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darkaviarymc · 4 months ago

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The Evergreens Enfold the Shrine, A recursive fic of The Incandescence of a Dying Light by @quaranmine

Chapter 2

June 13th, 1995

The Owl Head Trail was a five mile side trail off of Pinnacles and connected to it at both ends. The intended start was by the parking lots at the start of the main trail and the end was just past the campgrounds. There was no rule against going the opposite way, though, which is what Gem, Etho, and Beef did on that early Tuesday morning. It was considered a intermediate level trail because of some falling hazards along the edge of the path, steep hillsides and even some sheer drops alond the edges of the path. The trio no longer considered themselves novices, though, not after spending the past week exploring the first stretch of Pinnacles as well as a few novice level side trails.

“Can’t believe our vacation will be pretty much over once we reach the end of this trail,” Gem said with a forlorn sigh. “I miss it already.

“Well, my name’s on the rental car,” Beef said, “But feel free to stay the whole season if you can figure out your own ride to the airport. I’ve got summer classes for my bachelors program starting in a week.”

Etho shook his head. “Nah, Pause would kill me if I didn’t come home. He was worried about me traveling all the way across the continent as it is. You know how roommates are.”

“It’s too bad he couldn’t come,” Beef said. “It sucks missing part of the team.”

“Yeah,” Etho agreed. “It was just bad timing that the only week I could get away from work was the same week as the Iceberg Festival, and that’s like, a big cultural thing. It wouldn’t have felt right to ask him to miss it.”

“That settles it then!” Gem declared and spun around, walking backward to face Beef and Etho while she talked. “Next summer, I say we plan better. Maybe pick a different campground and come earlier, that way Beef won’t have to worry about his summer classes and Pause can have two vacations.”

“Sounds great!” Beef agreed.

“Turn around and walk straight, Gem,” Etho warned. “You’ll fall down the hill and crack your head. Don’t you remember the story you told last night?”

Gem rolled her eyes but did as she was told.

“You know,” Etho continued, “Pause says that someday the internet’s gonna take over the world. You’ll be able to go to school, work, movie theaters, and all kinds of stuff all on the computer no matter where you are in the world. Then you won’t have to worry about getting home for class, Beef.”

Beef scoffed. “In his dreams! The internet’s full of nothin’ but dweebs and sex pests.”

“Excuse me! I use the internet all the time!” Gem protested.

Beef laughed. “Like I said. Dweebs.”

Gem playfully slapped Beef’s arm, and then noticed that Etho had stopped and was standing on the edge of a path looking at something off trail.

“What are you doing?” she stopped and asked.

“Did you see the ghost of mustaches past?” Beef asked as if he was asking a serious question.

“Not funny, Beef,” Etho replied. “I did see a sialia currucoides, though. Or at least I thought I did.”

Gem cocked her head. "A what?"

Etho didn't answer. He instead simply reached into his vest pocket and pulled out his binoculars. He adjusted the focus as he looked through them, trying to find the best setting with which to search for he bird he thought he'd seen.

"I thought you wanted to hurry so you could get to the library and make good on your bet with Gem?" Beef said.

"Yeah, but the whole point of taking this detour to the car was to see the sights one more time, right?" Etho answered, not lowering his binoculars. "I've always wanted to see one of these in the wild. Their populations have been steadily declining over the past twenty years, you know." He stepped up onto a large rock to get a better view, not looking where his feet were landing, but instead at what he'd finally found. Through the binoculars he saw not one, but three mountain bluebirds, all males judging by their bright blue plumage that contrasted beautifully against the dark brown bark of the fir tree they were perched in. But his enjoyment at the vibrant sight was short lived. His foot slipped on the rock that was still damp from the morning dew. He spread his arms out to steady himself, dropping his binoculars in the process, but is was too late.

"Oh Sna-AH!" He yelled as he completely lost balance and fell. He tumbled down the steep hillside, his body striking rocks and tree limbs along the way. Somewhere in his mind, Etho was aware there was pain and would be even more later, but the disorientation caused by the startling fall made it impossible to tell exactly where he was being hurt. He was vaguely aware of someone shouting, but...

"ETHO!" Gem screamed and darted towards the rock Etho had fallen from. She was stopped so abruptly by Beef's tight grip on her arm that she almost tripped backwards.

"If you run after him like that, you'll fall, too!" Beef scolded. He only released her once he was certain she wouldn't run off recklessly.

Gem's eyes darted between Beef and the rock. When she approached the rock again, she did so much more cautiously. "ETHO!" she screamed again. When she was met with only muffled, pained groaned in response, she looked again to Beef, eyes filled with desperation.

"Shit," Beef cursed through clenched teeth. "Etho?"

"I'm alive...I think...ow."

Beef breathed a sigh of relief while Gem inched dangerously close to the edge, craning her neck as much as she could to try to find where Etho had landed.

Beef looked around the tree line and eventually found a long, sturdy stick. Using it as a walking stick for balance, he took a few slow, careful steps down the hillside. With one hand on the stick, he held the other hand out to Gem. "Step very gently," he warned. "Hold on, buddy," Beef called to Etho, "We're coming to ya!"

Again, Etho only groaned in a response that Gem and Beef could barely hear.

Gem nodded and took Beef's hand, and together, they carefully and methodically made their way down the hill. Occasionally Gem would feel her foothold becoming unsteady and tighten her hold on Beef's hand, prompting him to stop and allow them both to regain their balance before continuing down.

They reached the bottom safely; the few minutes it had taken them had felt like hours. What they found there made their stomach turn. Etho was laying on his back, and blood flowed from a deep gash in his forehead and many smaller cuts on his face, making him squint to avoid getting it in his eyes. His long sleeved black t-shirt was torn in several places, revealing even more bleeding wounds, though none as serious as the on his head. Also concerning was the way his right ancle, the one he's initially slipped with, was bent. It was twisted much farther to the left than an ancle should be, and it didn't take a doctor to tell at first glance that is was most definitely broken.

They wanted to be relieved that Etho was alive and conscious, but they instantly knew looking at him that in this state, there was no way they could possibly get him back onto the trail.

Gem dropped to her knees a little less carefully than she should have. She winced as her legs struck the hard ground, but she paid her own pain no mind as she opened her pack and unpacked her sizable first aid kit. Beef had called her paranoid for bringing something so large and comprehensive, insisting that it was unnecessary weight and space to take up that could be used to carry more beer. She'd insisted on it, though, having been the only one in the group to do her proper research (Etho had researched too, though his pre-trip readings had been mostly on the topic of birds native to the area).

"Go get help," Gem told Beef while opening a pack of gauze wrap and alcohol pads. "I'll stay with Etho."

"'M fine, Gem," Etho said. His slurred speech was added evidence that he'd most likely suffered a concussion.

"No," Gem insisted. "You are not fine. You have a very serious head injury and probably a broken ancle. I don't even want to move you right now until we know if your back is hurt, too."

"'Im'ma a bology major, I know wha'I'm talkin bout."

Gem stopped and glared at Etho. "You're an ornithology major, and unless that dorky tactical vest you always wear is hiding a set of wings, I highly doubt your studies apply to you."

"Yeah well, you're jus' a pharm-cicity tech, yeah?"

Gem rolled her eyes and began gently dabbing the alcohol pads around, but not directly on, Etho's most serious head wound. "Pharmacy tech? Yeah. I still took first aid classes."

"I'm ag-sci. I'm useless here," Beef said.

Gem nodded. "Which is why I'm sending you to get help."

Etho winced when the alcohol stung his wound. His vision was blurry and he couldn't quite make out exactly what Gem and Beef were saying.

But then, just for a few seconds, he felt a moment of clarity. He could hear some sort of ringing, but not quite like the persistent ringing in his ears. This was a lighter, almost melodic tone, like a wind chime or...

A bike bell.

His eyes opened fully and he stared directly over Gem's shoulder. What he saw there wasn't some vaguely human shaped shadow or a transparent apparition.

He was there.

He was there as clearly and fully as Gem was: a man with black hair and an immaculately groomed mustache, dressed in a pink Hawaiian shirt.

Weakly, Etho raised his arm and tried to point. "Behin' you, Gem!"

Gem wiped her head around, but saw only trees and rocks there. She sighed and abandoned her efforts to clean Etho's still-bleeding head, opting instead to press a thick cloth against it in attempt to controll the bleeding. "No bird watching right now, Etho."

Etho tried to shake his head, but didn't get far due to the pressure from Gem's hand. "wan'n a bird," he slurred, his breath growing heavier as he spoke. "I's him. The guy from th'story."

"You think you saw the ghost of Pinnacles Trail?" Beef asked, raising an eyebrow. "Dude, you really did hit your head bad."

"Badly," gem corrected. "And what are you still doing here? Go!"

"Right! Right, going now. You sure you'll be okay?"

"We have plenty of water and there's bear spray on my necklace," Gem assured him, emphasizing her point by raising up her lanyard to show him the small canister of bear spray hanging there.

A few moments of silence passed after Beef walked away, interrupted only by the ambiance of the forest and Etho's labored breathing and occasional whine of pain.

"Y-you think he died right when'e fell?" Etho asked softly, a tear streaking down his bloody face. "Or did'e lay there like this? Knowin' he's never gettin' up? Jus' waitin' t'die?"

Gem shook her head. She closed her eyes tightly to suppress her own tears. "Don't talk like that," She said, her voice cracking despite her best efforts to hold her composure. "Beef's going to get you help, and you're going to be okay. Pause would kill us if we came home without you."

Etho's eyes slipped closed and he let out a ragged breath. "Y'now how... roommates are..."

"Etho?" Gem asked just short of panic when she felt her friend go limp. "Etho!" She yelled when he didn't respond. "No no nonono no," she muttered and touched Etho's pulse point. She nodded to herself when she felt the thump against her fingers. She layed a hand on his chest and could feel his breathing that was much too shallow to be safe.

Gem looked up at the hillside. She couldn't see her other friend through the trees, and could only hope he would find help in time.

"Please hurry, Beef."

Halfway up the hill, Beef was moving as fast as he safely could. He'd abandoned the walking stick, opting instead to use the rocks and branches around him to pull himself up. He wished he could sprint up the hill like some kind of wild animal, but he knew that if he rushed himself, he would end up just like Etho. He heard something crack and crunch beneath his feet. He looked down and saw Etho's binoculars. Under his foot was a lense that had popped off in the fall. They probably weren't totally beyond repair and he wanted to stop to pick them up, but he couldn't afford to risk loosing his balance.

Not to mention any more precious time.

He could see the top of the hill and the trail now, as well as the top of someone's head.

"HEY!" He shouted to the person. "Hey, excuse me!"

The person in question stepped out from behind the tree to find him, and Beef had never felt such relief. Standing there at the top not far from where Etho had fallen was a tan-skinned man with black hair and a stubbled beard dressed in what Beef hoped was a forest ranger's uniform with a hand radio clipped to his belt

The ranger crossed his arms. "Excuse me sir! What are you doing of trail!" His facial expression and posture were stern, his voice was more curious than accusatory.

Beef took a second to catch his breath. "Can you help? My friend feel, he's really hurt."

The ranger didn't take a spare second to pull a collapsible hiking stick from the deep pockets of his pants. "Show me."

Beef nodded and let the ranger follow him down the hill. "He was birdwatching," Beef explained as they made their decent. It was faster than it had been with Gem. He somewhat knew the trick to keeping balance on the loose rocks now, and the ranger knew what he was doing as well, likely from years of experience on these trails. "He was paying more attention to the view than where he was walking and slipped. His head's bleeding and I think his ancle's probably broken.

"Is he alone?" the ranger asked.

Beef shook his head. "No. Our other friend is still down there with him. She knows more first aid than I do.

The ranger nodded. "Good, good."

When they reached the bottom, they found Gem in tears.

"I can't wake him up," she sobbed.

Beef knelt down next to Gem. "Is he breathing?"

Gem nodded.

The ranger let out a low whistle. "Oh, this is bad." When sobbed again, he responded with, "Sorry. I don't sugar coat things, I tell it like it is." He unclipped his radio from his belt and adjusted the frequency. It squeaked and crackled a little before going silent again. "Bdubs to HQ, you copy?"

A voice came over the radio in response. "HQ to Bdubs, I copy."

"We've got an injured hiker on Owl Head. We're gonna need a med-evac."

"Copy that. Coordinates?"

Beef and Gem watched Bdubs pull out some sort of device covered in dials and listened as he rattled off a bunch of numbers that were likely the coordinates HQ had asked for.

"Copy that, Bdubs. Wait there until the chopper arrives."

"Copy that, HQ. Bdubs out."

Beef stood back up to be face to face with Bdubs. "Thank you."

"Of course. As a forest ranger, it's my duty to make sure all you fine visitors are safe. But just a second now..." Bdubs looked around the area, down at Gem and Etho, then back at Beef. "There wasn't a fourth person with you was there?"

Beef and Gem looked at each other, then back to Bdubs and shook their heads slowly.

"It's just been the three of us all week," Gem said softly, her voice still rough from crying.

"Hm, Must not have gotten enough sleep last night. A full night's rest is important you know. Keeps you strong and healthy." Bdubs ponded his fist against his chest to emphasize his point, then winced and rubbed the place he'd struck himself. "Ow. See? I'm so strong I even hurt myself."

Beef chuckled awkwardly at the ranger's odd antics. He wanted to further address that "fourth person" comment, but there were more important matters to attend to.

Bdubs knelt down next to Etho on the side opposite Gem. He looked him over, paying special attention to the other side of Etho's heas. "Has he been moved since he fell?"

"No," Gem answered. "I didn't want to risk hurting him more in case something happened to his back.

"Good thinking." Bdubs reached over to Etho's broken ankle and gave his foot a light tap.

"What are you-" Gem tried to protest the action, but was interrupted when Etho roused slightly and grimaced in response.

Bdubs offered Gem a reassuring smile. "If he can still feel his feet, that's a good thing. No major spinal damage. And he's responsive, so he's not comatose."

"I...I guess that makes sense."

Bdubs visually checked Etho over some more while he asked questions of Gem.

"Was he unconscious when you found him?"

"No, he lost consciousness about... five minutes ago maybe? He could talk before that, but he was slurring like he was drunk."

"Had he been drinking? The paramedics will need to know if he's got any substances in his system."

"He had a few beers last night, but nothing this morning."

Bdubs nodded slowly. "That slurring means a concussion then, for sure. Looks like there's another wound on the back of his head, too."

Gem sniffed. "He warned me to be careful when I was acting dumb and now he's the one who fell. It was my idea to take this stupid trail in the first place."

"What's your name, sweetheart?" Bdubs asked, giving Gem a serious look.

"My name's Gem."

"Gem. Beautiful name. Accidents happen, Gem. You can't blame yourself. And this gentleman here is..."

"Etho," Gem completed the sentence.

"Etho," Bdubs repeated.

Hearing his name in strange voice caught Etho's attention. He groaned and his brow furrowed.

"Hey there, buddy," Bdubs said softly. "You waking up?"

Etho's eyes flicked open just for a second before closing again. "Who'r you?"

"The name’s Bdubs. I'm the ranger who just called a med-evac for ya. We're gonna get you out of here, just hold tight."

"Gem?" Etho asked, sounding groggy.

"I'm here, Etho."

"Me too, buddy," Beef said from behind Gem.

"Hurts," Etho grunted through clenched teeth.

"I know," Gem said. "I'm sorry."

"Pain means you're alive." Beef gently squeeze Gem's shoulder, and she returned the gesture with a small, tired smile. "Stay that way for us, okay?"

"'K. Can't die here." Etho's lip twitched up in was was meant to be a smile. "Pause'll kill me 'f I die."

Gem and Beef both laughed, taking Etho's clearly intact sense of humor as a good sign.

Gem echoed Etho's previous words. "You know how roommates are."

"Is his roommates him emergency contact?" Bdubs asked.

Gem nodded. "We're all each other's contact, but he's also on the list."

"I'll need to radio back to HQ so they can contact him."

"Here..." Gem offered before rummaging in the inner pocket of Etho's jacket. She pulled out a small, clear, waterproof bag containing Etho's passport, trail permit, and list of emergency contact names and numbers. She handed it to Bdubs. "Here's all his information, just in case they need it at the HQ."

Bdubs took a moment to admire the bag before standing up. "This is a genius idea."

"It was all Gem's idea," Beef said, patting Gem's shoulder. "We all have one on us."

"Well, Gem's great!" Bdubs said with a wide-eyed grin and stepped away to radio back to HQ.

"You really are great," Beef said to Gem. "I honestly don't think I could have handled this without you. I wouldn't have had a clue what to do."

Not knowing how to respond, she slumped backwards against Beef's chest and let him hold her steady. Etho had slipped out of consciousness again, but the bleeding had slowed enough that she felt she could safely remove her hand from the head wound. She left the cloth there just in case.

She looked down at her blood covered hands, and again she began to cry. She buried her face in Beef's shoulder, and if she felt a few tears that weren't hers roll down her forehead before trickling down her cheek and mingling with her own, she would never say so.

#hc_firewatch_au #avi writes fic sometimes

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