Chapter 4: The High Calling 7

Mark's eyes popped open and he bounced up off the couch, awake and energized. He felt ready to face all the challenges the new day might bring. Then, as his morning's needs made themselves known, he looked around for a bathroom. All by itself, a door opened up in an otherwise blank wall and he found one complete toilet with all the recognizable fixtures. "I didn't have to ask you to show me the toilet. Why?

Teacher answered, I believe, as our relationship progresses, I shall be able to anticipate many of your wishes and act on them without a direct order from you.

Mark wondered about the "I believe" part of Teacher's statement. How can a computer believe anything? He put the thought about a seeming inconsistency aside and showered. When he put yesterday's clothes back on, they felt grungy against his body.

He left his room and knocked on the door to his mother's room and called out, "You awake in there?"

"Just a second." she called back through the door. A moment later Rachel opened the door and came out. "I have never slept so well in my life. Mark, I wonder how they constructed those beds?"

He told her, "Later on I'd like to find out more about them as well. It would be great to have one at home just for me." She nodded in agreement and they left to return to the eating area.

Although different food was served for their morning meal, it was every bit as satisfying as their meal the previous evening and just as delicious. Rachel raved over the food. "I'd like to know about the spices they use in these dishes. Everything is seasoned just right. Oh, Mark, this whole ... everything is like Paradise. I can't see how anything could go wrong, it's all so perfect here."

Those words seemed to put a jinx on everything. He lifted his backpack up off the floor and they started the walk back toward the entrance. "Alert." Mark heard Teacher's warning in his mind. "There are others outside the entrance. You must wait." Mark received the impression this was standard procedure in the past that when uninvited strangers were nearby. Anyone inside the refuge waited for the intruders to either leave or be driven away.

He became aware of another, additional bit of information. Teacher had volunteered the information this was also a refuge, as well as a repository of knowledge. Teacher, on the other hand, seemed unaware he had given Mark information without an order to do so. Mark decided to explore this seeming inconsistency later.

"Can you somehow make it possible for us to see outside?" He had no idea if this was possible, yet with everything else he had seen, Mark figured why not?

"Yes," came the answer.

He waited. When nothing happened, Mark asked, "How do we get to see outside?"

"You must request it."

Oh. Ask an incomplete question and you get an incomplete answer. Then the thought came to him that perhaps Teacher was in some way incomplete. "Will you please make it possible for us to see outside?" The transition startled him when the entrance door became transparent. Mark could still see a ghost of the door. Yet, the whole outside area around the cave appeared to them as if the door was open.

"Oh my word. What is that?" Mother asked. Then she saw the three men outside. Two were park rangers and the third one was Carl Puffin. "What is that odious creature doing out there?"

Odious. Mark liked the descriptive word. The one word description fit Carl Puffin to perfection.

"Would you let us hear what they are saying out there?" Mark requested.

There was no answer from Teacher. They heard Carl Puffin argue with the pair, "I tell you I followed her almost to this point. Then she disappeared. Something strange is going on and you need to look into it."

Mark could see no reason why Melissa's father had followed his mom up here into the mountains. "This is crazy," he said to himself.

"Look, mister, there is no sign of foul play. In fact, there is no sign of anything at all. All we have is your word that the lady and her son are even up here. You also stated they're not even related to you. You have no authority to request anything." The ranger began to get irritated at what he felt was a waste of his time.

"I tell you there is something very strange going on here. That woman came running out of her house, jumped in her car and sped all the way up here. She even broke all the speed laws. There was a reason why she would do that and I want to know what it is." Mark saw the wild look in Carl Puffin's eyes.

"Well, for all you know she has a hot date with Smokey The Bear or maybe even my boss. Just because you want to know something doesn't mean you have a right to get that information. As you should be aware, there are privacy laws. We've wasted enough time here. I suggest you go home and let us go back to work."

"I'll have your job for this attitude." Carl Puffin screeched at the ranger.

"No you won't, sir. You're not bright enough to handle my job." The two rangers walked away. They left Carl Puffin behind to gripe to himself.

"Isn't there something you can do to make that ugly man go away?" Mother asked.

Mark wondered, why didn't I think of that?

"What can you do to get rid of that man?" he asked Teacher.

"There are many ways to rid yourself of him. Do you wish to kill him or scare him?"

Uh oh, Mark just learned Teacher could use extreme methods when called upon to do so. This brought home to him even more how demanding this job would be. He began to appreciate one reason this "priesthood" was set up like it was. The wrong person placed in charge would likely create a disaster and could do great harm.

"Would you scare him until he leaves?" Mark had an idea then as he remembered how the pool area was protected. "Make a bunch of scary sounds."

Suddenly the air outside was filled with the sounds of bees swarming. A low voice whispered, "Look out for that snake," followed by evil sounding laughs. Then everything was quiet.

Carl Puffin looked around and saw nothing out of the ordinary. Another low voice said, "Leave now or die." Carl left at a run.

They waited a short while. Then Mark asked Teacher, "Is it safe now for us to leave?"

The answer came right back, "Yes, but you will meet the one you think of as 'Puffy' a short distance down the trail. He stopped and has begun to look back this way again. There are weapons available, if you believe them necessary."

Weapons? Mark never considered weapons. He had been in three fights in grade school and once Mark had a problem with a bully the previous year. Melissa handled the bully. She was his "enforcer."

Mark did not consider himself to be a coward, even though he did his best to avoid either violence or confrontation. To him violence should always the last resort. Too often it backfires on the person who uses it to solve a problem. "No thank you. I shouldn't need anything to protect myself from that jerk." It occurred to Mark, Teacher had again volunteered information and furnished more than asked for.

"Why are you looking off into space, Marky?" Mother asked. "Your eyes have a sort of vacant look."

"I was talking to teacher, Mother." Mark answered. "And please don't call me Marky."

"Oops. Sorry, it just slipped out. I'll try to remember." She smiled and Mark ordered the door to open.

As soon as they stepped outside the cave the door closed behind them. Mark looked back and found no trace of where that door was located. Those ancient beings, whoever they were, really knew some great stuff. He began to consider it might be nice to learn a few of the available secrets for the money he could realize from their sale.

If he could somehow record that music and play it to his friends, Mark was convinced they would like to hear more. His mind was churning out one idea after another, as they started out.

They fast stepped the first mile and walked the second. Then it was time for a five-minute rest. There are a few alternate ways to travel overland on foot. In rough areas, fast stepping is great so long as the terrain will allow it.

"Where have you been?" Mark jumped as the grating whiney voice of Carl Puffin came from behind them. "What are you hiding up there? I demand to know."

"Mark, hand me the cell phone. I have had all I care to take from this repulsive man." Mark handed the phone to her and she punched the preset number for the local Ranger station into the keypad.

"Ranger Hanson, my name is Mrs. Rachel Stone. A man by the name of Carl Puffin has been following me and is harassing me. He is here in front of us and has begun to talk a whole lot of nonsense. My son Mark is protecting me right now. I hate to be stalked by a pervert."

Carl grabbed for the phone in Rachel's hand and Mark tripped him. "Stay there." Mark ordered him as if he were a dog.

"Stay down and I won't hurt you." The implied threat sounded hollow to Mark, the professional pacifist. Right then Mark was mad at this person who tried to lay hands on his mother. Carl Puffin's eyes were filled with hate as he stared up at Mark. He stayed down on the ground, rather than try to test Mark's anger.

Two new rangers were on the scene in less than five minutes. The tallest of the pair was a grim faced, no nonsense type who walked up to them and asked, "Okay, now what is the problem here?" He looked down at Carl Puffin on the ground and asked, "Why is that man lying on the ground?"

"That individual lying on the ground tried to attack me and my son tripped him when he lunged at me. My son Mark threatened to hurt him if he got back up. This man, Carl Puffin, is our next door neighbor who has made passes at me and has been stalking me." Mark thought "stalking" was a little bit strong, but who was he to argue with his mother, especially when she was this angry?

"That's a lie. I never ever made a pass at that woman. She came on to me and I refused her." Mark laughed aloud and thought, Boy, how he can lie.

Rachel gave a sarcastic laugh and asked, "Does that disgusting specimen look like something that would make any woman's heart beat faster? Ugh."

The second ranger laughed and said, "Well, maybe if he was rich it might be conceivable. Stranger things have happened."

"Not around me, they don't happen," Mother answered.

"Well, they're hiding something up here. It has to be gold or something else of value. That woman dropped her son off up here and came home. I saw them leave and then she came back up here in a hurry yesterday and disappeared to some hidden place I couldn't find. She just disappeared without a trace. Now you tell me there isn't something fishy going on up here."

Carl Puffins eyes glittered. He stared back and forth between Rachel and her son. His hands trembled. "Get a grip," Mark told him. It bothered him to see Melissa's alleged father in such a state.

The no-nonsense ranger said in a flat voice, "By your own admission you have been spying on this woman and her son. In addition, by your own admission you have been stalking her. Mister Puffy, I want you to get up off the ground and leave here right now. If you bother these people or anyone else up while they are up here in this area, I can almost promise you a two-month stay in the local jail. Leave now and don't come back."

"The name is Puffin, Carl Puffin. Call me by my name. I demand it." He looked like he was ready to jump up and down, he was so angry.

"Puffy, Puffer, who cares? Just beat it," the younger ranger told him dismissively.

He turned to Rachel and asked, "Just where did you camp last night?" You are aware that this is a restricted area to campers up here, fire hazard."

"Uh." she stalled and thought hard. "I drove up this morning." She pointed to her van parked a ways off the highway. "That's mine."

Teacher contacted Mark, "There is a small cave up the side of the mountain a short ways. It has already been disturbed to make it appear someone was there recently."

"Mom." Mark interrupted her as she started to speak again, "I don't know if we should say very much more unless these gentlemen will agree to keep quiet. I stayed in a small cave up on the hillside above that pool of water that runs cold the year round."