Chapter 1

The Account of A Stranger

Charlene Davidson was as plain and ordinary as any human could be. There was nothing particularly special about her. She was five foot five inches, with red hair, pale skin, and had green eyes. She had been working in her father's garage for some years as an auto mechanic, specializing in "unorthodox" mechanics as it were, and had been born and raised in Chicago Illinois. Nothing special. Not one extraordinary talent besides being good with a socket wrench.

And so she had resigned herself as being just that, nothing special, the morning she and her long time friend Jack McCyber set out on an early spring morning, full of photography equipment and maps, and two motorcycles, away from the city and out to the country.

Both of them had been wanting a break from city life and the pressures that came with it, so every now and then, Jack--who was a computer freak by both nature and choice, but had a hobby of wild-life photography--and herself would set out on a week long outing into whatever wilderness they could find and ride their bikes and take pictures and have a good old fashioned camp out.

"Gee, Charlie, don't look so thrilled." Jack chuckled, scratching his scrubby red beard as he drove her big blue pick-up truck down the half-deserted highway.

Charlie, as was her nickname, glared back at him from her place leaning against the open window, feeling the breeze rustle her hair. "Sorry, Jack. Just tired is all." she said.

What Charlie really wanted to say was that she was tired of herself and her monotonous life. She looked at her friend again. "So, what are you going to film this time, Jack? Badgers, deer, what?" she asked.

"You know, I thought I'd just wing it. After all, not a whole lot of people really know what kind of wild-life is around Thorn Valley. It's so heavily protected by forest rangers it isn't even funny. I can't tell you what a pain in the ass it was just to get us approved to go in and shoot pictures." he replied.

"Seems like an awful lot of work for just some hobby of yours." Charlie pointed out.

Jack shrugged. "Eh, I never have been the type to do things the easy way, I suppose." he replied. He put a hand on her shoulder. "How's your pop?"

"Oh, he's alright. That heart attack left him pretty tired though, he hasn't able to do much work around the garage." she replied wistfully.

"You and your mom doing alright?" he added.

"We're fine. Just fine."

***

Two hours later the two found themselves making their way with their equipment through woods, trying to find a suitable area to set up camp. They were both amazed at how clean the place felt and smelled, for even these days you really had to go out of your way to find any place that wasn't touched by the pollution or noise of the cities and towns. But this place…this place seemed like it existed in it's own little world. It was far enough away from the main roads that you could not hear any cars or people, and the air smelled fresh and clean like just after a spring-time rain. Here the trees grew tall and wild like the grass beneath their feet, that never knew the slash of a lawn-mowers blade. Probably the only other people to set foot through these woods were the forest rangers, and perhaps a few lost campers, for Jack always like to go off the trails to look for good photo opportunities.

The two of them finally managed to find a place that was clear of tree roots and too many rocks, a small clearing among the trees filled with ankle deep grass and little else, sheltered by a canopy of dogwoods growing around it, leaving only a small open hole where they could peer up at the sky above, which was beginning to turn dark with rain clouds.

"Great that's just what we need, to get rained on before we get the tent up." Jack muttered, fussing over his camera. Charlie shook her head and dropped the heavy pack off her back and began digging out supplies while Jack began loading his 35 millimeter.

"You could help me, you know." she teased him as she erected the tent, oh so thankful she had sprung for one of those easy to put-up tents, where all you had to do was pull a cord and "poof" you had a nylon paradise in a jiffy.

"You seem to be doing fine on your own." he said, sitting down on the grass and going through his camera bag. Charlie rolled her eyes. Chivalry simply had to be dead, and spinning it's grave no less.

"Men." she sighed, unrolling her sleeping bag and pulling out the air-mattress.

After all the necessary arrangements had been made, the two of them set out on their adventures. Wildflowers were the first thing to be filmed--as a special favorite to Charlie's mother, who simply adored flowers. Her bedroom was nearly covered in the photographs that Jack took for her. Saved on wallpaper anyway.

But Thorn Valley offered a special kind of flower, one neither Jack nor Charlie had seen before. A type of blood-red lily with black seeds, cataloged as the Mars flower. As far as anyone knew this was the only place they grew, so it was really no wonder the place was so heavily protected by forest rangers. But other than a few wild rabbits, and some birds, they didn't see an animal all day.

Shadows were getting deeper, causing a lot of distraction. They had ended up away from camp longer than they planned. As the sun began to set, the two studied their domain. Thorn Valley was about fifteen miles long, running nearly straight north to south. A lake nurtured the valley with a wide rushing stream feeding into it. Beyond the Valley rose a range of gray, mist shrouded mountains. The highest being the imposing Thorn Mountain, with its distinct triangle shapes.

"Damn, this place is beautiful isn't it? So pristine and untouched. I'd like to build a summer home here." Jack said. Charlie nudged him playfully in the ribs. She looked at the valley again, the long casting shadows enshrouding the landscape, and wondered exactly what was out there in all that endless sea of green and living things. It just didn't fell right suddenly. Not bad exactly, but unnatural perhaps. Like the forest was hiding something.

"Well, all this fresh air is wearing me out. I guess we'll save the biking for tomorrow. Come on, lets get back to camp." Jack said suddenly, snapping her out of her rever. Charlie nodded. They made haste back to camp, racing the fading light.

Jack remained outside, building up the bond-fire while Charlie slipped inside the tent and climbed into her pj's. She didn't particularly worry about Jack seeing her naked, however. They had been friends since High School and through college, and they dated on and off again, but for the most part they were just good friends and she felt comfortable around him. Comfortable enough to know she had better hide her bra or he would hang it from the nearest tree and laugh while he watched her try to get it.

As darkness enveloped the valley, she was glad to have him with her, however. It was nice to have a man around, even if Charlie was more than capable of taking care of herself. To hear how noisy the forest was at night was quite unnerving.

If it weren't for their flashlights, and a lantern, and the bonfire, they would have been in complete darkness. However, the lack of city lights had one good benefit, the sky was alive with bright twinkling stars, more stars than Charlie had ever seen she thought.

The two of them stood outside, staring up at it's beauty, and felt small in the vast universe around them.

"Nothing like getting back to nature to put things in perspective." McCyber said, smiling at her in the glow of the firelight.

"Yeah." Charlie smiled. "Wish there was laundry-mat near by though." she added.

Jack laughed, then stood up, clearing his throat. "Well, uh, speaking of nature, it's calling me. Be right back." he said, slipping off into the woods with his flash light.

"Be careful!" Charlie shouted after him, shaking her head. Then she slipped back into the tent, laying down on the air mattress that she and Jack would be sharing, and slipped into her sleeping back, hugging her pillow. The strange feeling she felt earlier that afternoon hadn't gone away, and perhaps was even more present in the dark, but she was too tired to care.

After awhile she heard Jack come back to the tent, pull off his clothes and slip in beside her. He draped one arm around her and Charlie snuggled backwards into his embrace as the two huddled together for warmth. Thank goodness for thermal blankets and body heat.

"See any bears out there?" Charlie asked sleepily through half-closed eye-lids.

"Nope. Just little field mouse." Jack replied. Charlie smiled and nodded, slipping into sleep. Jack didn't tell her however that he also found tracks, made by something the size of a human, and apparently barefoot in the woods. Needless to say, he didn't sleep that night, but instead laid close, with Charlie in one arm, and his gun in the other.