Chapter 2: Camping 101

Sitting on the roof of the Beast, Bear kept his eyes away from the campfire. He knew the dangers of night blindness from personal experience as a boy. He smiled, remembering when he, Buck and Tex had gone camping for the first time on their own.

Tex had awakened Bear to take over guard duty in their small camp, "See ya in a few pard." Tex had said then was instantly asleep.

Bear was bored and let his gaze go to the campfire. It was mesmerizing to watch the flames dance across the burning wood, watching the small sparks jump skywards only to disappear into the night.

A growl from the edge of the woods alerted Bear to the fact that a wolf was knocking on their door. Spinning to spot where the wolf was at, all Bear saw was white spots before his eyes. He blinked hard trying to get his eyes readjusted to the darkness. Just as he opened them, the wolf slammed into his chest ripping a four-inch gash in his shoulder.

His friends came up firing, killing the thankfully non-mutant wolf. Lesson learned, Bear thought scanning the woods carefully now.

Bear watched as something moved through the shadows between to big pine trees. It paused for a second looking at the campfire, the disappeared back into the shadows again. Little rabbit. You're lucky I'm on duty or you'd be in the frying pan in the morning, thought Bear.

Looking up at the stars, he wondered if they used to be this bright before the Big Death. What the Hell! he thought, watching a star that seemed to move slowly across the night sky. Not only was it moving, it changed course and direction!

Well, odd or not, as long as it's up there and not down here, I'm happy, he thought.

Looking back to the woods around him, Bear missed seeing the light fly behind the mountain just south of them.

"Rise and shine ladies!" Buck hollered as he banged on a frying pan with a big spoon. Moans greeted him as the others sought cover to get away from the obnoxious clanging of the frying pan.

Everyone rolled out of the bags accept Tex. He just snuggled deeper inside the warm, comforting bag.

Razor smiled from the top of the Beast where he sat on guard duty.

"Come on Tex, move it or lose it!" Buck warned.

A muffled. "Five more minutes," came through the sleeping bag that Tex was in.

Grinning Buck nodded at Razor who slipped down quietly off the Beast and stalked over to Tex's bag.

Leaning down right over where Tex's head should be, Razor took a massive breath. ROOOOOAAAAAAARRRRRR! His thunderous roar shook needles off the trees around him. Needless to say, it scared the living shit out of a slumbering Tex.

A now VERY awake Tex struggled to get out of the way too clingy sleeping bag, as he tried to draw his S&W's. "VARMIT!" he hollered. Ripping his guns free at last, only to see Razor smiling over him.

"Your awake now Tex?" Buck asked softly.

The color was returning to Tex's face once he realized what had happen, along with his amiable nature. "Well sure pard. Awake and raring to go."

Turning to look at Razor he grinned, "Bud, that's one hell of an alarm clock ya got there."

Razor apologized, as he help Tex get untangled from his killer sleeping bag. "I was following orders, my friend."

Standing up Tex nodded. "Never told you the OLE Tex's rules, did I pard?" he asked. Checking his guns, as he walked to go water the woods.

Razor was confused. He didn't know Tex had his own rules.

"Tex's Rule #1, Payback is a Bitch." Tex said over his shoulder, as he disappeared behind a tree.

Shera burst out laughing, as she caught the meaning of the rule, "I'll explain later my love. In the meantime, better watch your back." Adding as she watched Tex go behind a tree, "Cause that's one sneaky, and resourceful pissed off human."

An hour later everything was loaded in the Beast, all that was left was finding a new route to the town of Gunnison. Looking over the map stretched out on the hood of the Beast, Bill was showing Buck a short cut. "It's an old set of logging roads from way back when. They ain't paved or nothing, but they'll cut a lot of time off the route. Mainly, they'll avoid that damn Leadville altogether," said Bill, showing Buck the way on the map.

"Can the Beast make it through there?" asked Bear leaning over Buck's shoulder.

"Hell yes!" exclaimed Bill. "A dang logging truck is a whole lot wider than this beauty here," he answered, affectionately petting the hood of the Hummer.

Jet nodded, tracing the invisible path through the White River National Forest area, "I agree with Bill. It'll be a lot slower than the highway, but we won't have a firefight all the way down either."

Buck nodded after everyone's consensus. "OK, mount up we have a lot of traveling to do," he said, folding the map and handing it to Tex.

"So the big hairy guys are aliens?" Tex asked for the fourth time, since Buck filled them in over the last two hours. "Damn! I missed all the real fun, I'd have swore they was bears when I saw that one," he fumed. Just my luck, finally get a chance to see a real live alien and I missed it, he thought to himself.

"That explains all the stories from the past of these big-footed ones. They have been here since before modern man came out of his cave," affirmed Jet.

"If they're so intelligent what are they still doing here?" queried Bill.

Buck sadly shook his head as he drove around a large boulder. "Once they got their com. equipment strong enough to send an SOS, they discovered their home planet's sun had collapsed, destroying their world and most of the system," he answered glumly. "You have to remember they have been here for thousands of years, with their only ship buried under a mile of lava." Softly he added. "They simply have no where to go."

Buck smiled as he thought of Father. A race of gentle giants misunderstood by mankind. Just imagine how much they could have taught us, if mankind had approached them differently. We might have already been exploring the stars, not to mention they might have known a way to stop the meteor from destroy the earth. Billions of lives lost because of mankind's ignorance, he thought angrily, vowing to never take another being's worth for granted again.

After seven hours driving across bone jarring, teeth rattling forest terrain, they finally came out on an old dirt road. The Beast had no problem with the killer terrain, but the occupants were worn out.

"Thank you Jesus!" exclaimed Bear, rubbing the top of his poor head. His head had taken the time to get to know the roof of the Beast a little too well. In fact, Bear now knew it like the back of his hand, well head actually.

Shera leaned forward and gave Bear a kiss on the cheek, making the big man blush. "You are very brave my big friend, although I think you damaged the roof some," she said, smiling.

Buck felt sorry for his big compadre. There was only about a half-inch clearance between Bear's head and the roof. Apparently there weren't too many seven-foot soldiers back when the Beast was designed.

"Maybe from now on you can navigate Bear. The shotgun seat is adjustable, might save your head the beating." Buck hollered back to the big man.

Bear smiled still rubbing his knotted noggin. "Well sure, if Tex don't mind that is."

A hidden glare from Buck made sure Tex wouldn't mind at all.

Tex caught the look before he could get out a wisecrack remark, and grinned looking at Bear. "No worries pard, hell we can switch seats next time we stop," Tex magnanimously offered.

Hell I hate reading this dang map anyhow, not to mention the shuteye I can catch, he thought, grinning.

Seeing a dilapidated log cabin off the side of the dirt road, Buck pulled in, "Let's take a breather folks. Bill you're on watch."

"I'm on it Boss," said Bill. He got out and stretched his legs, taking the M-16 Jet handed him from the back. Checking to make sure it was good to go, Bill climbed up and surveyed the area. "Clear up here, nothing moving," he said to Buck.

Everyone climbed out to get lunch started.

Jet started a small fire, while Shera and Razor cut the last of the venison up for stew.

Bear, Tex, and Buck went to go water the woods, just to keep things growing good.

Buck had just finished his business and tucked himself back in when, a strange dizziness struck him.

He grabbed the nearest tree for support, trying to figure out what the hell was happening. It was like a short pulse was trying to pierce his mind. Concentrating, he started to feel his mind opening up a little to the strange pulse. Here, here, here, it beat inside his mind.

"Damn bud, what's the matter with you?" asked an anxious Tex, holding his best friend's shoulder to keep him from falling over. Bear was on the other side, supporting their leader.

Buck shook his head, trying to clear the strange phenomena that was tapping at his mind.

It's almost like the way Father communicated with me, he thought.

"I'm getting bombarded with some kind of pulse in my head," he finally managed to say to his friends. "I can't quite get control over it, but I did manage to tone it down some," he whispered as his legs started to buckle.

Bear easily picked Buck up like a small child and carried him back to the fire.

"Oh no!" exclaimed Shera as they approached the others. "Put him down here by me," she ordered, reaching for her small healer's bag.

Razor sat beside her as she quickly ground up some different dried herbs in a small stone bowl, then adding hot water from the fire that was going to be their coffee.

Razor gently slid under Buck's head and shoulders to support him while Shera poured her healing broth into the unconscious leader's mouth. She poured a small amount into his open lips, knowing it would choke him if too much went down at once.

Once Buck swallowed all the broth, Shera and her mate put their hands on each side of Buck's head. Closing their eyes they sat silently holding his head between them.

The others were dumbfounded as to what to do, but saw no course of action that could be taken.

Bear leaned down and whispered to Jet, "What do ya think they're doing to Buck?" he asked.

Jet didn't answer Bear but instead watched the healer and her mate carefully to determine what they were doing with Buck. After a few minutes, Jet realized both Shera and Razor were in some kind of meditative state. It was much like the kind he used to focus his own mind.

But they were focusing on Buck; somehow they're reaching into his mind to help him, he thought to himself.

Finally Shera spoke softly, never opening her eyes, "Buck is being contacted by an intelligence I have never felt before. It's not aggressive in its manner, but it does seem to be persistent."

The small group gathered as close as they could to the three on the ground.

"Here, here, here," came the soft words from Razor's mouth. His eyes snapped opened in astonishment. Looking up at the others, he smiled, "We've been invited to a meeting my friends."

"Invited by who, and what the hell are they doing to my pard? asked a worried Tex.

"I don't know the who part, but they seemed to be friendly," whispered a very tired Buck as he opened his eyes. "My guess is, it's was the only way they could contact us."