The sun was lazily rising over the trees behind him, casting his shadow across the large expanse of cliffs. Taskmaster sat on the thin ledge of granite over looking a breath-taking valley of green trees. The steep rocky crags below stood like fangs in the mouth a lion.
The gentle breeze stirred the hair on the back of his neck as he absently kicked his dangling legs. An occasional rock would be dislodged by the motion of his legs or from his adjusting positions, and clatter down the steep slope.
"Hey Task, hold this will you?" asked CHRYSt as he handed Taskmaster his backpack.
"Sure," he agreed as he placed the pack down on the ledge. CHRYSt walked off, back to the four-wheel drive vehicle they had drove up to the secluded hiking area.
Taskmaster watched with secret jealousy as a bald eagle soared effortless on the warm breezes, riding the thermal air currents higher and higher in the morning sky. If the eagle knew he was being watched, he gave no indication. His cry echoed across the open valley from rocky canyon wall to rocky canyon wall with a haunting loneliness.
"Yo Task..." called Xylene as she happily bounced dangerously close to the edge of the overhang. "Keep an eye on this bag will ya? It has my camcorder in it."
"No problem!" nodded Taskmaster as he glanced up at Xylene, shielding his eyes from the bright morning sun with his hand. He couldn't help but watch Xylene a little too long as she trotted off toward the nearby stream.
Task turned his attention back to surveying the unparalleled vista spread out before him. The sun light danced on the mist of the waterfall that cascaded down the cliffs across the canyon, creating a shimmering rainbow. "It doesn't get any better than this" recounted Taskmaster feeling as if he was lost in some beer commercial in the Rockies.
Wiz4ha walked up panting as he struggled to drag an aluminum canoe by himself. He dropped the end he had been holding heavily onto the rocky ground behind Taskmaster.
"Can't wait to get this canoe in the water!" enthused Wiz. "Man what a great day!"
"Yea, you always did have a thing for big shiny metal things!" jabbed Taskmaster. "Hey, when is Rooster and his family getting here?"
"Uh, they had to stop back at that last gas station..." Wiz motioned off in the distance, "The kids need to go - uh, you know take a break."
"Are we there yet?" joked Task as Wiz trudged off for a drink of water.
Task noticed a large 6-point buck standing majestically in a clearing amoung the trees. It looked up, seemingly making eye-contact for a brief few moments before bounding into a cluster of trees. "Good thing OFUY decided not to come along!" he considered, "or we be eating venison fritters tonight."
"You gonna sit there all blessed morning?" inquired CHRYSt who had approached while Task was absorbed in watching the stag.
"Tykeal wants you to watch his pack too." stated CHRYSt as he tossed the second backpack on top of his. "Where's Rooster?" he asked rhetorically as he walked off...
"Probably up there on the ridge..." laughed Task imagining Rooster perched on the ridge of the Lava Giant level, popping holes in whom ever was dumb enough to stick their head out for a peek. Task chuckled lightly to himself at the recollection.
Taskmaster squirmed a bit in the rising heat of the morning and wiped the gathering moisture off his brow. "I can't wait to get down the---" started Task.
"Whoa! Help me!" screamed Task as the ledge cracked under the weight of he and all the supplies. He slid down the rocky canyon wall grabbing frantically at the jutting rocks trying to stop his fall.
A large rock to the side produced a couple of broken ribs, causing Taskmaster to suck in a deep breath cutting off his scream. A jutting outcrop snapped his leg sideways breaking his femer easily with a horrid crack. The rough bark of a tree shredded the skin from his back leaving chunks of bark embedded in the exposed muscle. Finally the rock hard ground stop his sudden freefall with a bone jarring thud, ending the incredible pain.
CHRYSt, Tykeal, Wiz4Ha and Xylene stood at the new edge of the overhang looking down in silent shock. The silver canoe was a twisted mess of metal mangled by a rock, tettered part way down the cliff walls, shining brightly with reflected sunlight.
"Oh my God.... I can't believe it!" stammered Xylene. "I just bought that camcorder yesterday!"
I declare myself to be the self-annointed voice of reason for PuF! Opinions expressed by Taskmaster are not necessarily those of Planet Unreal! /~unreal/ubb/html/smile.gif
[This message has been edited by Taskmaster (edited 02-23-2000).]
