Part 2
Tara was gone when I emerged from the tent, so I went behind a tree to relieve myself, not an easy task given my erection. After a while waiting and focusing my will, my hardon began to wane and I was able to pee to my great relief. I found Tara back at camp when I returned, already packing everything and tearing down the tent.
"Hi big brother!" she said brightly "Should we grab breakfast and go? It looks like we slept in a little and I know you wanted to get an early start."
"Sure" I replied untying the bag of food I had hung up the previous night. "How about a few granola bars and some coffee?"
"That sounds amazing!" She exclaimed, as I poured two cups, and handed her one. "It's even still warm," she cooed as she savored her drink.
As we ate breakfast and drank our coffee, I expected to find signs of regret or tension from Tara but found none and if she had known I was awake, she made no attempt to bring it up. She seemed to have just moved on, satisfied to leave the issue alone either way. If anything, she seemed to have a new spring in her step, excitedly talking about the day ahead and wanting to know the plan. I told her we were heading into uncharted territory today, and I should probably take the lead. If I was right about my guess, we should be getting to the lake a little after noon but it was hard to judge from the outpost. Tara was fine with my plan and after finishing our breakfast she eagerly finished packing and told me she was ready to go. I checked the map again, made a few notations and picked what looked like the best path and set out.
The going was slower on this leg of the journey by design. Our first campsite had been as far as I had traveled in this direction alone, so I was determined to take it slow into the unknown. From the news we had gathered when there were still people broadcasting on the radio, there were all sorts of weird creatures and plants now spread throughout the landscape. While the only oddities we had seen in our time in the outpost so far had been some strange looking fish and glowing plants, I thought it best to take no chances. After an hour or so of making our way carefully into the woods Tara spoke up behind me in a serious voice.
"You know what's weird?'
"What's that?" I replied over my shoulder as I cut down some of the shrubbery in our path.
"That nothing is weird" She replied.
"What do you mean?"
"Well think about it," she started, in her lecturer tone. "The whole world has gone crazy right? Like monsters and magic and the red sky and all of that."
"Sure, sure of course" I responded, still not getting her point.
"Well," she said in slightly exasperated tone, "wouldn't you think we would have seen a unicorn or some other crazy thing by now?" I thought it a bit before she continued "So isn't it weird that everything at the outpost and the woods seems so.. just normal?"
"Maybe it's not as bad as we thought it was?" I shrugged. I doubted it, I mean the governments of the world had not collapsed because of a few glowing flowers, but I had no other explanations.
"You and I both know that seems unlikely" Tara responded.
"I know, it does. You're right, it does feel like we should have seen something by now but I guess we have just been lucky," I responded with another shrug.
"Mmhm" Tara muttered obviously not satisfied by my reply, but she let it go. I could practically hear the gears turning in her mind as she walked behind me. The thought was not actually new to me. Every time I went out I made sure I was prepared for something like what we heard about on the radio, but I never found anything. Until now, I had always just assumed that I was lucky or my precautions were working, but now that Tara brought it up, I started to think maybe something else was the reason for the quiet. There was nothing to be done about it now at least, so I focused on the path ahead.
After a couple of hours cutting our way through the forest, we caught the sound of running water and figuring following water was the best way to find the lake, we made for the source. We eventually found our way to a small clearing overlooking a river. I guessed that it was the same river that ran past the outpost but couldn't say for sure this far from home. After taking a quick break and splashing water in our faces we continued on our way north, following the shoreline.
Now determined to find the lake, I set a faster pace than before. A glace up at the sun showed it was almost noon, and I knew we would need to stop soon for lunch and to fill in the map. I was about to suggest we do just that but as we rounded a bend the distant sound of crashing water caught our attention. Determined to find the source, we trudged on for another couple hundred yards before coming to a relatively open clearing. In front of us there was a pool of water being fed by a forty foot waterfall. Tara excitedly jumped up and down saying "Ohh so pretty!" and I had to agree.
"How about we stop here for lunch?" I said, pulling off my pack and sitting down on a fallen log.
"Sure!" Tara responded brightly "I bet the lake is right on top of those cliffs."
Tara accepted the meal of jerky and trail mix but seemed too excited to sit and eat. She paced back and forth examining the water fall and babbling excitedly as she ate. "I bet we can climb up from the other side pretty easily. It even looks like there is a path under the waterfall to the other side." As she talked, I took the opportunity to examine her body. She was wearing the same short shorts and sports bra she had yesterday unless I was wrong, and no panties at all. I could feel my cock begin to stiffen again before she turned back and met my eyes. Her cheeks flushed when she saw where I was looking and she seemed to want to say something but stopped herself. She smiled deviously, and let out a soft laugh before turning back around to the waterfall.
After finishing eating, we decided to try to find a path to the other side before climbing the cliff. The roar of the water seemed to reach a peak as we got up to the base. There was indeed a path to the other side under the falls, but also the opening to a cave. We decided to check out the cave first, figuring it could make a good site to camp that night. After passing through the small opening, the cave opened up to a large, open cavern.
There were a few gaps in the jagged rocks above that let in plenty of sunlight, and the rocks seemed to have been smoothed flat by the water. There was a spongy moss substance covering the ground and as we entered, the sound of the waterfall faded. At the center of the cave there was a rock pedestal with a small basin dug out into the stone filled with water that dripped slowly from the roof. It seemed simultaneously natural and unnatural at the same time, the way it was framed in the center of the large dome. There was something strange about this cavern, nothing I could point to in particular or describe but somehow I felt energized being in here. We took a quick walk around the perimeter of the cave and determined there was nothing else to find. We decided this would make a great place to camp tonight given the shelter and access to water, so I dropped the big pack and took out what we would need for the rest of the day.
We made our way back to the waterfall and out the other side. Slowly, we crept up the gradual slope, hunched down practically on our hands and knees. As we neared the top I turned around briefly and held my finger to my mouth in a shushing motion. Tara nodded that she understood and gave me the "ok" signal. She looked nervous not scared, and excited as she watched me crawl the last several feet.
I took a deep breath and eased my way above the ridge, and cautiously looked to see a large mountain lake. It seemed the lake was much bigger than I expected disappearing from view to the west. I checked either side of the ridge and, seeing nothing out the ordinary, motioned for Tara to move up beside me.
"Looks ok" I whispered under my breath. "Mhm" she responded before continuing to study the lake. I pulled out the pair of binoculars I had stored in Tara's pack and studied the opposite shoreline. The old map of our area had this lake noted, but this looked much bigger. I assume the earthquakes that rocked us in the collision had shifted the landscape. While the south side of the lake, towards our outpost was completely undeveloped, there used to be a small number of roads and houses on the north end. What had happened to them I couldn't say, but my best guess was they had been consumed in the earthquakes.
"Is that a house?" Tara said pointing out a distant shape on a stretch of land that jutted out into lake. On the other side of the lake, I could barely make out the fuzzy shape of what looked like a lake house where she pointed. I twisted the dial a bit and the image came into better focus. The "lake house" was actually a futuristic looking stainless-steel structure that went right up to the shoreline. It looked like there was a built-in launch under the house with a stall for a boat I assumed there was a deck on top of the launch with a steel handrail and a single door leading to the house. Besides this door and the launch, I could not see any other entry points, doors or windows.
I was about to hand over the binoculars when I heard Tara say in an urgent voice "look there's a boat to the northeast." Before I could even react, I saw a huge shadow emerge from under the house and speed across the lake. It seemed to be an almost liquid shape as it spilled out of the house but settled into a stingray looking shape. The binoculars dug into my eyes as I followed the shadow gliding swiftly across the lake, towards a small stream that fed into the north side. I saw what looked like a standard two-person canoe reaching the lake from this stream, before the shadow overtook the boat. I didn't have to hear the screams of the passengers to know they were there, as the shadow abruptly erupted from the surface and swallowed the boat whole. I felt Tara let out a gasp and quickly cover her mouth next to me, as I watched the water where the canoe had been settle, and the shadow make its way back across the lake to the house.
I turned to Tara who seemed to be in a state of shock and quickly pulled her several feet back down the slope. As freaked as I was at what we had seen, she seemed worse. My protective instincts kicked in and I pulled her into a tight embrace. "Shhhh, it's gone now," I whispered as she silently sobbed into my chest.
"Wha..what was that?" she breathed between silent sobs.
"I don't know, but it's gone now" I responded.
"Did you see.... the boat..."
"Yeah I saw it" I said quietly as I stroked her hair reassuringly.
