Jim and the mysterious man walked through the forest.  The man didn't really say much.  Occasionally the man would glance in various directions, sniffing the air every so often.

"My name is Jim, by the way."  Jim spoke, not very fond of the silence between them.

The gruff man glanced over his shoulder at Jim who was a couple of paces behind him.

"Samuel." The man replied, still focused on what was ahead of them.  "Call me Sam." 

"Sam." Jim said to himself.  "What are you doing out here, Sam?"

"Now isn't the time for talking.  We still have a couple hours to go before we get back to my camp.  This ain't the kind of place you wanna be stuck in overnight."  Sam informed, a hint of warning in his voice.

"My team and I… We got caught in the storm last night, luckily we have our tent, so it shielded us from the storm for the most part." Jim said, trying to strike up conversation.

"The storms can get messy out here, but they're the least of your worries, fella." Sam paused.  "Stop here for a moment, gotta check something out."

Sam broke away immediately and started heading west.  Jim turned to see where he was going, and a breeze caught him in the face.  An odor appeared from the air, though, he couldn't quite place it.  The man came back after a minute had passed.

"Droppings, bear most likely, maybe a day old.  We need to keep moving." Sam spoke with efficiency.

Sam quickened his pace and motioned for Jim to follow.

"Where is my crew at?" Jim asked again, hoping for a real answer.

"Later, for now we need to get back.  I don't wanna be around here if that bear decides to come back.  I'm not prepared for a bear, but that bear might think I am for a different reason."  Sam's tone was more serious.

Jim could tell he wasn't going to get any answers right now.  Sam was right.  Sam had a shelter, and that was exactly where they needed to be. Jim didn't know much about the terrain or location, but he knew well enough that he didn't want to ‘be’ a bear's dinner any time soon.

A couple of hours elapsed on their journey, and Jim couldn't help but wonder how much farther it would be.  A few moments later, Jim smelled smoke.  It wasn't really an offensive odor, in fact, it was almost sweet smelling.

"We're almost there, we're about five minutes out."  Sam spoke in that gruff voice of his.

They finally arrived at Sam's camp, it was nothing huge, but it did have a small log cabin that appeared to be very well built.  There were a couple of, what looked like, drying racks and various things stretched out, curing in a sunny spot.  The source of the smoke became more apparent.  There was a tall mud structure that stood almost seven feet tall, white smoke was steadily blowing out of the top.  There was a table and a stack of wooden shelves with a variety of tools in them. In the very center of the camp, were a collection of larger stones in a circular formation, and a small pile of black ash in the center. Surrounding the stone formation were four large carved out logs for seating.

"She ain't much, but she's my own personal slice of heaven.  That river you saw is about ten minutes due east."  Sam spoke, checking on the mud structure.  

Sam then turned around and grabbed a couple of metal pails.  He tossed one to Jim. Jim, caught off guard by this action, almost dropped it, but saved it in the end.

"Me and you, we need water if we're gonna get through the night, there'll be plenty of time for chit chat after we're settled in for the night." Sam said, starting to walk in that direction.

Upon returning  to camp, Sam took a brief moment and got a fire going in the central stone pit.  He then brought over a wiry metal object and placed it over the fire.  Sam grabbed both buckets of water and hung them over the fire.

"The water around here should always be boiled, you never know if some critter upstream decided to relieve themselves in it." Sam informed, while securing the pails.

Jim immediately thought back to his own gulp from earlier that morning.

"Suppose I already had a drink from that stream earlier... what happens" Jim asked, now a little concerned.

Sam side eyed Jim for a moment before sitting on a carved log.  Sam began chuckling before answering.

"You'll more 'n' likely be okay, but. The worst thing that could happen to a man is a man case o' the runs.  I’ve had that happen to me before, long time ago.  I had to stay hydrated somehow.  Damn fool that I used to be, I drank more o' the same water!" Sam started belly laughing at himself.  Could be a rough night for ya, son.  Not to worry though, I got myself a genuine outhouse behind the cabin here, maybe 20 yards out. Go on, take a seat, stay awhile."

Jim looked for any sign from Sam that he was joking.  Even the laughter sounded honest.  Jim took a seat on a log to Sam's left.  Jim couldn't recall anything unsavory about the water he had drank, but god only knows what kind of bacteria might have been present.  It was unfortunately a chance he had no choice now, but to take.

"You hungry, fella?" Sam asked, walking over to the large mud hut.

Jim hadn't really thought about it until Sam asked.  Now he was thinking about it, and his stomach started growling intensely.  Hearing this, Sam nodded his head.

"Sounds like it to me.  I've been smoking some meat since yesterday, should be about ready to eat soon.  It's good for travelin'.  Now this other stuff I have..." Sam reached down and pulled open a hidden hatch in the ground. "I've been saving for a special occasion."

"In the ground?" Jim asked, perplexed.

"Sure, and loaded with salt to preserve it.  The further you get underground, the cooler it is, makes for a perfect climate for meat preservation." Sam said, climbing into the hole.

Jim watched as Sam disappeared under the ground.  Jim looked around at the camp again while he was gone.  Jim leaned over from his own log, curious to get a glimpse of the outhouse, but couldn't see it from his angle.

Sam reappeared from his hidden hatch.  There were two rather sizable slabs of meat in one of his hands.  Sam lifted the hatch with his foot and closed it.

"You mind grabbin' that skillet over there?" Sam asked.

Jim looked in the direction he was pointing.  The stack of wooden shelves seemed to have a lot of miscellaneous gizmos in it.

"It's over there, second shelves from the bottom, left side." Sam told him.

Jim walked over to the shelves and noticed some serious hunting and what appeared to be trapping tools.  Jim found the skillet he asked about and flipped it a few times to get a look at it, studying it.  He noticed the brand name on it, Griswold.  The iron looked kind of beat up.

"Is it supposed to look like this?" Jim asked, concerned by the slight discoloration of the pan.

"Yes, sir.  That's right there, is a well-seasoned pan.  Had to use boar fat instead of pig.  Haven't seen many pigs around here, but I 'spose boar is an okay substitute.

Jim brought the pan over to Sam, who then placed the slabs of meat in the center, then placed the skillet over some hot coals.

"'Spose to heat the pan up first, but I didn't know I'd be having comp'ny today.  It's okay, I reckon it won't affect the taste too much.  Just you try it when I've used some wild herbs.  The smell alone is heavenly, though it does sometimes attract unwanted critters.  Oh well, more small bait for the bigger game out here." Sam spoke with confidence and wisdom.

Jim took his seat and knew it would be some time before the meat was ready to eat.

"What happened to my crew?" Jim asked point blank.

Sam looked up at him, flipping the meat occasionally.

"Didn't see the whole thing.  I was tracking down some food when I heard some yelling.  Not exactly uncommon in these parts, but I noticed some kind of fancy clothing, glinting in the sun.  I made my way over there slowly, and I saw your friends being taken away at spear point.  I stayed hidden the whole time.  I wasn't about to try and take on five guys at once.  Anyway, about a half hour later, you came along." Sam walked over to the wooden shelves and pulled two very flat black stones over to the fire.

"So where are they, they're still alive right?" Jim asked, rigid at the possibility of bad news.

"Oh yeah, I suspect they're alive.  The men that took them are always on the hunt looking for more workers.  They're part of a camp a handful of miles from here.  Lucky for me, they ain't found this place yet, but if they did, I have traps and snares set all over these grounds.  Which reminds me, don't try going anywhere without my help, wouldn't want you hurtin' yourself." Sam spoke, using the fire to sterilize the surfaces of the black stone.

"If they're that close then we have to go get them, we need to go get them!" Jim's voice had slowly turned to panic at the worst of thoughts.

"Not without some food in your belly, and not without my help you're not.  If you go runnin' in there now, you might as well join them in captivity.  Who are you to them?" Sam asked, curiosity now sparked.

"What do you mean?" Jim was confused 

"You mentioned a crew, who are you in this crew?" Sam clarified his question.

"I'm their captain." Jim answered.

There was silence for a moment before Sam started bellowing with laughter.

"Why are you laughing so hard?" Jim asked, surprised by this reaction.

"Sorry, fella, I don't mean to be rude, you're a guest o' mine.  I just didn't take you for a captain is all.  What exactly is your role as a captain?" Sam asked, finally calming down from his laughter.

Jim stopped moving when he heard that question.  Jim hadn't ever really thought about it like that.  The only reason he knew he was the captain was a nightmare and confirmation from the others.  If he was being honest with himself, he really wasn't even sure what a captain did.  He had no recollection of what his role was prior to everything going south in the world.

"I'll be honest with you, Sam, I don't really know." Jim confessed.

Sam took a moment and looked at him, studying him.

"For the past few weeks, my memory has been really bad." Jim said, not wanting to reveal too much about himself, or needing to explain everything that had happened.

"Well... at least you're honest." Sam responded, seemingly satisfied with Jim's response.

The smell of the cooked meat began to fill the air.  Smelling this, Jim's stomach gave a very loud growl.  Sam noticed this and chuckled to himself.  Sam stood up from the log and grabbed a couple of flat wooden discs from the makeshift pantry, as well as a couple of fork-like objects and a sharp looking blade.  Sam walked back over to the cooked meat and removed it from the pan.  He slapped the meat down on one of the wooden discs and handed it to Jim, along with a fork and the sharp blade.

"Thank you, sir." Jim said, as he accepted the plate.  

Sam nodded and sat back down with his own plate. 

"About your friends..." Sam began to say, as he cut a chunk from his own slab and shoved it in his mouth.  "I have no problem taking you to your friends, but if you have any crazy ideas about rescuing them, we're gonna need a battle plan, stealth is going to be the key word here."

Jim ate hungrily, paying attention to Sam's words in between chewing.

"This is going to take a couple of days to do. I know what needs to be done, mostly, but you're gonna have to promise me one really big thing, and I know it's gonna be difficult for you to accept, especially when and if you do see them there." Sam's tone became serious.

Jim paused eating without realizing it.  His focus was entirely on Sam.

"When we get down there, you cannot, I repeat, cannot let your friends know of your presence there.  This is for one really big reason.  We have no solid escape plan for them yet.  They see you and they're gonna want out, no questions asked.  With no escape plan, we're shootin' blind.  One or all of us will die in the effort to get them outta there.  You understand?" Sam stared Jim down. 

There was no humor in Sam's voice, just a cold, hard, stare.  As desperate as Jim was to see his crew and be reunited with them, he knew Sam was right.  Jim could barely manage the thought of seeing Veronica in her predicament and not jumping into action like the superman he thought himself to be, but Sam was right.  His crew couldn't be aware of his presence until the time was right, and only Sam knew when that time would be right.

"I understand."  Jim said, matching Sam's tone.

Sam looked Jim right in the eyes.  Sam turned back to his plate and picked up the last piece of meat.

"I sure hope so.  If any part of you thinks you're gonna compromise the first phase of the plan, you'd better just hang back here because we need to do some scouting, both day and night.  I need to see what their security detail looks like before making any decision."

Jim nodded with understanding.

"Tomorrow, i'm gonna teach you a few things that may come in handy later on.  Tonight, though, we rest.  There's a spare bedroll in the cabin." Sam informed, standing up.

"Thanks, but I have an inflatable bed of my own." Jim spoke, briefly searching his own backpack before pulling it out.

"You're not using that flashy thing in my camp, might as well advertise to the whole world that we're here." Sam said, sternly, waving for Jim to put it away.

Sam walked Jim into the cabin and spread out the bedroll.

"It's softer than it looks." Sam told him, noticing the look of doubt in Jim's eyes.  "Get some sleep, we've got an eventful day tomorrow."

Sam left the cabin, leaving Jim in there by himself.  There was a small table in the corner near the entrance, on that table was a single lit candle.  The soft orange glow from the candle dimly illuminated the cabin, shadows dancing around from the trees outside gently swaying in the breeze.

Jim had completed part of his mission by finding other survivors, but in doing so, lost his entire crew.  Some leader he was.  Jim knew he had a lot to learn.  How did he expect to rescue his crew if he didn't even know who he was up against in the first place.  Did he even know how to fight?  Jim had no answers for himself.  All he knew was that Sam had been right about everything so far, and he seemed trustworthy.  Not to mention the bedroll was, in fact, more comfortable than he thought it would be.  Jim closed his eyes, hoping to get some sleep.  Hoping that he would dream of Veronica.  If that was the only way to see Veronica for now, he'd take it.  The wind whistled outside, creating almost a natural lullaby that put Jim to sleep in seconds.