Nimbus 2056 Part 18 Take 1

“Who are you then? Where do you come from?” Nuck Nuck forced inward inspection of Stuckey.

“My name is James Morgan Stuckey, I come from desert places of Victorville and Phoenix.”

“Desert?” Nuck Nuck looked perplexed.

“A different climate, than what we are in now.” Stuckey answered.

Nuck Nuck looked even more confused.

“This isn’t working. Why don’t you tell me more about you?” Stuckey wanted to make the most of this.

“Me, I am Strong Feather. This tribe and I have been traveling many lands. With the sun rising on our left and setting on our right. Chasing the game. Naia is my wife.”

“But early humans traveled north out of Africa. Unless you are the people who traveled across the Bering Strait Land Bridge.” Stuckey surmised.

“North?” Nuck Nuck curious.

“Oh lord. We have a lot of ground to cover.” Stuckey sighed.

“Lord?” Nuck Nuck’s head tilted.

“Whew, Here we go. This land you see will not always be so. One day many seasons from now. The forest will be gone, the rivers dry, and the sky blocked by massive towers. You can get food whenever you want, without doing anything. You will never know cold nor hot. Your feet will never feel the earth anymore.”

“No more walking?” Nuck Nuck smiled.

“Yes! You can survive only moving your lips.” Stuckey responded.

Nuck Nuck laughed and pushed his lips together.

“It’s great! But, where I come from is pretty bad too.” Stuckey realized.

Stuckey lost his gaze and it traveled across the large span of majestic wilderness and it’s lethal beauty.

“We destroyed all of this. Created so much garbage, plastic is now in the geological record. The ice caps melted, and we lost a lot of land. Then the ocean’s burned us because of how much pollution we thought it could handle.”

“Garbage?” Nuck Nuck had no idea what disposable packaging meant.

“We use everything we harvest, nothing can be wasted here. Everything has a purpose.” Nuck Nuck answered.

The fire flickered shadows from side to side, akin to waves rhythmically landing on a beach. This place where Stuckey found himself in had bouts of chaos, with pinches of tranquility squeezed in.

“You know, I think you are right. What if my purpose is to guide a fresh start to avoid the world I live in?” Stuckey pupils dilated from the epiphany.

“You can’t hunt though, and it’s winter soon. You won’t survive.” Nuck Nuck chastised.

“Remember when you lit this fire? Remember how I came over and lit it much faster? That’s how I will survive. We help each other be more efficient.” Stuckey spoke.

“Efficient?” Nuck Nuck intrigued.

“We help each other be faster and wiser.”

“Oh!”

“But you so weak?” Nuck Nuck scanned the scrawny body of Stuckey.

If the two men were to stand next to each other it would be like comparing a wolf to a shiba inu.

Stuckey gulped, reflected upon how Naia greeted him, and a flush of red flashed across his face. This man could snap him like a twig.

“I uhhh uhhhh, I will become stronger! You will become wiser. We both win.” Stuckey grinned and out stretched his hand.

Nuck Nuck’s comprehension was beginning to slide.

“Let me Awano” Nuck Nuck said.

“What are you saying?” Stuckey started to get frightened.

“You Dohla mushrooms. Anlapono!”

“Oh no! The trip must be over!” Stuckey scared

of

the

sudden

sense of clarity.

The first sensation he came to was his shoulders began to ache like it was squeezed in a vice. He opened his eyes and saw Nuck Nuck’s hands crushing each of Stuckey’s shoulders.

“MANEWO TETANKO AWANO!” Nuck Nuck howled.

Stuckey was thrust back into his senses. The familiarity they had shared in a different sense had now vanished.

“Get off of me! We are here to help each other!” Stuckey tried his best to not cower.

He then realized he had arms and pushed back against Nuck Nuck. The two in the struggle caught each other’s gaze. Through that exchange, on the basic level each man knew he meant the other no harm.

Nuck Nuck released his grip, found his feet and walked back to the funeral.

“Fableton! Fableton! Let’s talk.” Stuckey hollered.

“What did you see?” Fableton spoke up. Stuckey hadn’t realized that he hadn’t left his side.

“Dude! We are a factory reset!” Stuckey exclaimed.