TIME FOLLOWS ME

CHAPTER TEN - "THE BEWILDERED"

CHAPTER TEN

"THE BEWILDERED"

We got directions to the camp which involved driving a short distance back across the border to Montana and heading up into the mountains on some road.

There were big forestry roads that wound up the mountain carved out of the sides, all muddy, wet and slippery. There wasn't a lot of room so when a big lumber truck came down the road, we got out of the way as those trucks were hard to stop at the best of times.

Brenda had somehow arrived that morning and she was going to show us to the cabin where Rich's brother and her lived. Otherwise, we would have never found it. Brenda parked her Toyota Land Cruiser in a little clearing halfway up the mountains and walked into the bush. We arrived at a cabin after a walking a bit. It just appeared out of nowhere, to our little group, Rich, Speaker, Brenda, the Baby and me.

Brenda showed us the cabin. It was one room and had a wood stove and chimney and there was a big bed with a quilt in one corner and rafters across the middle. There were pots and pans hanging on the wall and some plants upside down drying. The cabin was kind of like what I imagined some hippies would be living in who wanted to disappear out of the mainstream and live closer to the earth in some sort of Utopian dream. It was cool. On the door of the cabin that Rich's brother had built, was a carved sign. Carved and burned in for effect were two words, "The Bewildered". Brenda said when she first saw the sign that it made her angry. But then, when she thought about it she said this, "I took it apart and added a hyphen in my head, so the sign really read, The Be-Wildered." Brenda added, "I like it now".

Rich and I agreed. Speaker began barking outside the cabin at something. I heard some boots on the porch and in walked Wayne, Rich's brother whom he greeted adding, "We made it". He introduced me, "this is Pete a hitchhiker I picked up in Canada". That seemed like all he needed to say by way of explanation.

I said, "Howdy, nice to meet you", and Wayne grunted a reply. Wayne gave me a good head to toe looking over and I guess he accepted who I was with my beat up smelly jeans, headband and faded blue jean jacket and an open smile. I looked him right in the eye and didn't look away. I always do that with strangers. I noticed Wayne's eyes were larger like he had seen a lot of things. There was a lot going on inside his head and quite a few nasty pictures I was sure. He came right out and said it.

"I seen a lot of weird thins' over in 'Nam in the jungles, a lot of Godforsaken shit went down. Some of us who survived have no use for the government that sent us there. For what reason? Just to kill some innocent spooks who just happened to be the wrong colour? That's fucked up. So here we make our own life and nobody tells us what to do." He lifted his rifle that he was carrying and said, "If anyone comes a-lookin' for me they'll be met by this. Just leave us alone and we'll leave you alone," he said about the people out there.

The base camp where Wayne's crew was working was further up the mountain along another road. Rich, Speaker and I followed Brenda and Wayne. Rich said a few words to me about his brother and said there were a lot of folks like his brother who had escaped into the mountains. They had seen too much and it had fucked their brains up. They needed to get away and find some peace. I was excited to be here and glad to be welcomed into this group.

Wayne said as we left the cabin, "Come over to the camp and you'll meet some real hillbillies". I genuinely said, "Sure, thanks for the invitation." Wayne said slightly ominously, "These hillbillies aren't to be messed with." I nodded to myself as the scene over the log flashed before my eyes from the movie "Deliverance". I hoped they wouldn't be that kind of Hillbillies, maybe something closer to the Beverly Hillbillies with Jethro and Willy-Mae.