Today is Sunday. We awoke, wrapped in our sleeping bags, the incessant rain, sleet and snow mix off of the Grand Tetons pounding down from the heavens. But we did not mind. We arose, emerging from our heavily laden tent like cocooned creatures breaking into a new and brighter life. We had a mission. Danger rating: orange. Tired operatives, unknown threats.
While the heavens spent their fury, our minds were on something higher. Beneath our flimsy tent, we began our ministrations. The pitcher was filled with water, and set upon a flame, till it reached a boil. Measured into servings, packets of a dusty white substance were added, and carefully stirred until a rich aroma filled the air around us. The oatmeal was ready.
The ritual washing completed, we boarded our vehicle, and started the engine. Pulling out into road, we faced down the storm. Time: 9:30 AM. We had 30 minutes. The snow whipped at our windshield, white blocking any view beyond one hundred yards. Danger rating: red. No visibility.
As we hurtled along the snow slick roads, features became less and less distinct. Road signs were plastered with snow and ice, making navigation difficult. Then, a rumbling from the roof, a flash of red and blue color. A yell.
"The chairs!"
Our Cargo! Bestowed upon us by the Alabamanians in the realm of Yellowstone, their moorings had come loose, and they had flown from the top of our vehicle. They must be retrieved. Time: 9:35. 25 minutes. It was my time to fly.
Like a majestic bird our steed swung around, like the trace of a compass doing a three point turn we followed our own tracks back to where the cargo had come off. I swung open the door and stepped out into the withering wind, filled with freezing ice and stinging rain. Danger level: Bear. They might be anywhere. I was exposed, with low visibility. They might eat my arm without my even noticing. I grabbed the first chair and slung it to operative "Keegan" inside the vehicle. With equal measures of speed and dexterity I reached the second, and returned it in similar fashion. I jumped back into the already moving extraction vehicle. Time 9:38. 22 minutes.
Things were starting to get dicey. Stuck behind a slower civilian vehicle, we started making poor time. They were distracted. They were slow. They were dead meat if there were any bears nearby. Finally, giving in to the subtle whispers of the roadside, they pulled over, and we whisked by. time: 9:46. 14 minutes.
There! In sight was our goal. The lodge loomed out of the mist, and we made our final approach. The debris of a vehicle blocked our path, its elderly driver waved us on. I knew immediately he would not last. Bears. time: 9:51. 9 minutes.
Into the lodge. We located the marker, joined with a fellow operative, who was seeking the same goal, and made it before our time was up. Mission accomplished. We made it to church.
Anyways. It was an excellent service. Fellow representative from state Julia Monroe was one of the leaders, and we spent a time in the presence of our God. We sang praise, and gave praise through teaching. A young man named Caleb gave the sermon, on the differences between the new and old covenants. It was a good lesson, and we all came out with a seed of the word glistening with new thought. We went away with new friends and full hearts. Ready to face the day. (Though we almost lost agent "Dan". He can give you the full briefing if he wants someday. It may or may not involve Bears.)
A new mission awaited us that day. We hadn't informed Home Base of our movements in quite some time, and it was our duty to update them on the status of our greater objective.
So we spent our time writing up mission reports and debriefings, and gathering intelligence for future endeavors. It occupied the rest of our time at the lodge, and we departed after a potentially deadly encounter involving a semi-poisonous substance and agent "David". We made the journey to base camp without further danger.
The day complete, we tired operatives spent our last remaining hours in the time honored war-time tradition of card playing. It was infuriating, and fun. A good way to relax, even under the ever present gaze of the Bears.
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