Chris raced back out of the tent and up the slope only slowing as he neared the top. He dropped to his knees, then onto his belly, looking over the rise to the trail and plateau below. Sure enough, there were three Native American men engaging in what at first seemed to be a wrestling match.
Two of them were having a rough time with the third, whom appeared to be over seven feet tall with a wide girth. The two attackers were rather large men themselves, each well above six feet. Whatever the trouble was between them, the larger man wasn’t going to give in easily.
One of the smaller two picked up a fist-sized rock and hit the larger man in the side of the head repeatedly until he went down. Even after the man was on the ground, he still resisted. After a couple of more blows to the temple, movement ceased on his part.
The two that remained standing began chanting in a strange dialect over some coarse rope-like vines. Chris caught his breath as a green mist arose from them. Now, finished with their mantra, they tied the larger man up with these. As they pulled the last knot tight, a change occurred in the prisoner and the men jumped back in surprise.
Chris didn’t believe what he was seeing himself, the captured “man” wasn’t a man at all. At least not now. He had somehow taken the form of a…. bird-man was the only description that came to his mind. Still with long muscular legs, lean hips giving way to a well formed chest and broad shoulders.
But, that’s where the similarities to a human ended. Instead of the bare-chested, blue-jean figure of a few moments ago, the creatures body was covered in a light gray sheath of feathers. It appeared that a set of wings akin to those of an eagle flowed from center of his back. All ending in the still humanoid face and head, except for the hawk-like nose.
Shaking their heads, the two Native Americans each took ahold of an arm and drug the other towards the rock wall. Upon arriving at what should have been a dead end, one of them withdrew a gemstone from his pouch, placing it in a niche in the rock.
Speaking a few more words in their guttural language, the man began tracing patterns on the wall. Lightning struck the uppermost out cropping, causing blue flames to dance along the surface of the stone. After a thirty second light show, the two once again started dragging their prisoner. To Chris’ amazement,…. the three disappeared from sight!
He stood on legs that now felt like rubber. Breath caught short in his throat as his mind reeled with what he had just witnessed. With vigilance, he made his way down to the plateau below. Slow in his advance, he neared the cliff wall with caution.
Chris started feeling for a soft spot, a trigger to a hidden door, anything that might provide an entryway. After what he had seen, he could not fathom the thought that three beings just vanished into stone without a trace.
Agitated at finding nothing, he turned and sat, leaning his back against the rock. Every possibility that he thought of seemed insane. Maybe it had been a bad idea to come up here with Melanie still occupying most of his thoughts. He wondered if he should just pack up and hike back down the mountain. Just go home.
As this idea crossed his mind, a lightning bolt once again struck the outcropping of rock, sending electrical fingers along the walls surface. Before he could jump away from the cliff face, a surge went through his body, rendering him unconscious.
Arms appeared from inside the stone, wrapping around him. A quick tug, and a second later,Chris vanished…..
