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While all this was happening Dilton had pulled out his cell phone and phoned Richard.

Richard Gerard had just pulled out a flask of water when he heard a shrill ringing. Alarmed, he dropped his water and looked around to see where the noise was coming from. He soon realized that it was that strange device Dilton had given him. A cell phone? Yeah, that’s it. He took it out of a pouch on his hip and opened it.

“Hello? Is this thing working?”

“Hi, Richard. And yes, it is. Listen, we need your help. We have weapons and skill but not nearly enough men. Do you know of anybody that might be willing to fight?” Dilton replied.

“I think I know of a few people who might want to. I’ll find them and report back,” he said standing straight like the soldier he was.

“Thank you.”

“I will do anything to help you.” Richard saluted.

“Good bye.” Dilton hung up.

On Richard’s side the phone had gone quiet. “Hello? Anyone there?” Puzzled he decided to close the cell phone and clean up the mess he had made with his water.

By now Joe was far ahead of the group. They hadn’t tried to keep up but instead decided to leave him be.

“We still need more people. That problem hasn’t gone away,” Scout voiced.

“Richard’s working on that. He thinks he knows some people who might help. If we could find Gordan I’m sure he would help too,” Dilton replied.

“When did all this happen?” Lara wondered.

“I phoned Richard when I was bored of you and Joe’s little spat.”

“So, what do we do now?” Alex asked.

“It looks like it’s going to rain. Maybe we should go back to that village and hole up for awhile. Try not to get soaking wet. We’re not that far away,” Scout suggested looking at the grey clouds in the sky.

“Then someone’s going to have to get Joe,” Cal pointed out.

“I’ll go,” Jake offered. He ran after Joe while the rest of the group turned and headed back to the village.

Jake sprinted up behind Joe and grabbed his arm. Joe tried to shake him loose but Jake had a firm grip on his bicep.

Joe spun around and snarled, “What?”

“A storm’s comin’. We need to get back to the village. Take shelter for awhile.”

“No! We don’t have time to go back! Can’t we just pitch our tents?”

“If you want to get soaked then sure. Our tents aren’t completely water proof. The rest of us would like to stay dry. The others are already on their way back.”

“What? No, they can’t go there!” Joe hurriedly said.

Jake gave him a puzzled look.

“Ok. You know the nightmare I had? Well most of it happened in a village,” Joe explained.

“How do you know it was this village?” Jake asked as the first rain drop fell on his shoulder. “We need to go back. We’ll be fine for one night, ’k?”

“Fine.”

Joe and Jake started walking then running when the rain started falling harder. Finally they entered the small cluster of huts. They saw Scout standing under the protruding roof of the hut the group had chosen motioning them toward her. They quickly entered soaking wet, water dripping off of them onto the floor.

Joe took off his dripping hat and put it on a hanger to dry. He slipped off his muscle shirt, which was heavy with water, and put on his jean jacket which was in his silver, water proof back pack. He left the buttons undone revealing his tanned, muscular chest.

Jake shook the water out of his hair then pulled his sweater over his head and draped it over the back of a chair.

Scout, who had been watching them said, “You guys are keeping your pants on right?”

“No, we’re going to walk around in our boxers whith girls present,” Joe sarcastically replied. “Wishful thinking maybe?” He walked over to another hanger and hung his shirt on it.

His comment caught Scout off guard but she quickly recovered, giving Joe a lethal glare. She walked over to a small fireplace sitting in a corner and started making a fire. Lara rolled her eyes, shook her head and went over to help Scout. Once they got the fire going they took the wet shirts and put them in front of the fire to dry.

The two boys sat down in front of the crackling flames, letting the warmth dry them.

“So much for staying dry, eh?” Jake laughed.

“Yeah,” Joe replied, fidgeting nervously.

“Relax, man. Here, have a beer. It’s Molson,” Jake said grabbing a silver and red can out of his pack and offering it to Joe.

Lara, who was standing with her arms folded across her chest, heard the exchange and looked at Joe, hoping he’d remember his promise.

Joe shook his head. “Sorry, I don’t drink anymore. I made a promise.” Lara smiled.

“You could have just one beer. Just don’t get drunk.”

“No. I have a hard time only having one. It’s better that I stay completely alcohol free.”

Jake shrugged and cracked the can of Molson Canadian. He took a drink then set it down on the floor next to him.

“So what are we going to do about our lack of people?” Joe wondered running his fingers through his slightly wet hair.

“Dilton’s got it covered,” Alex answered.

“I called Richard. He’s going to look for some men who might help. He’s hoping to find Gordon,” Dilton explained.

There was a moment of silence until the sound of Johnny Cash filled the air.

“That must be him. Give me a minute here.” He opened his phone, stopping the music, and talked into his silver cell phone. “Hello.”

“Hi. I found a few people that are more than willing to help,” Richard replied.

“How many?”

“About twenty but I’m still looking for some more,” Richard answered.

“What’s the status on Gordon?” Dilton asked.

“We haven’t found him yet but we’re just entering a group of huts. He might be here,” Richard replied.

“Great. You’ve done well for a day’s work. Bye.” Dilton closed the cell phone and addressed the group of Xonars. “We’ve got twenty more people and he thinks he’s found Gordon.”

“Richard did that much in one day?” Cal asked amazed.

“Yeah, he’s good. Glad we have him on our side,” Dilton replied.

“So what now?” Alex wondered.

“Hey, you boys dry yet?” Scout called to Joe and Jake.

“Dry enough,” Joe grumbled as he got up and walked away from the fire.

Lara grabbed his arm and whispered, “Joe, we need to talk.”