Where's the Next Shelter? by Gary Sizer

Author:Gary Sizer [Sizer, Gary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2015-11-06T22:00:00+00:00

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Lemmy apologized, which was good because we shared a shelter with Purple and Garnet for the next two nights. I temporarily became a full-time tent dweller until the cold front passed. While I might not have had a sleeping bag anymore, if I wore all my clothes inside the tent I was at least protected from the wind, unlike in the shelter.

On our third morning together we all began the day by wishing each other a happy Fourth. It was Independence Day. I had been hiking for two months. Lemmy and the ladies left and I lingered. I was punchy from lack of sleep; each night had been spent shivering.

Who cares, I thought. There’s no one to complain to, so pack up and get walking. One thing before I left, though: a note in the log for Megan, Forager, and Fiddlin’ Jim. I still had no idea if they were right behind me, days away, or gone all together. Nevertheless, I described my plans in detail. Green Giant and Lemmy—Headed into Glasgow for fireworks and food. I drew my bearded smiley and closed the book.

I almost managed to zone out and just hike, but was constantly distracted by a high-pitched buzzing. My first thought as I scanned the ferns around me was that I was being stalked by a swarm of unseen bees. The buzzing continued while I walked and seemed to come from all around. Definitely not a rattlesnake, I thought. Unless snakes swarm.

Was it coming from above? I looked up and saw only trees. Now that the sound had my full attention, I focused intensely on finding the source. I cupped my ears and faced every direction. Still no clue, although I briefly detected a high-pitched whine behind it.

I snapped my head upward again when I clearly heard something knock against a high branch. My eyes caught the movement easily, but my brain was not quite ready to accept what they reported. A white plastic square hung in the air 40 feet above. It had four spinning rotors, one flashing red light, and a camera. I was being followed by a drone.

I waved at it, and a second later the rotors dipped left, then right, as the pilot acknowledged that he’d been spotted. The craft whizzed ahead, moving north along the trail. It stopped at the edge of a clearing just ahead and the rotors dipped again, front then back.

Each time I got within ten feet of the device, it would wave at me and recede again, until at last it soared 50 more feet straight up and retreated behind a distant pile of rocks to the left of the trail. The whining buzz rose in pitch, steadied, and then dropped as the thing landed behind the pile.

Two silhouettes scrambled to the top of the pile and waved. I gave a thumbs up and continued north.

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