The Blighted Fortress

by David E Dresner

  “Their survival challenges were simply remarkable but I’ll cut to the end. Livingstone is past exhaustion. His bearers have long since deserted him. He has had little to eat and is a walking skeleton. He has found refuge inside a native hut and is preparing to meet his maker when he hears a commotion outside. He rises up with great difficulty, and hobbles forward to see what’s happening.

  “What he sees is a white man walking toward him. Of course, it’s Stanley. These two men have come together in the middle of an unexplored continent. It is a miracle of faith or endurance, or luck. Probably all three.

  “When Stanley first greets him, he utters one of the most famous lines in English history, ‘Dr Livingstone, I presume?’

  “The quote is famous as an example of understating a great achievement. It’s also considered an exaggerating caricature phrase of British pluck standing against all odds.”

  Glenda found she had actually gotten caught up in the tale. She had to admit Traveler was a good storyteller. “That’s a cool story. I’d like to hear more of their adventures when we get out of our jungle. Right now, though, I need to get to the crocodile-free river, have a nice long drink, and cool off.”

  Traveler hefted his walking stick and opened the path again. “Normally, as a gentleman I would say ‘ladies first’ but in this case I think a gentleman should beat the path first, unless of course the modern woman wants equal rights on fighting the forest.”

  “This modern woman appreciates the gentleman. Consider me Livingstone. You keep showing these nasty brambles who’s the Stanley here.”

  Another hour of slow walking had them ready for another stop when they heard the inviting sound of a flowing stream. When they got to the bank Glenda gave Traveler a small curtsy. “Well done Stanley, you have found our hidden Nile.”

  They quickly removed their boots, then waded to a long flat rock formation jutting out from the edge of the bank. Worn down from centuries of past floods, it presented an inviting surface. Once seated they rejoiced in the soothing caresses of the cool water as it flowed across their toes and ankles.

  Glenda bent down, cupped her hands and took a handful to drink. She studied it for a moment, nodded her head, and drank. She immediately repeated the move, “Trust me, it’s safe and so good. Better than any store-bought, brand-name water.”

  Traveler nodded and was quickly filling his cupped hands. After numerous deep drinks he let several handfuls trickle across his head and down his shirt. As the cool water trickled down his back, he felt his overheated body temperature dropping and a relaxed smile crossed over his face.

  Glenda immediately followed his lead, “Boy, the simple things in life you don’t think about until they’re missing.”

  They sat for a while in silence letting the strain of the long hiking hours flow out of their bodies and into the river. As their energy returned Glenda looked up at the sky, “I believe we may want to spend the night here. It’s secure with the river as a buffer, besides I’m hungry and tired.”

  Traveler nodded, “You’re right again. Let’s find our sleeping nook and then eat. I’ll patrol to the left and you try the right side. Maybe the road workers left some shelter.”

  They put their boots back, grabbed their walking sticks, and went on their separate shelter searches. Within a short period, Glenda heard Traveler call out, “Found it!”

  Chapter 43

  Cave People

  Glenda hustled toward the sound of his voice. “Look at this,” Traveler said and pointed at a nearby opening into a rock formation. The opening was three feet high and well above the riverbank.

  Glenda studied the opening then said, “I’m not Alice in Wonderland. I am definitely not going down that rabbit hole.”

  “It’s not a hole, it’s an opening to a small rock cave. I looked into it already, so please just stick your head in and appreciate the security.”

  Glenda bent down and cautiously stuck her head through the opening. Traveler was correct. The opening led to a small cave. The center of the cave’s rock ceiling was slightly above their heads, they could almost stand up once inside.

  The cave’s rock sides curved down to join a soft dirt floor. “It’s like an igloo,” she exclaimed. “You found us a perfect place! Well done, Stanley. You have earned the coveted cave finder award.”

  Traveler grinned, “Good scouting never fails you, let’s get our packs inside. I’m going to forage for leaves and anything soft to upgrade the floor into a mattress. I know from years of camping you want your bed to be as soft as possible. If you sleep all night on the ground, you’ll wake up feeling like you’re a hundred years old.”

  Glenda nodded, “I’ll get our bags inside, then I’m going to build a fireplace in front. I still get chills remembering how cold our room got last night. If we can throw heat back into the cave, I think the inside rocks will retain some of it.”

  “Excellent thinking, you would be a great addition to my scout troop. Now let me go on mattress patrol.”

  Traveler moved away from the river and walked looking down at the forest floor. His search was quickly rewarded when he discovered a supply of large, broad leaves and thick forest moss. The surrounding forest floor was mattress central.

  Taking off his outer coat garment he began peeling wide strips of the moss using a sharp-edged cutting stone. As he worked he put the folded strips into his coat. Once the coat was loaded, he returned to the cave.

  When he got back, he saw a series of rounded river rocks had been placed in a semicircle about five feet in front of the cave opening. In front of the rocks was a dug-out indentation in the ground, clearly intended as a fire pit. In front of the rounded rocks and leaning vertically against them were higher flat rocks. These were the rocks that would reflect the fire’s heat into the cave. Clever, he thought.

  He then stepped to the cave entrance. He pushed his coat into the cave, then crawled in behind it. He proceeded to stack the thick moss in one corner and the leaf pile in another corner. As he came out, Glenda appeared with an armful of kindling. “This place is like kindling central. There is so much dry wood. I’ll get bigger stuff after I have a kindling base. How’s your mattress search going?”

  “Piece of cake, I found the mattress king’s inventory, just need to make another couple of trips.”

  “You may want to speed it up, it’s already dusk. The sun goes down really fast in this forest. Take my coat and you can make one trip.” Taking her coat, he looked up, indeed it was already dusk.

  He put a spring in his step and was quickly back at the mattress warehouse. After fifteen minutes of kneeling and cutting he had two coats filled with moss for their ground cover. Standing up he saw it was now beyond dusk, it was almost pitch black. Great, now I can get lost looking for a dark cave.

  Naturally he headed to the river to get his bearings. Sound still works even when the eyes don’t, he thought. He began to slowly walk along the river bank but found it was difficult to judge distance in the dark.

  Then he saw a torch coming his way and called out, “Hey, can you help a lost Traveler, pun intended?”

  “Yeah, I figured it would turn dark on you. Need a hand with one of those coats?”

  “I’m OK, that torch is my return beacon. My scout training doesn’t help much in the dark woods. I was close to yelling or crying, not sure which would come first. I have no pride when alone inside a dark forest.”

  Glenda chuckled back at him.

  They were quickly back at the cave opening. Glenda took one coat and handed Traveler the torch while saying, “Give me a minute to spread this. I’ll call out for the second load.”

  Traveler stood holding the torch up and noticed a large gathering of kindling was inside the stone circle. We’re ready to heat the cave, he thought. He then noticed a stack of small diameter logs resting beside the fireplace. Fuel for later. Bet I draw the short straw for going out later and adding logs, and that’s fair, she built all this.

  His thoughts were broken wi
th, “OK, hand me the last coat.” Traveler put the wrapped coat in front and saw a hand grab it and take it inside.

  “Want me to start the fire now?”

  “The torch is yours to command, fire it up Stanley.”

  Torching the kindling he watched as it quickly grew into a small blaze. Guess she does have fire skills, he thought. As he watched the fire, he felt a message of warmth, caring, and protection emanating out. I understand why early man felt they were in the presence of a gift from the gods. Thank you, Prometheus.

  Traveler gazed at the kindling fire as it slowly built a nest of red-hot coals. He then began placing the larger logs across the bed of coals. He crosshatched the layers ensuring that air could easily reach all parts of the fire. Air is to a fire as water is to a person. Both are essential for survival.

  Just before he came into the cave, he added two large logs to the top of the stack. Here’s our all-night comfort and protection. I bet it will still be on duty early in the morning. I’ll toss a few logs on it when I wake up. “I’m coming in, ready or not.”

  Once inside Traveler saw that the sleeping mats were well laid out. Glenda had first laid down a thick layer of leaves several inches deep. On top of the leaves she triple-layered the moss sod. The effect was a soft elevated platform that was a good eight inches off the dirt floor.

  “Great job! Not just the floor covering but setting up the fire. Placing those flat rocks vertically for reflection was a stroke of genius. I can feel the heat being reflected in already and also some light. We can dine without biting off a finger.” Glenda smiled as she accepted the well-deserved compliment.

  They reached into their travel sacks and took out a generous portion for dinner. They began to eat their offerings from Hermann. Traveler tore into his chicken sandwich. He consumed the entire sandwich too quickly. He fought a burp as he considered how the sound would echo in the small cave. Must remain a gentleman, he chuckled to himself.

  When he came up for air after a second sandwich he said, “You know it’s only around five but it feels like it’s ten at night. Once the sun is down, time seems to move in a different pace. The daily sun cycle sure controls us without our thinking about it.”

  “Well in Norway we do think about it… a lot. Our winters are six months long and our day time is described as a long twilight without a bright sun. Trust me, to stay sane and survive the twilight of winter we needed to adjust to that. The fun about our twilight winter is that the northern lights are visible during the long daytime hours.”

  “Well this southern boy only knows that right now it’s pitch-black outside and he’s dead tired. The good news is he’s literally snug as a bug in a cave rug. See you in the morning.”

  Traveler folded his jacket into a pillow, put his blanket across himself and pulled the top up to cover his head. Resting on his back he realized how soft the bedding was. He was ready to compliment Glenda again, but Morpheus whispered, Save that thought, and he did.

  Chapter 44

  Run from the Hounds

  Traveler woke first. Sitting up he looked outside at the fire and saw a few embers but no flames. He noticed he could see the rocks so he knew a soft lit dawn had arrived. He glanced over at Glenda and saw a mummy totally wrapped in her blanket. OK Traveler. First up gets to see if the fire can be resurrected. He pulled on his boots and headed outside.

  Once outside, he stretched and then flinched. A sustained shiver passed through him. It was at least thirty degrees colder than in the cave. He appreciated that Glenda was spot on with her reflecting fire rocks. The reflected fire had warmed the interior rock sides of the cave and had kept the freezing night at bay.

  He placed some kindling on the embers and a few minutes later a small fire was alive in the pit. He added more kindling, then put several smaller logs on top. In a few minutes there was a roaring fire again radiating heat into the cave. I need my coat but I’ll sit here until the princess wakes. Might as well let her get all the rest she can, we’ve got a long day’s hike.

  Sitting by the fire Traveler found his body was quickly adjusting to the chilly morning. Might as well move around, he thought. Picking up his walking stick he decided to backtrack toward the road. As he walked he found the undergrowth and brambles still resisted his best efforts. After less than a ten-minute effort to clear the path, he gave up. Breakfast first then hiking.

  As he turned to go back, something in the morning air was different, something was annoying the birds. The birds were declaring their morning joy but adding a warning call.

  He suddenly realized what he was hearing. Coming through the dense forest at a distance were the muffled baying sounds of hounds. They were not close but not far either. Their calls seemed to be getting slightly louder and more excited as he listened.

  Traveler’s adrenaline kicked in as he knew they were being tracked. He headed back to the cave at a trot. He held his walking stick in front at the vertical and used it as a shield to move the thick briars and branches out of the way. When he got to the site, he saw Glenda was already outside with their packs.

  She immediately noticed his expression, “What’s going on?”

  “Hounds followed by men. That dolt Throbb is on our trail, we’ll have to eat later. Right now we need to lose the hounds. I’ll smother our fire using the rocks but we need to move fast.”

  When the fire was buried, Glenda handed Traveler his carry sack then slid her own sack across her back. “Should we go upstream or downstream?”

  “Definitely down, that’s heading toward the fortress. But first let’s give the hounds a little morning confusion. I’ll take lead, watch and copy.” Glenda prepared to mirror his moves; she knew Traveler the scout was going to lay down a false trail for the pursuing hounds.

  Traveler’s first running leap was more than twenty-five feet and Glenda copied it. They landed on the edge of the opposite river bank. Their footprints were barely visible. They would appear as two runners trying to stay in the water to hide their scent.

  They were just warming up. The baying hound sounds were generating a lot of adrenaline to fuel their jumping.

  A second leap upstream followed. The second running leap carried them over thirty feet. “A new Olympic record,” announced a pleased Traveler. They made a number of additional rapid jumps, always scuffing the bank’s water line edge.

  “Now let’s jump in the water far enough from shore to fully cover our tracks. We need to be at least halfway up on our boots. The moving water will quickly wash the underwater prints away.”

  The two jumped into the center of the stream and stood together in the moving cold water. Facing Glenda Traveler said, “I’ll follow you, Glenda. You’re better at this leap-frogging than me. We’ll make smaller jumps going downstream. Stop after each jump and be sure your footing is on solid ground. We’ll stay in the river until we’re well past the cave, then we’ll get back on the trail.

  “I’ll stay far enough behind you to avoid crashing into you. The footing is going to be tricky but we need to move as fast as possible.” Smiling at Glenda, Traveler gave her a thumbs up and said, “Leap away, frog leader.”

  “I’m on this,” Glenda said as she cautiously jumped forward to land ten feet further downstream. She paused to judge the surface under her feet. “It feels like packed sand, we can make longer jumps. I’m pushing off now.” Her next jump forward was a solid fifteen feet. She paused again, then said, “All’s good on the bottom. Let’s keep the leaping show moving as fast as we can.”

  An observer to this jumping spectacle would see two very large salmon leaping rapidly from flat waters to flat waters. Fortunately for the two salmon, the banks were clear of hungry bears waiting for their meals to come within paw reach.

  They continued their salmon leapfrogging for a demanding thirty minutes, then Glenda stopped. “Traveler I’m exhausted. Do you think we’ve come far enough to get back on land?”

  “I do. Our cave is far behind. Jump onto the river bank then jump to the edg
e of the forest. When you’re out of the way I’ll join you.”

  Glenda nodded, took a steadying breath followed by a final strong leap. She was on secure grassland bordering the river. She forced a final leap to reach the edge of the forest. Traveler was quickly beside her.

  “My thighs are exhausted,” said Glenda.

  “Mine are beyond exhausted; they feel like overstretched rubber bands. Worse than any cross-country race. I could barely breathe and follow you the last ten minutes. I feel like I’m running up those museum steps again wearing lead shoes.” They began to laugh as they recalled their early footrace to the top floor of the Chicago museum.

  Traveler added, “Permit me to lead now. I seriously need to go slower to recover my leg muscles and breathing.”

  “Please feel free,” was all Glenda could answer.

  They moved at a steady pace while recovering. After half an hour Traveler said, “We need to refuel. He pointed to a spot ahead saying, “There’s a nice grassy spot on that little rise ahead, let’s collapse there.”

  “Looks perfect for a riverside picnic or a collapse,” said Glenda.

  As soon as they arrived, Glenda immediately sat down as did Traveler. She took out a sandwich and piece of cheese. “Too bad we can’t enjoy the tranquility. This forest and river are stunning examples of nature’s best before seven billion humans put their footprints all over the planet.”

  Then Glenda suddenly changed gears from reflecting on the beauty of nature to the pursuing threat. “Do you think we fooled those hounds?”

  Traveler was eating a leg of Hermann’s chicken with a wedge of cheese. “I’m sure we could fool Throbb and his crew, but hounds are another story. To start, they’re smarter than Throbb. I think we must assume the hounds will pick up our trail.”

  “What do we do then?”

  “We need to totally lose the hounds, one hundred percent. We need to force Throbb to return. As long as the hounds have a trail to follow, Throbb and his gang will keep after us so we need to kill our trail.”