|
Post by Jerith Song on May 12, 2009 11:03:28 GMT -5
Fire Watch Tower 13, in the southwest corner of the Olympic National Forest. The sun was just coming up in the east. Jerith grabbed the pillow and swung it at the nearby alarm clock. 'I don't have to be awake this morning, why did I set the alarm?'
He rolled out of bed and remembered why. Regardless of if he was working or not, he was expected to report in to the ranger's main office by 0700. What had his trainer said? To make sure you didn't fall out of the tower during the night. Yeah, falling nine stories to the forest below would be a problem. He grabbed the flannel robe from the chair and tied it on over his pajama pants and stuffed his feet into a pair of wool lined moccassins (thank you cousin Maya.)
"Ranger station, Sikes here" Jerith covered the cellphone with his hand for a moment to cough and clear his throat. "This is unit 140, Jerith in tower 13. Checking in at 0657." "0658, need to reset your watch. Just made it newbie." Jerith groaned. It was for his safety that he had to call in. "Yeah, I'm off duty today. I'll check in again at 1900 hours." He snapped the cell phone closed and went to the bathroom.
The entire tower living area was maybe twice the size of his college dorm room; a big square with a screened porch that went all the way around. It had a tiny shower and sink, fed by water from the river and filtered. It had to be hand pumped up to the tower and was stored in a cistern. There was a basin for an actual bath, but that required that you heat the water on the wood stove and then add it to the basin. The little camp chemical toilet had to be emptied after each use.
A quick scrub and he was ready for breakfast; hot oatmeal cooked on the propane stove. He mixed in granola and dried fruit to make it more substantial. That and coffee would keep him on his feet teh rest of the morning. There was the small fridge and frezzer, but he had to avoid using it as much as possible. Everything ran off the generator, and he only ran it for a few hours at night so he could charge the battery on his laptop and bring the temperature of the appliances down to keep the food safe for another day.
Jeans, hiking boots, and a couple layers of shirts were the uniform of the day. Jerith grabbed up his backpack. It had his camera, notebooks, sample bottles and bags in it, as well as some small tools for digging and scrapping.
"Ranger station, Sikes here" "This is Jerith, Tower 13. I'm leaving the tower. I'll have my phone and the walkie-talkie." "Noted. Report back in when you return."
|
|
|
Post by Maya Lisette Song on May 12, 2009 11:13:34 GMT -5
Maya's black Jeep sped down the dirt road through the trees. The top was down and she bounced over large rocks and shallow ditches. She was glad to have her cousin back in town. Things had been a little lonely since she had returned to the rez and it would be nice to have some family around, especially since it was her favorite cousin.
She new he was on duty out at the tower that week and decided to pay him a visit. She stayed up late the night before baking their grandmother's famous fry bread recipe for him. She figured he could use it up there. She packed it into a cloth grocery bag with some napkins and boysenberry preserves from the summer and headed out to the tower. It was long drive but well worth it. The views and flora were beautiful out in the park and Darcey was more than happy to tag along and hang out her trunk as she tore down the trail.
She picked up her phone and hit the '7' button, speed dial for Jerith. She held the phone to her ear with one hand and kept the other on the wheel as she drove. Best give him some warning before she showed up at the base of the tower this early.
|
|
|
Post by Leah Clearwater on May 12, 2009 11:24:39 GMT -5
Leah Clearwater had ventured out very far that day. She needed to get away from everything; Sam, Jacob, Seth, her mom. They all cared for her and she knew that, but she wasn’t a kid, god damnit! It just annoyed her that, at times, people treated her like a five-year-old. Jacob was probably the easiest to be around, apart from his constant fooling around. It was just… on, and on, and on about stuff that isn’t even funny.
The girl had been so deep in thought that she hadn’t noticed another car on the road. She slammed her foot on the brakes and her whole body jerked forward. She let out a scream as her body hit the seat, hard. Then she rolled her eyes. She jumped out, not even strapped into her car, and walked over to the black jeep.
“Oh, I’m really sorry. I wasn’t paying attention” She said, approaching the window of the car. Then Leah realised who it was and covered her mouth. “Oh damn, Maya, I’m sorry!”
|
|
|
Post by Maya Lisette Song on May 12, 2009 11:33:45 GMT -5
Maya it the pedal and her brakes squealed as her tires stopped and she slid forward in the dirt a little. Darcey jumped from the back as soon as she put her foot on the pedal was safely just off the road by the time she stopped. She tossed the open phone on the seat before Jerith could answer. "Jesus!" She said hitting the steering wheel with her open palm and pushing her back into the seat before taking the hand to her forehead. She should have been going slower, she knew that, but she didnt expect to see anyone else out here. Especially not Leah. She was running into her at the oddest times.
"Holy crap." She said softly to herself as Leah came up to her door. "Oh! Um.. Hey Leah. You alright?" She asked unbuckling herself and sliding out of the seat. The phone was still on, connected to Jerith on the other end. She stood on the solid ground and stretched her neck. She was fine but her heart was still racing. That had been too close for comfort. Darcey sniffed around Leah's tires.
|
|
|
Post by Jerith Song on May 12, 2009 11:45:05 GMT -5
Maya? Maya! You alright? What's happening?
Jerith was in a panic. He had gone down to the ground level and was in the middle of clipping a sample of a leaf fungus when his cellphone sounded from his shirt pocket with the theme from the Lone Ranger. "Maya." He said with a grin. He hadn't seen his cousin much since he had been stationed out at the fire tower.
He flipped the phone open and started to say hello when he heard screeching tires.
|
|
|
Post by Leah Clearwater on May 12, 2009 11:52:52 GMT -5
Nodding, Leah kept her hands over her mouth. She kept apologizing, which was made quite hard to hear as they were being muffled. But Maya looked and seemed okay, as did Darcey. But she approached the dog and looked him over quickly, looking to see if something was wrong with him.
He seemed fine, but Leah could hear a guy’s voice from what sounded like a phone. It definitely wasn’t hers as the Motorola that Leah owned was on the kitchen table. She looked Maya again and moved her head in the direction of the car. “That your phone?”
|
|
|
Post by Maya Lisette Song on May 12, 2009 12:03:28 GMT -5
Maya assured her it was fine but went to check out her Jeep just in case. Everything seemed to be ok. The thing was practically a tank. She was taking a look at the tires when Leah pointed out her open phone on the seat. "Oh shit!" She said running and leaning in the window to grab it. How could Leah have heard that? As she brought it up to her ear she could hear Jerith panicking on the other end. "Yea... Hey! Jerith! I'm FINE!" She tried to assure him. She sighed and rolled her eyes at Leah.
"Jerith! It's ok. I nearly.. uh... ran into a friend on the trail. I'm about half a mile out from the tower." She said looking up the road. The bag had rolled onto the ground in the front seat. She went to the passenger side to check and make sure it was intact. "I was coming out to bring you some fry bread and uh... well what WAS preserves..." She said as she opened the bag and discovered the broken jar, the inside of the bag filled with sticky purple goo. She took the bread out and put it on the seat and tied the bag closed full of jam and broken glass.
|
|
|
Post by Jerith Song on May 12, 2009 12:15:14 GMT -5
Homemade frybread? "Gotta be more careful. Alright, I am not far away, I'll see you at the tower in about five minutes." Jerith gathered up his sample and sketchbook and stuffed them back into his backpack. He started off at a jog back to the tower. His stomach rumbled and he realized that it was closing in on 13:00.
By the time he was back to the tower he had enough time pull his shirt off and to dip water from the rain barrel to wash off. He put the screen over it again and pulled his flannel shirt on, not bothering to button it.
|
|
|
Post by Leah Clearwater on May 12, 2009 12:18:36 GMT -5
Leah listened to Maya as she spoke to Jerith. Jerith, Jerith… Maya’s cousin, right? “Hey, can I come with you to meet him?” She asked, smiling. Leah really didn’t have anything else to do and meeting Maya’s cousin might be fun. He might be a really cool guy.
{Sorry for short post >_< muse is dying out}
|
|
|
Post by Maya Lisette Song on May 12, 2009 12:29:41 GMT -5
"Sure, see you there." She said before closing her phone and tossing it back on the seat. She hated cell phones. She wouldn't bother with one if it didn't seem entirely necessary these days.
Maya shrugged. Could she hear both ends of that conversation? Weird. "Sure, if you just want to follow me up the trail, it's not much further. Are you hungry? She asked before letting out a quick sharp whistle for Darcey who was now bounding down the road toward the Jeep. He hoped in the back of the trunk as she slipped into the front seat and turned on the ignition. She slid her foot out of her sandal and put it on the pedal. She always drove barefoot. An old habit she never let go of.
|
|
|
Post by Jerith Song on May 12, 2009 12:46:47 GMT -5
Jerith waved when he saw Maya's jeep coming through the trees. He hadn't bothered to make the climb back to the top since she was so close by. He just stood there on the steps and waved, his bag slung over one shoulder.
He directed her to park in a space under the tower, next to the quadbike with its weather cover over top. He saw another car following along behind her, no one he recognized. Jerith waited for them to get out of their cars.
|
|
|
Post by Maya Lisette Song on May 12, 2009 12:54:27 GMT -5
Maya nodded and pulled into the spot. She turned off the ignition and hopped out of the front seat. She didn't bother to grab the bread but skipped over to Jerith throwing her arms around his neck. It was stretch, he was quite a bit taller than her, but she reached. She beamed. She hadn't seen him in a week or so since he'd been up here.
Maya was wearing a pair of short cut-off fraying heavily at the bottom edge, her long tan limbs stretching for miles before reaching a pair of beat up cowboy boots that had been her mother's in the 70's. She wore a blue baggy tank with her coral halter bikini top underneath and a leather headband around her forehead and long loose umber hair.
"How ya been?" She asked warmly, nearly forgetting Leah was pulling into the spot behind her in the dust cloud from her speeding Jeep.
|
|
|
Post by Leah Clearwater on May 12, 2009 15:59:28 GMT -5
Leah followed her new friend into the forest, driving at a ridiculously slow speed. Leah usually drove pretty fast; over the speed limit, but with that scare of almost killing Maya… wow… She turned a corner and there they were. Leah looked across to where Maya was parking and sped up to park up right next to the black jeep.
The girl opened her door and ripped part of her jeans. “Aw, crap.” She muttered, under her breath. She pulled whatever it was that had ripped her jeans out and walked towards Maya and her cousin. That’s when she saw him.
Although Maya was almost covering his face, Leah looked into Jerith’s eyes and time stood still. The world must’ve stopped spinning, or it was spinning a lot faster. Leah Clearwater felt the acids in her stomach churn as she first saw Jerith Song. Nothing else mattered anymore. Sam, Jacob, Seth, the rip in her brand new jeans. Nothing. And then she clutched the door of her car for support as she toppled over.
|
|
|
Post by Jerith Song on May 12, 2009 17:37:25 GMT -5
Jerith hugged Maya, lifting her off the ground just a little as he did. He liked to rub in the fact that he was taller every once in awhile. "Not bad cousin. The peace is ok but the quiet out here will drive you crazy."
As the other car pulled up he saw the woman behind the wheel, not very clearly. Must be the friend she almost "ran into." As soon as her face came into view...something happened. Their eyes locked and it felt like she saw through him and inside him.
Then she collapsed to the ground. "Your friend...wrong...something." He pointed at where Leah was laying on the ground and slid past his cousin, running over to where she lay on the ground.
|
|
|
Post by Maya Lisette Song on May 12, 2009 18:26:48 GMT -5
Maya squeezed him as her feet lifted off the ground for a brief moment. She heard something tear and Leah utter something. She was about to turn and see what was up when something came over Jerith. She snapped her head in Leah's direction as Jerith rushed to help her. Leah had fallen to the ground. It was like deja vu or something. Just a week ago she had seen Duncan have a near identical attack. She moved quickly to help her new found friend but Jerith would get there first.
{Sorry so short.}
|
|