Paul was a bit excited as he went about the usual routine he had so far fallen into here at the ranch house. Here he was much slower, more relaxed than he would be in his normal work or living environment. He liked that, surprisingly.
But tonight he rode a thrill of silent exultation. He was certain he had found his cavern.
He was no spelunker and had done very little cave crawling. “Hell, I am even a bit claustrophobic.”
Paul had brought rope, rope ladders, powerful flashlights, goggles and chalk markers and a camera. He just wanted to get in and take a peek and get back out and go from there.
After his nightcap and a bit of reading Paul was ready to go to bed.
Quickly he was off to sleep. His sleep was again fitful and instead of rest he was filled with anxiety. Then he dreamed. In the dream he found himself in a torch lit room. Suddenly amidst the clouds of sooty smoke he saw a fantastic figure, standing taller than a man with huge, bulging, expressionless eyes, pupils pinned to small black spots. The figure was moving rhythmically to and fro in a kind of slow dance. As he focused on it he saw it wore an elaborate carved and jewel encrusted headdress . The impression was reptilian because of what seemed like scales but long multi colored plumes extended out and down the back like a tail.
The strange thing wore armor of turquoise, covered with its own carved shapes and designs. It also wore gold bands around the wrists and ankles and bone necklaces around its neck. It had large jade loops worn through the earlobes. It had a long jade splinter piercing through the septum of the nose. A gold ring hung from the lip on the lower right side of its mouth. It was breathing smoke and its large insect like eyes sometimes glowed in green and blue shades.
It was altogether an extremely frightening sight. In one hand it held a large jade knife. In the other hand it held a beating human heart. The creature took the heart and held it high and Paul saw it was beating as a torrent of blood, far in excess of what you would expect, poured from the heart. The blood seemed to flood the scene until Paul could see nothing but blood. It all seemed to be happening in some kind of vivid, fluorescent 3D. Then the heart was hurled into an abyss of darkness and the scene faded away. Paul was not awakened but the dream had a terrifying effect and it lingered long after Paul got up that next morning.
“Whew! What a dream!”
Paul was a confident and secure person. He did not rattle easily. He took stock of his experiences as he had his breakfast.
“There is definitely something strange about this place,” he thought. “I am not just imagining all this.” Paul was slightly concerned since he had not experienced nightmares or any unusually strange dreams in years until he came here. But he had known people what had put too much stock in dreams and what they thought they might mean or portend. He had seen them become ill with worry and dread. Paul did not think dreams held any great powers of prophecy. It was usually easy for him to shrug them off. This time it was different. He had a feeling he was still waiting for the last shoe to drop, so to speak.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Waste Not, Want Not Chapter XVIII
Always the early riser Paul returned to walk the area as the sun had just peeked over the horizon and with no clouds present the day was soon brilliant and, as the day before, crisp and breezy, a great day!
Things always appeared differently in the bright morning sun than later in the day and, of course, from the waning light at sunset. Paul thought he might see something in the different light. He enjoyed walking around out in the country anyway, the snake bite did not linger in his mind.
He went back to the truck and drove to another spot, a small, rocky hill with a few scrubby mesquite trees sprouting from its mini summit. Nothing much in sight.
He parked and got out of the truck and began to walk in a slow, circular pattern, gradually widening the distance from the truck. This was a lot harder because he just didn’t know exactly what it was he was looking for.
He sat down on a grassy hummock and pulled out his Stanley classic green thermos and poured a cup of coffee. Drinking slowly he watched birds of many kinds flitting about, a rabbit broke from cover and scurried to nearby brush. It was quiet, except for the gusty winds.
When he was finished he reached down for his thermos bottle and it rolled off the rock and fell. “Dang!” he said as he reached down for it but he didn’t find it.
“Hmmm…” He got onto his knees and reached around under the rock, until it occurred to him there could be some critters under there so he pulled it out.
“Where could it go?”
He returned to the truck and took his flashlight from it along with a hoe he had in the back. Cautiously he knelt down and shined the light under the rocks. Nothing he could see. He poked around with the handle of the hoe but he felt nothing.
“It has to be under there!”
He was satisfied there was nothing under there so he reached in and felt all around and he realized there was a hole there, the thermos must have fallen into the hole.
“I don’t want to lose it.”
He had to figure out a way to move that rock. He pulled the truck closer and rolled out the winch line. He wrapped the cable twice around the outside circumference of the rock and climbed into the driver’s seat and engaged the winch. The line soon pulled taught and for a moment would move no more. Suddenly the rock slipped and moved toward the truck. Paul reeled in the line and slowly the rock crept closer and closer.
“That ought to do it ,” said Paul as he jumped out of the truck and strode towards the hole. He peered in. A rotten smelling rush of stale air greeted him as he poked his head in. “Whew!”
Paul knew he had found the cavern. He peered into the inky blackness and pointed his flash light down into void. He could see a ledge about six feet down which faced another large hole into which he could not see.
“This must be it.” Paul considered his options. “If I climb in now and something happens I may never be found.” He went back to the truck and poured some coffee. After he finished his cup he took a hammer from his tool box and found a sturdy stick which he pounded into the ground beside the hole. He found an oil rag in the truck and tied it to the stick.
“Now I will be able to find this place.”
He drove back to the ranch house to consider how or even if he should explore the cavern.
Things always appeared differently in the bright morning sun than later in the day and, of course, from the waning light at sunset. Paul thought he might see something in the different light. He enjoyed walking around out in the country anyway, the snake bite did not linger in his mind.
He went back to the truck and drove to another spot, a small, rocky hill with a few scrubby mesquite trees sprouting from its mini summit. Nothing much in sight.
He parked and got out of the truck and began to walk in a slow, circular pattern, gradually widening the distance from the truck. This was a lot harder because he just didn’t know exactly what it was he was looking for.
He sat down on a grassy hummock and pulled out his Stanley classic green thermos and poured a cup of coffee. Drinking slowly he watched birds of many kinds flitting about, a rabbit broke from cover and scurried to nearby brush. It was quiet, except for the gusty winds.
When he was finished he reached down for his thermos bottle and it rolled off the rock and fell. “Dang!” he said as he reached down for it but he didn’t find it.
“Hmmm…” He got onto his knees and reached around under the rock, until it occurred to him there could be some critters under there so he pulled it out.
“Where could it go?”
He returned to the truck and took his flashlight from it along with a hoe he had in the back. Cautiously he knelt down and shined the light under the rocks. Nothing he could see. He poked around with the handle of the hoe but he felt nothing.
“It has to be under there!”
He was satisfied there was nothing under there so he reached in and felt all around and he realized there was a hole there, the thermos must have fallen into the hole.
“I don’t want to lose it.”
He had to figure out a way to move that rock. He pulled the truck closer and rolled out the winch line. He wrapped the cable twice around the outside circumference of the rock and climbed into the driver’s seat and engaged the winch. The line soon pulled taught and for a moment would move no more. Suddenly the rock slipped and moved toward the truck. Paul reeled in the line and slowly the rock crept closer and closer.
“That ought to do it ,” said Paul as he jumped out of the truck and strode towards the hole. He peered in. A rotten smelling rush of stale air greeted him as he poked his head in. “Whew!”
Paul knew he had found the cavern. He peered into the inky blackness and pointed his flash light down into void. He could see a ledge about six feet down which faced another large hole into which he could not see.
“This must be it.” Paul considered his options. “If I climb in now and something happens I may never be found.” He went back to the truck and poured some coffee. After he finished his cup he took a hammer from his tool box and found a sturdy stick which he pounded into the ground beside the hole. He found an oil rag in the truck and tied it to the stick.
“Now I will be able to find this place.”
He drove back to the ranch house to consider how or even if he should explore the cavern.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Waste Not, Want Not Chapter XVII
Up early the next morning, Paul made some coffee and fixed his breakfast, bacon and eggs. It was a beautiful day. A late spring cold front had blown in overnight and the skies were clear and blue with a thirty mile an hour north wind making the air crisp indeed!
Paul loved this weather. He found it extremely stimulating.
He was feeling good.
As he finished his breakfast he pondered his schedule for the day. He had a strong desire to see Maria. She had been there, flickering in the back of his mind, ever since the bizarre dream he had of her as the seductress. “That’s just a silly dream,” he told himself. “She’s not like she was in the dream, she’s much older and certainly not lusting for me!”
He had other things to do and he wanted to find the cavern. He took his map of the place, which had been created with high tech satellite pictures, and drove out into the ranch. The map showed him the location of the cavern, he had to find an entrance.
The map led him to a small, rocky hill, covered with brush and mesquite trees. He saw nothing that appeared as if it might hide a cave entrance. He spent the next few hours walking over the ground and poking around with no luck.
“Well, the MRI co-ordinates place it somewhere near here. I will just have to keep looking I guess,” Paul said to himself.
After a few hours more he gave up and returned to the ranch house.
“I’ll come back early in the morning and try again. I know it is here.’ he thought.
In spite of his harrowing experiences here he liked it here, it was quiet and he liked the large expanse of wild, natural land and all it’s inhabitants, and no tourists! And it was all his! There was something about this place that was odd though. There was a strange vibe about this place. He felt a strong sense of intensity here. His senses and feelings were somehow on alert here and he had a sense of anticipation and even some apprehension, as if he was waiting for something more to happen. He shrugged that off to some kind of creeping senility or something! No need to worry, he knew he would not become senile!
After a good supper and a glass of bourbon he relaxed and watched the TV news. The big story was about the collision of a U.S. Navy EP-3E with a Chinese fighter jet just off of Hainan Island. The Chinese fighter had crashed and the pilot was killed.
The American plane had made an emergency landing and the plane was seized and the crew placed in captivity.
Paul was familiar with that area and he also knew the new President was playing with fire by sending reconnaissance flights over what has long been disputed waters. He knew that up until now the Navy had avoided those waters not thinking it was worth risking just such an incident.
“I don’t know about this guy,” Paul thought. He knew the President and his father, Bush 41, well. He thought the younger Bush was an insecure man, desperately wanting to better his father’s record as President and to make his own reputation on the world stage. That was not a comforting thought.
Paul poured another drink and settled into his recliner and once again studied his maps and charts. Tomorrow he would be back out again bright and early.
Paul loved this weather. He found it extremely stimulating.
He was feeling good.
As he finished his breakfast he pondered his schedule for the day. He had a strong desire to see Maria. She had been there, flickering in the back of his mind, ever since the bizarre dream he had of her as the seductress. “That’s just a silly dream,” he told himself. “She’s not like she was in the dream, she’s much older and certainly not lusting for me!”
He had other things to do and he wanted to find the cavern. He took his map of the place, which had been created with high tech satellite pictures, and drove out into the ranch. The map showed him the location of the cavern, he had to find an entrance.
The map led him to a small, rocky hill, covered with brush and mesquite trees. He saw nothing that appeared as if it might hide a cave entrance. He spent the next few hours walking over the ground and poking around with no luck.
“Well, the MRI co-ordinates place it somewhere near here. I will just have to keep looking I guess,” Paul said to himself.
After a few hours more he gave up and returned to the ranch house.
“I’ll come back early in the morning and try again. I know it is here.’ he thought.
In spite of his harrowing experiences here he liked it here, it was quiet and he liked the large expanse of wild, natural land and all it’s inhabitants, and no tourists! And it was all his! There was something about this place that was odd though. There was a strange vibe about this place. He felt a strong sense of intensity here. His senses and feelings were somehow on alert here and he had a sense of anticipation and even some apprehension, as if he was waiting for something more to happen. He shrugged that off to some kind of creeping senility or something! No need to worry, he knew he would not become senile!
After a good supper and a glass of bourbon he relaxed and watched the TV news. The big story was about the collision of a U.S. Navy EP-3E with a Chinese fighter jet just off of Hainan Island. The Chinese fighter had crashed and the pilot was killed.
The American plane had made an emergency landing and the plane was seized and the crew placed in captivity.
Paul was familiar with that area and he also knew the new President was playing with fire by sending reconnaissance flights over what has long been disputed waters. He knew that up until now the Navy had avoided those waters not thinking it was worth risking just such an incident.
“I don’t know about this guy,” Paul thought. He knew the President and his father, Bush 41, well. He thought the younger Bush was an insecure man, desperately wanting to better his father’s record as President and to make his own reputation on the world stage. That was not a comforting thought.
Paul poured another drink and settled into his recliner and once again studied his maps and charts. Tomorrow he would be back out again bright and early.
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