Read Online SODIUM:1 Harbinger by Stephen Arseneault - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Stephen Arseneault
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gun.
I thought it just as well as I would not have been able to hit anything with it even if it had been right in front of me. I figured that it would probably work to keep me from shooting myself. Once again I longed for my bat.
My wrist began to swell and I could tell from the numb feeling that I had broken a bone. Bull was still up on the boulder surveying the area in front of us and had kept an eye on us during the fiasco. Since Allie had been right on top of it, he did not bother to come down to help. He knew how capable she was in dealing with the situation and that if anything he would just be getting in her way.
The bone in the palm of my hand that went from my wrist to my little finger was broken. As Allie looked it over she motioned for me to look back down at the creek. When I did she pulled on my hand setting the bone back in place.
The pain was intense, but it was over quickly. I was glad she had done it without me being prepared as I would likely have once again screamed aloud. As Allie prepared a splint I noticed Bull coming down from his perch. He said that the area in front of us indeed looked like a campsite, but there was nobody there.
The fire was just a few smoldering embers. I then remembered why I had fallen in the creek to start with and this time I let Bull know that I was sure I had seen someone. This meant that either someone else was following us or the other two had somehow doubled back. Allie quickly finished my splint and a new plan was devised.
Allie and Susi would head forward to the campsite and inspect it further while Bull and I would head downstream to investigate whoever was following us. I thought it was a really bad idea to be splitting up, but as the gimp of the group I did not have much of a say.
The girls moved forward to the camp and Bull and I made our way back towards where we had come from. When we arrived at the area where I thought I had seen someone, Bull began his investigation. He had tracked animals for years as a game hunter so I had no doubt that if someone had been there he would find evidence of it.
We searched for half an hour and found nothing more than a small broken twig with a leaf on the end, no footprints or any of the other evidence that would be expected. Bull speculated that whoever it was, knew how to move about without disturbing the soil. He also told me that someone had definitely been there, because branches don’t break by themselves.
Bull pulled out his small binoculars and began scanning the trail down along the creek. Had anyone been at the spot I identified they would have had to have gone back that way. This section of the creek was guarded by steep walls on either side. Only a mountain goat would have a shot at scaling it in the best of places.
I did not like the feeling of now being cut off from the way we had originally come. My thoughts were that we needed to collect Kyle’s body and then make our way back to civilization as fast as possible. If we could not find Kyle soon it would be better to let the authorities come up and deal with it themselves. I thought this was especially true for me given my now somewhat crippled condition.
We then turned back towards the girls and made our way to the abandoned camp. When we arrived Bull was a bit uneasy as the girls had continued forward. Allie had scratched a note in the dirt saying it looked like we were only about 20 minutes behind whoever it was. She was going after them.
Bull then turned and followed at a fast pace. I knew I was going to have trouble keeping up, but I was in no condition to be left behind. Nor did I want to be the one who kept us all apart. I pressed on as best I could.
We had come to an open meadow with a heavily forested area to the right. Allie and Susi were standing about half way through the meadow with their hands raised. Bull put out his hand in the stop gesture and we then moved over behind a large rock.
Slowly we made our way, under cover, up into the tree
I thought it just as well as I would not have been able to hit anything with it even if it had been right in front of me. I figured that it would probably work to keep me from shooting myself. Once again I longed for my bat.
My wrist began to swell and I could tell from the numb feeling that I had broken a bone. Bull was still up on the boulder surveying the area in front of us and had kept an eye on us during the fiasco. Since Allie had been right on top of it, he did not bother to come down to help. He knew how capable she was in dealing with the situation and that if anything he would just be getting in her way.
The bone in the palm of my hand that went from my wrist to my little finger was broken. As Allie looked it over she motioned for me to look back down at the creek. When I did she pulled on my hand setting the bone back in place.
The pain was intense, but it was over quickly. I was glad she had done it without me being prepared as I would likely have once again screamed aloud. As Allie prepared a splint I noticed Bull coming down from his perch. He said that the area in front of us indeed looked like a campsite, but there was nobody there.
The fire was just a few smoldering embers. I then remembered why I had fallen in the creek to start with and this time I let Bull know that I was sure I had seen someone. This meant that either someone else was following us or the other two had somehow doubled back. Allie quickly finished my splint and a new plan was devised.
Allie and Susi would head forward to the campsite and inspect it further while Bull and I would head downstream to investigate whoever was following us. I thought it was a really bad idea to be splitting up, but as the gimp of the group I did not have much of a say.
The girls moved forward to the camp and Bull and I made our way back towards where we had come from. When we arrived at the area where I thought I had seen someone, Bull began his investigation. He had tracked animals for years as a game hunter so I had no doubt that if someone had been there he would find evidence of it.
We searched for half an hour and found nothing more than a small broken twig with a leaf on the end, no footprints or any of the other evidence that would be expected. Bull speculated that whoever it was, knew how to move about without disturbing the soil. He also told me that someone had definitely been there, because branches don’t break by themselves.
Bull pulled out his small binoculars and began scanning the trail down along the creek. Had anyone been at the spot I identified they would have had to have gone back that way. This section of the creek was guarded by steep walls on either side. Only a mountain goat would have a shot at scaling it in the best of places.
I did not like the feeling of now being cut off from the way we had originally come. My thoughts were that we needed to collect Kyle’s body and then make our way back to civilization as fast as possible. If we could not find Kyle soon it would be better to let the authorities come up and deal with it themselves. I thought this was especially true for me given my now somewhat crippled condition.
We then turned back towards the girls and made our way to the abandoned camp. When we arrived Bull was a bit uneasy as the girls had continued forward. Allie had scratched a note in the dirt saying it looked like we were only about 20 minutes behind whoever it was. She was going after them.
Bull then turned and followed at a fast pace. I knew I was going to have trouble keeping up, but I was in no condition to be left behind. Nor did I want to be the one who kept us all apart. I pressed on as best I could.
We had come to an open meadow with a heavily forested area to the right. Allie and Susi were standing about half way through the meadow with their hands raised. Bull put out his hand in the stop gesture and we then moved over behind a large rock.
Slowly we made our way, under cover, up into the tree
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