The Dragon's Cure - Shaun

Chapter 3

Shaun stretched his arms above his head and grunted as his back and neck popped. The zipper pulled to the tent pulled up allowing a sharp wind to enter. Shaun's hands slapped against all his notes to prevent them from blowing away.

The tents-now attached to each other by clips-that Luke borrowed from an army base, held there sleeping bags-spread out near the rear, four blue cooler boxes with white lids, the white picnic table stood in the centre, a few foldable plastic chairs scattered around, and two chests. Clothes spilled over the edge of one of those chests. Lastly, the portable barbeque grill stood near the entrance to allow easy access.

"I know you want to find answers, Shaun, but you need to take a break. Step away from those notes for a while and come back with fresh eyes. It's like you said when you were writing those books. You read the same lines so many times that you eventually see things that are not there," Luke said, bending to enter the tent. If Luke grew any taller, they would need longer poles to raise the tents off the ground.

Shaun rolled his eyes up to the light that had been hooked up to a generator and said, "This is not the same as editing one of my research books. I've read Dad's notes so many times that I've memorised them all."

"Exactly,"-Luke said, throwing his hands into the air.-"Your mind is telling you what to expect. If you take a break and come back fresh, you might just read something in a different context than what your head is telling you. Dad could have written something about Mom giving birth and you are seeing it as one of the other women."

"I doubt that, but I get your meaning. I guess I can take the night off."-Shaun pushed his hair back from his face and turned his gaze back on Luke.-"You hungry? I can make us some chicken and a few steaks. Chez will probably be starving when he wakes up tomorrow morning. That is if he comes back to sleep."

"Yeah, I could eat. I might not feel the effects of the alcohol, but the wine makes me peckish. Chez has been out in that clearing dancing up a storm, if that is what you call it. They stomp around like they are getting seizures and wave those luminescent sticks around like it's Guy Fox," Luke said.

Shaun smacked his knee and stomped his foot as the laughter bubbled free, bringing tears to his eyes.

"Just remember that it might have been Chezlin's idea to come here, but you were the one that convinced me to drop everything and disappear for the weekend," Shaun said when he eventually managed to get the words out.

The pages hissed and crackled over the table before Shaun shoved them back into his briefcase. The breeze that blew through the flaps that Luke pegged back, added to the cold as Shaun pulled steaks and packs of chicken from a cooler. He blew on his fingers as Luke wheeled the grill out of the tent.

"I was not expecting it to be this bad. One of the officers at the station said that it would be fun. This is insane, not fun. Although it is hilarious to watch them bump into each other and fall on their asses. The best is when they remain exactly where they fell, in the middle of the crowd and then fall asleep. I haven't been able to close my eyes except for the short time the band or DJ goes to sleep," Luke said.

Shaun wiped the water from his eyes and held onto his stomach. "You should have brought earplugs with you," he said.

"I have earplugs and they don't help. I can feel their stomping vibrating through the damn ground. It reminds me of the first time we went hunting and the whole herd of those Stegasaurus looking things chased us up the mountain. It's like there is a stampede happening every five seconds," Luke said, exasperated.

Shaun fell over and rolled on the floor as he laughed. That day had been the most eventful day since they arrived on that planet. Shaun had warned them to remain downwind, but none of them expected the sudden change in wind direction. They needed the hides of two or three of the animals for Chezlin's bed, but almost ended up being stomped to death. One really large tree had been their only salvation.