Free Forest Shadows by David Laing Page A

sank beneath her. It’s like walking on marshmallow, she thought. She gritted her teeth. Getting cold and wet and tired didn’t matter. Keeping on Shadow’s trail was the important thing.
    She came to a halt. A river was blocking her way. It was the same river that had stopped them before, only now she was further upstream. Scrub grew to its edge and further upstream, she could hear the unmistakable rumble of a waterfall. She jogged to the river’s edge and peered through the overhanging bushes. She could see the waterfall. It was only a short distance upstream from where she was standing and looked to be at least five metres high. She stared as the river rushed over its edge, swirling and frothing around boulders and rocks before plunging into what looked like a deep, dark pool.
    She backtracked and found her way to the falls. Where was Shadow? She looked up and downstream. Nothing. She’d lost his trail. She swivelled her body and looked around … searching. Then she saw them. At the top of the waterfall and near its edge were Shadow’s paw prints. Relief turned to despair. His paw prints disappeared, into the swirling mass of water. That could mean only one thing; he’d tried to cross the river but hadn’t returned.
    Terrible thoughts flashed through her mind as she realised the obvious. He’d probably been swept away by the current trying to swim across, chasing whatever it was he’d been chasing. Her stomach lurched. Why did he try it? It looked impossible. Swimming was out of the question. Not in that torrent.
    Jars heart thumped as though trying to get out and she struggled to breathe. She wiped the tears that had welled in her eyes. Was he, at that very moment, lying somewhere downstream, struggling to stay alive? She shuddered and held back a sob. She wiped her eyes once again and scanned the far bank. Hoping.
    The impossible happened. Her face lit up and a bubble of laughter burst through the lump in her throat. There, in the grassy area leading towards some trees on the other side, were some broken and bent ferns. That could only mean one thing. Shadow was alive!
    He’d done the impossible, but how? She moved to the very edge of the waterfall, searching for signs. Anything.
    Then she saw them, stones, just under the surface, stretching from bank to bank. ‘Stepping stones,’ she said aloud. ‘Hidden stepping stones.’ The cascading rush of water with its white, foaming bubbles had been an effective cover.
    She didn’t hesitate. If Shadow could do it, so could she. Tentatively, trying to keep her balance, she reached with her foot feeling for the first stone. It was slippery, covered with green algae. She fought to keep her balance as the flowing current of water, like an invisible hand, tugged at her ankles, threatening to dislodge her at any time. Slowly, carefully, moving from stone by stone, she made it to the mossy, firm ground on the other side.
    Crouched over, hands on knees, her breath exploded from her mouth like an exhaust pipe. She took several deep gulps of air; then gathering herself together, she hurried on, following Shadow’s tracks once again.
    After some distance, she came to a clear, grassy area. Not knowing what to expect, she positioned herself behind the fronds of a large tree fern and watched.
    She saw Shadow! He was with some animals, wild animals – wallabies, wombats, spotted quolls and even a family of Tasmanian devils. To her amazement, as the animals went about their business, eating, playing, walking, Shadow was busy greeting them as if they were old friends. But that was not all. To her left near an old shack, she saw a man. He was sitting in front of a fire. A cat lay draped across his lap.

Chapter Twenty-Five
----
    T he man looked to be alone, and judging by the neat surrounds plus a stacked woodpile near the fire, this was his home. It made her wonder. Why would he choose to live all the way out here? The