Encounter — Flavor Sterlot — Chapter 3

Headaches

On the long day of walking along the ridgeline, the group finally came to a stop as the sun set behind the mountains. Despite Andersen’ continued pushing, the pace kept slowing with frequent stops. Marie Bashar was not in shape for the journey and her husband wasn’t much better. Worse, the academic kept complaining about everything going wrong with his ire focused on Andersen. Marie had a couple of instances of vertigo, along with a headache, which she complained about. Jones stopped his filming long enough to walk with Marie, which did not go unnoticed by her husband. Andersen also noticed the look between them as they hiked together. He didn’t like the implications.

However, he kept quiet about the things he noticed. The guide decided the group was volatile enough without adding more fuel to the mix. He considered talking with Sandi. However, her constant focus on her phone forced him to reconsider when the woman almost stepped into a badger hole. After he warned her, she insulted him.

Disconcerted, he fell back, watching her figure move with a growing lust inside of him. His initial thought was to slap her, then take her to the ground. That strange mix of feelings startled him. He liked to consider himself calm and collected. Sure, he knew a man had thoughts of lust. But fantasies of subjugation, along with a nearly uncontrollable rage suddenly filling his mind, bothered him. He maintained his distance from her, concerned he might lose himself to the building anger that seemed to come from nowhere.

By the time they reached a ridge overlooking the dead valley of trees, Andersen couldn’t shake the suspicion that something was watching them. He also wondered about his own headaches. He didn’t believe in coincidences and there seemed to be a pattern. The feeling of unseen eyes watching them was already on his nerves. They needed a good rest, but a vague feeling told him they should keep moving even at night.