Chapter 17

Dylan examined the red glow encased in the glacier. Taking visual notes of the landscape and ridges around it, he created a mental photograph of the cherry, identifying lines of passage, appreciating Shasta’s brilliance. The east side of the mountain was already cast in shade, her peak remained illuminated from sun’s fading light. Dylan took a few steps to the side for a different point of view, only to find the cherry was not visible outside the tree’s branches. He leaned within the branch’s sight line, the glow reappeared.

Norm followed Dylan, hoping to catch a glimpse of the cherry, but never did. “If you’re done doing the Hokey Pokey, we should probably get moving.”

Dylan nodded, taking a final mental picture. “We need to get settled for the night.” Dylan said in a faraway tone. Without waiting, he hiked ahead of Norm, as if he were being drawn to his destination.

“So, yeah, I’ll just follow you.” Norm said, trotting after him.

The slope was not too steep, but after a half an hour of hiking up the incline, Norm slowed down considerably. Dylan took the backpack to relieve him and continued to glide up the mountain, unfazed.

“Where are you getting all this energy?” Norm slumped forward, his hands braced on his legs.

“Adrenaline, I guess,” Dylan said, trained on the peak. “Are you tired?”

“Hell yes, I’m tired! And hungry! And I’m not used to a hill that doesn’t quit,” Norm bristled behind his glasses, his knees quivering.

Dylan examined their position, paying particular attention to the trees. He reluctantly allowed the backpack to slide off his shoulders. They had barely made a dent in the climb, but Dylan could tell Norm needed to rest. “I kinda lost track of myself. We better set up camp. It’ll be dark soon.”

“Yeah, please remember, not all of us on this trip have your new energy levels.”

“Sorry. My muscles are working hard, but they aren’t tired.”

Norm rifled through the pack and pulled out a few energy bars. “Some of us still need to rest.” Norm tore the wrapper and shoved the entire bar in his mouth, then quickly ripped open another. “If it’s not to rest, it’s to eat. Because the more I do, the hungrier I get.”

“I know.” Dylan laughed. “Just go easy on the energy bars.”

“Just remember,” Norm mumbled through a mouthful, shoving another bar in his mouth. “I have needs, too.”

They found a clearing between the trees and began setting up camp. The tent wasn’t much, but it created some cover from the night air. Norm dug a fire pit in the hard earth while Dylan collected kindling and branches. They managed to start the fire before the wind picked up and the temperature plummeted.

Norm wrapped the poncho over his knees, doing his best to stay warm. Dylan stoked the fire with a stick, oblivious to the biting winds.

“Aren’t you cold, or is this another new power?” Norm asked, angling to stay within the heat radius.

“I can tell it’s cold. It just doesn’t seem to matter. Nothing does,” Dylan admitted, peering into the crackling embers, “except getting to the top of the mountain. In some bizarre way, it’s like I’m being pulled there.”

“This may sound weird, but I feel like it’s my job to get you there. I mean, I wasn’t picked by the magic tree, but something inside is telling me I have a purpose, something important, bigger than me. I’m doing what I was meant to do.”

“You are,” Dylan agreed, his eyes gleaming with an energy Norm hadn’t seen before. “What we were doing this morning seems totally unimportant, like it was someone else’s life. But now-”

“It’s like we’re super-heroes or something.” Norm made a fist and extended it to Dylan. “I’ll do whatever it takes to get you there. That’s a promise.”

Dylan pressed his fist to Norm’s and held it firm. “I wouldn’t want anyone else here with me.”

Norm shimmied closer to the fire, leaning into its warmth. “I got your back. But don’t forget Weird. Without him-” Almost on cue, the cell phone vibrated through Dylan’s pocket. “Now that’s weird!” The two boys smiled at Norm’s semi-pun.

Dylan put the phone on speaker. “What’s up, Weird?”

“D-Max!” Weird’s frenzied voice shook the phone. “You guys found the tree.”

“We did! You’re the man, Weird!”

“Cool! Anything I can do to help. I just wannabe a part of this… of something.” Weird paused. “I swear, Dylan, it feels like this is what I was meant to do. Like whatever you’re doing is important.” Dylan and Norm exchanged a glance, regarding Weird’s choice of words, the same as Norm’s. “By the way, I got the skyjacker working and you won’t believe what I got.”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“What’s up?”

Weird chuckled. “Bro, I hacked into NORAD.” Weird paused, waiting for the applause that never came. “NORAD, you guys, NORAD! It’s a freakin’ military satellite system!”

“Military system?” Dylan pulled back a bit. “Can’t you get in trouble for that?”

“Maybe, but who’d arrest the handicapped kid who just exposed a weakness in their cyber-defenses. They’d probably thank me to cover it up. Anyway, they have a bunch’a satellites dedicated to Mount Shasta.”

“That’s great, but why would the military want to look at a mountain?” Dylan wondered out loud.

“UFO’s! Tons of reports all over that place. For like decades.”

Norm’s eyes bulged. “UFO’s? I guess we should have expected that with black shadow monsters and space pirates!”

“Norm!” Dylan gritted his teeth and put a finger to his lips.

“Sorry.” Norm slapped his forehead.

“What’s he talkin’ about?” Weird asked.

“Weird,” Dylan sighed, “it’s not that I don’t want to tell you, but some of the stuff is so whacked out I just don’t want you to think we’re lying or playing a joke on you.”

“Lying?” Weird scoffed. “You guys vanished off the earth and pop up in California a few minutes later. I know you’re not lying and nothing you tell me is going to freak me out. I just want to help.”

“I promise, we’ll tell you everything when we have time, and we know more. Until then, let’s save this phone’s battery. Call me in the morning. I want to see if you can find a trail to this one spot, from where we are.”

“You got it, Dylan. Anything for you guys. Later.” Weird clicked off.

“Sorry, Dylan.” Norm said, shaking his head. “I forgot he didn’t know about all the alien stuff yet.”

“He knows a lot already.” Dylan shrugged. “I trust him, and he’s been a huge help. Right now, I think you should try to get some sleep.”

“I am exhausted. Don’t tell me you don’t need sleep now either.”

“I’m not tired yet.” Dylan gazed into the flames, wandering among a thousand thoughts. “We can take shifts. I got a lot to think about.”

“I’m not gonna argue.” Norm slid into the tent, spreading the poncho over him, tucking it around him to keep his body warmth. “I’ll knock off for a while, but if you start getting tired, get me up.” Norm closed his eyes for a second and sat up with a start. “Dylan! Do you think the void, or those space pirates, are here yet?”

“They could be,” Dylan said through the flames, gazing toward Shasta’s peak. “All I know is where I’m going, and they won’t catch me by surprise. If the silver knight shows up, great. If not, I’m gonna go down fighting!”

“Who replaced you with Mr. Badass?”

Dylan chuckled, recalling his usual ways of avoiding confrontation. “This isn’t about being tough. It’s about purpose.”

“Purpose.” Norm nodded and lay back on his makeshift backpack pillow. “I know what you mean. But for now, my purpose is to dream about Lucy. And pizza. Shake me if you get too tired.”

“Will do.”

Dylan enjoyed the fire, a rare moment of peace. Staring up into the patterns of stars and constellations, he imagined he was one of them, drifting through his own existence, pondering where he fit in this enigma. Throughout the night, he took short walks around the camp, testing how far he could go and still hear Norm snoring. Dylan focused on the sounds of the mountain and the nocturnal wildlife. Howls, growls, and hoots came from every direction. His sense of calm surprised him and eventually drew to thoughts of home.

“Max,” He whispered into the night. “I wish you were here.” A distant howl echoed, followed by a stream of wildlife calls. Dylan closed his eyes. Memories flashed of Max feeding baby raccoons with a bottle, and nursing hatchlings who had fallen from their trees. He even made a tiny forearm splint for the squirrel in their yard. He knew all along. Dylan had fought back his emotions too many times. The fight was over. He sobbed heavily, wiping his tears on his shirt.

A branch snapped to his right, footsteps crackling leaves. He took a breath. Could the void have found him? A whimper. A dog. Holding his breath, he focused on the direction of the sound and flipped the flashlight’s beam onto a patch of trees. It mewled again, behind him, closer, flesh tingling with awareness. The footsteps grew steadily louder, closer -crack- Dylan whipped the light at the scraggly dog circling the camp. Dylan figured by its appearance it was a coyote, gliding between the trees only a few feet away. He held the light firm, hoping it would leave. The coyote stared back, unafraid. It sat and whimpered again, nudging at the air with its snout. The two observed each other for a few seconds. Strangely, Dylan had no fear of the coyote, but was startled when another scuffle came from the brush to his left. A cluster of antlers shuffling between the branches. Adjusting his vision, three large deer inched closer. Two fawns hopped in front of the adults, their tales twitching. Worried the young ones might become prey, Dylan shined the light back to the coyote to find two more of its kind staring back at him.

“Okay, this is too freaky,” Dylan whispered, trying not to startle the animals. He flipped the light back on the deer. “Shoo! Get outta here, Bambi.” Another rustle came from behind the deer. He assumed it was another deer until a bobcat strolled through their ranks, a somber groan announcing its arrival. Dylan could barely believe neither he, nor the animals, were scared by any of this. The coyotes moaned softly in unison when a wild rabbit hopped in front of them. This is definitely not normal.

Dylan took a leap of faith and cautiously stepped toward the first coyote. He extended the back of his hand the way Max had taught him to do with animals. The coyote gently sniffed him before it pressed his cold, wet nose into his hand and licked him. Dylan took the cue to scratch between its ears. The dog continued to moan softly when Dylan was suddenly overwhelmed with a vision. A vision of Max holding a coyote pup. “You knew Max, didn’t you?” The coyote whimpered, playfully mouthing Dylan’s hand. The wildlife sauntered into the firelight, surrounding the tent as even more arrived. Wave upon wave of deer, raccoons, foxes, a pair of mountain lions, even a porcupine and a black bear closed on the camp, all there to greet Dylan.

Dylan stretched his arms wide, touching, embracing all the animals he could. The young hopped playfully between his legs, adoring in his affection. The respect and patience they showed each other amazed him. The porcupine even waited its turn outside the group and then rolled on its side to allow Dylan to rub its belly. With each animal he touched, he sensed their connection with Max, and now with him.

“I miss him too, guys.” The animals made their own individual sound of mourning, their own way of saying goodbye when Dylan remembered the cats at the funeral. Old friends of his. Dylan sat among the ensemble of Shasta’s residents, taking turns scratching their heads, backs and bellies. Eventually, he lay back, resting his head on the first coyote, while the baby bobcats, raccoons and foxes nestled around him to keep him warm. The others took positions around the camp, keeping watch on their new Scion. Dylan marveled at how the predators and prey alike worked together. There will be help along the way. Dylan recalled Max’s words. For the moment, with the animals snuggling close, he enjoyed the idea Max was there with them and peered into the stars until he finally drifted off to sleep.