Self Apocalypse: The Beginning Read Free Page B

The other surrounding peaks where heavily wooded, and had always proved to be a tough climb with the thick undergrowth.  I sipped the last of my first coffee and deciding to finish the rest later, I slung on my pack and set out for my afternoon destination.
     
    It was already proving to be another hot day.  The weather had changed fast.  Not two days ago we were still getting raw and cold patterns.  It seemed someone had just flipped a switch and presto!  Summer is here.  The hike up wasn’t so bad, though it was a little tougher than I had remembered it to be.  I watched the camp slowly shrink in size over the next couple hours as I ascended the rocky mountain side.  It was only late morning when I reached the summit, but I was definitely hungry enough to have lunch.  I sat on a large boulder that lay near the top of the peak, and broke out my food and water.  The view was great.  I always liked having lunch on mountain tops.  There was something about having a meal while overlooking other mountains and the valleys below that seemed to just stop time.  Almost like nothing else matters, there is only then and there and nothing else exists beyond that point.
     
    The camp seemed so small below me.  It looked very clean and well groomed from this vantage point too.  I hadn’t done much behind the camper, but after seeing the potential from this point of view I would probably try and clear some more later on.  It was actually a good size piece of property.  The yard anyway, the property itself was much bigger, but I wasn’t about to start clearing trees.  I just needed a good size yard.  I stayed on that boulder staring across the surrounding expanse until just after noontime.  I figured it was time to dunk myself in the river again then do some more fishing.  If I could catch a couple more trout I’d have that for dinner and save the dogs and beans for tomorrow.  I started down the mountain side keeping my eyes on what appeared to be an approaching storm in the distance.  After an hour I picked up my pace, now realizing that the distant clouds were now racing in fast.  I could see flashes of lightning a long ways off, and the long rumble of thunder soon met with my ears.  I was across the river from the camp in under an hour.  The whole descent took me about only two thirds the time it did going up.  At this point sweat was pouring from me like I had a natural spring flowing from my pores.  I didn’t take the time to slowly cross as I had done this morning, but rather jumped in to cool my body temp.  Even with the approaching storm I couldn’t resist.  The heat was just too much.
     
    Shortly after dropping my gear and changing, the wind began to blow harder.  I turned the radio back on, and the first thing I heard wasn’t music.  It was the local emergency broadcast.  Apparently this was a severe storm, and it was coming right over my camp!  I took whatever loose items were hanging around and put them in the truck and camper, then warmed the pot of coffee I had this morning as best I could before the rain began falling.  There wasn’t even a sprinkle.  It just started pouring.  Just as I was entering the camper with the coffee pot, something hard hit me from behind.  I fell to my knees on the camper floor and set down the coffee pot.  Whatever it was, it felt like I had been pegged by a rock.  I could feel the welt starting to form.  Then I heard more hitting the camper.  Hail.  Thankfully it was only nickel size.  I couldn’t imagine what would have happened if it had been the size of a golf ball.
     
    I sat down at the small table and watched the storm throw its might upon the campsite.  I couldn’t help but wonder if the hail had dented the truck badly.  I poured a cup of my lukewarm coffee to help pass the time.  The hail stopped and the rain began to lighten up, but the wind and lightning continued to play its part strongly.  After the lightning passed, the clouds