Chapter 3: LOST IN THE FOREST
26 years, 3 months before Correction
The cold and silence wraps itself around Samuel and Krystal. His ears translates the faint opening and closing of his heart valves, but he hears the faint sound of a second heartbeat. Unable to move he searches for physical injuries to himself, but finds significant injuries to Krystal. If he can get through the ice, he can reach the medical room. The ship's doctor can save her.
An explosion of color sweeps across his thoughts. He remembers the crash and the ice forming around them. His left hand generates heat and melts the ice. He moves his hands away from their bodies. With his arms extended he allows the water to freeze. His hand projects large amounts of heat and vaporize some ice into steam. The steam pressure increases and fractures the ice. The steam punches a hole through to the side window. More ice fractures. Water sloshes to the rear of the command deck. Enough melted ice allows his body to move. A glint of sunlight comes through the front windows. If the Federals do not know where they are by now, the orbiting satellites will detect the thermal of his ship after the sun sets.
A shadow passes in front of the window. It does not appear to have human legs. He continues to melt the ice and touches the metal plate of the control panel. He uses the ship's hull to scan his surroundings. Whatever walked in front of the window is not there. After several minutes he senses, he is not alone. Low to the ground glowing eyes stare at him. It blinks twice. A blinding light strikes his mind and collapses him into his ice cocoon.
In the dark lying on the cold deck with a stabbing pain in his head, he awakens. He blinks his eyes to his blue vision. Remnants of water trails lead to a lump of wet clothes and through the doors. He did not melt the ice, but considers if the small creature he saw, melted it? The lump of clothes looks familiar. He crawls to it and rolls the body over.
He detects no life. Her body has become stiff. The blonde female brings images into his mind that are more like a ghost or one of those antique faded photos. Why is she here? Who is she?
He moves to the control panels and does not detect energy in them. He slides across the floor to the doors and pry's it open. The ship is a sealed vessel. There should be a pool of water at the end of the corridor but there is none. All doors are sealed closed. There must be a crack in the ship's hull. He places his palm against an exposed metal beam. With caution he scans through the ship's hull and discovers earth covering the ship. He slides towards the rear of the ship and detects fresh air passing through the ship's airlock. Again, scanning outside of the ship, beyond the doors, he detects a cavern or tunnel. He forces the doors open and a gust of musty air blows past him. The smell of wet fur is followed by a low growl in the dark tunnel.
Several dog like creatures run across the tunnel floor. One of the creatures barks a series of sounds that causes the others to run further down the tunnel then around a corner. He closes the doors and moves down the tunnel.
Around the bend the moon lights the tunnel entrance. He crawls to the entrance and scans the area. He searches the sky. A spy satellite should have reported the crash and yet he detects no aircraft flying overhead. He should detect the satellites or any electrical signals, but finds none.
Did the crash damage my abilities?
Cautiously moving out of the tunnel, he adjusts his sights for the moonlight. The terrain slopes down than rises up. Nocturnal life scurries across the ground. A short distance away a clump of bushes moves contrary to the other bushes. He senses the creature in the bush watching him. He walks a short distance from the tunnel searching for anything that might tell him where he has landed. The tunnel is nestled below the crest of the hill with trees. His crash did not disrupt the tree line. With no damaged trees, the area shows no signs or evidence that his ship crashed here. He scans for trails and roads, but there are no signs of human activities in the area. He climbs up a hill and stands on a boulder. Large and small depressions in the ground lead to the tunnel. He searches the sky again. Several familiar constellations, watch him, but their position appears further south.
Which northern continent have I landed?
A wolf steps out from the bushes and howls a long wail. Several wolves dart out of the bushes and run into the forest. The lone wolf stares intently at him. A distance wolf howls. The lone wolf glances at the forest, then back at him. It growls and yips several times. It lets out a long howl and disappears into the forest. He scans down the hill and searches further out. No signs of humans, only the animal life of the forest moves.
If anything flies over the area, someone would notice the contours of the land has changed and will lead them to his ship, so where are the Federals? Why have they not retrieved their prized possession? He studies the contours and the tunnel. Before the flash of light, the ship was only partially covered. Now, it appears the ship has been buried for many years. He detects no lengthy passage of time, so who covered his ship?
He has one task to perform before leaving the area and returns to the ship. Without extensive repairs his ship will not fly again. With no survival provisions it was not prepared for a lengthy stay from home. He will have to forage for his food. A squashing sounds under his foot. He picks up his gloves and wrings out the cold water. In the last room he finds a folded blanket. The blanket is just large enough to wrap the female in it. He carries her body out of the cave. In case someone finds his ship he travels a hundred meters over the ridge. He lays her gently on the ground. With both hands frozen the top layer of soil peals back, exposing the dark rich soil. He digs deep enough. His hand reaches for the corner of the blanket and pulls. The blanket exposes her face.
The hint of a smile frozen on her lips brings the ghost image with greater details into his mind.
"You are so beautiful. What was your name? What was our relationship?" A yellow and orange color reflects off her face. He looks over his shoulder. Higher level clouds glow from the morning sun. He hurries to complete his task. Gently he lays her body in the hole and covers her face with the blanket. He crawls out of the hole and fills it with the dirt and lays the pealed layer of grass back into its original position. It appears as a small rise in the ground.
He falls to his knees and holds his arms up. "If there is a God, why have you allowed this woman to die alone? Why have you taken her name from me? If you had to punish someone, why did you not punish me? I have the blood of a thousand on my hands. Their blood will never be washed off. What did she do that, you would allow her to die alone?"
His ears hear the sound of rocks and gravel crunching under a weight. His mind and eyes search for the source. Other than the two small heat sources that could have been from an animal watching him, he finds nothing.
He shakes his head. "Maybe one day I will recall who you are, until then may God have mercy on you."
He finds a flat stone and lays it over the grave. He does his best to make the stone appear as though it has always belonged there. Again the crunching sounds behind him. His body shifts into attack mode, but does not find a target. After several minutes he returns to his ship.
In the engine room, he taps the power cells and draws energy from the earth around his ship. He leaves enough energy that it will last several decades. It will help him to find his ship again.
With only the clothes on his back, he closes the ship's doors and exits the tunnel. Scanning the area again, he detects no humans. He generates a burst of energy that collapses the tunnel. If the Federals have not found him yet, he will not make it easy for them to find his ship. He walks a short distance to a hill and looks back. He does not detect the ship's energy. Unless they have a contour map before the crash, the ground deformities would be explained as erosion.
His vision returns to normal. He follows the trail indentations in the grass where the wolf traveled earlier, but tries to stay near the edge of the forest, in case he encounters a human. Over the hill and into a valley he stops for every sound until he can identify it.
Leaves and twigs crunch nearby, but the tall grass hides the movement. He hopes the small creature is not territorial but lets him pass. A little further, he encounters a running stream and where there is a stream there should be animals. He kneels to create a small profile and observes the stream. After a short period of not seeing animals, he crawls to the stream. He cups the water in his hand and searches for signs of contamination. A branch flows by and thumps a boulder in the water. If the water is not safe, he will find out within the hour. His energy levels are too low for him to be more cautious. The water feels good on his face. It sends a shiver through his body. There is no immediate discomfort and he plunges his face into the water drinking his fill. The refreshing water taste natural with a hint of sweetness and no chemicals from the so call civilized world. The water helps to clear his mind.
He sits up and enjoys the moment. The sunlight touches the top of the surrounding hills. Despite not sensing humans, he does not wish to be caught in the open and returns to the forest. The tree line follows the stream further into the valley. If he does not run into a road, he will hear any mechanized vehicles moving towards him.
The sunlight fills the valley except for the few remaining shadows hiding behind trees and boulders. A spasm in his gut helps him to recall his last meal was with Krystal four days before crashing here. Hunger screams to be fed. He moves from tree to tree and comes across several bushes covered with red and orange berries. He eats two berries and savors the sweet and slightly sour juice tickling his taste buds. The berries satisfy his hunger. He crawls to the stream and scoops a hand full of water. With no contaminant in the water, he quenches his thirst. He searches the hill for any indication of his ship. The land contours from the crash blend with the hill. If he did not know where his ship crashed he would not see it.
Maybe they don't know where he is, but to play it safe he continues to evade and stay out of sight. Twigs break behind him. He drops on all fours and is prepared to leap on the stalker. A fox pokes its head out from a bush and freezes upon seeing him. "Did you find who ate our berries?" A second fox pokes its head out and freezes.
"Did you ask who ate your berries?" Samuel asks.
The fox slowly lowers its head and disappears into the undergrowth. The second fox has also moved out of sight.
Is the water and berries causing me to hallucinate?
He sits under a tree near the stream and waits for the foxes to return. He hopes to repeat the short conversation with them. The rest will give him time to determine if the berries are affecting him. He searches for anything that will tell him what country he has crashed. With each twig breaking and leaves falling out of the trees, he still expects Federal troops to show up. He identifies the foliage and animal life in the forest. This part of the stream appears to be the expressway for the forest animals. A family of hares and foxes run to the edge of the stream. An Elk stops for a drink followed by two different deer types. Behind him squirrels run across the ground, then jump from tree to tree. A shadow passes overhead. He crawls behind the tree and searches for the flying object. A screech draws his attention to an eagle flying south. He has stayed in the one spot for too long. Under the boulders shadows peek out. Shelter becomes a primary need before it gets dark. Still too close to his ship he continues in the valley as he follows the stream. He stops at an open field with a few trees dotting the land and scans for an alternate route. His shadow grows longer with each passing minute. He stares across the field again.
On the other side steep cliffs rise from a river with another forest. Near the bottom of the cliff appears to be a cave that would make a good shelter for the night. He sprints across the field hoping he does not step on anything and none of the animals decide he is an easy meal. About halfway across a herd of deer run. Their path leads them well away from him. To his right the grass moves. The herd changes directions. Their new course will take the herd across his path. It is too big to go around and too dangerous to go through. He slows to a walking pace. Four large wolves in the grass charge the herd. He crouches down, hoping to hide. The wolves separate three deer from the herd. A commotion allows two deer to rejoin the herd. He changes course not to draw attention. At least the wolves have their evening meal.
The last rays of the Sun fall behind the hills and the temperature drops. With the last bit of light, he dashes for the cliffs and does not look back until he reaches the cave. Near the entrance, he closes his eyes and blinks. He scrutinizes the dark. A hundred meters away the wolves devour their meal. He scans the cave for any occupants and finds no one home. He gathers wood in the immediate area. With the last load of wood, he observes several animals and other creatures moving. The moon peeks down into the valley.
The temperature drops rapidly after sunset. With his gloves tucked under his belt, he kneels next to the wood and sweeps his hand over it to draw out the excess moisture. The water gives him a refreshing drink. He holds a dried branch of wood in his left hand and generates heat. A couple of seconds later he inserts the flaming branch into the dry stack of wood. He blows air into the base of the stack until the rest of the wood catches fire. With a nice fire and enough wood to last through the night, he lies close to the fire. He does not want to fall asleep and let the fire burn out, but with little food and the expenditure of more energy than he planned, he falls asleep quickly. Sometime during the night the howls of several wolves nearby awaken him. He places more wood on the few flames and blows air near the base. The fire roars back to life.
A growl draws his attention past the fire. A wolf sits at the edge of the cave. He hears a whisper and searches the back of the cave. He closes his eyes and concentrates. The whisper becomes louder, but in a language he is not familiar. The whisper comes from outside of the cave. He scans the area expecting to find humans, but only detects five wolves. All stare in his direction. A distance away another wolf howls. Four of the five wolves look towards the howling then run into the darkness. One wolf continues to stare at him. He concentrates on the wolf and for a split second he appears to be seeing himself through the wolf's eyes, which snaps his vision back to normal. The wolf disappears into the darkness. He does not recall ever being able to make a mental connection with an animal. If it was a connection, it would be a useful tool to spy on others. He scans the area again and does not detect the wolves. He throws more wood on the fire and lies down. Again he falls asleep quickly.
The sun shines in his eyes. His fire has been out for some time. He remembers the wolf, but his thoughts are clouded. A hunger pain draws his attention for food. He stands in the cave entrance and searches the sky. His low energy level limits his ability to reach extended distances. If a satellite passes overhead, they would see him long before he would detect it. He moves towards the stream and searches the surrounding area to make sure he does not become something's breakfast. Near the stream he does not detect any animals. He kneels and drinks the water. It does not have the sweetness he tasted the day before, but it does quench his thirst. He splashes his face and detects movement in the water. He freezes for a moment, then his hand darts into the water and pulls out a fish.
"Thank you for your sacrifice." He bites off a chunk of white meat. The fish calms his hunger. He does not spot a wolf walking towards him. Gravel crunches together and he knows he has made a mistake. The wolf is from the previous night. He takes another bite and tosses the remains of the fish in front of the wolf. The wolf sniffs the fish and stares at him. It eats.
"Are you the one who watched me last night?"
He does not expect an answer, but a whisper replies, "Yes . . . here."
For a moment he considers if there is something in the water, but asks, "Did you speak to me?"
The wolf raises his head, "You not first to hear me." It picks up the fish and runs into the undergrowth.
He scoops water and drinks, but keeps an eye out for the wolf or its pack. For a moment he thinks of Krystal. This is the type of event she always loved to participate. She always helped him out of tight circumstances, but this time he is on his own and talking to a wolf. She would have laughed at him. He closes his eyes, hoping her memory will soon pass. He opens his eyes. The morning shadow that followed him now lies under the water in front of him. The sun exposes the other side of the stream. He drops his body into a defensive position and blinks twice. His whole body tenses for immediate action. His eyes sweep the area and looks at everything. Two small boulders sit on top of a large boulder at the edge of the river. He does not remember if they were there before he caught the fish. Both rocks vent a slight pulsing thermal wave as compared to the constant thermal waves radiating from the surrounding rocks. He picks up a river rock and measures the distance. Stepping forward two steps he throws the rock into a high arch. A few seconds later the rock crashes on the boulder in front of the two smaller boulders. The thermal wave pulses increases from the smaller of the two boulders.
A rough voice speaks, "Wait, not yet."
He picks up another river rock.
The rough voice says, "Go now."
A flash of light charges at him. This time he is ready and closes his mind. The flash passes. The two small boulders have disappeared. He does not detect their thermal vents. Still not able to determine his location, a creature that can see him, but he cannot see it, puts him in a very dangerous situation, especially now that he cannot account for the lost time, today or the previous night.
He refocuses his vision to normal and returns to his cave gathering wood along the way. Each trip out of the cave, he creates a mental map of the area. His third trip he stops by the river and catches a fish. He cuts the fish into pieces. In the cave he places the pieces of fish on sticks and ignites a fire in the stack of wood. He leans the fish over the fire. Outside of the cave, he sits with several pieces of fish.
After the sun sets the temperature drops dramatically. More wood is added to the fire. He replaces the fish with raw pieces and carries the cooked pieces back where he sat. A breeze stirs up the ground leaves and interferes with his ability to hear the night life. Through the noise he detects a four legged animal moving along the path from the direction of the river. He tosses a piece of the fish at the edge of the fire's light. The animal stops. He blinks once for the blue tint. A wolf crouches to the ground and sniffs the air. He hopes it will come closer without attacking him. On the top of a distant hill a wolf pack stares in his direction.
He slips on his gloves so he does not inadvertently injure the wolf. He waits.
The lone wolf crawls to the fish and eats. He tosses another piece of fish and the wolf eats it. "Were you here last night?"
This time he receives a clear response, "Yes, me and my family. You can hear me?"
"Yes, I can hear you," but his replies are growls and yelps.
The wolf speaks between bites of fish, "How do you hear me now, when you did not hear, when you chased my family from the warm den?"
"Sometimes it takes me longer to understand a new voice. Is that your family on the hill?"
"Yes, they are afraid of you."
"Why are you not afraid?"
The wolf steps into the light of the fire. "Because you are not afraid. You are different. The others like you are always afraid of us. They kill us, so we attack them first and then they stay away."
"I can sympathize with you, but not all humans will kill." He tosses a cooked piece of fish in front of the wolf.
"They all kill, if not us than themselves." The wolf steps more into the light and eats the fish.
"Does your family feel the same way about humans?" Five wolves approach from the side.
A large male steps into the light showing its teeth and growling, "Leave this river and den. Go back to your kind."
He slips off his right glove. "I will leave, but I do not know where they are."
The male stomps the ground. "Go back where you came and follow the open field in the direction the wind blows. Go too far and you fall. At the bottom your kind lives." With a low growl the wolf slowly steps towards him.
His right hand touches the ground and extends his fingers towards the male wolf. A sheet of ice moves from his hand to the wolf's path. With a yip and growl the wolf darts into the darkness with the others close behind it. The wolf pack runs over the hill.
If there is a human site nearby, he will have to explore it from a distance to determine who they are and what type of threat they pose. He decides to set out for the site before dark the next evening.
As he slips his gloves on he studies the night sky. The star patterns appear familiar.
"Everything tells me I'm still on Earth, including the stars. Even the northern lights are a little further south. If I am on the Earth, where are the satellites?"
He searches three points in space where satellites should be but does not find them. He spends several hours searching for any signs that humans have been in space. He also notes he has not seen an aircraft vapor trail since his crash.
Halfway through the night he detects a thermal wave similar to the waves emitted by the two boulders he saw at the river. This thermal wave was not at its current location an hour ago. Instead of adding more wood to his fire, he closes his eyes to concentrate then opens them. He walks deeper into the darkness. The thermal wave is as visible as a light in a dark room. He walks directly towards the thermal source. It rolls a couple of meters away and transforms into a short creature that points its rocky finger at him. He is prepared for an attack. A flash of light strikes at him, but deflects around him.
"Stop! I'm not here to hurt you. Tell me where the other humans are and I will leave."
The creature responds, "You are not like them. Why do you wish to go there?"
"Because I need to contact my friends. They will take me home."
"Are your friends like you?"
"No, they are not like me, just as you are not like the rocks around here. What are you that you can speak to me in my mind?" He receives no answer. The creature transforms back into a small boulder and rolls away. He moves towards the cave and the ground rumbles. A boulder knocks his legs out from under him. It rolls into a depression in the ground. The searing pain in his broken leg demands his attention.
He stares intently at his injury. His ankle and foot have displaced bones. The pain intensifies. He removes his right glove and encases his injured leg in a block of ice. An ice pole rises from the ground for him to grip. He struggles back to the cave, but constantly scans the area for the rolling boulders or a predator who may wish to make a meal of him. He has been warned before, but not with a broken leg. Maybe they were protecting their territory like the wolves. This was an intended action and not an accident. An intended action implies the creatures are intelligent enough that he might be able to negotiate with them. An accident will have to be dealt with the harshest manner.
Back in the cave, with his left hand, he reignites the fire. The ice eases the pain, but he has to remove it to heal the bones. With an agonizing grown he moves his leg into a position to set the bone and melts the ice. He channels his energy in his hands and places them over the broken bone. A deep blue glow escapes from under his hands. A half hour later the glow changes to a light blue followed by white a short time later. He encases the injured part of his leg with a thin layer of ice and repositions it to work on his injured foot. The blue to the white glow continues the healing. He encases his leg, ankle, and foot in a thick layer of blue ice to finish the healing process. Most of the pain is under control. He scans the immediate area outside of the cave and detects no movement. He adds more wood to the fire and lies on the ground further inside of the cave. A short nap before the sun rise will do him good and he closes his eyes.
The night's events cause sleep to evade him. He rolls and twists not able to find a comfortable position that will let him sleep. With his ice pole he walks outside the cave and searches the night sky, but still does not find evidence of aircraft or satellites. He has not detected any signs of the advanced civilization, he left a week ago. He does not recall a planet where rocks transform into a small creature, but the Earth does have its legends of trolls. What is the year? Is Krystal here? He was told his ice powers would return only when there is another with ice powers. He was in the upper atmosphere when the power came alive in him. They must be powerful beings to reach that great height. Where are they? Are they looking for him?
For three days, at sunrise, he only goes out of the cave for water and gathers firewood upon his return. As the sun sets on the third day clouds move in from the south. Lightning strikes nearby. He feels the static energy building in the area. He hobbles to the stream and gets his fill of water. Suddenly, the hair on his arm and the back of his neck stands up. Electrical ozone fills the air. He forms his body into a small ball and plugs his ears. He closes his eyes and barely gets one foot off the ground when the lightning bolts strike several meters from him. A wave of static passes through his body. A log and grass burn where the lightning struck the ground. Near the log the remains of a small animal smolders. Static in the area builds again. He runs to the cave and moves his wood further in the back. A downpour drenches the area. He starts a small fire. Two wolves run into the cave and shake their fur of the water. The bigger wolf bares his teeth and growls.
He recognizes the smaller wolf. "We are both out of the rain. I will not bother you if you leave me alone."
"Agreed." The two wolves settle and lay near the entrance. One watches the storm and the other watches him.
He keeps the fire burning. Halfway through the night small stones crunching awakens him and the wolves. He steps in front of the fire and stares into the darkness. Four sets of eyes stare back at him. A lightning flash reveals only boulders that were not there before the storm. The two wolves raise their hackles and emit a low growl. Another lightning flash reveals a troll pointing at the wolves. He calls out to it, "Leave my friends alone. You attack them and I will destroy all of you."
Stones crunch. A few minutes later, another lightning flash and the boulders are gone. The wolves settle down again and close their eyes. He lies down with the fire between him and the wolves and waits for the morning.
The next day Sam wakes to the sound of water running over rocks in the stream. His guests are nowhere in sight. The ice has melted off his leg. He stands and shifts his weight from one foot to the next. He feels no pain. Obviously this land has new dangers. He will be more cautious. If he was searching for someone like himself, now would be the time to spring a trap and capture him. Complacency is an enemy that will strike with devastating disaster.
He moves to the cave entrance. A mist of fog blankets the area, which explains why he hears the distant stream. He desires to visit the nearby human village, but moving in the fog begs nature to attack. He will wait for the fog to burn off if it does at all. The warm temperature with no breeze will keep the fog in place. On a rock outside of the cave, he sits and waits. His eyes close and he focuses with his other senses. Near the stream rocks and gravel crunches under heavy weight. He hears children laughing, but not human children. An adult's voice tells the children, it's time to leave before the fog lifts. For several seconds the ground vibrates through his feet and the seat of his pants. A faint bell rings in the distance.
Several hours later the fog retreats. A white ball shines almost directly overhead. The mountain top peaks above the clouds and the mist marches towards the human village. He travels in the direction he came several days earlier. At the open field, he moves into the wind as the wolf had said. A few rodents scurry in the tall grass, but he detects nothing larger. He takes a chance and runs. Barely an hour passes when the ground slopes down. He stops near the edge of the cliff. In the distance a gray horizon separates the clouds from the ocean.
Below him a castle sits on an island in the middle of the bay. He peeks over the edge, "The wolf is right, go too far and you fall."
Laughter draws his attention to the village. Children run in an area that connects a bridge to the castle. A man yelling draws his attention to a tall sail ship fading into the mist. At least they appear to have some commerce.
His position above the village gives him a good view to note the streets and buildings. He looks at his clothing. He would be hard pressed to explain where he got them, let alone why they will not discover the material for another one hundred and fifty years. He will have to replace them to blend in with the community.
Several houses have clothes drying on a small rope. He spies one house where the clothes are away from the streets. It will be an easy target to borrow the clothes for a short time. His eyes trace the wall surrounding the village. He spots the first road since he crashed here. The road passes near him. He observes the people and waits for sunset.
The sun drops behind the hills. A disturbance outside of the village draws his attention. Two white or light gray horses pull a wagon that appears more like a prestige carriage than a worker's wagon. The clatter of the wagon wheels and the hooves on stone attracts his attention to the stone paved road.
"Interesting, you're not just a simple village. Do you have anything close to modern tools that will help me to repair my ship?"
The carriage moves quickly through the village and over the bridge. The horses run through the gates and stop in front of the castle. He stands on a boulder and barely sees over the walls. A well-dressed male exits the castle doors and walks past two uniformed individuals holding the doors open. The male opens the carriage door and a slender younger male dressed in a slightly different uniform steps out. They speak to each other and the young male assist a young, dark hair female from the coach. A band sparking on top of her head glitters when she moves. The uniformed individuals at the doorway bow to the two arrivals. The castle appears to be the home of a king and queen or whatever royalty titles they use here.
Suddenly an updraft from the village brings the odor of burning wood and the hinted fragrance of cooked food. He closes his eyes and blinks to view the blue tint. Thermal waves rise from the chimneys of several homes. The tops of the hills surrender the last of the sunlight and small lights flicker throughout the village. The castle has more points of lights passing through the windows, but even they illuminate very little light.
Other than the guards on the castle walls, very few walk the streets. He moves from one shadow to the next along the road. The sky reveals no artificial objects or anything that transmits radio waves. He continues to glance skywards, as he approaches the village. A flash followed by a clap of thunder lights up the area. Clouds gather over the ocean. He stays in the shadows of the village searching for clothes. A few rain drops fall. He spots a small building behind a home and slips inside. A horse neighs and a cow moo's announcing his presence. He waits by the door for the owner to check on the animals. When they do not he sits in a corner and waits out the storm. He peers through small holes in the building. Two young boys run up the street caring fish over their shoulders. At the first house a woman meets the boy and wags her finger at him. The second boy runs into the house next to the barn he is hiding. A wall of rain from the ocean sweeps through the village. In a matter of minutes, small streams of water run down the street back towards the sea. Another flash of lightning reveals what he has been searching. Three houses down the street, he spots a pair of pants and a little farther a shirt flaps in the breeze. He estimates they are his size. One way or another he will get wet. He slips out of the barn and walks through the streams of water to cover his steps. Despite the rain noise an unrecognized language comes from many houses. Usually in these situations, he has a translator until he learns the language. Once again, he misses Krystal. She was well adapted at learning new languages.
He searches the clouds as his emotion for Krystal nearly escapes. "She is not here, so it will take you a little longer. You did it before you met her."
Despite the rain, the corner of his eyes stink. He wipes his face and continues down the street. He grabs the pants and the shirt. Under the open pavilion near the bridge he changes into the borrowed clothes. As he slips on his shirt he estimates the distance from the square to the castle gate. Leaning against one of the pavilion's post to minimize his profile when the lightning flashes, he uses his time waiting to map the village, paying special attention to the port and the movement along the castle's walls. The rain slows to a drizzle. With his old clothes under his arm, he treks back up the street and maps the village.
The following morning the first rays of sunlight breaks over the cloudless horizon as he reaches the top of the cliff. A slight chill fills the air. The first sounds of the village brings life for the new day. He observes them.
"Ladycat, you and Sara would love this view. It is a place we could live in peace. If I find you I'll bring you here."
He continues to his cave and studies his clothing. A lot of irregularities fit with a time period before mass production. The quality is not like his clothing, but someone took the time to make them. He will have to pay for them as soon as he learns their barter system. He searches the sky and still does not detect any satellites or aircrafts. Unless he crashed into an isolated area without modern conveniences, the village appears to be from the late 1700s or 1800s.
He shakes his head. "I must have gone through the temporal ribbon and traveled into the Earth's past." He snorts. "That means my little ship isn't going to be repaired, let alone fly for another three hundred years. I wonder if their religious leaders speak Latin."
He remembers a sail ship leaving the bay, "Maybe, they speak a language I know."
At his cave, he removes his clothes and lays them on the rocks to dry. The short time he has been here, other than the village with the castle, he has not seen any evidence the villager's travel in his area. He is confident they will not find him in his birthday suit. He proceeds to the stream.
The water level is higher than it was the previous day. He moves further down the stream to a shallower area. Near a bend in the stream several large boulders are almost submerged. They would make a good hiding place for fish to capture anything small floating by. He steps into the water and a cold shiver ripples through his body. He wades towards the boulders. A small school of fish swims past him, then they scatter. He stops. A dark shadow moves under the water surface and passes close enough for his hand to dart in and pull the fish out. The fish splashes water and floating debris. Some of the dirty water splashes into his mouth. The gritty, muddy taste also most causes his body to convulse. He spits and washes his mouth out. The fish wiggles for one last attempt to escape, but he holds on to it and leans against a boulder. A sparkle flashes in his eye. Sunlight reflects off a shiny yellow rock in the water. Holding his breath he pulls the rock out of the water and holds it up.
"I bet they barter with gold."
He marks the rock and carries the gold and fish back to his cave. A short distance from the cave entrance, he meets a familiar wolf. "Did you come to have dinner with me?"
The wolf follows behind him and does not act afraid. "Alpha will not like you being here. Why did you come back?"
He continues and glances over his shoulder. He does not recall communicating with Earth animals. On other worlds he learned to communicate with different species, but he never had an Earth animal initiate conversation with him. Except years ago at his uncle's house, a deer came out of a wooded area and spoke to him. It left a warning that others were coming for him. The deer saved his life that day. He peeks back at the wolf. Is it trying to give him a warning? In the cave he stacks the wood and builds a fire. He cuts his fish into chunks and skewers them onto a stick. With the sticks leaning towards the fire he cuts up the rest of the fish. The wolf sits outside of the cave. He tosses a couple of pieces to the wolf. The fire crackles and startles the wolf, but it continues to eat the fish. A light breeze blows into the cave swirling the air. He hopes the cooking fish does not attract anything he can't handle. The wolf lifts its head and sniffs the air. He places his borrowed wet clothes near the fire and tosses another chunk of fish to the wolf. He steps closer to the entrance. The wolf grabs the remains of the fish and runs to a nearby bush. A few minutes later the wolf pokes its head out of the bush.
Sam sits on a boulder still cold from the night air and speaks to the wolf, "Did you come here for a meal? Why are you here and where is your pack?"
A branch crunches and the bush moves as the wolf steps out, "Why are you here? Why are you not with your kind? I saw you with the others like you."
With the wave of his hand, he motions the wolf to come closer, "I'm here because I'm lost. Those at the bottom of the hill are not my kind. I don't know them."
"Why did you go if you do not know them?" The wolf takes a step closer.
A half smile forms as he stares at the ground, "I thought they could help me, but I was wrong."
"Why?" the wolf takes another step closer.
"They do not have the materials I need to get home, let alone the technology."
"Where is home?"
He hesitates to answer. "The village sits next to the water. Have you seen the ships float into the port, people get off the ship, others get on, and then the ship sails away?" He stops for a second thinking he just saw the wolf nod its head once, then he continues, "There is a specific ship that will take me to the other side of the water. It is there that my people live. Those below the hill do not know me and if they knew I was talking to you, they would not let me into their group." A puff of warm air brushes his nose with the flavor of fish causing him to stand.
"Who can help you?" The wolf stands just outside of his reach.
"I don't know." He walks back into the cave and checks the fish. He removes a chunk of fish and tosses it towards the wolf. His guest lets the fish hit the ground before it nibbles and then gulps the fish down. Sam watches the wolf and takes several small bites of the fish. The wolf stares at him from outside the cave's entrance. He splits the remaining piece of fish in half. He tosses half to the wolf and he eats the other half.
He looks at the sky. The Sun above the horizon has burned off the few morning clouds. The air has warmed. He covers the fire with sand. The wolf walks past him into the cave and curls up close to the warm sand. It closes its eyes. "That's a good idea. A short nap will help to clear my thinking." He puts on his gloves and lies down on the opposite side of the fire pit, deeper in the cave. In a matter of minutes he falls asleep and his eyes move to the first stage of ream sleep.
Outside of the cave sand and small stones crunch under a heavy weight. A meter above the ground two eyes blink and looks into the cave. Green light crystals glow and blink on a mesh cloak made of grass. The wolf raises its head. The lights disappear and the sound of a heavy stone rolls across the ground.
End of Chapter