2
Large black eyes watched intently as the exhausted men labored to climb up the east side of the mountain.
Alerted, the camp kept abreast of their progress. Four soldiers in green cammies marching thru their mountains. They watched as they passed thru the burned out forests; watched as they carefully picked a site and then made camp for the night. There was camaraderie among the men; they joked among themselves, they cared about each other, human traits. They watched as they stumbled into two of the mutant-bears; watched with fearful hearts as they fought for their lives; killed one, and ran from the other. How they took care of their mortally wounded comrade; and eventually mourned the death of their friend. They watched as they buried him carefully, deep in the ground. They laughed, they mourned; they felt. That proved that they were still human, proved that they were not one of the marauder groups. It was the only reason they were allowed to come any closer to the camp. That and the dreams; the dreams that said they would come.
After three days without food and water they stumbled into camp thirsty, hungry, dirty, and very jumpy. Both sides were a little wary of the other. These soldiers, these wild looking men wanted to know who was in charge. They were not quite what you would call aggressive; maybe belligerent was the best way to describe their attitudes. They were tired and hungry and didn’t want to play any word games. They had been thru a lot, but then so had we all. The leader of these men was asking politely who was in charge.
“We don’t want to cause any trouble, honest. We’ve been looking for this place…” He was looking around for anyone exhibiting any authority. The woman stepped forward; and the man was taken aback for a second. It’s her! He quickly recovered, but she had noticed.
She spoke softly, “Jake is in charge of this camp, but he is away right now. Your questions will be answered later; you men are worn out, you need to eat and drink, and rest. I believe it has been three days since you’ve eaten.”
A large man said in a stony voice, “Yes major, we could have picked you off at any time when you entered our mountains. Gentlemen, please come along …”
They were led further into the mountain on a well-worn trail, two men on each side of them with rifles. About an hour later they came upon another camp, a more permanent one. They were led thru an opening in the side of a mountain, taken down a long walkway wide enough for at least four men to walk abreast, and into a gigantic cave.
Daniel quickly scanned the place taking everything in. There were long tables lined up; and a large cooking area towards the back of the cave with a stove and a huge oven set into the side of the wall.
His nose perked up at the aroma wafting its way thru the group. This is a mess hall!
“Sam, would you please bring some coffee, ice tea, and food for these men; they look like they can use it?” The woman said sweetly.
A big man came forward with some mugs and a large pot of coffee. He wasn’t fat, just big; big muscles, arms like a wrestler with a chest to match. He set them on the table along with a jar of sugar. Sugar!
“Take what you want, we’ve got plenty,” he announced smiling.
They have plenty? Former military by the cut of him, Daniel bet. But not in command, no, he deferred to the woman; she wore confidence like a badge.
Behind the woman was that giant holding a rifle; silently watching them. Daniel had a pretty good idea that he didn’t need the rifle, he was probably very quick on his feet; he wouldn’t want to provoke him.
“Big John,” the woman said leaning back to talk to him. He bent and she gave him some instructions and he left quickly.
“Gentlemen, eat and drink and then rest; you all look beat, we can talk later; any objections?” Her eyes went over them, “Good! Sam, would you call for me when they’re rested and refreshed. We’ll meet back here.”
She turned and marched out of the cave, but not before she turned one more time and stared at Daniel. Then as if in conversation with someone, she murmured, “Yes, it’s him alright. Blast those damn dreams!”
A good-looking young man came to her side. He carried himself with the same air of confidence as the woman, as if they shared the some secret.
“Hey, don’t get so upset. We knew they were coming. You just don’t like being pushed into something you didn’t think up yourself. Admit it, you’re a control freak.”
She ruffled his hair and gave him a hug, “you know me so well Michael, you smart-ass, you!”
High above a pair of large black eyes that saw far more than just men watched them.
The man is finally here, now we can begin.
Daniel and his men stuffed their faces with the best food they had eaten in months. A sweet-faced woman brought them several pitchers of iced tea - ice? They ate pork chops, fried chicken and huge batches of mashed potatoes and gravy! And there was corn on the cob, and green beans, and biscuits with honey.
They have salt, and sugar…shit they have ice! My God, Daniel thought shoving mashed potatoes into his mouth, the dreams were right! After searching for so long, we finally found the place. And the woman is here- she’s real… so the rest must be true too!
When they finished eating they were taken to a holding area. Sam told them they could rest in safety; no one would bother them. They had been put in another cave, a temporary one. It was set up with some bunk beds, and a table and some chairs.
Makeshift barracks, Daniel thought, transition area.
Their things were brought in and placed on the beds; they had been gone over thoroughly. Daniel had expected it, probably Big John. He was too tired to care right now; all he wanted to do was sleep. He joined his friends and plopped down on a bed and was out in a matter of minutes.
Six hours later they woke up completely refreshed. Steve was excited, “Dan, they said we can take a shower. They have showers! Do you know how long it has been since we were clean? Damn man, this has got to be the place in the dreams!” Steve was an unfailing optimist; always saw the best possibilities in any situation.
Jerry agreed with him. “They could have locked us up, or worse. Did you see the looks on the faces of the people? I tell you it was like they were expecting us. They have the dreams too, I’m sure of it.”
“How do you feel Dan? Real good, eh, and full of energy too?” Steve was grinning from ear to ear. “This is the place Dan, I’m sure of it… it just ‘feels’ like it.”
There was a knock; and the young man from the Hall entered and looked around. He was in his early twenty’s, tall and lean, but there was hard muscle under those clothes. He had a pair of intense hazel eyes. He greeted them with a big smile.
“Good afternoon, my name is Michael. If you’d like to clean up, grab your stuff and follow me.”
They looked at each other, shrugged, and grabbed their gear and followed him out of the cave. He took them out and down a pathway that let all the way down to a scooped out area on the side of the mountain. There was a huge waterfall just beyond with a wide ledge that went all the way behind and thru the falls.
“Nature gave us the perfect shower. It’s cold, but it works! Do you all remember where the Hall is located; the place where you all ate?” They all nodded, “come by when you’re done and we’ll talk. Enjoy your shower!” He turned around and left them there.
Steve was the first who said what they were all thinking, “They’re giving us free rein. They could have set guards on us, but they didn’t.” He had undressed quickly and had retrieved his ditty bag from his backpack. “They’re not afraid of us,” he shouted as he stepped into the falls, “Holy shit! Ooooh…this is cold!”
Daniel and Jerry stripped also and stepped into the cold water; there were loud shouts of; “Oh shit that’s cold," by both men. They washed and shaved and after a time didn’t mind the cold water; it felt good to be clean again. After they dried, dressed and dumped their gear back at the cave, they headed for the large Hall.
The people they met along the way seemed friendly, and Steve had no problem talking with many of them. They didn’t get any information, just smiling faces pointing the way to the ‘Great Hall’.
They entered the Hall and as they came around the corner they could see that several tables had been set up facing each other. Sam, Michael, and the woman sat facing them with Big John standing behind the woman. But the sight that startled them all was lying on the floor in front of them. Two of the biggest Labs they’d ever seen. My God, they had to be 300 lbs each!
“Refreshed gentlemen? Please, come and have a seat,” the woman purred as they came in. “In front are the ‘twins’, Ash and Tabs. You don’t have to worry, they don’t bite… much.”
There was a lot of laughter coming from the assembled people behind her, in the back of the cave.
“There are pitchers of hot coffee and ice tea on the table; pick your poison. Lucy will be bringing some biscuits and honey in a minute. Make yourselves comfortable.”
Daniel and his men sat down facing this inquisition board.
“First, if I may, a quick question,” the woman stared intently at each of them. “Do you gentlemen have dreams? Very special dreams, some might say, very strange dreams?”
Daniel and his men all nodded yes.
“Good,” the woman sat back and smiled, “If you have no objection I’d like to begin by telling you all the story of how we came to be here.”
She began to relate the story of their journey and arrival in these mountains. She told them everything, even the way she felt, as she was instructed by Jake to do. The only part she left out was the part about Jake.
When she finished she looked Daniel in the eye, “so what’s your story major? And please, the truth.”