A Camping trip
Chapter 1 The Storm
He rode on Brownie, his horse, for another half mile, then he got off the horse. The wind was howling and blowing fiercely when it started to rain, a clap of thunder and lightning so close that it split a tree to the left of them. The horse reared up in fright. Jeremy soothed the horse with quiet words and calming voice. Although the wind was howling, he whispered to the horse and it quieted down. Jeremy was looking for someplace to hunker down until the weather subsided. The horse seemed to know this and once calmed, it plodded slowly toward something it knew where it was. Jeremy walked alongside his horse; he also knew where they were. With the next crash of lightning, he saw the cabin, pulling the collar of the coat close he walked ahead leading the horse with the reigns. The horse willingly followed. They reached the cabin just as the next thunderclap and lightning strike. Jeremy looked out towards the barn; he had seen the lightning come from that direction.
"Brownie," he said: "I know that mom and Da would not like you to be inside, but you are coming inside with me. It will be warm and safe!" Jeremy said to the horse as he opened the cabin door. He went to the fireplace and cleared out the old dirt and ash and placed the fresh wood logs in the fire place. Struck his match and started the fire. He led the horse over to the 'kitchen area and started another fire in the stove. He reached for the coffee pot and put some water in it from his canteen. While he was waiting for the water to warm, he went to the back porch and reached into the bin and found some potatoes that they had stored there a few weeks ago. He went back to the stove and placed the potatoes and a bit of jerky in the pan and put it into the stove to bake. He went over to stoke the fire and then he set up the chair and cot by the fire. The horse was standing in the middle of the kitchen. Jeremy looked at Brownie and said to him:
"I think pal, you will be sleeping in the back under the lean too!" Jeremy walked over and walked the horse out to the lean too, which was just on the other side of the porch. It had three sides and was attached to the cabin. He was able to give the horse some dried hay that had been left in the outdoor bin for the animals. Then made sure that the horse was okay and went back inside. He went to the stove, checked the coffee pot, poured the coffee and took his dinner out of the oven. Sitting down on a chair near the fire, he watched the fire and listened to the storm. Soon he was done with his meal. Warmed up and comfortable, he took his things back to the kitchen area and made sure that the fire in the stove was almost out. He looked outside and saw that it had just turned to rain. He moved over to the cot and prepared to bed down for the night.
"I sure wasn't expecting a storm like this!" He thought to himself
"I was hoping it would have been a nice night. This time of the year, the storms aren't really too bad!" He looked out the window again. He sighed and took his boots off and got ready to lay down on the cot. It was the same cot that he had been born in. The blankets were kept in a cedar trunk near the back of the cabin. He went over and selected the blue blanket; it was also the same blanket that had covered his mother when she had passed. He almost jumped when anther clap of thunder sounded and then lightning in the sky.
"That was close!' he said to himself as he got in bed and pulled the covers up to his chin. Another lightning strike and the door burst open. He sat up straight in the bed and looked at the door. A figure stood, a dark shadow with the light behind. He sat, afraid at first, then as fast as the figure appeared, it disappeared when the lightning stopped. He shook his head and smiled and thought to himself, his mind was playing tricks on him. Fears can get to you sometimes without your willing it. He was just about to lay down when another lightning strike and the door burst open again! This time someone real was standing in the open door. Jeremy sat up and had grabbed a piece of wood ready to hit whoever it was.
Then he heard sobbing, he looked at the figure, it was a little boy, he was crying. Jeremy had no idea who this boy was but he decided to go over to him and find out. Just as he was about to get off the bed, the boy disappeared at the sound of the thunderclap. Then the lightning struck again and a shadow appeared again, a tall dark thin shadow, one that Jeremy sensed was filled with hate and fear. He grabbed the wood again, not sure what he was going to do, but stood up from his cot and went to the door.
Chapter 2 The Shadow
"Don't shut it! You have something I want!" The shadow said. Jeremy looked at the shadow, a wave of fear swept over him. The shadow came close to him, Jeremy lit a candle and saw that it was a man, a little taller than he was, but a man, nevertheless!
"Wh-wh-who are you? Wh-wh-what d-d-do you w-w-want?" Jeremy asked fear in his voice sounding prevalent. The shadow took it's time before it spied what it wanted. And said:
"You can't save that little boy from me!" Jeremy looked around for the little boy who had been crying, he was hiding behind Jeremy.
"Why do you want him? He-he- he looks scared of you?" Jeremy answered. The shadow had a weird looking smile on it visage. Jeremy wasn't sure if he liked that or not and stood steadfast holding the wood ready to strike the shadow any moment. The shadow laughed at him and looked hungrily at the little boy next to him.
"What's your name?" Jeremy asked the boy.
"Jerry!" the boy said, he sounded like he was not much older than five or six. He looked very scared of the shadow. Jeremy wasn't sure he liked the shadow either. He put his arm around the boys shoulder and whispered to him:
"It is okay, I will protect you!" the boy snuggled closer to Jeremy and held tight to his leg. Jeremy picked the boy up and put him on the cot. The shadow watched in contempt of the love that Jeremy showed to the boy.
"You can't protect him, you know! He will be mine no matter what you do!" the shadow said lumbering toward Jeremy and the boy. Jeremy almost felt that he could not help this boy, but he had to try. Didn't Jason and Joshua try things as well? Weren't they afraid of things as well? So, if they were afraid sometimes, Jason always told them when he was afraid! That is what he remembered. Then he remembered how his mother had calmed him down when he was worried or frightened.
He turned to the boy and said:
"I want you to lie quietly under the blanket. Don't look out, close your eyes and think good thoughts." Jeremy said this to the boy, whispering like he was calming his horse. Then he placed the blue blanket on and around the boy to protect him. When he had done that he turned around to face the shadow.
The shadow watched and again mocked him saying:
"That's right, boy! Stay hiding, never come out, you don't matter and you will slowly shrink to nothing and then, then I can EAT YOU!" The shadow shrieked the last two words. Jeremy almost fell in fear himself, but instead, he stood up and using the log like a sword, he suddenly attached the shadow. The shadow himself drew his sword, a sword of cold fire. Jeremy had wood, he was not sure that his sword wood withstand the cold fire.
The fight ensued, first Jeremy parried and moved just the right way, the shadow itself struck the edges of the fire place, then it lunged toward Jeremy who was able to sidestep and the shadow missed its target again. Jeremy was working hard, however, the shadow, then parried and lunged toward Jeremy and knocked him down to the ground, the sword was just above his head and the shadow was about to strike him when a pale blue light came from out of nowhere and the shadow was stunned for a moment. Then Jeremy got up, his piece of wood had turned into a fiery sword, a warm and loving sword.
But the shadow was not finished, it had been stunned a bit by the blue light but instead of giving up it now carried two double edged swords.
"Two swords?" Jeremy said out loud, the shadow smiled evilly and said:
"The better to kill you with and have my morsel! Ha! Ha! Ha!" Jeremy looked around the room, it seems that the cabin had grown into a large hall. There were stands with cheering crowds. Jeremy looked at the shadow and then looked to where the cot had been, he saw a cage and the boy, hidden by a blue blanket inside the cage. But someone else was inside with the boy. A girl, or was that a woman, she had red hair and was comforting the boy!
Jeremy was distracted for a moment and the shadow came at him raising one sword and keeping the other one lowered. If Jeremy had not fallen to the ground and skirted under neath the shadow, he would have been run through twice.
The shadow having missed his target was enraged and came at him again. Jeremy then without thinking lifted his sword and swung it from left to right knocking one of the shadows swords out of its grip. The shadow had one sword left, that one was the most lethal sword of all. It had a poison tip and if it struck any part of Jeremy, he would be dead!
Chapter 3 Back home
Jason had walked into the saloon for a glass of beer. He met Aaron Stemple and they sat down to have a talk about logging and board feet. Joshua walked in looking for Jason.
"Jason, Swede says they need you at the camp!"
"Joshua, can it wait, I have a meeting with Aaron!"
"No, Jason, it concerns Jeremy!"
"What do you mean, he is on his camping trip? I know we had the storm last night but he knows what to do in a storm?" Jason said. He was a bit worried but had trust in Jeremy that he could take care of himself.
"Swede says they were working up near the cabin and it looks like Jeremy took shelter because Brownie is there but no sight of Jeremy?" Josh said to his brother. Jason thought about it for a while and said to Aaron:
"I think I have to find out about this, can we discuss our contract at a later date?" Aaron looked at him and said:
"Well, Jason, I know that you worry about your brother, but if you wait much longer the price might go up per board feet! But it is up to you!" Aaron said as business like as he could. He himself did not mind that Jason would not sign the contract, he could raise the price and get a little more money at Jason's expense.
Jason knew that look as well. Josh looked at Jason and then he said:
"You know, I could stay here and work it out with Stemple if that would be okay with you and he?" Jason and Stemple both looked at Joshua and smiled.
"Well, Jason, I don't mind dealing with Joshua, After all, he does the books and knows your finances better than you do!" Aaron said to Jason. Jason looked at Stemple and then said:
"Excuse me for a moment Aaron, I will be back!" He stood up and motioned for Joshua to come with him. They went outside for a while, when they came back in, Joshua was staying to work on the contract with Stemple and Jason was heading up to the logging camp to see Swede.
"Jason, something is wrong up at your cabin!" Swede said when he arrived at the logging camp.
"Brownie is tied up in the lean too, but Jeremy was nowhere to be seen!" Jason was just about to ask Swede something when Candy showed up in the wagon with a small little boy with very blue eyes who looked scared.
"Jason, Jason, oh, you do need to find Jeremy and find him right now!" Candy said as she pulled up alongside Jason and Swede.
"Why, who is this little boy. He looks like he is afraid of something?" Jason asked
"He is, he says his name is 'Jerry' and that he is lost and afraid that someone is up at your cabin and is hurting Jeremy!" I am taking him there now. Oh, Please do come!?" Candy said. Jason looked at Swede and then said:
"I am going to get my horse, you two meet me up near the cabin. Swede, you are coming with me!" Swede nodded, Corky knew something was up and stayed to keep the logging camp going.
It was almost noon when they reached the cabin. Swede and Jason watched; they heard some unusual sounds in the cabin. They could see what looked like shadows with swords. Both Jason and Swede were confused.
"Jason, it was too quiet when I was up here, now it seems as if there is a fight going on?" Swede said to Jason. Candy and the boy stood transfixed and suddenly, they disappeared.
"Now where did they go?" Jason asked Swede, both could not believe what they had seen. Both Candy and the boy disappeared right in front of their eyes.
"Swede something strange is going on here. I need you to get a couple of the others and come back here, I am going to go around the cabin and see what I can see. Meet back here in an hour!" Jason said as he headed toward the cabin. Swede went back to the camp and took Larry and Stewart with him. They went back to the cabin. Jason was back he had scouted the area and was stunned.
When Swede arrived, with the men, Jason said to him:
"It is strange, from a distance it looks like a fight, but getting up close there is nothing happening. Even Brownie is quietly eating some hay? I don't understand?" Swede looked at Jason and also did not know what to say. Then Larry said:
"You know Jason, there are things beyond our control here. I have read many scientific journals and some suggest that there are portals to other places and times!" Jason looked at him and said:
"I don't necessarily believe that!" Jason said shocked that someone would suggest something like that.
"You have heard of ghosts, the great writer Charles Dickens put ghosts into his stories and of course you own Scottish history has a few ghosts, and elves and 'little people' stories!" Larry pointed this out to Jason who was not to inclined to hear about this.
"Jason, maybe he has something there?" Swede said to him. Jason looked and then said:
"Well, if it is a 'portal' as you suggest, then perhaps we should go and find out about this?" Jason started to stand up and go to the cabin, when they saw the door open and Candy and Jeremy came out. Jason saw them kiss each other and smile. He went over to them and the others followed.
"What happened in there?" Jason asked. Candy smiled and Jeremy said:
"Well, I don't know if I can explain. But it seems that there was this little boy who was frightened of things so much that he was running away from his own family."
"But where is the boy?" Jason asked, stunned that the boy that Candy had brought with her was gone. Jeremy looked at Candy and Candy looked at Jeremy. He smiled and said to Jason:
"We are tired, and I want to go home, I am going to get Brownie and meet you back in Seattle. Candy would you like to come with me?" Jeremy asked Candy.
"Yes I would, why don't we take the wagon and let Brownie walk behind?" Jeremy put his arm around her waist and smiled at her and said okay, then they walked away and hooked up the wagon and put Brownie behind and started back down the trail towards home.
Jason, Swede and the others stood looking and wondering.
"How did she disappear, why did that boy disappear, what just happened?" Jason said to Swede who then looked at Larry who had the only explanation. Larry just put his hands up and shrugged as if to say, "I don't really know for sure!"