ORIGINAL FICTION: "Climbers" (Chapter Twenty)

cage. Ray picked up all the extra bits and pieces and put away his tools and the bench grinder in the basement. Back in the garage, he hosed down the garage floor and the driveway. What a mess. Sure could use a good rain storm about now. Wash this stuff away.
The garden hose had to be wound back in its spot over by the house, and Ray was just the guy to do it. Everything else was put away, time to coil the hose. Ray trudged across the yard, realizing now just how tired he was. The hose felt like it weighed a ton. Slowly coiling the seemingly endless length, Ray could only stare out numbly at the lawn chair beckoning from under the tree. The lawn chair. Maybe a little sit down would be nice. Been a long day. He deserved a rest. Ray found the end of the hose and opened the nozzle, draining the last of the water out into the yard. There. Done. Lawn chair. Now.
Ray made his way over to the chair and settled in slowly. He was going to be sore in the morning. He was sore right now. Long day. He could actually look forward to going back to work on Monday. He needed the rest. The evening was perfect: Balmy with a light breeze. The cloudless sky was a deepening blue. Flowers were in bloom and the birds were singing. A perfect evening soon to be a perfect night. Still too early for the usual rowdy Saturday night traffic noise, it was quiet now, almost serene. Ray was out so fast lights would seem to linger by comparison. Zero to snore in about twenty seconds flat. We have a new record, folks. Ray Meadows has left the building.
In the house, Barbara had been keeping an occasional eye on her busy husband. He had been working hard all day and now that day was about over. She had managed to get him to take a break for lunch, but it was dinner time now. She saw Ray head to the basement with the grinder and his tools, and had heard him hose down the drive not long after that. Now all was quiet on the Meadows front. Was Ray done for the day? What else could he have to do? She looked out toward the garage and saw- Nothing. No Ray. Hmmm. She checked the back yard and- We have Ray: Sound asleep in the lawn chair. So much for dinner. Barbara decided to let him sleep- for a while anyway- and maybe they’d go out for a late night feed after he's had a chance to rest. Less of a chance of spotting another ugly truck in the darkness. Two a day was her limit. Past her limit, really.
The television was on. Just a random thing, really, at this point. Barbara had been watching an afternoon movie that ended some time ago. She had also made herself a sandwich, something to tide her over until Ray was done for the day. Now Ray was quite done for the day and the movie was long gone. So was the sandwich. Barbara sat down on the couch and started looking for the remote. Not there. Not there, either. Ok, no problem. It wasn't like she was a guy. She got up and changed the channel on the TV without it. Yes, you can still do it that way. Losing the remote isn't the end of the world, as far as I know. She found a nature show- something about the variety of bears in Alaska. Pretty far removed from suburban Indiana, but the scenery was spectacular. Might be worth a look, so she settled in to have that look.
An hour later it was dark outside and Barbara Meadows knew far more about bears in Alaska than she did the day before. Or hour before, for that matter. She looked around the darkened room and remembered: Ray! Ray was probably still sound asleep in the back yard. Better wake him up and feed the poor boy. He's had a rough day. No need to make it worse. She was on her feet and headed toward the back door before she had to stop, go back and put her shoes on. Ok, now: Try again. Walking slowly through the dark house, Barbara could see out the back kitchen