Read Online SODIUM:1 Harbinger by Stephen Arseneault - Free Book Online
Authors: Stephen Arseneault
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its hacking it pushed the carcass over the cliff edge. The bear, in its prime earlier that evening, had weighed in at 600 pounds. For Kyle, the slippery bloody rock and the heavy carcass were too much. He was knocked from his perch. For Kyle it was a 90’ drop down into the rocky Rancheria Creek below.
Chapter 6
We awoke the next morning at first light and I immediately made my way out of camp to try to get to Kyle to apologize. My sister was not talking to me, so I thought I would try the other side. Bull had described to me exactly where Kyle could be found. I carried his gun with me with the hope of trading it out for my bat.
When I arrived at the ledge my jaw dropped. I began to shake as a panic set in. There were bear tracks and there was blood everywhere. Kyle’s sleeping bag had been ripped to shreds and there was no sign of Kyle. I turned and fired off three rounds into the air.
Bull made his way up at a full run in under three minutes. When he arrived he immediately stopped and stared at the blood soaked ground. As the reality of the scene took hold, he walked slowly over to the edge and looked down into the rushing creek below.
Bull turned and looked back at the bear tracks. He remarked that the tracks came in, but did not leave. And there was no sign of Kyle. We made our way back down the trail and then down Tilden Creek to where it joined Rancheria.
As we started our walk up Rancheria, to under the ledge where Kyle’s had been the night before, I stopped Bull. I pointed to my bat sticking up out of the rushing water. It was stuck in a heavy current along with several tree limbs, but it was easy to see that it was my bat. We began looking in the creek for any sign of a body, but there was none to be found.
I wanted to recover the bat, but Bull pressed on, finding Kyle was much more important. As we continued I could not help but look back at my bat caught in that swirling torrent. The bat was my friend and I wished that I had it securely back in my hand. Even with Kyle’s gun I still felt vulnerable.
It took another three minutes for us to arrive below the ledge where Kyle had been staying. The surrounding rocks had blood spatterings and bits of animal gut on them, but Bull could not immediately tell if it was from Kyle or the bear. The creek was deep at that point, but not deep enough for a 90’ fall.
The strange thing was that there was no other evidence of either of them on the side of the creek below the ledge. We made our way across the creek and Bull put out his twisted hand with the palm facing backward in that familiar gesture of “hold it right there.”
On the southeast side of the creek there were not one, but two sets of footprints leading away, heading up the creek. And there was evidence of a bloody body having been dragged along with them. I wondered who had done this…and why? The questions were popping into my mind faster than I could answer them. I could see the wheels turning in Bull’s head as he too surveyed the situation.
We turned immediately to make our way back to camp to get the girls and fill them in on what may or may not have happened. As we hurriedly walked all I could think about was how my sister was going to hate me for the rest of our lives. After all, it had been my prodding that had elevated whatever spat they were having to the level that drove him from camp.
Susi was not going to forgive me for this one and it was a selfish thing for me to be thinking of at the time. But again, the wiring in my brain was not right as no normal human being would have worried about themselves. I then began to wonder if any of them would ever talk to me again once we returned to Atlanta.
The girls met us as we made our way into the camp. Bull filled them in and Susi immediately broke down. I wanted to comfort her, but I just didn’t know how. My total lack of being able to deal with relationships continued to rear its ugly head.
Allie stepped in and Bull signaled for
Chapter 6
We awoke the next morning at first light and I immediately made my way out of camp to try to get to Kyle to apologize. My sister was not talking to me, so I thought I would try the other side. Bull had described to me exactly where Kyle could be found. I carried his gun with me with the hope of trading it out for my bat.
When I arrived at the ledge my jaw dropped. I began to shake as a panic set in. There were bear tracks and there was blood everywhere. Kyle’s sleeping bag had been ripped to shreds and there was no sign of Kyle. I turned and fired off three rounds into the air.
Bull made his way up at a full run in under three minutes. When he arrived he immediately stopped and stared at the blood soaked ground. As the reality of the scene took hold, he walked slowly over to the edge and looked down into the rushing creek below.
Bull turned and looked back at the bear tracks. He remarked that the tracks came in, but did not leave. And there was no sign of Kyle. We made our way back down the trail and then down Tilden Creek to where it joined Rancheria.
As we started our walk up Rancheria, to under the ledge where Kyle’s had been the night before, I stopped Bull. I pointed to my bat sticking up out of the rushing water. It was stuck in a heavy current along with several tree limbs, but it was easy to see that it was my bat. We began looking in the creek for any sign of a body, but there was none to be found.
I wanted to recover the bat, but Bull pressed on, finding Kyle was much more important. As we continued I could not help but look back at my bat caught in that swirling torrent. The bat was my friend and I wished that I had it securely back in my hand. Even with Kyle’s gun I still felt vulnerable.
It took another three minutes for us to arrive below the ledge where Kyle had been staying. The surrounding rocks had blood spatterings and bits of animal gut on them, but Bull could not immediately tell if it was from Kyle or the bear. The creek was deep at that point, but not deep enough for a 90’ fall.
The strange thing was that there was no other evidence of either of them on the side of the creek below the ledge. We made our way across the creek and Bull put out his twisted hand with the palm facing backward in that familiar gesture of “hold it right there.”
On the southeast side of the creek there were not one, but two sets of footprints leading away, heading up the creek. And there was evidence of a bloody body having been dragged along with them. I wondered who had done this…and why? The questions were popping into my mind faster than I could answer them. I could see the wheels turning in Bull’s head as he too surveyed the situation.
We turned immediately to make our way back to camp to get the girls and fill them in on what may or may not have happened. As we hurriedly walked all I could think about was how my sister was going to hate me for the rest of our lives. After all, it had been my prodding that had elevated whatever spat they were having to the level that drove him from camp.
Susi was not going to forgive me for this one and it was a selfish thing for me to be thinking of at the time. But again, the wiring in my brain was not right as no normal human being would have worried about themselves. I then began to wonder if any of them would ever talk to me again once we returned to Atlanta.
The girls met us as we made our way into the camp. Bull filled them in and Susi immediately broke down. I wanted to comfort her, but I just didn’t know how. My total lack of being able to deal with relationships continued to rear its ugly head.
Allie stepped in and Bull signaled for
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