Part Two - Chapter Ten

10. Chapter Ten

This song is called Alice's Restaurant, it's about Alice.. and the restaurant. But Alice's Restaurant is not the name of the Restaurant, That's just the name of the song. That's why I call the song Alice's Restaurant.

Arlo Gutherie.

A STORY - MARCH 30,1988

A Prologue - This story was written in April of 1988. I have chosen to keep most of this story as I wrote it. Including the time frames mentioned and the additional writings at the end. As always names have been changed to protect privacies and in this vain, some poetic license has been taken, but the story is still the same. The gap between chapter 8 and this chapter which I have chosen to title as chapter 10 has been more difficult to put together than I had hoped. Largely this is because of the changes going on in my life over the last year, need more peace.....

I rose up in bed to look at the clock, it was 4:59, I reached over and turned off the alarm. I must have looked at that clock 20 times last night. It has been hard to contain my excitement. I got up and got dressed, put my pajamas in the suitcase, closed it up and went downstairs.

I washed my hair packed the cooler with ice and soft drinks, loaded the truck up, and looked at the clock. Damn, 5:41, oh well, Phil never expected me to be on time. Sharon had come downstairs, I dutifully kissed her, told her goodbye, and went for the truck. I plugged in the garage door opener and got in the truck. I opened the garage door and pumped the gas hard, she started with her usual coaxing, backed out of the garage and shut the door.

From this point on, it would be another great adventure, an escape from reality.

It would take forty minutes to Phil's place in Martinsville, so I settled back and plugged in a tape. Less than a week ago Phil suggested going to see Steve. How things fell together was, to say the least, amazing. I have known Steve for some eighteen years, we have been the best of friends since the day we met. Phil met Steve about ten years ago and Steve introduced us in 1980. The three of us have not been together for five years now. That was the time of the last great adventure. None of us could imagine what was going to happen this time, and in our wildest imaginings we could not have possibly imagined this one.

The changes that have come and gone on our quest have caused many a situation. We have always trusted in out inner selves. But when Steve and Phil last parted, there was apprehension. I knew Phil was uneasy about this meeting but I also knew Steve was excited. There was great purpose to this meeting. We had to know if the changes that had befallen us had also come to Steve. We also suspected he was to rejoin us on our quest. In truth we found that he had never left us, but was still growing.

There have been many changes, the latest was one of the most dramatic. After having merged with our brothers in space, we have tried to adjust to the changes in our selves. We call our friends Draconian because they come from the constellation of Draconis. They say this is fine because the translation does not exist for their names. We have to find out if Steve has changed or will change. There have been many problems in organizing this adventure but always the problems have worked out. I expect, now that the dark force has decided to interfere again, that we will find the trip quite interesting. Deadra, Jill, and Mark all desperately wanted to go, however, it was not to be. This adventure was for only the power and trust we three could generate between us. The kinship and trust between Steve, Phil, and I could not be matched in the others, and for what we were about to experience, petty jealousies, mistrust, and insecurity could only interfere in an experience such as this. The sun was starting to rise, clouds filled the sky, but were scattered upon the horizon. It has sprinkled now and then, but we have been promised good weather.

I pulled off 37 onto Ohio and around to Phil's. his lights were on and it was 6:24, damn, he will remind me I'm late. Oh well, he shouldn't bitch when he already knows the answer. I pulled up and hopped out, knocked on the door.

"Come in", a voice called from inside, I opened the door and Phil lowered the newspaper he was reading and said,

"Little late aren't we?".

"Oh, Shut up, you knew I'd be late so don't bitch."

"Me?, Bitch?"

"Good God, are you going to move in?" As I looked around there was a large suitcase,3 trash bags, a box a backpack, (pink, must be Tillie's), a grocery sack, and a cooler.

"Hummmm, could be." Phil said.

"Yeah, Steve will think you are moving back in."

He laughed, got up and started picking up things. I took the suitcase and one of the trash bags and went out to the truck. I opened the door on the shell and flipped the tarp back off the bed of the truck and began loading Phil's stuff. he continued to bring things while I loaded. I rearranged the tarp and started to shut the door when Phil said, Wait one more thing, the fan.

Oh, yes, Phil has a fetish for fans. Something about the harmonious sounds of a steel blade Patton fan for sleeping. But then he was always a little weird, well ok I like the sound of a fan as well. I loaded the fan, closed the door and put the cooler and sack up front while he closed up the house. he came out with what he calls his Indiana Jones hat, I enjoyed laughing at him and got an unruffled smirky glare from him. On me it's Indiana Jones, on Phil it is a Derby. I just shook my head and got in.

Phil got in put his coat in the back, took off his hat and slammed against the plastic glass and glass holder I had put on his side of the truck. It went flying, bouncing all over. I don't know why I am so amused to watch him bumble about. He laughed.

I don't remember much about the useless conversation we had while we loaded and left, nor do I remember much of the bantering back and forth we did. In truth much of it was nervousness, I don't think either of us really believed this trip was happening. Since our last trip, we had gathered a number of friends to us. It is amazing how complicated things can get.

I pulled away. It is hard to describe how giddy we both were as we left on this trip. The entire trip, leaving in particular, had an unreal almost dream like quality to it. "Well Phil, I have a special tape for us." We had talked about the opportunity to listed to lots of tapes on the trip, but I had prepared a special tape. I had hooked up my VCR to the stereo and recorded the better songs from Monty Python's "Meaning of Life" and "Life of Brian". Five years ago on our last adventure, the famed camping trip, was a trip into Chattanooga to see the "Meaning of Life". We all got such a big kick out of that film and the music, that this somehow seemed an appropriate way to start the trip with. Phil was amused. He started humming a little while later.

We hadn't gone four blocks when Phil said, "Turn around go back, I don't know if I got the door shut." After the side trip back to Phil's we took 252 across to 31 to 65 and we were on the way. We stopped south of Louisville for breakfast already feeling we had entered another country. It had drizzled the whole trip thus far, but somehow we felt the weather would clear about the time we entered Tennessee.

As we traveled through Kentucky and the hills the rain got heavier and stronger, as if it was trying to drive us back. We could feel the dark force very strongly there. I was always uncomfortable going through this area of north central Kentucky. The dark is very evident here. As we neared Tennessee suddenly our truck was covered in a beam of light, what appeared to be sunlight, but I felt energy rip through me. Phil closed his eyes and absorbed it, I did the best I could while driving.

The effects of the energy we were beamed with did not hit me until later in the day. the pain in my head was one of the worst I have ever experienced. It certainly put a damper on this first evening with Steve. Phil later explained that had I been able to spend more time in meditation merging with the Alien's in a hot bath, flowing their energy through me, I would not have had such negative effects. There is only so much the body can adjust to.

2.

The UFO

When we reached Tennessee, the weather cleared as we suspected it would and as we traveled through Nashville Phil suddenly cried out,

"UFO!! UFO!!".

My Heart stopped.

All my life I had looked to the sky and now in the middle of traffic at a time that it was impossible to look, now of all times, now ... Traffic was somewhat heavy and of course he was pointing out the passenger window. I frantically tried to look while containing my excitement.

"Where.. Where, I don't see anything!"

"Over there on the side of the building ....the letters 'U F 0' ".

Had I not been driving, Phil most certainly would have died that very moment. He suddenly realized that I thought there was a real UFO and he broke into hysterical laughter. I don't think he realized how much danger he was in, being forcibly ejected from the truck at 60 miles an hour was a reality he was very close to.

We continued on with Phil breaking into uninvited laughter periodically along the way until we began to pass through the hills of southern Tennessee. Phil suddenly became quiet and searched the sky. Upon asking him, he said he had glimpsed a ship behind a hill. He was overwhelmed with their presence. Anticipation for this trip was growing. Though it was unspoken, we all knew the ultimate goal of this trip. We all knew the ultimate purpose.

When we finally arrived, and following Steve's directions, we had no problem until we tried to navigate the apartment complex. Of course we were lost, and as I looked up, there was Steve, come looking for us. His instinct told him we were lost. For us, and all like this, this is common. Many consider it chance, but it is not. If one listens carefully, you always know what to do. The problem is that we often don't want to listen.

Though I was not aware of it then, Phil was extremely uncomfortable, expecting the worst sort of reception from Steve. This was Phil merely demonstrating that he has the same human frailties that we all demonstrate once we take up full residence in these forms.

We greeted each other with hugs and Steve took us into his apartment, we carried in some of our things. He had the nicest second floor apartment, vaulted ceilings, a bay window, and of course a cat. Steve's cat is called "Puddy Cat" , and it loves being inside of his shirt. Steve unbuttons his shirt and puts this cat inside and buttons it up. Steve is strange too.

It was about this time that my head began to hurt and some of the events of the evening are somewhat blurry. Very little of our conversation do I remember. Steve took us over to the nearby mall where we walked around and talked. Later we went over to a Chinese restaurant and had a wonderful meal. At dinner there was general get reacquainted discussions. Steve hearing about Phil's marriage, and mine. Steve talked some about the lady he has been seeing. I talked of Julie and the wonder of the future. I knew that Julie felt some connection, but my marriage would not allow any expression of a connection. I was not yet at the point of my divorce.

Without experiencing it, it is impossible to describe the relationship Steve, Phil, and I have. We are three and yet we are one. There is much power in us.

We came back to the apartment, I practiced Tai Chi sword and then took a long hot bath to try to adjust my system to the power of the energy I had absorbed on the trip. While I bathed and listened to music, Phil talked with Steve to gauge his growth, to see if inside of him was the same as Phil and I. They talked about the discomfort that Phil had felt at their parting some years back, and regained the balance that they needed. Phil took Steve's hand and looked inside of him. he found that he was also "Draconian". Phil then began to disclose to Steve the story of the Draconians and their influence in our lives. Steve had changed along with us just as he always had. Steve related that he now understood the changes he had undergone, they were all now clear.

I am aware that most in this world would feel we were totally insane. Interesting concept sanity. While they finished up their discussion, I again practiced sword. The pain was still intense, though the bath had eased it tremendously, so Phil worked on my head. Steve put on some music and Phil applied some energy. Steve had a tape called "Hypnogogic", and it was. The combination of that tape, and Phil's energy made my head clear and eased the pain to a tolerable level.

Steve got out a map and we started to make plans for the next day. Steve wanted to take us to "Stone Mountain", so we made that the plan of the next morning. We went to bed.

3.

The Mountain

In the night I knew things were happening. It was all a fog until I concentrated on it. I shared Steve's bed and that is where they came for me. I did not expect them to come in the night, though it is then they most often come. Small and grayish in color one came to the bed, he raised his hand and I sat up. Steve's weight bench was next to the bed so I had to move my feet and slide down the bed to stand. As I did this he stepped back from the bed to allow me room to stand. He turned and walked into Steve's living room where Phil slept on Steve's hide-a-bed. I followed him and walked over to the bed and lay down on the edge so that my head was to the end of the bed. This visitor then took an object he had been holding and held it over my forehead. It slipped from his hand and struck my forehead, bounced and fell to the floor. He bent over and picked it up, and placed it on my forehead. He pressed something on it, it hummed lightly. He then took it from my head and I raised up and went back to bed.

When I awoke it took a while for my head to clear. Sunlight danced off the far wall. The fog in my head flowed by my eyes making thoughts awkward. It took its time clearing. Then there was a voice. "How do you feel?" "Fine, I think, who are you?" "We came last night." "Oh, I remember, What d'you do to me?" "We made adjustments. You were not prepared for the energy we sent through your body. We adjusted your brain tissue." "Will we meet you today?" "If you wish, but you must follow your instincts." "Where do we go?" "Steve will know the place."

They were gone.

Steve turned over, stretched and said "Good Morning." He gave me a sleepy smile. After we had dressed we scanned a map of Atlanta to decide the action of the day. Steve wanted to take us to Stone Mountain, so that would be first. Steve had an interest in checking out Lake Lanier, and like any good hunch you follow it. We then planned to take a trip to Lake Lanier. But first it would be breakfast.

Getting dressed I noticed a scratch on my forehead. I thought to myself. "No, it wasn't a dream."

We ate breakfast at Shoney's down the street from Steve's, they have a nice breakfast bar. At breakfast I told Steve and Phil of the last night and that the conversation with our friends. Where we would meet them was unclear, but we decided to wait until the time seemed appropriate. We took with us some gear we might need for semi-camping. We took my truck which proved cramped for Steve who rode in the cab behind the main seats, but we had my extra gear in the back. I had packed a tent, tarp, rope, and sleeping bag. Those things along with a few other supplies would tide us over if we decided to spend the night in the woods.

Stone mountain is breath taking, and until you are there you cannot get a picture of the size of this stone. It is a single bolder set into the middle of a plain. Noting that Atlanta is low rolling hills, once on top of Stone Mountain you are clearly aware that there is nothing even close to it's size for 60 to 70 miles. On the side of the rock is a carving of three famous southern civil war hero's. At night they perform a laser light show on the side of the mountain. Steve said that the show is very impressive. The carving is three football fields long, but on the rock it would appear to be the size of a postage stamp. It strikes me sad somehow, for this stone to be defaced as it is, but these are times of little caring for that which is of nature.

We found a place to park. "Better take a jacket with you, it is at least 10 to 15 degrees cooler on top.", said Steve, " and windy. I think that we should ride up, and then walk down, you can walk up but it is about a mile and a half as well as a half mile up."

That was fine with both Phil and I. The ride up was on a cable car and it was spectacular. I have always been affected by heights, seeing a great distance. It invokes something very powerful in me. Instead of feeling very small and insignificant, I feel powerful and and apart of everything. I expand my consciousness to include all I see, it is like rising above the monotony and detail of life.

One day I should like to live on a mountain. It was colder and windy. Not a thing stood so tall from the ground except the buildings of Atlanta for near to 60 miles around. It was a cloudless clear blue sky. Brilliant sunlight, effervescent green of spring all around. Had there not been the traditional babble of tourist types, it would have been positively spiritual.

We looked for a place to sit and meditate and we found a place off to the side, and somewhat out of the wind. Steve said that there were all kinds of geological theories for this rock but the only explanation that suited him was that it was placed here. Phil and I agreed. We knew internally that this was true, this rock was not indigenous to this area.

In meditation we journeyed down inside the rock, and within we found something we did not expect. Within this mountain was a race of beings from another world. This stone was placed here to cover a great star base. One of many on this planet. We were met and given a short tour of the complex, but most of all there was the exchange of something unspoken. We were thanked for what we do.

I opened my eyes, there were a few small pines clustered nearby on this bald mountain top. The sun was brilliant and the wind sharp. I looked at Phil and Steve, we were all somewhat amazed. Who would have thought...

We had often done meditation and meditative travel/projection and we all stayed together. It was a matter of fact to us that we all saw the same thing. We were together.

These beings were of a different race than we have had contact with, and we were somewhat shocked to find them here. We sat there for a while and talked of what we saw and the implications of this discovery. This is the same type of contact we have always had with these friends of the earth. What we were doing here was unknown, that is to say sometimes we don't always understand the purposes for the tasks we are put to.

We rose and started on our way down the mountain. This rock has been so abused by tourists, and tourist types are so crude. We started on our way down from the top of the rock, Phil stopped and said, "We haven't spoken with the spirit of the Mountain, he has called.", We found a small clump of trees and sat down to meditate again. This spirit was venerable and old, frail but powerful. Much of what we saw, was different for each of us, but the feelings of power were undeniable. This one expressed a great love for us, he asked us to hurry, begging us to complete our task. He did not ask us to hurry in terms of speeding things up, but to hurry as in keeping steadfast in our purpose and task. All of this was on a non-spoken level, we felt more than we heard his words and feelings. Each of us felt and interpreted a different vision with the same meaning.

This was perhaps the most emotional moment of the entire trip. What was perplexing and unexplained, was that Phil was addressed as Father, and I as Master, even though we felt beneath the power of this spirit, he seemed to place himself below us in stature, and shared a reverence towards us.

Climbing down this rock was long and the day was getting hot. It took about an hour I would guess, to walk down and around the mountain. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed the friendship and the walk. Teenagers took the opportunity to cruise the area in their cars, loud music, loud cars, etc.

4.

Lake Lanier

We made our way away from the mountain and the growing crowds and headed up the interstate towards Lake Lanier. Lake Lamer is a lake created along a river and extends some twenty miles. There is an island that extends through the middle of the lake some ten of those twenty miles. We did not know, but hoped that at this lake on some remote point we would meet our interstellar friends.

We got off the interstate and stopped at a Kentucky Fried Chicken for lunch. We got extra for a supper out in the park somewhere. I know that there was much conversation here, but it escapes me. I remember sitting at the table waiting for Steve and Phil to bring the food. We left the KFC and went to get some drinks and ice for the cooler for our journey.

We went for the islands and found the entrance to the park. There was a welcoming center and we found a map of the area as well as an activities list and costs for camping, boat rental, etc. It came to Phil that we should rent a boat and find an Island. Boat rental was $40.00 which definitely made me shy away from this form of adventure. Money was not a commodity we had much of. We drove into and found the area where the boats were at, but could not locate, even with help, the office where we were to rent the boat. We walked down to the dock and talked to several people. It was getting to be about 5:00 o'clock and the rental shack was to close then.

We hurriedly found the office and rented the boat. We rented a 16ft fishing boat, with a twenty five horse motor. We went searching for the Island.

I took my survival knife with compass, the tent, a tarp, cooler, and food. We must have looked an interesting site. Three guys without fishing gear going out on the lake. But it was fun.

Water rushed by as Steve drove the boat. Sunlight played on the water ripples, I reached over the side and let my fingers ride just under the water surface. Wind in our faces we rushed down the lake. We circled several islands nearby before heading north and finding one that had some remote areas. It was Sunday night and there were many people who took boats to the islands to party and cook out. I tried to keep my bearing and our approximate location on the lake, because if we did not spend the night on the island, we would have to try to find our way back in the dark.

We finally found the island and searched it. We found some boats anchored but they were not close. As we spotted one boat I was amused to sight a man's bare bottom as he bent over picking up something in his boat. It was pretty funny and I would have given a lot to have had a pellet gun that moment. He was in the process of leaving and soon started his boat and left. We searched for a suitable spot on the island for a craft to land and we found one. After scouting out the island and finding a spot suitable with an open area nearby, we walked back to the boat and moved it to a cove that was closer to the spot we had found to camp. There was a great deal of wind there and as we attempted to set up the tent the wind continued to blow it down. Sand is no place to set tent pegs in a heavy wind. We staked the tent pegs down with rocks and opened the tent flaps. The wind inflated the tent like a ball and we then had little trouble setting up the poles. We collected wood for a fire, started it and sat down to eat. Now all to do was wait for darkness and the coming.

5.

The Silence

It was dusk and the sun was beginning to disappear, twilight was turning to darkness, and the sky lit up with stars. Water lapsed against the shore and a log laying half in and half out of the water. I will state again that the colors of the spring, the empty blue of the sky, and bright sun was wonderful, and this night the sky was crystal clear and full of stars. The temperature was wonderful, but this night the wind put a slight chill in the air.

Suddenly the wind died, it was quiet.. deafly quiet...

Suddenly we all became aware of a light moving in the sky a above us, it was a pinpoint of light not unlike a star, but there was something about it. It stopped directly over us, and all three of us were in suspense, none of us breathing.

It was so quiet it was deafening, you know that quiet that leaves you wondering if you have lost your hearing? We had to wait for something to make a sound to know that it was that quiet. That pinpoint of light was there. Not moving, yet something.... We were frozen in time and space. That light stayed there, but it was moving closer to us.

Suddenly and without warning, there were waves now crashing on the beach, the water that was suddenly glass was now alive again, and then it went back to glass.

We had looked away from that light to the lake shore. Phil finally spoke and said, "I just asked them for a sign, and I would guess that was it."

We looked back to the light and it started to move again and moved off to the horizon out of sight. Steve said, "They are in the lake". We all sensed the same thing. Instead of coming out of the sky, they were going to rise from the water, in the cove we had selected. It was perfect. We were nervous and impatient, on the edge of something we all never really thought would happen. And it was almost here. Suddenly we became relaxed as if something or someone was pulling the strings of our emotions. It was darkening, and the twilight of the evening vanished.

We sat down in a circle ....and lost consciousness. Neatly folding over onto the ground.

A huge ship moved over the island above us, slowly. Three creatures walked slowly and deliberately over the hill behind where we had camped on this island. Walking down to where we were around our little campfire.

The three of us helplessly laying there.

A clap of Thunder and that ship shuddered. The three creatures suddenly looked around, panicked, and they vaporized all together. That huge ship above us shuddered again and shot off to the horizon in a streak.

Groggily, slowly we regained consciousness, but not fully aware that we had been out. We had started to meditate when we sat down and we sat up and came out of our sleep feeling like we were simply coming out of a meditation.

We began to wonder where they were, there was an emptiness we could no longer communicate with them. We each got up and started walking around. We felt alone.

Steve walked out to the point of the cove on the left. He was there for 15 minutes or more and before he returned the wind started again. Steve returned and said, "They're gone." They lake was quiet, there was a wind and we were getting cold. The fire we started helped. Trying to get a hold on what happened allowed us to vent some of our tension, and we got pretty silly. We got on our knees and played our belly's like drums. We were not drunk, we did little of that and brought none with us, we are just allowed to be silly once in a while.

It was nervous energy and adrenalin, it was not being quite conscious of what happened and party sure. After we had had enough of this stuff we decided to get serious and meditate. Meditating Steve related his vision. "There was a gold ball/ disk that rose from the lake and it had a sun in the middle. Three beams of light emanated from the disk and struck each of us. Three swords were given to him." I could not imagine then what three swords given to me meant at all.

We wandered the edge of the beach, simply killing time. Not knowing what to do next and not sure of the meaning of the vision.

Phil cried out," My God!!

Did you see that?"

I said, "What!".

Steve replied, "yes, the light?"

I said, "What!".

Phil, "Yes, what do you think it was."

I said, "What!!".

Steve said, "It must have been a ship;".

I said, "What! What did you see!!".

Finally Phil responded, "There was a brilliant yellow light that moved low along the horizon, and a sudden brilliant flash and the light dropped in an unnatural arc."

We were suddenly overcome with a strange sense of loneliness. To find some answers, we meditated yet one more time. This time we held hands feeling the need to connect more closely, and use our power in a more concentrated manner. We traveled to Big Sur and the Star base there, Steve saw construction, and I saw a ship in flames. Phil felt that it was time to leave. A sense of resignation came over us. And we felt that our fears were realized. There is a darker side of the world that did not want this to happen, and the darker side of the other world wanted this meeting not to happen. They attacked them and destroyed their ship. Though there was much damage and the ship that could have come to us was damaged, no one died.

I sensed that there was another ship, but to come it would have to be protected and the dark side would have to be bound against interfering. It would take all that we could generate together to do this. Steve really wanted them to come. They had promised for so long and they never came. We had to try. To wait would mean a wait of an indeterminable time.

Again we sat in the triangle,and sent the energy .After a period of waiting where the night closed in on us, and the loneliness increased. I was impressed to leave, and this echoing Phil's feeling made the decision.

We took down the tent packed the supplies we brought and broke up the fire. As we packed up, we started feeling a sense of urgency and starting to get anxious. We couldn't get the boat free somehow in the waves it had become tangled on a log. It was clear by the feeling in the air that they did not want us to leave. And the darkness crowded us. It would have been easy to panic, to fear, but we had too much resolve. We worked the boat free and set out across the lake. It was a most interesting journey.

The constellation of the Dragon held itself in the sky. Phil became overwhelmed with the feeling that we had to make land before the constellation set. We were a bit panicked at this point.

Loading up the boat and casting off Steve got the motor started. He turned the boat and headed it out towards the end of the cove into open water. We watched the Dragon in the sky.

As we headed out into the lake and turned south we watched the parties on the way. We flew across the lake without running lights. We watched for other boats which would not be able to see us. There was a hotel lit up with lights that was most beautiful.

I surveyed the water as we passed by other islands to our left, keeping an eye out for other boats. Some cold feeling crept up my back. I watched the water wave up from our bow as we cut through the water. The parties and shore were to our right as we glided on south. Looking to the water back on the left, slowly a realization came into my mind. There were lights reflecting off of the surface, but these lights were not reflections. They were under the water. And they kept pace with us under the water. Looking much like a reflection might.

Cold chills shot through me and I glanced up to the see the Dragon setting. Looking around at Phil, he watched only the constellation. Steve he only watched the lake ahead, watching for other boats. I looked back to my left to where the lights followed us. They were still there, only this time I could see that the lake water swelled around those lights. Perhaps 50 feet long, barely ahead of us, and mostly beside and behind.

I looked again back at Phil and Steve, and they did not see, and my mind debated mentioning it. Steve's attention needed to stay on the course we traveled. Looking back at the lights they began to pull away to the left.

Steve said, “Isn't that our cove?”

Phil said in a quiet but relieved voice, “Yes.”

Looking back to our left I could barely make out the lights and the swell. And I took a deep and relieved breath. Finally we came into the cove where we rented the boat. We docked, got our stuff out, and found the dock completely deserted. We looked for the place to drop our key, and I found it. Phil almost put it in but waited and walked back. Then we saw the security guard.

He asked politely what we were doing as he kept his hand on his gun. We explained and then dropped the key. We picked up our stuff and began to make our way off the dock.

The guard asked, "Did you catch anything?"

I replied "No"

Steve said "Yes"

And the Guard said, "Whatever."

I simply could not believe Steve, I looked at him and laughed. Steve thought the guard had asked if we had gotten everything. No doubt about what was on the guards mind. This was one of the times we were not in sync with each other.

We finished the long walk to the Truck and Phil decided he needed to relive himself and began to do so at the back of the truck. Just as the security guard drove his car towards us in the parking lot. I knew we would be arrested because Phil couldn't hold it.

But the car drove on by.

As we drove back we had some time to reflect on what had happened. When we arrived on the island we should have set up and meditated and presented a barrier of light to keep out the dark. We should have prepared the island for their visit, as they are very sensitive to this spiritual energy . This is a mistake we vowed to not make again.

6.

The Night of Reflection.

Well it was bound to happen. We felt that the mission we had come for, had passed and failed. We needed to get rid of the tension in our systems so we did the less than spiritual thing. We watched some raunchy movies. Drank too much and didn't talk seriously. It was sort of a bachelor party with the same feeling resignation, but no real purpose. Feeling disappointed we did not feel very spiritual.

After we had wound down we went to bed. Slept late and awoke at 10:30am. We made the trek into Atlanta and went to a very nice bookstore called the Sphinx. I bought a tape there, "Lazarus remembers Lemuria". This tune ended up being a tune of memories of this trip. It even now brings vivid images to my mind. We bought each of us a post card with three figures against the background of space, titled "Three Travelers". It was appropriate. It was us.

We ate lunch at the Morrison Cafe, then took the MARTA to downtown Atlanta. It was our time to be tourists. Along the way we had to traverse an escalator that was the longest I have ever seen. It was about 4 stories tall. It was incredible. Phil felt the effects of the night before and had a pain in his back. He felt drugged and going down the escalator was very difficult for him. It was OK, but there was a lacking and we stayed not long. Before we returned on the Marta we stopped at Charlie and Barney's and had a beer. We then returned and found a wonderful bookstore called the OXFORD to shop in. This store had an abundance of used books a wonderful place. I bought several Frank Herbert books at a particularly attractive price of less than ten dollars. By this time my funds were well depleted and I had to charge the ten dollars.

There was an expensive restaurant near the bookstore and we voted on eating there. I was out voted. I knew we didn't have the money, but Steve and Phil both wanted to indulge. The bill was $107.33 and definitely fine meal, but for me not worth it. We left after some two and a half hours there and went to the drug store nearby. We bought cigars and smoked them on the drive back to Steve's. This was a highlight.

7.

The Leaving

We got up and went to Shoney's for breakfast. Steve had to work today. We said our goodbye's and wondered when we might find each other again. It was a sad time for us all. Five years had passed but it was as if we were all together again.

We left Steve at 8:00 and headed up the road. This promised to be a particularly depressing drive home except for the camaraderie we experienced. Phil and I got on the road and fought the insane traffic of Atlanta yet again. We traveled up the road and began to loose ourselves in the trip knowing we had more than 10 hours to go.

Suddenly, everything was suddenly on this trip, Phil saw a sign which read Etowah Indian mounds this exit. It was right now this exit. I swerved off the road around a Semi and took the exit. Phil nearly jumped our of his skin. Both disbelief and fear I think. This was so out of character for me that Phil couldn't believe I would take the time to detour. My mind set is usually start, get there, leave, return. No stops, no detours or the like.

The trek to the mounds was around and through a small town. We arrived to find the place closed and a sign saying that they opened at 8:30, it was 8:15. Phil did not think I would wait the sign also pointed out that trespassers would be butchered. Phil couldn't wait so he walks up to the place and knocks on the door of the building wanting special permission to walk out to the mounds. There is a dog barking and one answered the door and nearly bit his head off. Well he got the point and we decided to drive back to town, buy gas, ice, and some food. We we passed a police car and Phil nearly jumped out of his skin, fearing that the lady at the mounds had called the police. She didn't.

What Phil did not tell me till later was that he saw a black figure up on the largest mound. I did not see it but it beckoned to him. He thought I saw it as well. We returned about 8:40 and paid our money. Before anyone else went out to the mounds, or the tours started we journeyed out to them ourselves. Phil continued to see the black figure beckoning him.

We climbed the largest to the top, and Phil was amazed to find the figure was not there. As we stepped off of the wooden steps and onto the earth there was a rush of power. There was an eerie feeling, this was a star base, draconian. We sat to meditate. We entered the mound. This mound held restoring energy. All the pain we had, all the depletion of power from the battle with the dark, was restored to us this moment. We also realized that we needed to return here on our next trip. We went to the smallest mound which we discovered was covered with red earth. This mound held a vitalizing energy and was almost too much for us. Our feet began to burn. So we left. The middle mound held a draining power so we did not visit it. This day, the sun, and the colors of the valley were tremendous. Iridescent greens, deep blues, and fluffy white clouds.

Time beckoned and we needed to move on. As we drove away from the mounds Phil's pain returned. By 2:30 we stopped at Nashville for lunch and gas. Shortly after, we found the traffic was backed up on the interstate, and by the radio reports for some 5 miles. We decided to get off the interstate and explored the beautiful country side of Tennessee. We were in the wrong lane on the interstate and would have stayed there but for a lady next to us asking us if we wished to get off here. We did. With the stop at the Etowah Mounds and the side trip through Tennessee our return trip took four hours longer than the trip down.

The clouds returned as we drove north. When we arrived back home the rain began to fall.

8.

Afterthoughts

The meeting at the Star base under Stone Mountain, and the meeting with the spirit of the mountain were the reasons for the trip. No mater that it was a setup, an attempt by competing forces to battle for our attention and perhaps our earthly lives.

At that time we thought that the dark force was the side threatening us, in reality it was the darker side that was represented by the Dragon and the constellation of Draconis watching over us. They were keeping the creatures of the white light away from us and thus protecting us. They also made us uncomfortable enough to leave that island before those creatures of light could send another ship.

They preyed upon our desire to waken the talents and powers we knew we were capable of. We wanted to get away from the pressures of this world, wanted to see space, get some sense and feeling of peace that we had felt before taking these earthly forms. They used these deep seeded desires to try to manipulate us.

Our stop at the Etowah Indiana mounds restored strength and confidence in us and without revealing it to us, the dark ones of the dragon had yet again protected us.