Free It Was 2052, High Haven by J. Richardson

dry desert landscape change nearly instantly
into a raging river. Looking across rolling fields, what appeared to
be nearly flat land actually was striped with gulleys and arroyos.
Cissy already stood, her soggy pack slung to her back and he pushed
to his feet. The stream was up to their ankles. Through the rain
that now blew in sideways stinging layers, they moved toward the
trees that populated the base of the mountain. Taylor stopped, peered
from the drawn up hood of his jacket, “Peaches!...Peaches, here
boy,” he whistled. Cissy slogged on toward the tree line,
quickly faded into the torrent. “Peaches!”
    Finally, there was a
sharp and broken bark. Taylor walked back a few steps and could see
his big loyal companion faintly outlined on the opposite side of what
was now a rolling rushing river, crashing down from the high peak and
roiling across the flats. The dog ran up and down, jumped into the
edge and out. He cupped his hands and shouted, “You stay
boy...just stay...stay Peaches.” A blinding bright flash of
lightening illuminated the whole scene and thunder that felt as if it
shook the very mountain boomed. The dog took off at a dead run and
vanished into the wall of deluge.
    The voice right in his
ear made Taylor jump, “Come on, you have to get out of the
open...hurry! He will find us...Taylor...now.” Cissy tugged
at his sleeve.
    Damn stupid dog! He
looked down at the hand on his arm ,
her father was trusting him to watch out for her. His hand took a
firm hold on hers and he started moving them through the storm to the
shelter of the woods. It wasn't dry but the scrubby cedars and pines
made a canopy and gave some protection. They found a cleared area,
hopefully the lay of a mule deer and not something more threatening. Even though the roof of trees
swayed and the cold drops still filtered down, it was so much better.
Both knew not to lean against the sticky sap draped tree trunks, they plopped down cross legged on the wet matted ground.
    Their ragged breath
finally slowed and it seemed the onslaught quieted some, the
lightening and thunder more distant again. Cissy pushed back her
hood, dripping threads of hair clung to her face, “God, what a
way to start our journey. Are you hungry?” She started to dig
around in the soaked pack.
    Taylor was silent.
    She
well knew the dog was important to him, “ We'll
find him. Hey, you know dogs---he'll find us.” She handed him
a biscuit.
    The cold bread just sat
in his hand, his eyes met hers, “He's been a friend. The only
family I have left.” The deep voice was low.
    Cissy
allowed herself to really look at the man. She hated to admit it,
how he was so interesting to her, how much he appealed to her senses.
The dark hair was plastered to his face and head, behind th e eyes that now looked pained was
a softness. A small thorn of
sympathy pricked her heart. This was a man who suffered loss after
loss, who moved on time after time, alone. She always had been
aware that she was very lucky
to have been rescued by her parents and Kevin, but since they arrived
at their high haven her life had been more sheltered than she
realized. She had family and friends and security. It was true that
she often wished for a partner, someone to love her like her dad
loved her mother, but she had n' t
been alone.
    It
was calm now and it was deep dark here under the trees. She looked
up and actually saw a hazy
star or two flicker through
the canopy. It was debatable whether the trees were the best place
to be but exhaustion made the decision for them. She wasn't sure if
Taylor ever ate the biscuit, the last thing she actually remembered
was laying her head on her pack, her hand on her pistol. Daylight
woke her. When her eyes
opened she saw her traveling companion next to her, his knees bent,
head on his pack, rifle across his middle. He still slept.
    Getting
her bearings, she eased away from the trees into the open again. She
wasn't surprised to see a bright clear morning, the