Chapter IV: A Corner of the World

By Richard Davidson

When Chad awoke, he could see Dr. Cheavers bent down over the sedated dog. Chad had no idea how much time had passed, but the dog was all wrapped up in guaze and rubber, like he was wearing some kind of canine jogging suit.

"We had to operate, but I think he'll make it," Cheavers smiled, showing two gold teeth.

"What time is it?" Chad croaked hoarsely.

"It's a little after four," replied the good doctor.

Chad looked slowly around the room, which was swimming at the perfect rythmn, undulating with the beating of Chad's heart. His eyes became a little more focused, and he read a poster about getting checked for Colon Cancer. He thought that seemed like a pretty good idea, but at the moment, he really had no idea when he'd be getting around to that.

Probably soon, but who knows?

"How ya feelin'?" Alan's smile was reassuring.

"Uh, I've felt better, but I think I'm gonna make it," Chad formed a somewhat grim smile.

"You better stay at my place tonight, I think you bear watching."

"God, I forgot what an old mother hen you are," Chad said with a somewhat more believable smile, that had crept onto his face while he wasn't looking.

Dr. Cheavers lived a long way from town, and Chad used the drive to tell him about the people in the woods, the metal shaving, the girl, and finished up with the weird dream he had. He started slow, and ended up talking a hundred miles an hour, happy to be with an old friend he could confide in. Cheavers listened pleasantly, occasionally furrowing his brow as if deciphering an aspect of Chad's strange tale.

"Metal shavings, huh..." he mused when Chad had finished. "That's odd..."

"Yeah, I mean, what are the odds of me seeing such a small thing out in the woods, anyway, but it just seemed strange to find it there, you know?" Chad wondered if Alan thought he was crazy.

"It's just that I've seen some metal shavings in the woods behind my house, too," Cheavers sounded far away, "and it's always kind of bothered me to find them there."

They pulled into the dirt driveway, and slowly drove the mile and a half up to Dr. Cheaver's house, careful of the many potholes.

"Wow, you really like to be isolated, don't you," Chad was impressed.

"Yup. I've got my own little portion of the world out here."

Inside, Alan Cheavers fixed Chad a wonderful late night dinner of Pork Tenderloin in Merlot sauce that had been marinating since the previous morning. They ate greedily, and enjoyed a nice Lager afterwards, chatting amiably, ocassionally returning to the subject of metal shavings, and were about to retire for the morning, (as it was morning by now,) when they both heard a sound, not too far away.

It sounded like an Army tank.

"Come with me," Alan said sharply.

Chad followed him down a path that wormed it's way behind the miniature swamp that was Alan's "backyard pond" in the original brochure for this piece of property. They could hear the mechanized sound more clearly, and it seemed to be coming from the west. Suddenly Dr. Cheavers stopped.

Neither man made a sound, and then Chad knew what Cheavers had been listening for, as he too heard some far off footsteps, almost too quiet to be heard, and that stealthy quality really unnerved him. For some reason, the words "Special Forces" kept creeping into Chad's head, but he couldn't go there, that didn't make any sense, anyway.

They walked carefully another 1/2 mile down the path, and came to a fire tower.

"We should be able to see pretty good from up there, there's a good moon tonight," Cheavers whispered, giving Chad another pretty good whiff of the beer they had just drank.

"I don't like it, -we're just sitting ducks up there," Chad was surprised to hear himself say.

"Sitting ducks?" Cheavers was equally surprised. "Just who do you think is out there?"

Suddenly, Chad grabbed Dr. Cheavers, and very violently threw him into the bushes, landing on top of him. Cheavers was about to ask him what the hell was wrong with him, when he too noticed the dark figure descending the fire tower. They were trying to be still, looking through the leaves, and just as the figure was about to come into focus, both men were knocked unconscious from a sudden blow to the head from behind.

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