*****
They had trekked through the thicket for an hour before Nelson held his hand up, signaling them to stop. He turned, squinted at the sky and then cocked his head, listening intently, his eyes tightly closed. "Do you guys hear that?" he asked, quietly.
"Hear what?" James said.
"I hear it," Chuck intoned. "There's somebody hollering in the distance."
"It's Robert," Ryan said. "But he sounds far away."
"He was just here," Andy said, gruffly. "I say leave him. Just one less of you guys I have to deal with later." Andy was angry with the group. They didn't know why but they thought it best to not poke and prod to deeply. Maybe he would get over it on his own. He could be dangerous when he was angry and they hoped it would all blow over soon. They didn't want to have to watch their backs forever.
"I know you are mad at us, Andy," Nelson said. "But we can't just leave him. He could be lost for days in these woods."
"So what? He's just the Beer Bitch anyway."
"Exactly," Chuck said, sternly. "If he's gone, that means you're the Beer Bitch from now on. Now mount up and let's go get him."
"You go if you want," Andy said, watching the others walk away. "I'll stay here and wait."
"I'll stay here with him," Gabe said. "He probably shouldn't be alone out here. There's danger everywhere in these woods.
Nelson, Ryan, James and Chuck trudged back through the jungle-like forest, hacking away at the underbrush with machetes, until they finally came upon Robert, sitting atop a large cooler, drinking a beer.
"Hey do you guys think you could give me a little help here?" Robert said, out of breath. "This cooler weighs a ton."
"You're the Beer Bitch, Robert," Chuck said. "And we have things we are carrying too."
"You're carrying a camera," Robert said, rolling his eyes. "Ryan's got a strobe light and a bible, and Nelson and James aren't carrying anything."
"Hey, wait just a minute," James said. "I've got this digital recorder in my pocket."
"It fits in your pocket."
"Maybe, but you said I wasn't carrying anything. And don't even go there about Nelson. You know he carries the weight of the world on his shoulders for us. He's like our dad."
"I prefer, big brother." Nelson interjected.
"You are Gabe's dad," Chuck said.
"That's true," Nelson said. James, Chuck and Robert all nodded in agreement. "But from now on, I'm like a big brother to the rest of you. Agreed?"
"Agreed!" they all said.
"But we have to ask Andy when we get back," James added. "I don't think it's fair to just make a new rule without him."
"Yeah, he's already mad at us," Chuck agreed.
"OMG!" Ryan said. "Somebody help him so we can just get going."
"Why don't we just drink some of the beer?" Chuck said. "That does seem like the logical answer."
"You aren't the Chief Science Officer for nothing," James said.
"OK," Ryan said. "But how much of the beer do we have to drink before it's light enough for Robert to handle?"
"I'd say, all of it," Chuck said. "Then we can periodically throw down an empty can so we can find our way back."
"Just like, Rapunzel," Ryan said.
"I think that was Hansel and Gretel," James said.
"Who cares?" Ryan said annoyed. "Let's just get to it."
The men sat down on the ground and snapped their fingers at Robert, who dutifully gave each of them a beer (except for Nelson, to whom he gave a NA) and went to work, lightening the load for their friend.
Meanwhile, a few hundred yards ahead, Gabe and Andy sat in silence. Finally, Gabe spoke. "Do you hear music?"
Andy was mad at Gabe too, but he acknowledged him because it was the polite thing to do. Andy could be angry, treacherously so, but he could never just put away good manners. "Yes! I think I do," he said.
The two men rose to their feet and followed, what sounded like, the strumming of a guitar. It was one chord being played over and over. It was monotonous, yet spellbinding at the same time. They moved slowly through the bushes, as if hypnotically controlled by the tune resonating through the trees until they came to a small clearing. Gabe and Andy looked at each other and then back into the clearing. Sitting on a stump was a strange creature. It resembled a man wearing only a fur-covered loin cloth and white sneakers. It smoked a cigarette and expertly played a shining guitar. It had long, flowing black hair which it periodically flipped back away from its face because the cigarette it was smoking would occasionally catch it on fire. The smell of burning hair permeated the space.
"What is that?" Gabe asked, his eyes wide with childlike amazement.
Andy turned to Gabe, a look of unbelief painting his face. "Satyr," Andy whispered, and turned back to the creature. "As crazy as it sounds, I think we've found a Satyr."
"Wow, really? What's a Satyr?"
At that moment, the creature abruptly stopped playing, jumped nimbly to its feet and whirled to face them. They had been discovered.
(...to be continued)
Author's Note: While Satyrs can be found in both the Greek and Roman pantheons they are similar in each culture. Clothing (or lack thereof) and some of the Satyr's habits may differ slightly. Please feel free to visit Wikipedia.com for full descriptions and details in order to fully build your own picture of a Satyr in your mind's eye. After all, that is the fun in these kinds of stories, isn't it? If it isn't...then tough noogies!
Redneck Voodoo
Ha! Truth is a funny thing, isn't it? Why don't people ever believe us, I wonder...Great post, look forward to more. :-)
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