The skunk family was back.
Lincoln paused at the edge of the clearing, watching as the mother skunk led her four young ones to a fallen tree trunk and they began digging at the ground, looking for grubs. He smiled at the sight and reached into his day pack to grab his journal. He had tried to sketch them the last time he had seen them but a noise had startled them and sent them scurrying into the underbrush before he could finish it. He climbed up onto a stone outcropping and settled in with his makeshift pencil, putting it to paper as he traced outlines of the little forest family. The corner of his mouth ticked up as he observed the antics of the kits playfully tumbling over each other.
In unison, the skunk family stilled their movement, frozen by some unknown danger. A loud popping sound rang through Lincoln's ears as the skunks took off in fear. Lincoln jumped off his perch, ducking behind it as his eyes scoured the landscape, trying to figure out where the noise had come from. A streak of light in the sky drew his attention up and he watched as the light came closer and closer. He felt the familiar rush of adrenaline coursing through him, excitement and anticipation of what this object could be, what he hoped this object falling out of the sky might be.
He had seen something come from the sky once before, a ship of sorts, and he had found a man inside. But that had been so long ago he sometimes wondered if it were a dream instead. The comet trail disappeared behind the treetops moments before he felt the earth gently shake. This wasn't a dream. He took off running toward where he had last seen the light. He was a Scout for the Woods Clan and it was his job to find out what exactly had landed in their territory.
As he drew closer, the smell of charred wood tingled his nostrils. He came upon the start of the debris field, trees broken like twigs by the rough landing. Lincoln changed directions, deciding to go up into the treetops that still stood rather than expose himself among the felled trees. He swiftly moved from branch to branch, tree to tree, inching closer to the metal object glinting in the sunlight. This ship was much bigger than the one he had seen as a boy. His heart began to thump loudly in his ears, whether in fear or anticipation, he did not know, but something was happening. There was a grinding noise accompanied by a loud whoosh as the side of the ship creaked open and folded out to the ground. And then he saw her.
She stood proud and strong in front of the burgeoning crowd behind her, a warrior's pose with her chin up and her chest thrust out. The wind toyed with her hair, blowing it away from her face, exposing her sharp, angular jawline and the high arch of her brow. Lincoln found himself gasping for breath as the sight of her had caused him to forget to breathe. A man stood behind her, his arms stretched to hold back the others. There were so many others all crammed into the metal ship yet this man made them wait for the woman. She took a tentative step and then another one. She jumped off the edge of the ramp onto solid ground, the excitement in her smile contagious as Lincoln once again felt the corner of his mouth rising in response. She thrust her arms into the air and shouted a rousing battle cry as a cue to the warriors behind her who began streaming out of the ship, joining her on the ground.
The smile swiftly evaporated from Lincoln's face as he realized the implications of what he was witnessing: an invasion. He quickly pulled his journal out of his pack and flipped to a blank page. He needed to record this in order to report back to Anya, his unit leader. Their number was small, he counted 99 with two additional bodies carried out of the ship, but if they were anything like the Mountain Men, small numbers didn't matter. Lincoln hurriedly finished sketching an outline of the ship but instead of putting his journal away and setting off for Anya's outpost, he found himself turning to a new page and starting another sketch, one of eyes that sparkled and a smile that teased.