Brian Saves the World, Maybe

Chapter 27 - In the Mountains

Maybe torture isn't the plan after all, he thought.

Dwayne pulled out a harmonica and began playing. The other men with instruments joined in, and another began performing a kind of high-stepping dance, the likes of which Brian had never seen before.

Brian groaned. No, my first instinct was right.

It could have been worse, Brian.

Soon, all the men were moving their feet in a lively manner, as they played and danced. Then Brian began to hear something new. It was a sound trapped somewhere between a howl and a scream. He realized it was coming out of Dwayne's mouth. Was he. . . singing?

Could it, though?

Eventually, the music and dancing died off and gave way to a spirited poker game. Brian was falling asleep as two of the men argued over who was a better belcher.

* * *

Brian woke to the smell of something cooking. He rolled his head gently from side to side, in a vain attempt to soothe his stiff neck muscles.

Dwayne untied Brian's arms and gave him some water, and something they called "mystery hash." It tasted a little like corned beef hash. He hoped that's what it was.

When Brian had finished eating, Dwayne returned, carrying a bright orange jumble of cloth. He looked down at Brian. "Alright, time for a hike. But first, put this on," he said, handing Brian the pile of cloth. It was an orange jumpsuit.

Brian looked at it, frowning. "Why?"

Dwayne smiled. "Just in case you get lost up there. That'll help us find you."

They had been moving for about an hour, up moderately-steep terrain, when they stopped for a water break. Brian had put the jumpsuit on over his clothes and was hot and sweaty. He leaned against a tree, gasping for air as he tried to ease the baling twine on his wrists a little.  The man in the straw hat watched him closely, leaning on his shotgun.

Dwayne stood off to the side, consulting a map. "Boys, should be just over this ridge," he said.

They hiked for a few more minutes when Dwayne stopped them again. "Looky there!" he said, pointing.

There was a dead crow on the ground.

"Thought he said it was a whole mess o' birds," one of the men said.

Dwayne began searching the area more carefully. "Here!" he said, holding up another bird about 30 feet away. He walked over to Brian, still holding it. "Now, you tell me. What can cause somethin' like this?"

Brian shook his head. "I don't know."

Dwayne stepped closer. "What do you know?"

Brian sighed. "You said Jake mentioned a bird falling from the sky, like it had hit some invisible barrier?"

Dwayne nodded.

"Maybe if we could throw something high enough, we could hit it," Brian said.

A couple of the men immediately began picking up rocks and throwing them up in the air, but they were barely able to clear the trees.

"Here we go, boys," one of them said, producing a slingshot.

He fitted a stone to it, pulled back, and let fly. The stone shot high in the air, and then they heard a pop as it hit something and fell to the earth.

The men hooted and hollered.

Dwayne stood staring into the sky, wide-eyed. "What is it?"

Another Resistance facility? Brian thought.

In the sky? TV said.

Brian frowned, as another thought struck him. Could it be?  "Let's see if we can find anything at ground level that's invisible. Something has to be holding that thing up," he said, pointing skyward with his tied hands.

"You heard the man!" Dwayne shouted.

They began searching. Finding nothing immediately below the invisible barrier, they fanned out more. This would have been a good opportunity to attempt escape, except the man with the shotgun was sticking to Brian like wet toilet paper. He wasn't sure he could have found his way back to civilization anyway.

There was a thud, followed by a cry, as one of the men fell down, holding his head. "I found somethin'!" he yelled.

They soon found two other spots with invisible barriers.

Brian started to feel queasy and sat down. Three legs, he thought. Like a giant tripod. "A Harvester."