reluctantly and hissed in an angry whisper. "Fine. How do you know where you're going? I can't see anything out here."
Mike just chuckled softly. "I grew up in woods a lot darker than this," he said cryptically. "Come on, it's not far to the camp site where there's a bed of thick green pine needles and cedar boughs. Very aromatic and...relaxing..."
"Are you trying to tell me to relax? " Alyssa spat, her eyes narrowing.
Mike quickly shook his head and held up both hands. "No, not at all. I was just making a statement. I'm tired and ready to stretch out is all."
Alyssa snorted hard through her nose and waved a hand absently at him. "Then why are you just standing there, wasting time?"
Mike ground his teeth and turned away from her without speaking. He walked through the shadowy forest and finally stopped next to a pair of forked saplings that had been bent and tied together at the tops. "Here we are," Mike said with a grin. "Home sweet home for the night." He bent and lifted a long branch as thick as his forearm into a fork in the two saplings that were bent in toward each other. Then he motioned for Alyssa to take one corner of what looked like a carpet of leaves and sticks and lift it. To her amazement, the entire sheet lifted together, and Mike hung it from two branches that had been cut off and shaped into pegs, forming the leaning roof of the lean-to shelter.
The roof was pretty low to the ground, but there was enough room for Mike to crawl inside and stretch out on his back with a little more than a foot to the ceiling. It was sturdy enough to keep out anything but the hardest rain, and the skies overhead were crystal clear. Alyssa reached in, and the bed of evergreens was indeed springy and felt inviting.
Mike nodded to her. "You sleep first," he said. "I'll keep the watch and wake you up in a few hours so I can get some sleep, okay?"
Alyssa nodded and set her backpack over to the side. She stretched out on the make-shift bed of evergreen branches, and after a few moments of shifting restlessly, she got comfortable, and her breathing grew deeper. Several long moments later, she broke the silence between them. "How did you learn to do this?" she asked softly.
Mike chuckled before answering. "I was a Boy Scout, if you can believe it. An Eagle Scout, actually, although that seems like an eternity ago now. Wilderness Survival merit badge was a requirement, and I guess some things you just don't forget."
Alyssa answered with a yawn and a grunt.
"If you wake up," Mike whispered, "and I'm not right here, you don't make a sound, okay? Stay quiet and wait, and I'll be back soon."
Alyssa mumbled something that sounded like agreement, and Mike settled his back against the trunk of a large pine. He wasn't exactly comfortable, but he wasn't exactly trying to be either. He wanted to be difficult to see against the shadow of the tree and still have a clear view of their back trail. In fact, part of the point was to be just uncomfortable enough to keep him awake through the watch.
Mike looked up at the crystal clear night sky and the few small glimpses of starlight he could see among the trees. Somewhere in the distance, a whippoorwill began to sing.
Ch.10
Breaking Protocol
Clouds to the southwest that had begun to rise in thick white and orange towers before the sunset were beginning to flash with lightening, and the distant thunder could just barely be heard when Eric finally stepped out from under the grape vineyard and into the back yard of Granddaddy's farm house. Joe and Henderson were close behind him, and all three were out of breath. It had been a long and difficult walk with the added weight they had taken from the Pharmacy, and Joe had set a hard pace to get back with the medicine.
Joe barely paused at the edge of the vineyard before climbing the porch steps and tapping softly on the door. Beth opened it and threw her arms around his neck, kissing both of his cheeks as tears streamed down
Mike just chuckled softly. "I grew up in woods a lot darker than this," he said cryptically. "Come on, it's not far to the camp site where there's a bed of thick green pine needles and cedar boughs. Very aromatic and...relaxing..."
"Are you trying to tell me to relax? " Alyssa spat, her eyes narrowing.
Mike quickly shook his head and held up both hands. "No, not at all. I was just making a statement. I'm tired and ready to stretch out is all."
Alyssa snorted hard through her nose and waved a hand absently at him. "Then why are you just standing there, wasting time?"
Mike ground his teeth and turned away from her without speaking. He walked through the shadowy forest and finally stopped next to a pair of forked saplings that had been bent and tied together at the tops. "Here we are," Mike said with a grin. "Home sweet home for the night." He bent and lifted a long branch as thick as his forearm into a fork in the two saplings that were bent in toward each other. Then he motioned for Alyssa to take one corner of what looked like a carpet of leaves and sticks and lift it. To her amazement, the entire sheet lifted together, and Mike hung it from two branches that had been cut off and shaped into pegs, forming the leaning roof of the lean-to shelter.
The roof was pretty low to the ground, but there was enough room for Mike to crawl inside and stretch out on his back with a little more than a foot to the ceiling. It was sturdy enough to keep out anything but the hardest rain, and the skies overhead were crystal clear. Alyssa reached in, and the bed of evergreens was indeed springy and felt inviting.
Mike nodded to her. "You sleep first," he said. "I'll keep the watch and wake you up in a few hours so I can get some sleep, okay?"
Alyssa nodded and set her backpack over to the side. She stretched out on the make-shift bed of evergreen branches, and after a few moments of shifting restlessly, she got comfortable, and her breathing grew deeper. Several long moments later, she broke the silence between them. "How did you learn to do this?" she asked softly.
Mike chuckled before answering. "I was a Boy Scout, if you can believe it. An Eagle Scout, actually, although that seems like an eternity ago now. Wilderness Survival merit badge was a requirement, and I guess some things you just don't forget."
Alyssa answered with a yawn and a grunt.
"If you wake up," Mike whispered, "and I'm not right here, you don't make a sound, okay? Stay quiet and wait, and I'll be back soon."
Alyssa mumbled something that sounded like agreement, and Mike settled his back against the trunk of a large pine. He wasn't exactly comfortable, but he wasn't exactly trying to be either. He wanted to be difficult to see against the shadow of the tree and still have a clear view of their back trail. In fact, part of the point was to be just uncomfortable enough to keep him awake through the watch.
Mike looked up at the crystal clear night sky and the few small glimpses of starlight he could see among the trees. Somewhere in the distance, a whippoorwill began to sing.
Ch.10
Breaking Protocol
Clouds to the southwest that had begun to rise in thick white and orange towers before the sunset were beginning to flash with lightening, and the distant thunder could just barely be heard when Eric finally stepped out from under the grape vineyard and into the back yard of Granddaddy's farm house. Joe and Henderson were close behind him, and all three were out of breath. It had been a long and difficult walk with the added weight they had taken from the Pharmacy, and Joe had set a hard pace to get back with the medicine.
Joe barely paused at the edge of the vineyard before climbing the porch steps and tapping softly on the door. Beth opened it and threw her arms around his neck, kissing both of his cheeks as tears streamed down
Similar Books
