Nimbus 2056 Part 16 Take 1.

“DON’T DO IT! Stuckey yelled as he tackled Fableton.

The take down knocked the syringe out of Fableton’s hands.

End over end the syringe twirled in the air erupting into shiny glass shards crashing against a rock.

“Shit!” Fableton grunted, and then broke into sobs.

“This place sucks! I don’t want to be here!”

“None of us do.” Stuckey tried to console.

Stuckey threw his arms over the shoulders of Fableton. It was a combination between a hug and a restraint.

The two sat there, Gelben’s body lying lifeless to their left, watching the sun ascend into a new day. Eventually their panicked frenzies of breath calmed to a normal rhythm. The forest was also arising. Birds chattered to each other in melodic escapades. As the sun illuminated the landscape. The brutality of the night before began to creep into their vision. The bear dead still, but it’s face frozen in a terrifying roar. Took Took’s hand reaching out from underneath.

“Holy shit!” Fableton now realizing how big the bear was.

“That thing is fucking huge!”

“Yeah… We are pretty lucky. It only got one of us.” Stuckey explained.

“Do you know what it’s laying on?” Fableton asked.

“Yeah that other Indian fellow. I never caught his name, but the old guy was pretty upset about it.” Stuckey spoke matter of factly.

“That……..and…..and……… College was a different time for you huh?” Fableton.

“What do you mean?” Stuckey questioned.

“You aren’t seeing those little whitecaps popping out from the fur?”

“Yeah, so?” Stuckey became more perplexed as to what Fableton focused upon.

“We definitely did college differently than. Cause if my memory serves me correctly those mushrooms maybe of the magical variety.” Fableton started crawling towards the bear for closer inspection.

“Weren’t you just contemplating suicide? Now you want to get high? The crashed we survived is nothing compared to your own substance abuse problems!” Stuckey criticized.

Stuckey’s vicious opinions on Fableton’s escapism, yielded a path to curiosity. Stuckey had flown the straight and narrow consistently. The life free from vice upheld by position was his plan until retirement. Yes, he drank too many beers on weekends, but no would he consider losing his license for intoxication.

If he lost his wings, then he himself would be unfindable. Stuckey thought of himself as a young pilot eager to climb the ranks. The hierarchy which he subscribed himself to have all fallen silent. The chain of command works only if there is communication. With Captain Noah’s ashes at his feet, the only conversation he was having was with his own frantic self.

“Nothing good happens from getting high! Why would you do that to yourself?” Stuckey yelled to Fableton.

Fableton couldn’t hear it though, he had crawled over, pinched his nose and began chewing.

“NO! SPIT IT OUT!” Stuckey had Fableton by the chin, trying to clear the fungi in his mouth.

GULP

Like a dog caught eating something it shouldn’t have Fableton quickly swallowed.

“God that tastes terrible whuck!” Fableton.

“Throw it up!!! NOW!” Stuckey commanded.

“No way man! I don’t want to waste my high!” Fableton.

“How do you know if what you ate was even edible? What if it is poisonous? You could die! Vomit it up!” Stuckey tried to regain order and control.

“Really?…… You are going to ask me if I am scared of dying when not but five minutes ago I clutched a needle?! In thirty to forty minutes I will let you know if I was right.”

It wasn’t just Fableton and Stuckey. Now it seemed like the whole cast was awake. Anastasia was the first to see how Gelben offed himself.

She let out a shriek and covered her mouth.

“Is….Is…..Is he dead?” She asked.

“Yes, he thought he was the only one who didn’t want to be here.” Stuckey responded.

“Too many god damn funerals!” Anastasia.

“We might have had one more. I knocked out the syringe from that one. Now he’s poisoned himself.” Stuckey pointed towards Fableton.

“Poisoned?! What how?”

“He claims that the mushrooms under the bear, are psychedelics.” Stuckey.

“Well, are they?”

“Anastasia! Your face is soooo beautiful! Wow! But, why is it twisting!” Fableton said mesmerized “Where did all these colors come from? Isn’t it phenomenal ?”

“I think we have our answer.” Anastasia said.

Fableton started to smile.

“He is useless for the next 6–8 hours. Let’s start with the dead.” Stuckey stated.

Niata was the next one to observe the circumstances. He ran over to the bear, and pushed with all his might to roll the bear off of Took Took. His aged muscles couldn’t move the body.

“Awano!” the old man cried out.

Nuck Nuck emerged from the craft and rushed over.

“E’a!” Nuck Nuck answered.

Once more the elder cried out “Awano!”

The two other women scurried over to help.

“Awano!” Niata yelled.

“Nahuwapi Mahka Dohla!” Fableton yelled answered the native people.

Anastasia and Stuckey in unison looked towards one other, and said synchronously.

“Wait what?”