Pack Mentality Season 2 Part 4
This whole tough stretch started in early October, when his dad had been arrested for domestic abuse, hitting both his mother and himself. Because of this, Rick had taken both Jackson and his mom under his wing. As horrible as it sounds, Darlene, his mother, and Rick started dating. He was still relatively happy about that. Not long after, a very large fire broke out. Then there was that battle that ended up taking Daniel’s life, one of the leaders around the lake where he had been spending his days lately, at least until he was in the hospital. According to the doctors here, he was lucky to have been found by Bramble. Jackson had suffered a pretty major brain injury from his fall last week.
***
It was beginning to seem like he was going to be in the hospital for a month. It was starting to get to his head. He felt like he needed to be doing something other than just laying down in the hospital bed. Changing his mindset he added At least I can walk to the bathroom and they do let me walk to the brain testing. All things considered, and according to the murmurings that he was picking up from the doctors, his brain was in way better shape than when he left the cabin. After being in the hospital for another couple of days he finally heard the words that he had been waiting for: "You can go home now."
Not trying to hide the fact that he was tired of being cooped up inside of the hospital, he let out a huge sigh and the word "finally" Came out of his mouth.
Darlene, Rick, and Jackson climbed into Ricks truck and headed back to the cabin where Jackson and his mom had been living temporarily. Rick helped Darlene out of the vehicle, kissed her on the lips, and walked to where Jackson had been sitting. Before he got there, Jackson was jumping out of the truck, Making sure he landed softly because the doctors had recommended that he started slow. Jackson then started walking to his room, and Darlene waved at Rick as his truck pulled out of the driveway. When he got to his room, he plopped down onto his bed and looked at his book collection that was next to his bed, signing at the familiarity that he had finally gotten somewhat back into. He flicked off his light and went to sleep.
The next morning, Jackson woke up at 8:00 and grabbed his book that he had been reading for the last several weeks, and he was nearing the end of it. Darlene woke up at 9:00 and made some breakfast for the two of them. It was the best breakfast that Jackson had had since he fell and hurt his head. The smell of bacon and pancakes filled the house.
Shortly after that, Jackson's schooling started back for the first time in a week. Math started the day, followed by social studies, science, and reading. After that, Jackson typically headed over to the ranger station to go to the main class that he took, outdoor education. Since today was his first day back, he decided to take it easy for the rest of the day. He headed over to his room to rest. He laid down and he just stared at the walls for a few minutes. The walls were kind of plain but decorated in taxidermy. Not what he preferred, but it was better than sleeping in a tent for an extended period of time. He knew that once his mom found a job, they would be able to get their stuff in a different house or apartment, and hopefully, closer to society.
After what seemed like an hour passed, he decided to find something else to do. Since he did not have a gaming system of any kind with him, he decided to pick up a sheet of notebook paper and started to attempt to sketch. He often drew iconic items within the surrounding area and the wildlife that surrounded him.
A couple of hours passed and Jackson found himself starting to get bored. He was not used too just sitting around for the day because most of the afternoons were spent out in the woods with Rick, his mentor. He decided to change gears and start to read. That only worked for a couple of hours. Since it was starting to get late, he grabbed some dinner and went to sleep because there was nothing better to do. Back when his dad was around, he was able to play catch to fill time or even hang out with the neighbors, whom he still missed, but talking now would be impossible since they formally lived in Colorado. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and started to drift off.
The next morning he woke up at 7:00 since he went to bed earlier than usual. Because it was going to be a couple of hours before his mom woke up he grabbed a piece of bread and put it in the toaster, one of the few amenities that they had in the house. While he was waiting for it to cook, he grabbed his bow and backpack and set them on the table where he would eat his pre-breakfast. After he finished he put his backpack, and bow and arrow set on his back and headed out to the wilderness, or lack thereof and headed to the ranger station.
Outside it was pretty decent weather for March. It was roughly 40 degrees and mostly sunny with a breeze that sounded like it was coming from the northwest, providing a slight nip from the air, but he did not mind at all. From the cabin he and his mom had been staying, the station was roughly a quarter mile. About 5-10 minutes passed and he arrived at the station and knocked on the door. He waited for a couple of moments and knocked on the door a little harder, and nobody answered. He walked around the campground for about a half of an hour.
He arrived at the station yet again and knocked on the door. This time, he got an answer. "Hey, bud! How you doing?"
"Pretty good today."
"Glad to hear it. What could I help you with?"
"Last night I remembered that I have to check something out."
"OK. Knock yourself out." Rick winked and Jackson smiled. "Not literally" Rick added.
Jackson walked in, and the main thing that he noticed is that the station was a lot cleaner than the last time he was in there. When he walked into the door the first thing that he did was look Rick right in the eye and asked, "could I get real with you for a second?"
"Sure." Rick replied, "What is nagging you."
"How do you feel about the Packs of Old revealing themselves to humans? I know that we saw some of the ancestors of the packs around here during that blood moon awhile back, but that was a special event."
"Typically that doesn't happen."
"OK, but I feel like that happened to me a week ago."
"Are you sure it was the Packs of Old?"
"I honestly don't know. That's why I came here. I know you have those old records around here somewhere."
Intrigued, Rick asked, "What are you looking for?"
"I'm sure I'll know it when I see it."
Rick opened the bottom drawer of the file cabinet that was on the wall next to the desk. "They are organized by year. On the drawer of the cabinet it says top secret, so let's keep it that way."
After searching through the files for just over an hour and having no luck finding anything remotely close to what he experienced, Rick told him that they would return to it when he came back over in the afternoon. Rick offered Jackson a ride back to the cabin where he was staying, and the two of them hopped into the truck and drove off.
Jackson finished school at around 1:00 and headed back over to the ranger station, bow in hand and bag slung over his shoulder. Today was his first day back since he fell and busted his head open, quite literally too. When he arrived back at the ranger station, Rick was waiting for him. They filled up the two extra gas cans and secured them to the back of the ATVs and headed on their first patrol of the afternoon. The borders were quite quiet for the most part until they arrived in the Tribe of the Clearing Sky's territory.
They got to the border and were approached by Eagle's Flight, formally known as Sky, the alpha of the pack. He seemed winded by the time that he arrived at Rick's ATV. "Thank goodness you are patrolling right now!" He panted.
"What's going on?" Rick asked.
"We have been picking up some very strange scents."
"Like what?"
"It is kind of impossible to describe. Kind of like a rain but not."
"Where?"
Jackson waited for Rick's signal, and the signal came. Rick dismounted his ATV, and Jackson followed close behind.
"Follow me."
Jackson and Rick followed Eagle's Flight for around 15 minutes until he came to a stop. Jackson and Rick saw something on a tree. Curious, Jackson walked toward it and took a closer look. ON the tree there was a spiral carved in the trunk. He could tell that it was done recently because the bark was missing. Eagle's Flight confessed quickly, "That was not there before."
Jackson asked, "So this like just happened?" Asked Jackson.
Rick added, "Was anybody with you?"
"Yeah but I told them to continue on the patrol."
Jackson traced the spiral to the center, and it was like he was in another world. He turned away and said "Weird. Rick and I will do some research when we get back to the ranger station."
The rest of the patrol around the lake was uneventful, so Jackson and Rick headed inside and started researching. Not even a half hour passed and Jackson discovered something interesting. The spiral was a symbol of a pack in trouble. Suddenly, Jackson's mind started reeling in his discovery: this was almost directly connected to what happened while Jackson was on a night hike.
______________________________________
~Shout out to the Philidelphia Eagles on winning their first Super Bowl in franchise history
~Shout out to all of the Olimpic medalists so far. More specifically the United States representatives
~Thinking about heading up a darker series following a nuclear holocaust for those looking for a timeline, leading up to the first book in the City of Ember book series (Not affiliated directly just date wise). Any interest?
Not trying to hide the fact that he was tired of being cooped up inside of the hospital, he let out a huge sigh and the word "finally" Came out of his mouth.
Darlene, Rick, and Jackson climbed into Ricks truck and headed back to the cabin where Jackson and his mom had been living temporarily. Rick helped Darlene out of the vehicle, kissed her on the lips, and walked to where Jackson had been sitting. Before he got there, Jackson was jumping out of the truck, Making sure he landed softly because the doctors had recommended that he started slow. Jackson then started walking to his room, and Darlene waved at Rick as his truck pulled out of the driveway. When he got to his room, he plopped down onto his bed and looked at his book collection that was next to his bed, signing at the familiarity that he had finally gotten somewhat back into. He flicked off his light and went to sleep.
The next morning, Jackson woke up at 8:00 and grabbed his book that he had been reading for the last several weeks, and he was nearing the end of it. Darlene woke up at 9:00 and made some breakfast for the two of them. It was the best breakfast that Jackson had had since he fell and hurt his head. The smell of bacon and pancakes filled the house.
Shortly after that, Jackson's schooling started back for the first time in a week. Math started the day, followed by social studies, science, and reading. After that, Jackson typically headed over to the ranger station to go to the main class that he took, outdoor education. Since today was his first day back, he decided to take it easy for the rest of the day. He headed over to his room to rest. He laid down and he just stared at the walls for a few minutes. The walls were kind of plain but decorated in taxidermy. Not what he preferred, but it was better than sleeping in a tent for an extended period of time. He knew that once his mom found a job, they would be able to get their stuff in a different house or apartment, and hopefully, closer to society.
After what seemed like an hour passed, he decided to find something else to do. Since he did not have a gaming system of any kind with him, he decided to pick up a sheet of notebook paper and started to attempt to sketch. He often drew iconic items within the surrounding area and the wildlife that surrounded him.
A couple of hours passed and Jackson found himself starting to get bored. He was not used too just sitting around for the day because most of the afternoons were spent out in the woods with Rick, his mentor. He decided to change gears and start to read. That only worked for a couple of hours. Since it was starting to get late, he grabbed some dinner and went to sleep because there was nothing better to do. Back when his dad was around, he was able to play catch to fill time or even hang out with the neighbors, whom he still missed, but talking now would be impossible since they formally lived in Colorado. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and started to drift off.
The next morning he woke up at 7:00 since he went to bed earlier than usual. Because it was going to be a couple of hours before his mom woke up he grabbed a piece of bread and put it in the toaster, one of the few amenities that they had in the house. While he was waiting for it to cook, he grabbed his bow and backpack and set them on the table where he would eat his pre-breakfast. After he finished he put his backpack, and bow and arrow set on his back and headed out to the wilderness, or lack thereof and headed to the ranger station.
Outside it was pretty decent weather for March. It was roughly 40 degrees and mostly sunny with a breeze that sounded like it was coming from the northwest, providing a slight nip from the air, but he did not mind at all. From the cabin he and his mom had been staying, the station was roughly a quarter mile. About 5-10 minutes passed and he arrived at the station and knocked on the door. He waited for a couple of moments and knocked on the door a little harder, and nobody answered. He walked around the campground for about a half of an hour.
He arrived at the station yet again and knocked on the door. This time, he got an answer. "Hey, bud! How you doing?"
"Pretty good today."
"Glad to hear it. What could I help you with?"
"Last night I remembered that I have to check something out."
"OK. Knock yourself out." Rick winked and Jackson smiled. "Not literally" Rick added.
Jackson walked in, and the main thing that he noticed is that the station was a lot cleaner than the last time he was in there. When he walked into the door the first thing that he did was look Rick right in the eye and asked, "could I get real with you for a second?"
"Sure." Rick replied, "What is nagging you."
"How do you feel about the Packs of Old revealing themselves to humans? I know that we saw some of the ancestors of the packs around here during that blood moon awhile back, but that was a special event."
"Typically that doesn't happen."
"OK, but I feel like that happened to me a week ago."
"Are you sure it was the Packs of Old?"
"I honestly don't know. That's why I came here. I know you have those old records around here somewhere."
Intrigued, Rick asked, "What are you looking for?"
"I'm sure I'll know it when I see it."
Rick opened the bottom drawer of the file cabinet that was on the wall next to the desk. "They are organized by year. On the drawer of the cabinet it says top secret, so let's keep it that way."
After searching through the files for just over an hour and having no luck finding anything remotely close to what he experienced, Rick told him that they would return to it when he came back over in the afternoon. Rick offered Jackson a ride back to the cabin where he was staying, and the two of them hopped into the truck and drove off.
Jackson finished school at around 1:00 and headed back over to the ranger station, bow in hand and bag slung over his shoulder. Today was his first day back since he fell and busted his head open, quite literally too. When he arrived back at the ranger station, Rick was waiting for him. They filled up the two extra gas cans and secured them to the back of the ATVs and headed on their first patrol of the afternoon. The borders were quite quiet for the most part until they arrived in the Tribe of the Clearing Sky's territory.
They got to the border and were approached by Eagle's Flight, formally known as Sky, the alpha of the pack. He seemed winded by the time that he arrived at Rick's ATV. "Thank goodness you are patrolling right now!" He panted.
"What's going on?" Rick asked.
"We have been picking up some very strange scents."
"Like what?"
"It is kind of impossible to describe. Kind of like a rain but not."
"Where?"
Jackson waited for Rick's signal, and the signal came. Rick dismounted his ATV, and Jackson followed close behind.
"Follow me."
Jackson and Rick followed Eagle's Flight for around 15 minutes until he came to a stop. Jackson and Rick saw something on a tree. Curious, Jackson walked toward it and took a closer look. ON the tree there was a spiral carved in the trunk. He could tell that it was done recently because the bark was missing. Eagle's Flight confessed quickly, "That was not there before."
Jackson asked, "So this like just happened?" Asked Jackson.
Rick added, "Was anybody with you?"
"Yeah but I told them to continue on the patrol."
Jackson traced the spiral to the center, and it was like he was in another world. He turned away and said "Weird. Rick and I will do some research when we get back to the ranger station."
The rest of the patrol around the lake was uneventful, so Jackson and Rick headed inside and started researching. Not even a half hour passed and Jackson discovered something interesting. The spiral was a symbol of a pack in trouble. Suddenly, Jackson's mind started reeling in his discovery: this was almost directly connected to what happened while Jackson was on a night hike.
______________________________________
~Shout out to the Philidelphia Eagles on winning their first Super Bowl in franchise history
~Shout out to all of the Olimpic medalists so far. More specifically the United States representatives
~Thinking about heading up a darker series following a nuclear holocaust for those looking for a timeline, leading up to the first book in the City of Ember book series (Not affiliated directly just date wise). Any interest?