CH. 7

Kindling

Adrian, Leland, Randy and Daniel set out to investigate the cave. They took supplies, knowing they'd be gone at least a day or two. Adrian was handling his first hiking trip surprisingly well but kept his eyes peeled for whatever pond or river he could find. They had to go on foot as a vehicle would raise dust and would alert anyone to their presence in the area. Daniel was a good guide, teaching them how to keep from getting blisters on their feet, how to drink just enough water, and yet conserve it, and how long of a rest period to take so they would be refreshed but not lulled into a false sense of needing more rest. He showed them what plants were edible and what would boost their energy. He was quite the teacher, considering he never uttered a word.

He was so good in fact that the three investigators felt like they could have walked another day. But Daniel guided them into a small camp that he and his grandfather used often. It was indeed green and well shaded by several indigenous trees and bushes, Being watered by a nearby river. It resembled an oasis. After Daniel indicated that they would spend the night there, he left the camp, leaving the three to set up their gear and start a fire for the evening. Randy began hauling rocks to create a fire pit. Stottlemeyer helped, as Adrian straightened everyone's bedrolls making the camp as symmetrical as possible. While he'd been through some big changes, his busy mind would not allow some of the smaller intricacies of his OCD to fade.

So, he straightened, until he felt it was as perfect as possible given the circumstances. Once finished there he noticed the fire pit. As the rocks landed, he set about arranging them by size and shape. "Randy, try to keep them the same size," he suggested.

"Why?" Randy looked confused. Adrian's glare said it all. "Oh, right," Randy remembered he was still Adrian. He took off beyond the camp to refine his search.

"Randy!" Stottlemeyer called. Randy stopped and came back to meet him.

"Captain?"

"Never mind about the size, just hurry up."

"But Monk . . .."

Stottlemeyer cut him off. "I know. It's not helping him."

Randy looked past Stottlemeyer to Adrian who was busy at the fire pit. He nodded, relieved and picked up the nearest rock. Stottlemeyer turned and walked over to the fire pit to observe Adrian. It was an hour and nearly sunset before Adrian agreed to allow the next step in the process. The wood. Randy collected some wood and dumped it. Adrian quickly moved to the pit to arrange it but was met with a glare from Stottlemeyer.

"What?" Adrian shrugged slightly, eyeing the tangled heap of branches and logs.

"You know what."

"Fire safety," Adrian offered obviously gesturing with a twitch.

"Adrian, were in a fertile valley, I hardly think the place is going to go up like a torch."

"Leland, you never know. Better safe than sorry." As if on cue, Randy dumped another load of branches and leaves onto the pile eliciting a strained shrug from Adrian as he stared at the disarray. He made a move, but Stottlemeyer grabbed his arm.

"Don't you dare." Adrian looked wounded and tried to pull from his grip. "Leave it!" his friend warned and pulled him over to a log in front of what would become a warm fire. He sat him down. "Stay!" Adrian rubbed his hands together uneasily, adjusted his jaw and neck and heaved a big sigh of discomfort.

Randy knelt in front of the pile of wood and pulled some more leaves from his pocket. He then put together a device for fire starting that Daniel had shown them during one of their rest breaks. As Randy rubbed the tool, Stottlemeyer walked up to the pit, digging in his pocket, he pulled out a lighter. He brought the flame from the lighter and put it to the leaves.

"That's cheating!" declared the young Lieutenant.

"Cheat . . . Randy it's not the Boy Scouts! We're not trying to earn our badges here," he retorted as flames came to life devouring the leaves and kindling and catching the dry wood easily. For dry wood though, they all noticed an unusual amount of sweet-smelling smoke. Randy and Stottlemeyer sandwiched Adrian on the log, and they all looked through the smoke at the flames, seemingly mesmerized.

Adrian then waved at the odor. "Randy, what is that stuff?"

Randy shrugged with a snort trying to contain a giggle fit. "Just some dried leaves I found." Adrian suddenly thought that was a pretty funny statement and he too snorted out a laugh. Stottlemeyer was sucked into the strange humor. He had to laugh at the two men next to him. He couldn't help but join him as the smoke enveloped them all. Soon the three were in hysterics as they began to recount some of their past cases.

They each took turns staggering to the pit and standing in front of the fire telling their renditions of, "Here's what happened" using charades. It was as if they were high on something. They were. Randy had unwittingly found some Cannabis. Yes, the three friends were high.

Daniel was out scouting, when he heard the familiar cackle of inebriated men. He'd been around it enough when the white men invaded their reservation. He hated the sound. He ran back to the camp, smelled the smoke and rolled his eyes. At least these guys weren't high by their own will. He knew he should have shown them to steer clear of the Cannabis.

He looked at the three men falling over each other in hysterical laughter and tried to get their attention. He tried to quiet them quickly hoping their laughter would not echo off the canyon walls. Daniel grabbed Adrian's arm and looked at him sternly with a finger to his lips.

Adrian looked at him, then straightened slightly, putting his finger to his lips. "SHHHH!" he acknowledged, trying with all his might to hold in the laughter threatening to erupt from him again. He snickered through his nose, as he tried to stand and faced his friends. "SHHH!" and with that, he passed out on the ground with a crash.

Stottlemeyer and Randy found this quite amusing and fell over each other cackling. Daniel sat down by the fire and heated a pot of water. He then pulled an herb out of a bag on his belt and threw it into the water. He let the water get warm enough to just dissolve the herb, then poured three cups. The first he took over to Adrian and lifted his head to drink it. He sputtered at first, but Daniel managed to get the liquid into him. He gave the other two detectives each a cup and gestured for them to drink it. As they did, their fits of laughter waned and they began to sober up. Randy and Stottlemeyer staggered over to their bedrolls, now finding that sleep was an overbearing desire.

Adrian sat up and looked at Daniel, then his friends. He rubbed his eyes and when he turned back to Daniel, he was gone. Adrian pulled himself to his feet and stared into the fire for a few moments. Something caught his eye, out beyond the fire. He blinked several times, trying to clear his vision and head. Things looked wavy. He moved around the fire and looked beyond the camp. Something was drawing him. He took a few tentative steps, then moved off into the night.

Randy was just putting his head to his pillow when he looked out past the fire. He wondered where Adrian had gone. What he saw next made his heart jump and he sat up. In the distance seemed to be a dim light shining toward the camp, through the trees. He blinked his eyes at what he thought he was seeing. There in the far distance, was Adrian, his back to the camp, looking up, framed between two evergreens. He lifted his right arm at an angle, to protect himself? Randy wondered. No, suddenly a large eagle flew at his friend and landed on his arm. Randy watched as Adrian held the creature on his arm and then crouched down in the misty light. Randy's eyes, wide with amazement as the surreal scene suddenly closed and his head hit the pillow in deep sleep.