Chapter 15

New character appearing in this chapter:

Great Warrior, Defender of the Nest, and Hero

Thorne’s name before he became an Immortal. In his original form he was a creature that resembled a lizard, but was 6’-6’’ tall while standing on his hind feet. There were claws on his hands and feet. His legs were very muscular as was his chest and arms. His head was at the end of a longer than human neck which allowed the neck to bend so he could look forward when he was standing. There was a short tail about 24 inches long behind his body. In color the creature was a greenish-brown on what would have been his ancestors’ upper surfaces and a dark tan on what would have been its lower surfaces if on all four legs.

The walk from the hotel to the beater was uneventful. The buzz of motorbikes from the weekend was mostly absent. The sun was shining, and the sky was a deep blue with only a few clouds. We saw few people on the way.

“We should pick up more water. We can’t be sure of finding a stream or creek that has drinkable water in those mountains,” Grace said, as we neared the vehicle. This seemed prudent, as we had learned that the rainfall for this area in May was just less than three eighths of an inch.

“Are you going to carry it?” I asked.

“We can leave most of it in the car and pick up some when we are doing our reconnaissance,” she told me.

“That sounds reasonable,” I agreed, and we stopped at the big box store to buy bottled water. We also picked up some high calorie snacks for quick pickups. Additionally, we picked up some sandwiches for lunch at another store.

Since we were driving a car, we took Big Bear Blvd. east through Big Bear City, and then Shay Road around the south end of Baldwin Lake before heading northwest up Baldwin Lake Road. This way we didn’t need to drive the beater through the majority of the area where we had done our reconnaissance on Saturday, and would be doing more this week.

Just past Vale Dr., we turned onto Rock Point Drive and proceeded up it to the area on Rock Point Road where we had decided to leave the beater while we worked here. I pulled off the road and into some trees.

Following removing our equipment and the supplies we were taking with us on this initial trip, I created a field around the beater that would hide it from even a close inspection. The field would last a week or so, and we should be back well before that.

After we had settled into our backpacks and the rest of our equipment, we picked up our swords and set out for the area of Nelson Ridge known as Squirrel Spur. Our research indicated that Nelson Ridge is at an elevation of 6955 feet above sea level, making it some two hundred feet higher than the lake.

We initially set out in a direction that would take us to Canyon Spring, as Squirrel Spring was some distance south of where we had parked and the climb to Canyon Spring was easier. As we passed above 6900 feet in elevation, we angled south some to reach Squirrel Spur, where the wild fire had jumped across the ridge from Lone Valley.

To reach there on the path we had chosen, we needed to cross a knoll that was a bit over 7000 feet in elevation. Squirrel Spur was located on the far side of it. From our position on the knoll above it, it was easy to see how the fire had been able to cross the mountain from there. The spur was actually a steep narrow valley. There was an intermittent creek or stream that ran down it, but it was mostly dry already in May.

From our research, we knew that Lone Valley was much deeper that Big Bear Valley, and from our position on the knoll we could see down the stream valley something over a 1000 feet to the floor of the main valley, which in this area was at about 6000 feet above sea level.

“You can still see the path of the fire up the stream. It burned up to about the 6900 foot elevation, but couldn’t get over the knoll, and instead went around it to go across and down the mountains above Baldwin Lake,” I pointed out to Grace.

“Yes, this knoll is a natural block to any fire coming up the stream valley,” she agreed.

“What do we do now?” she asked a few seconds later.

“We need to locate a place to set up our base camp. Someplace near Canyon Spring on the Lone Valley side of the mountain would be a good place. That way, no one in the Baldwin Lake area would see our campfire or tent,” I suggested.

“That sounds reasonable,” she agreed before we retraced our way here using part of the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail in this area. We eventually found a fairly level spot a bit above Canyon Spring, which was still producing some water, to set up our camp site. After laying out the ground cloth which was a doubled over plastic tarp, I set up the tent which is a Three-person dome tent with exterior bracing. It is 7 feet wide and 6 feet deep and has a 7 x 3 foot vestibule with a fly over it for storing some of our equipment when not in use. Grace laid out the foam sleeping pads inside the tent and then our sleeping bags on top of them. Since the tent is only some 46 inches high, it was easier for her to do this. We stowed our backpacks and other things inside the tent, but kept our weapons, canteens, and binoculars with us. I created a small force field around the tent to keep curious and pesky critters out of it and our things. The site gave us a good view of Lone Valley.

“That fire could have come up this stream also,” Grace remarked after we had finished setting things up.

“It could have, but the fire was probably already burning on the Baldwin Lake side of the mountain before the fire in Lone Valley reached here. It appears to have burned part of the way up this stream valley also,” I agreed.

Later after eating our midday meal, we went to set up our observation point on the Baldwin Lake side of the mountains, so we could watch what went on at the burned buildings site and in the rest of the area that we had reconned on Saturday. We had brought a pair of 20x50 binoculars with us, in addition to a less powerful pair of 7x50s.

There wasn’t a lot of activity in the subdivision that afternoon, but with this location we could see the guards who patrolled the area around the burned buildings. We spent several hours observing and were watching when they changed the guards.

“There are four of them,” Grace said in surprise when the new guards arrived. “We only saw three walking around the outside.”

“The fourth one was inside,” I told her as another man had come out of the main building and a new man went inside. “I wonder how many others are inside?”

“What would they be doing in there?” she asked.

“Probably not more than guarding the entrance to stop anyone who got past those outside. None of them were dressed as more than just guards. I suspect that those in charge of things here don’t spend a lot of time inside any of those buildings,” I told her.

“Where are they then?” she asked.

“That’s something we will need to address when we do our next recon,” I told her, as we settled back in to continue our observations. It was later at about 7:15 that evening, about a half hour before sunset, when we saw a man, dressed similar to the guards but in cleaner clothes, approach one of the houses on Camino Bosque Dr. He was allowed into the house by a man who had been on guard there, but we hadn’t seen him previously, as he had remained in the shadows of the porch.

“We will make a point of checking that house,” I reminded Grace.

It was about ten minutes later when the first man reappeared. He was accompanied by an older man who was dressed much better than all of those we had seen so far.

“Yes, we will definitely need to check that one,” Grace agreed, looking through her binoculars.

As sunset approached, we returned to our camp. I was anxious to go hunting. We had seen several deer during our time observing the buildings in the subdivision.

“I’m going hunting tonight,” I told her.

“That’s fine, but I’m going to eat before it gets too dark. I can eat again if you catch anything,” she told me as she retrieved our small stove and lit it to heat water for the freeze dried meals that we had.

It was still too early and too light out to go hunting yet, but not to set up the spit for roasting what I brought back from the hunt. The parts for the spit had been in the beater, and I had brought them with us along with the binoculars. I also laid out a fire ring of stones that I had gathered and laid a fire inside of it, but didn’t light it at this time.

Astronomical Twilight wouldn’t be until about 9:30. The moon would set shortly after 11:00 tonight, but it wouldn’t provide a lot of light, as it was only four days past the new moon. I would need to depend on my other senses in addition to my visual senses for the hunt. Hearing and smell would play a big part in the hunt. As with all hunts, skill and luck would also play a big part.

As 9:30 approached, I prepared to go hunting by first removing my clothing and then transforming into my original form. Grace had been sitting in the tent when I started, and she came out after I had changed. She was somewhat shocked on seeing me in the light from the small battery powered lantern that she was holding.

What the light revealed was a creature that resembled a lizard, but was 6’-6’’ tall and was standing on its hind feet. There were claws on my hands and feet. My legs were very muscular as was my chest and arms. My head was at the end of a longer than human neck which allowed the neck to bend so I could look forward when standing. My jaws were lined with large numbers of sharp teeth, and my eyes reflected the light of the lantern. There was no doubt that I was a male creature, as my long cock protruded from its sheath while the testicles were protected in a crevice of my body, but could drop down for sex. There was a short tail about 24 inches long behind my body. In color the creature she saw was a greenish-brown on what would have been his ancestors’ upper surfaces and a dark tan on what would have been its lower surfaces if on all four legs. Grace stared at the creature for several minutes.

“I wasn’t expecting you to look like that,” she finally said. The creature smiled at her and then there were changes in its throat before it spoke.

“It is very difficult to speak any of your languages with my original larynx construction. Your ears also aren’t designed to hear a part of our language either. What do you think?” I asked her as I turned so she could see all of me.

“I wasn’t expecting something so unusual or different. I thought you would be closer to human in appearance,” she said.

“But I am. I’m bipedal with two eyes, a nose, and ears on each side of my head. I have two arms and two hands. Of course, my skin is made up of scales and I have a tail. I have sharp claws on my hands and feet, but they can be retracted. We evolved from a four-footed ancestor, but eventually evolved to an upright stance, as it was more efficient for using weapons. Even when we developed a civilization, we were a warrior people and fiercely proud of our independence. From what Paul told us yesterday, things have changed greatly there,” I told her.

“Yes, I got that Impression also. Still he hasn’t been there for over a thousand years. Things could have changed again,” she told me.

“True, anything is possible, but change can be a very difficult and expensive proposition in more than money, as often many people die from various causes,” I told her.

“What was the name that Paul used on Sunday. Does it translate into English?” she asked.

“Not directly, as you don’t have the correct words in your language, or any of the languages here. Loosely translated it would be ‘Great Warrior, Defender of the Nest, and Hero’, but it loses something in the translation, as it sounds much more impressive in my native language,” I told her to a smile.

“Do you expect to be long?” she asked. “Do I have time for a nap?” she finished, changing the subject.

“Go ahead and take a nap. I’m not sure how long I’ll be, and I’ll need to roast what I bring back,” I told her.

“You aren’t going to bring the entire creature back?” she asked in a disturbed voice.

“I will bring the best parts back. There are other creatures here who will be glad to clean up what we don’t need or use,” I assured her.

“Also create a minor force field around the tent while you sleep. You don’t want any uninvited company,” I reminded her. Grace returned to the tent and a short time later a minor force field appeared around the tent before the light went out.

I had decided to hunt on the Lone Valley side of the mountain for several reasons. First, It wasn’t likely that the Cartels would have any of their people on that side of the mountain. If they were poaching, they would be more likely to stay on the Baldwin Lake side of the mountain. Second, The Baldwin Lake valley receives less rain than the area around Big Bear Lake to its west did. The area there has a high-desert appearance with mostly montane chaparral – especially sage scrub, chaparral, and rabbitbush, also known as goldenbush – and low growing trees such as pinyon pine and juniper. These smaller pine trees had less undergrowth around them.