then asked Susi about her camera and was told that she had used all of her film on our group pictures from much earlier. She had all the business publicity photos that Bull and Allie would need, so she had used the last roll of images on general scenery. There would be no pictures of aliens to show to the world.

As I trudged along at the back of the pack I was so into my little head game that I didn’t notice the visitor coming up behind us. It was a grizzly and it weighed in at 650 pounds. Bull just happened to glance back in my direction and saw it coming up from behind.

As I continued to walk along, all into my little daydream, I looked up and saw Bull aiming his bow at me with an arrow at the ready. I stopped for a moment and then I turned to look behind me. The grizzly stopped while still 15’ away before standing and letting out a fierce roar. The bear stood seven feet tall and had jaws that would easily fit around my head.

In a panic I tripped over a root while looking back at the bear. I fell back on my pack, fumbling to keep a grip on my bat. By the time I had regained what little composure I had, both Allie and Susi had moved to a position behind me with their weapons drawn. A 9mm and a .22 were no match for the grizzly, but Bull’s Kodiak bow was made specifically for that purpose.

Bull let loose an arrow and immediately pulled the next one from his quiver. At the same time the girls began to empty their guns into the giant bear. The first arrow hit its mark driving right through the bear’s chest and through its heart, but it still continued to come. The girl’s bullets looked like they had no impact at all. Bull fired his second arrow as the bear charged, coming within eight feet. The second arrow traveled through the grizzly’s left eye and exited through the back of its skull.

The two arrows were death blows to the bear as it came to a stop just in front of me, it then collapsed on top of me, pinning me underneath. I had 650 pounds of bloody and foul smelling grizzly lying on my chest. It took several minutes for the others to free me from my freshly dead captor.

After all my cockiness about fighting the demons, and all the scheming and planning I had been doing that morning, I was still not quite the warrior I had envisioned. The grizzly would have mauled me before I had a chance to even know it was coming. I was extremely disappointed in myself for the smugness and overconfidence that I had let grow out of control. I promised myself I would not make that mistake again.

I thanked everyone for saving my life, it had been a common theme on our trip. I so desired to have some of that praise heaped on me, but my performance with this encounter was lacking. All that I had accomplished was to not watch our back and to be almost crushed by a dead bear. I knew I would have to pick up my game if we were going to go up against the demons again.

We cut several pieces of prime meat off the bear to take with us for our next meal. You don’t throw good meat away when you don’t know where your next meal is coming from. I for one looked forward to seeing how it tasted.

With the grizzly episode over we once again began our hike down Frog Creek. This time I was extra careful to continuously watch our back. I would not allow any more ambushes from behind.

Once we emerged from the canyon we were able to make better time as the lower stretches of Frog Creek opened up, we were no longer forced to hike beside the creek in the hard terrain. We were still at 5000’ of altitude, but were heading downhill towards Lake Eleanor.

The terrain around the southern end of Lake Eleanor was wide and flat allowing us to make it to Eleanor Creek by noontime. We decided it would be a good place to have lunch, a good place to consume the bear while the meat was still fresh. I was eager to get my revenge.

Susi and I gathered wood while Bull and Allie made a fire pit and prepared our feast for cooking. By 1PM we were all savagely working over our grizzly steaks. The meat was a tough and gamey for my taste, but it was very satisfying to have a full belly for the first time in days.

After lunch we had a short hike down Eleanor Creek. We would camp there for the night. We would then investigate the area just to the west for signs of an alien landing site. With any luck we would find and rescue Kyle in the morning and be headed towards civilization by noon.

The hike along Eleanor Creek was easy terrain. It helped that we were continuing to move downhill. The surrounding landscape and the beauty of the creek itself once again had me daydreaming about a home in the Yosemite back country. We were halfway down to our planned destination when we came upon Miguel Creek running off to our left. Eleanor Creek made a sharp bend to the west and for a brief length opened into a wide shallow area.

It was at that moment that I noticed a demon walking about quarter of a mile from our position, moving along the other side of Eleanor Creek. I immediately got everyone’s attention and pointed it out. There was a human body slung over its top as it walked.

As we stopped and scanned the surrounding landscape for the other demon, Bull pulled out his mini binoculars and watched. The demon made its way up a far hill carrying its captive. It was carrying one of the poachers! As Bull looked on he could not tell if Scott or Craig was dead or alive. If the demon was taking the poacher to its Basecamp we had hopes of also finding Kyle.

The mechanical beast appeared to be agile as it carried its 200 pound victim. We decided to follow the demon at a distance in an attempt to locate its home base. It was a 500’ climb up the hill on the other side of the creek, but the terrain was mild. We hoped to easily keep up with what had now become our prey.

When we reached the peak we had a clear view for almost a mile down to Cherry Creek and up to the next ridge. We watched as the demon continued its trek and we were confident that we had not been seen. The longer we stayed out of sight, the better our chances of continuing to follow.

While we had learned to constantly watch our backs, the demons seemed to not care, or not be aware, that they were being tailed. I thought perhaps we had driven them off back after the Laurel Lake battle and they were now heading home. It felt good to be the ones doing the tracking and spying.

It again gave me confidence that we were at least on equal footing with our enemy. I wondered if perhaps they were not as intelligent as I had originally thought. Either way, I was slowly regaining my warrior mentality that had been stolen by the dead bear.

The demon made its way down the other side of the hill and turned down towards Cherry Creek. As soon as it was out of sight we hurriedly made our way down the hill and then up again onto the next ridge, it was another 500’ climb. I chalked it up to a week’s worth of harsh conditioning and the bear meat, as my legs were no longer aching and sore. I would still get fatigued from the climb, but at least at the end I could rest up and be ready to continue on.

The demon had been out of our sight for a good 20 minutes as we made our climb. Once we reached the summit of the hill we had a clear view all the way to Woods Ridge, it was the high point of the area at 6000’ of elevation. Bull pulled out the binocs and scanned for the silvery beast. It took less than a minute to locate our enemy. It was moving slowly up a steep hill on the other side of Cherry Creek, its captive still slung over its top.

I had to congratulate Bull on his hunch about returning to the meteor site. From the maps we had it looked like the demon was headed straight for Woods Ridge. That would place it right about where I had seen the meteor fall during our first hiking night on the trail.

We sat on the ridge for an hour and watched as the demon carried its captive the two miles distance. And as we had guessed, it went right to the top of Woods Ridge. It made sense for them to pick that spot as it gave a decent vantage point for miles around. We were too far away to tell what, if anything, was going on there, but we finally knew where they were.

I was all excited about our find and was eager to get after them. Allie put a lid on my enthusiasm and suggested that instead of going directly at them we first select a defensible site for our camp for the night. She thought we should begin planning out a strategy, such as gathering information before any attempt at an attack.

The decision was made to make our way northwest to the next highest ridge between Woods Ridge and Cherry Lake Dam. It would place us a mile from Woods Ridge summit where we hoped to be able to observe their camp.

We could then mold any findings into whatever plans we made. It would also place us only a few hours from Cherry Lake Dam and a possible phone if the power station at the dam was already in service. I was eager to rush in, but I knew and trusted the voice of reason coming from the others. Any attempted assault would have to wait.

It was a three mile hike up Cherry Creek and across to the ridge we had selected. We wanted to avoid taking any path that the demons may have regularly used. Any strategy that we were to come up with would need the element of surprise, if we wanted a good shot at any success. Besides, we had no way to know if the aliens had armaments at their Basecamp. All we knew was the demons that we encountered were not carrying any.

We reached the summit as the sun was nearing the horizon and decided on a site for our camp. It was concealed in the trees and just short of the summit with the opposite side facing Woods Ridge. Once again I was cursing those red tarps as we would be unable to use them without possibly drawing attention to ourselves.

We were now down to the last of our dry food provisions and would not be able to hunt or make a fire for any cooking, any smoke and the firelight would be a dead giveaway that we were there. As it turned out we had gotten lucky with our little bear feast earlier in the day as the wind was blowing slightly northward, it had kept the demon from spotting the smoke from our fire.

As the sun set we again built our defensive rock wall and planned how we might counter any assault on our ridge. One of the things we liked about the site we had selected was the lack of small rocks nearby. The demons would have to charge up the hill at us while we fired down at them.

The bad thing for that defensive strategy was that we were running low on bullets. Susi and Allie had each emptied their guns at the bear bringing our total count lower and leaving each one with only three more reloads. Bull could only fill two extra clips for his .45. Aside from that we were down to two arrows, a hatchet, a couple knives and my bat.

Bull made his way to the summit with Allie to observe the aliens and I decided it was my chance to go back down to the creek and attempt to catch a fish. We would not be able to cook them, but many a hunter had eaten them raw on many an outing since man had begun to walk upright. While we liked our food cooked, much of what nature offered was still good in its natural state. I would also look around for any gooseberries as they had been plentiful so far on our trek. Over the prior week I had received a full education on berry picking.

Bull did not like the idea of me going down to the creek alone, but I was able to convince him that I would be OK. I told him that if I did not return soon he could watch for me being carried over to the demon camp, he didn’t laugh.

The daylight was fading fast and it made observing the alien compound difficult at best. Our one mile distance and the low power binoculars were not ideal for recon at that distance, even though the high mountain air was extremely clear. We had decided that at first light we would try to move west, down into a valley and then south and up again onto the closest ridge at about a 1000’ away from the aliens.

If we were able to approach from the far side we could work our way into a good viewing position only a few hundred feet below their base. With any luck we would spot Kyle and could get a good start on developing a rescue plan. As we continued our surveillance from a distance, my hopes of a rescue continued to rise.