chapter: District one was characterized by terrain with mountains covered by large tracts of land covered with trees. The Zeus system created the Nemean lion using special genetic engineering. The Nemean lions hide was composed of tough fibers closely interwoven, such that, an arrow or bullet could not past through. The hide was stronger than Kelvar. Hercules and Scott would hunt the lion. Hercules knew how to hunt and possessed tracking skills. They wanted to find the Lion Lair, The place, the lion would drag back its prey to consume. The lair would be littered with bones and hair. A lion this size would have a predictable territory to travel. Scott, he need to pack food and water necessary for several days of hunting. Hercules said, I have heard myths that the Nemean lion lives in a cave with two entrances. We will use this knowledge to our advantage. I plan on killing it and using the lion hide as protection against the Hydra. Scott planned on using a high powered rifle to kill the lion. He knew Hercules planned on hunting with a steel bow. Scott ordered the supplies from machine world. The e-robots air dropped supplies in the forrest. The wood crate was pried open and the group inventoried the contents: rifle and ammunition, steel bow with metal tipped arrows, two tents, food, water, and packs. Scott spread out the contents into two groupings. Hercules and Scott began to assemble the items into the pack. Hercules and Scott would depart in the morning. In the meantime, Scott built a fire and began preparing the evening dinner. Hercules found wood and Scott started then fire. Jacob said, It is getting cold. This fire feels good. Jacob warmed up his hands by facing towards the yellow and orange flames. The radiate heat warmed his hand and helped reduced the shivering. The evening dew began to enter and their clothes felt damp with moisture. Scott had prepared a meal consisting of sliced potatoes, hamburger, mushroom soup, onions, and garlic fried in a Dutch oven. The red amber coals were glowing red under and over the Dutch oven. In a few minutes the coals were white and slowly cooked the meal. Scott passed water bottles to members in the group. The food was ready to eat. Scott lifted the lid of the Dutch oven and steam burst out into the air. He took a large metal spoon and scooped up portions of the food onto metal plates. Each person stood in line to receive their portion of the food. Scott asked Jacob to pray. Heavenly Father, we thank thee for this delicious food, Dad has prepared. We ask that Dad and Hercules will find and kill the Nemean Lion and safely return. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. Jacobs prayer was short, simple, and sincere. Eylssa took her fork and took a bite of the food. Humm, this food is good. Scott your a great cook. Scott smiled at the compliment. Thanks, I am glad, you like it. This is a favorite dish of mine. I had the e-robots air drop the supplies for the meal. We will be leaving early in the morning and begin our hunt for the lion. The tents had been setup and prepare for sleep. Scott and Eylssa went to sleep. The night sounds began to fade as Scott fell into a deep slumber. His watch alarm sound at 5:00 am. The warmth of his sleeping bag prevented him from wanting to move. He knew they need to get moving because tracking the Lion could take several days. Scott rolled out of bed and put on his pants and shirt. They felt damp from the morning dew. When he existed the tent, he noticed Hercules was already awake and standing by the fire pit. He had added new wood and the sounds of crackling could be heard. Am I the last guy up? Hercules nodded and handed Scott a cup of hot chocolate. Hercules showed Scott the valley where they were camping. We will need to walk to the base of this mountain. We may be able to find the Lions trail or cave for here. Hercules pointed to a trail that extended along the base of the mountain and switched back to the ridge. The two individuals would work themselves up the side of the mountain then walk along the ridgeline at the top of the mountain. Hercules indicated that Scott should use his rifle scope to search for the lion. Lets go. Scott looked in on Jacob, who was still asleep. Eylssa would get up in few hours and cook him food. He didnt want to awaken his son, so he zipped up the tent. The two walked out of camp, quietly. Scott had his pack on his back and rifle on his shoulder. Hercules carried his pack and bow in his right hand and arrow quiver on his left shoulder. Listen to the birds. They will tell you if a predator in the area. I dont think the Lion will be hunting in the morning. They usually hunt at night, but be aware. We dont want to be surprised. Scott was following Hercules. They walked up the trail and cross the stream on their way to the base of the mountain. The ground looked undistrubted. Hercules stopped Scott and knelt down. I think this is the path of the Lion. He may be walking along a perimeter of his territory. Scotts heart began to beat faster. He felt anxiety. They were standing in the location that the Lion walked. He imaged the 500 pound lion spotting them and charging. He wondered, in the moment of rage, if he would freeze or if he could shoot his rifle. The Hunt was starting to seem real. Hercules and Scott followed the trail winding around trees whose branches were high about the ground. The density of the forrest was not too great. The leaves were wet from the morning dew. They stopped to listen. The forrest did not produce any strange sounds. Scott began to look for landmarks to helped him remember how to get back to base camp. He had a geo locator that was transmitting location coordinates from machine world. Getting lost was not a possiblity. However, he did feel disoriented because the trees blocked his view of where they were going. The two eventually walked clear of the forrest line and emerged on the east side of the ridge. Scott and Hercules began walking up the rocky switch backs towards the ridge line. The loose rock slide under their feet and made the effort to climb upward more difficult. Watch out for sliding rock and be careful, not to lose your footing. About noon, the reached the top of the ridge line. Scott kneeled down and began searching the ridge line for movement. He calibrated his rifle scope to focus on the different sections of the mountain. He slowly looked at section by section searching for movement. He was surprised to see movement of a large brown beast. It was slowly walking along the ridge of the mountain. Scott found the lion! Scott could not get a good shot from his view because of the trees. He started to move higher to get a better angle and try a shot. The lion was begin to move out of range. He needed to take the shot. He pulled off his pack and knelt down. He supported the weight of the rifle with his left hand and elbow on the left knee. He took a deep breath and slowly pulled the trigger. The explosion and boom of the rifle deafened to his ears. A heavily bullet traveling 3000 feet per second arched down on the Lion. The lion dropped to the ground. The shot was a hit. Hercules ran towards the sound of gun fire. He meet Scott walking towards the direction of the lion. It would take the two, a few minutes to reach the location. When they arrived at the place where the lion had been shot, they could see indications something large had fallen. The lion was gone and there was no trace it had been injured. Hercules said, The bullet did not pierce its hide. Lucky cat. Scott replied, Let see, if we can finds its lair The two followed the cats trail to a cave. The cave entrance was liter with bones and hair. It had two entrances. Hercules said, We need to be careful. The cat will catch our scent and know we have been here. I want to surprise the Lion and try and kill it with my steel bow. Scott replied, If the arrows dont pierce the hid, we want the lion to run into the cave. We can trap it and kill it there with my bare hands. Hercules said, We need to block the far entrance with rocks. Scott and Hercules began the hard labor of carrying rocks to the far entrance. They spend several hours carrying heavy rocks to the far entrance. Inch by inch the exit hole was being closed. The final rock was put into place and the exit was sealed. Let get down wind and out of sight from the cave. Hercules had built a shelter of leaves, branches, and natural camouflage to keep the Lion from seeing them. He wanted to the surprise the Lion. He would get a split second to shoot his arrow. The evening was setting. The sun was going down and still no lion. Scott wondered to himself, if the Lion would return. He wondered if the cat would be scared to return home. In distance, Scott could hear the bird squawking and screaming, loadly. He knew something big was coming their direction. Scott motioned for Hercules to prepare. Hercules pulled an arrow from his quiver and waited. The Lion was slowly walking their way and nervously looking around. It seemed spooked. The lion did not see them. Hercules stood up from his location, pulled the bow back, and launched the arrow at the Lion. In a split second, the Lion prepared to dart out of the way of the incoming arrow, but it was too late. The element of surprise worked. The arrow found it target. Hercules and Scott expected to see the arrow kill the lion. Instead, the arrow bounced off the hit of the big cat. Now, the big cat charged into its cave leaving a trail of dust. Hercules yelled, Let go, we have the cat cornered in the cave. We need to work together. I need to you get the Lions attention or get him to charge you. I will strangle him from behind. Scott knew the risks were enormous for him. If the Lion charge him, his powerful claws and incisor could slash him apart leaving terrible wounds. He grab a club as they ran towards the entrance of the cave. They could hear the mighty roar of the trapped Lion within the cave. Scott feared the Lion would charge out at them knocking him to the ground. The interior of the cave was dark and their eyes had not adjusted. Scott stabbed his club into the cave as he walked in. The Lion was against the far end of the cave. It was pacing around in a circle looking for an escape. It crotched and snarled and roared. It slashed it claws in the direction of Scott and prepared to charge. Hercules was move along the perimeter of the cave quickly. The Lion leaped towards Scott. Scott reacted by bringing the club down hard on the Lions head. The club broke in half on the lions head and the Lion was up and moving towards Scott knocking him to the ground. Scott was kicking with his legs at the face of the Lion by the weight of the Lion was too much. Hercules leaped on the back of the Lion and brought his massive arms around the throat of the lion. The Lion beast attempted to spin and throw Hercules off hits back. He maintained his strangle hold. The Lion attempted to claw its way out of the cave pulling Hercules with him. The cat tried to roll but Hercules ignore the escape attempts and held on. The Lion suddenly stopped struggling. It was dead. Scott noticed Hercules clothes had been torn by the cat but he did not suffer any injury. Your as hard as stone. Hercules replied, It part of the advantages of being a demi-God. Scott secretly knew that was not the truth. Hercule would need to know the truth someday. He would need to know that his immortality was a lie. He would die as a stone statute and their was nothing he could do to prevent it.
Posted on: Mon, 27 Jan 2014 13:54:54 +0000
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