Waypoint: Cache Quest Oregon

by Shauna Rice-Schober[thriller]

  One of the men came over, he removed his hard hat then said, “Didn’t you guys see the sign? There are no fires allowed this time of year.”

  “Oh we didn’t start this.” Lacey said as she pointed to the scorched earth. “We saw the smoke from the other side of the lake, then ran over and tried to put it out.”

  “Okay, well did you see anyone around when you came over?”

  “No, there wasn’t anyone.” Ben said, with a slight hint of fear in his voice, it never occurred to either of them that they would be accused of starting the fire. The firefighter called over to his partners.

  The other two men came over, with a look of agitation.

  “So these two say they didn’t start the fire, they saw it and came over.”

  “That’s interesting.” One said. “Well if you didn’t start it, did you see anyone?”

  “No” Lacey said, now she was becoming agitated.

  “Well do you drive a green SUV?” the first man asked.

  “Yeah, it’s parked over on the other side, about five miles away.” The firefighters looked at one another, then said, “Well we only saw one other vehicle when we were patrolling this area today,” he looked at his partners, “anyone get the plate number of that blue van?”

  “What? Blue van?” Lacey asked. “Did it have tinted windows?” She looked at Ben with a fearful expression.

  “Yeah, you know it?” the firefighter asked.

  “We don’t know it, but we think it’s following us.” Lacey said with a terrified tone.

  “Well it was heading out this direction,” He pointed to the area that they had pulled their fire engine through, “when we were headed in.” He looked again at his partners, “Let’s call it in; he couldn’t have gotten too far. If these guys are telling the truth, that van is our arsonist.” One of the men went back to his truck and picked up the CB radio. Ben and Lacey looked at each other, they were covered in dirt, and really thirsty, but didn’t want to bother the firefighters anymore.

  “So you guys can go.” One of the men dismissed them.

  “Go! With this jerk following us and starting fires, what if he kills us in the woods as we hike back?” Lacey stomped as she spoke. She was overwhelmed and couldn’t believe that they weren’t offering them a ride.

  “Sorry, it’s just this will take us some time to look for evidence, it could be all night.” The firefighter in the truck called over to his partners,

  “State cop has our guy on Highway 140, about ten miles from here!” Then the third called back to him,

  “Hey I don’t think this is arson. It looks more like an exhaust pipe fire; his vehicle was probably idling here for a while. He might not even know he started anything!” He yelled to the man in the truck.

  “Okay!” The man in the truck yelled back.

  “So they have him?” Lacey asked loudly, just confirming that he wasn’t in the woods waiting to kill them and steal the clue.

  “Sounds like it, what were you guys doing out here anyways?”

  “Looking for a treas-” Ben began to say, but Lacey cut him off,

  “We were hiking!” She said quickly. The firefighter looked at Ben suspiciously.

  “I think you guys are safe to hike back, and good luck with that treasure, buddy.” He winked at Ben. Ben just stared at him, not wanting to divulge any more information, at this point in time, everyone was a possible threat to him getting his hands on that ten thousand dollars. He looked at Lacey, they both turned, and yelled thanks to the firefighters as they walked toward the other side of the lake.

  “Great,” Lacey said, “that guy is still following us.”

  “He won’t be now, you heard them, the cops have him.” Ben said reassuringly.

  “I don’t know, this is getting so creepy.” She rubbed some dirt from her face, and then looked at the lake, “That water pretty cold?” She asked Ben.

  “No, it was really nice actually.” He said with a straight face. Lacey went and ran into the water; in less than a second a bloodcurdling scream filled the air.

  “You brat! This is freezing!” she yelled. Ben just laughed and pointed at his aunt who was jumping around in the water trying to get accustomed to the cold. She finally just ignored the icy temperature and started washing her face and arms off. As she washed she took a few big gulps, she was so parched from all the dust.

  “Whoa! What are you doing?” Ben yelled.

  “What? I’m thirsty.”

  “You are gonna get so sick, I saw it on TV, you should never drink from a lake.” He said with an authoritative voice.

  “No, look at how clear this water is, and it is super cold, I won’t get sick. Ya know Ben you are really paranoid for a kid.” She took another large gulp of water.

  “I bet you a hundred bucks you get sick.” Ben laughed.

  “Okay, if I get sick you don’t have to pay me for climbing the tree.” She took a handful of water and threw it in Ben’s direction.

  “Sounds great!” Ben said, and then looked at his watch, “Yep, looks like by five o’clock tonight I won’t owe you a dime!” He started to walk again. “You may want to hurry up, unless you want to go to the bathroom in the woods!” He looked back at her and laughed. Lacey dragged her sore body out of the water, the cold was actually feeling good, but she knew they had to get going. Suddenly she realized that they had never opened the egg.

  “Hey, Ben!” She yelled. “Wait up, we never opened the egg!”

  “Oh man, I can’t believe we forgot!” he ran back to her. She pulled the egg from her pocket, separated the two plastic halves and revealed a rolled up piece of paper. “Great.” Ben said sarcastically.

  Lacey unrolled the paper, then read “42 degrees 56’24” North and 122 degrees 8’51” West. On the old man is your final clue, good luck in the deep, in the cold you will weep.” she looked at Ben, “Final clue!” She started jumping up and down.

  “C’mon,” Ben said as he turned on the pathway, “Let’s grab our pack and go!” they both began to run as fast as they could. They reached the area of the nest and peeked around a bush, the eagle was still in its nest; Lacey crouched low to the ground and ran over, grabbed the pack, then ran back. She slipped the shoulder straps on, fastened the waist belt, and then nodded to Ben.

  He was still staring at the eagle, “Aunt Lacey, don’t you think it’s strange that the eagle could carry me?” He continued to stare.

  “Ben, I am not surprised at anything that is happening on this trip.” She began walking toward the trail.

  He caught up to her, “Isn’t it strange though, I mean, we wouldn’t have seen the fire if it wouldn’t have picked me up.”

  “Well, I guess everything happens for a reason, I’m just glad once again that I do not have to call your mom and tell her that you are dead.” She giggled then realized that Ben was serious.

  “I just think it’s strange, it could have just attacked me, I was knocked out from tripping,” he rubbed the bump on his forehead. “But it didn’t, it picked me up, and basically showed me the fire.”

  “I wouldn’t go that far.” Lacey said confidently, “that eagle was ticked off.” Just as the last words were coming out of her mouth she heard a loud shriek. They both looked up to see the eagle flying toward them, it was carrying something. They both dove to the ground, fear overcoming them. Suddenly they felt something fall on top of them, and then heard the eagle fly away. “Oh my gosh!” Lacey said as she lifted Ben’s torn sweatshirt off of her. She held it up to show Ben,

  “You think that is strange?” he held up a piece of a charcoaled branch, then placed it in Lacey’s hand; the wood was still warm from the fire. Ben took his sweatshirt, looked at the huge holes left in the back of it, from the eagle’s claws. He held it up, and then grabbed the piece of warm wood from Lacey’s hand. He eyed both items, “You’re right,” he said, pausing acknowledging her reaction, “probably just a coincidence.”

  13

  Ben put his feet up on the dashboard
and reclined his seat. He was still a bit overwhelmed by the whole flying experience, but was starting to appreciate all the craziness this trip had brought him. Lacey wiped her forehead then turned the air conditioning down even lower.

  “Man, I’m freezing, can we warm it up a bit, please.” Ben complained.

  “Sorry, I just feel really hot; I’m sweatin’ bullets over here.” Lacey replied as she turned the AC back to a comfortable level. Ben looked over to see his aunt covered with sweat, her face was bright red, and she seemed to be having a hard time concentrating.

  “You okay?” He asked.

  “I don’t feel so good; maybe I need to eat something.” Ben reached and grabbed the backpack from the back seat, then rummaged through until he pulled out a protein bar. He unwrapped it then handed it to Lacey. She started to take large bites, then suddenly slammed on the brakes, pulled the car off the road, opened her door and threw up. Ben handed her a water bottle, she took a sip of water then let out a loud moan as she jumped out of the car and ran to the bushes.

  Ben turned the radio on and sat back in his seat, waiting. He knew from watching countless shows on the Discovery channel that stomach bacteria could be brutal, but smiled because he had warned her and she played the “I’m the adult, therefore I am right” card. She should have listened, he thought to himself.

  About twenty minutes later Lacey waddled gingerly out from the bushes. She looked completely exhausted and extremely pale. She opened the door, climbed into the car carefully, then turned the engine on and pulled back onto the road.

  “I told ya.” Ben said casually.

  “What? That, no that is just stress I think.” Lacey said as she sipped more water.

  “No, that is bacteria from drinking from the lake.”

  “You are a know it all.” Lacey said with frustration.

  Ben laughed then said, “Well I’m glad you can finally admit that I do know it all.”

  “Whatever.” She turned the radio back up and tried to look as calm as possible. “Hey did you find exactly where we are going?”

  “Yep, Crater Lake.”

  “I know Crater Lake, but where?” She groaned.

  “Well it looks like it is in the water, I think that for two reasons, one- the clue said something about being ‘deep’ and two- I found a cool new screen on this GPS unit that gives aerial photos, and the red dot is in the water.” he showed her the screen on the GPS unit.

  Lacey looked at the screen then once again swerved off the road, turned the car off and ran into the bushes. Ben continued to play with the GPS unit until she returned a few minutes later.

  “I think I need some tummy medicine.” She moaned as she sat back in her seat. “Can you look on the map and see where the nearest town is?” Ben unfolded the map and traced the route they had taken from the Sky Lakes Wilderness area.

  “Okay, looks like a town called Chemult is ahead, I don’t know how far though.” he looked at her with concern this time. “You gonna be okay? Maybe we should go to the hospital.”

  “I’ll be fine; I just need to get some Pepto Bismol, that’s all.” They continued to drive until they saw a gas station and Quickie market ahead. Lacey jumped out, tossed the keys to Ben and ran into the bathroom. Ben got out, stretched his legs then went inside to find his aunt some medicine. He browsed the medicine section for a few minutes, every time the dinger on the door buzzed he looked up expecting to see his aunt, she was taking longer than he thought.

  Finally twenty minutes later she walked through the door, a few people noticed how horrible she looked, not just because she hadn’t showered in a few days, and had practically bathed in the lake earlier, but because she was green, not just pale, but green. Ben looked up at her; she was looking around for him, but couldn’t see him from the spot she was standing in. Just then a guy in his twenties walked up to Lacey,

  “Are you okay?” He asked with genuine concern. Ben looked at the guy, worried he was bothering his aunt he yelled across the store,

  “Aunt Lacey! What type of diarrhea medicine do you want?” Everyone in the store looked at Lacey, suddenly her green complexion changed to bright red.

  “Ben! Shut up!” She said forcefully, and then smiled at the guy standing in front of her, who was trying to contain his laughter. Ben walked over with two items; he held a green and white box in front of his aunt’s face, looked at the guy then said,

  “Ya know we should get you this gas medicine too.” He smirked, and then felt his aunt’s fist sock him in the side. She smiled at the guy, and nodded to suggest she was okay. The guy walked away giggling just as the other customers were now. “That’s what you get for not listening to me.” Ben said as they walked to the counter to pay, “just ‘cause I’m a kid doesn’t mean I don’t know what I’m talking about.” He placed the items on the counter; the clerk barely made eye contact with Lacey and smiled sheepishly at Ben. As they walked through the door to leave, laughter could be heard from inside.

  Ben unlocked the car, then tossed the keys to Lacey, “Pretty proud of yourself, huh?” She asked, clearly in a bad mood.

  “Well, I bet you’ll never drink from a lake again.” he smiled as he sat in the car.

  “Okay, Ben you were right. Is that what you want to hear, will that make you stop teasing me?”

  “I know I’m right, and no, that won’t make me stop. This is just too easy.” He laughed as he handed the Pepto to his aunt; she took a large mouthful and placed it in the cup holder as they pulled out of the parking lot.

  After two long stops, they finally arrived at the entrance to the Crater Lake National Monument; Lacey rolled down her window and paid the fee to a park ranger, then asked,

  “Are you familiar with an old man that lives here?”

  “Yeah, did you want to see it?” he answered.

  “Um, yeah so he just goes by ‘Old Man’?”

  “Oh no, it’s not a person, it’s a petrified log that floats upright around the lake. It bobs in and out of the water. Yeah it has floated around the lake for the last hundred years, at least. We believe that it could be an original tree from when Mt. Mazama erupted over seventy seven hundred years ago.”

  “It moves?” Lacey looked at Ben with concern.

  “Well there is nowhere for it to go, there are no creeks or rivers that run into the lake. The lava sealed the bottom of the lake when the mountain erupted, so it is like a huge bowl, the only current is from the wind. The water is clean and the water is cold, but that is really because the lake is nineteen hundred fifty—eight feet deep. That clean, cold water has helped preserve the log.” The ranger looked at them trying to anticipate their next question.

  “How cold?” Ben asked.

  The ranger smiled, “the average temperature is thirty eight degrees. Yeah, you’d get hypothermia if you tried swimming in it.”

  “Okay, thanks.” Lacey said as she taped the permit to her windshield, then drove into the park. “What if the log isn’t in the right place?” She asked Ben as they drove up the narrow road that lead to the lake.

  “We’ll figure it out.” Ben said as he sat up high to see the lake in the distance. They pulled into a parking spot by the main lodge and went to the railed lookout. In the middle of the vast blue lake was a small island. Lacey looked at a sign,

  “Hey, looks like a boat tour is gonna start soon, wanna go?” Ben looked at his aunt, nodded then followed her to the lodge to sign up.

  Ben and Lacey took a seat in the back of the large tour boat that floated the lake, they wanted to be able to hear, but also didn’t want to be noticed. They both looked around the lake, trying to spot the “old man.”

  The tour guide was giving explanations of how the lake was created and that it was the seventh deepest lake in the world, and then said, “Now let me tell you a story about an old man.” Everyone was caught by surprise and giggled, thinking it must be some sort of a lead up to a joke. The guide pointed with his left hand and said, “If you look out this way you will see a
log, do you see it?” He waited confirming everyone was looking. “This log has been floating upright for over a hundred years, it’s a Hemlock log and no one knows why it hasn’t rolled to its side. It usually floats all around the lake, but for some reason lately it has been in the exact same spot. We have all made our own assumptions as to why it hasn’t moved, but we’ll find out shortly, because divers are going to explore the log tomorrow morning.”

  “How long has it been since it’s moved?” Lacey asked loudly.

  “About one month.” the guide responded. “Any more questions?” he asked the crowd. “Okay then if there are no other questions we will go to Wizard Island; this island is a cinder cone, literally a growing mountain, because of the continued volcanic activity in this huge caldera that was formed by the volcano all those years ago.” He looked around, no one was paying attention to him, everyone was making small talk with one another as to why the “Old Man” hadn’t moved in a month, only Ben and Lacey knew the truth.

  14

  Ben kicked a rock into the bright blue water and watched the ripples advance into the lake. He stared once again at the “Old Man” it was about fifty feet offshore of Wizard Island, and just as the tour guide stated, it remained completely still.

  Lacey stepped next to him, “So I talked with the tour guide, there is another tour coming out in about an hour and a half, he said we can stay and explore the island then take the next boat back.” Ben looked behind them; the island was very small, barely three hundred yards wide. It would make sense that they could be out for an additional hour or so, no one would question that.