Prompt: wind
Word count: 877
Disclaimer: I do not own GI Joe.
Wind and Storms
A soft breeze gently rustled his hair. He looked up towards the west and silently regarded the dark blue storm clouds brewing. The wind would be picking up soon.
"Traitor!" Leatherneck's face contorted with rage as he pointed an accusing finger at Outback. It wasn't the first time that the Marine had confronted him about leaving Stalker, Quick Kick, and Snow Job in Borovia. Leatherneck absolutely refused to believe that Stalker had ordered his fellow Joe to abandon them. Outback also couldn't make him or Mutt understand that those orders had torn his heart out.
Stuart Selkirk turned his face from the oncoming storm. He'd already had enough of storms for a while. This one looked to be big…as usually happened when a system rolled off of the mountains. There would be hellish torrents of rain and lightning in about two hours, if he judged correctly. He should probably go see if his dad and the others needed any help.
"How could you LEAVE them?"
The GI Joe known as Outback ignored Mutt's voice, but it continued to mock him in the back of his mind. He pushed the voice away. Stalker and the others had been freed from Borovia. Stalker had even thanked him for escaping and bringing word to the Joes. Now he was on two weeks leave and back home in Big Piney, Wyoming.
Outback stepped into the kitchen of the old, but well kept up home. His grandfather had built the original home and had passed it on to three generations of Selkirks. One sniff of his nose alerted him that fresh bread was currently in the oven. He looked around and found his mother seated at the oak table, also made by his grandfather. An aging Sheltie/Blue Heeler mix looked up from her spot in front of the stove and whined in greeting. She, however, didn't deign to move. Penny was a veteran cattle dog and now had the arthritis to prove it. The dog currently lived out her retirement guarding the house and keeping his mother company. Outback knelt down to scratch Penny's ears.
"Hi Mom," he said quietly. "Where's Dad?" She looked up from the stack of papers and the calculator. His mother ran the business end of Selkirk Ranch, which was a good thing because his father was terrible with money.
"He's in the south pasture," she answered. His mother typed in a few numbers on the calculator and frowned.
"Dad overspend on feed again?" Stuart couldn't help asking. His mother gave a vexed sigh and the Joe hid a grin.
"How did you guess?" she asked. His mother shook her head and pushed the calculator away. Like his father, his mother also came from a ranching family. Big Piney really only had two major industries going for it: cattle and oil.
"A storm's coming in," Stuart told her. He could already hear the wind picking up outside. "I'm going to go see if Dad and Paul need help before it hits."
His mother nodded and went back to frowning at the ranch account book. Outback silently pet the dog a few more times before making his way out of the house. A faint clap of thunder rolled in the distance.
"Why are you apologizing?" Stalker eyed him with astonishment. Outback decided at that moment that he didn't want his sergeant to know about the hell that the other Joes had put him through. So he lied.
Stalker, it turned out, found out anyway. The ranger never said who had told him. It didn't matter though because nothing could stop the angry storm that blew through the Pit. After that, the angry accusations began to wind down until they suddenly stopped.
He found his father trying to tie down a couple of tarps over a new pile of hay. His father tossed him a couple of ropes and both men went to work. By the time that the chores were finished, the wind was howling in their ears and they were soaking wet.
Stuart later gladly lay by the fireplace with the old cattle dog, who had now decided that the living room needed protecting. Penny rested her head on his chest and was soon snoring softly.
"Thanks for helping us, Stuart." His father stepped into the living room, with a towel draped around his shoulder.
Stuart nodded his head and gave a quiet "You're welcome." His father stared at him for a long moment, but decided not to ask. Instead, he sat in the chair nearest his son and the dog.
"Hell of a storm brewing," he continued. Stuart didn't say anything, other than to nod his head again.
Leatherneck walked by him and muttered an unconvincing "Sorry." Stalker had probably forced him into it. Outback sighed and figured that he should accept it. It was probably the best he would get out of the Marine.
"I think this is the perfect time for hot chocolate," his father added. "It always helps me to ride out a storm." The aging rancher left then. In a short time, he returned with two steaming mugs of hot chocolate. They silently drank and listened to the crackle of the fireplace and the rain on the windows.
The wind continued to howl outside.
Note: While Outback's biography does state that he is from Big Piney, Wyoming, everything else in this story is my invention. Big Piney is a small town of 552 people and is located in western Wyoming, which is rural and sparsely populated. According to the bit of research that I did, the major industries in Big Piney are cattle and oil. There was also a PBS documentary about ranching families in the area, who had been there for several generations. It seemed logical to assume then that Outback is probably from a ranching family.