As darkness was falling, Ben Palmer had gone outside the shadow of the pod and headed for the stream. Shortly after he left the pod, Nels Osterlund exited the pod and seemed to be following him. Palmer stopped by a tree that grew next to the stream. He could see no one around.
“Nice evening isn’t it?” Palmer asked as Osterlund came up behind him.
Osterlund grabbed Palmer and banged his back against the tree.
“What the hell were you doing?” Osterlund asked tensely, but quietly. “You almost got me killed!”
“You didn’t get killed, did you?” Palmer asked rhetorically. He had put his hands on top of Osterlund’s where they held him. “You need to calm down. If someone else hears, you will be killed!”
“At least you’ll be dead with me, you sick bastard,” Osterlund raged while shaking his capti
