Shaconage Journey- a story by Allen Broadus
The Great Camping Trip- Start of the Shaconage Journey
by Allen Broadus
Jack knew that he had to be hallucinating. He was a man of science. The smooth stone that he had found in the river gave off a greenish glow. Jack knew much about the rocks of this area, he had been vacationing here all his life. The formations of this area had fueled his desire to study geology. All his knowledge tells him that this should not be happening.
Suddenly the creek began to make a bubbling sound and the rock cliff on the opposite bank seems to move……..
Jack Broadhurst’s week had been very rough. His work of 10 years had been jerked from him by a new Dean of the college. He was being treated as a graduate assistant instead of the
This was also the spot where geology was its elementary best. The core theories of geology were confirmed in these layers of rock formations. The air was also crisper and the water colder and clearer. All seemed right with the world when Jack was in the Great Smokies.
That all changed when Jack found the strange looking stone in the river bottom. Something about the color and texture of the stone drew Jack’s attention. When Jack picked up the stone a greenish glow illuminated the area.
The bubbling sound from the water continued to get louder and louder. The face of the cliff appeared to move and open a hidden cave. Jack heard a faint but yet familiar voice. All the sudden the stone cease to glow, the water stopped bubbling and the cliff face was back to normal. A figure was coming down the path and Jack recognized the voice. It was Alex, his older brother.
“Jack do you not hear me calling you? I swear a
“Did you not see or hear that?” Jack asked.
“See or hear what?” Alex responded.
“The water bubbling or the green glow?” Jack inquired.
“Did you get a hold of those wild mushrooms? Next thing you are going to ask about
“Maybe I’m letting my Dean get to me with all that
Jack then looked back over his shoulder at the river and the cliff. He put the stone into his backpack to take back to camp. Jack turned back towards Alex and said “Are you ready for the hike back to camp? I hear we are having hobo dinners on the fire tonight. You know I like some hobo dinners.”
The hike was more of a race. This was the usual thing when Alex and Jack were together. There was always a friendly competitiveness between the brothers. These competitions usually brought a smile to both faces and an extra spring to their step. The mile and a half hike seem to take only a few minutes as they went up and down the trail like a rollercoaster. A familiar face greeted them at the camp as they rounded the last curve. The years were evident in the gray hair and wringles but the mother’s smile never fades. Melissa Broadhurst had been bringing her sons to these mountains all their lives. She understood that this was where her sons could relax and enjoy family and life. This was also the place that she could see her sons as they were while they were young children.
“Supper will be ready soon. We will eat when your father gets back from his short hike. Both of you need to clean up.” Melissa said with never ending amazement of her two sons.
Jack smiled at her and asked “Where did Dad get off to now?”
“You know him off into the woods every chance he gets. I would just like for him to understand that he is not as young as he use to be.” she replied.
“Well later I need to show him a rock I found today.” Jack said as he went to clean up.
Meanwhile he put the backpack down and picked up his guitar. Jack started to play a few songs to past the time while waiting on his father to return. This always brought a smile to his mother's face as she started to hum along.
An hour or so later Lee Broadhurst arrived back at camp and the family sat down to their hobo dinners. Jack’s intent to speak to his Dad about the strange events earlier were forgotten with with the story that his Dad was telling. “It seems that this mother bear and her two cubs just come lumbering out of the woods not fifty feet in front of me. They acted like I wasn’t there. For a split second I thought I heard them talking to each other. And no I haven’t taken too much medication.”
Everyone starting laughing and Alex jokingly told his mom to check the cooking sherry. He then asked his dad “What happened next?”
Lee responded “They must of seen me or caught my scent. They suddenly took off back into the woods.”
Melissa could not resist the chance “I would say they caught your scent. You can smell pretty raunchy at times.” She was waving her hand in front of her nose. Everyone broke out into a loud laugh. Jack then excused himself by saying “Mother nature calls. I might need to take this.” He grabbed his back pack with the biodegradable toilet paper headed to their designated latrine area in the woods. When he opened the backpack he noticed the strange rock again. "I must talk to Dad about this when i get back to camp." Jack said to himself. While he was there he noticed a strange blue light coming from the direction of the camp. “Alex must be showing off one of his new high tech toys again.” Jack mumbled to himself.
Jack while returning to camp noticed the lack of noise. The usual conversations were absent. Much to his amazement there was no one in the camp. Jack called out “Mom, Dad, Alex, where are you guys?” But there was no answer. Alex’s cup of coffee was still sitting on the table and the plates were still half full from dinner. Suddenly a deep growling voice came from the woods, “They’ve been taken.” A large bear came walking out of the woods. Jack stumbled over the log next to him and fell. The world suddenly went black.
More of this story will appear at a later date. This is just the start of a family's journey to a magical place and time. Please give me feedback on this story
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