The dark sky was all he needed to guide him as his horse walked slowly across the valley. Uncas kept his eyes on the ground, seeing only the land before him, averting his gaze from the sky above, the sky that had never been the same since he returned. It was what he loved so much about the land; it was so easy to become invisible, to lose yourself, to forget the raging wars in other lands and the pain that rippled inside him.
Uncas had grown up here- this is where he had his first fight, kissed his first girlfriend, lost his mother. This land was a part of who he was. His father had been born only miles away from this spot, and then stayed to raise his family.
Uncas tugged on the reigns of his horse, causing it to pause as he became lost in his thoughts. He'd left when he was 17, feeling called to serve his country and seeking adventure that he'd never found here. After four years he'd returned.
He scanned the dark horizon: everything he had always felt about this land had changed. Not a single blade of grass had altered in his absence and yet Uncas felt like the land he had once sought to escape was now heaven on earth.
Uncas inhaled as deeply as he could, enjoying the freezing pain that shot through his lungs. He knew if he stayed out here too much longer he'd regret it in the morning. He smoothly jerked the reins, signaling for his horse to return to their home.
As he turned, something caught his eye a half of mile ahead of him. Uncas frowned and squinted, surprised to see the outline of parked car. He kicked his horse into a steady gallop, keen to see who was invading his haven.
When he found the occupants of the car, it was clear that they had been stranded for hours. He was assuming that their car had run out of gas, and by the way the passengers were huddled together he guessed that the inside of the car was barely warmer than the freezing temperatures outside. He pulled his horse to a halt, watching as a man climbed out of the driver's seat.
"Who are you?" The scared white man asked, obviously trying to keep his voice steady. Uncas frowned, fear seemed out of place. Caution was understandable for a man stranded in a rural part of the state, but fear? Uncas felt his skin tingle, something was very wrong.
Uncas said slowly, "My name is Uncas, and I live a few miles from here."
The man frowned, "No one lives around here. We're in the middle of nowhere."
Uncas noticed the man's hand firmly latched around something in his pocket. He slowly moved a hand behind his back, gripping the knife securely strapped to his back. He could take this nervous man out, he knew, it would barely take seconds and he could simply say he was trespassing.
The man seemed to sense the impending danger, yet, before either man could make another move, two figures slowly stepped out from behind the rear door of the car on the passenger's side.
Uncas dropped his hand away from the knife. Two young women, looking frazzled and half frozen were clinging to each other and looking nervously between them.
"Duncan," the dark haired one asked, "who is this?"
Uncas looked carefully at the girls; the dark haired girl had her arms wrapped protectively around the second one. This girl he could barely make out, but he could see the light brown hair that could almost be blonde. It was all too obvious that like the man they traveled with, these women did not belong to the area.
"He lives around here." the man, Duncan, said, his eyes were still locked on Uncas.
Uncas nodded toward the women. "What are you folks doing out here?"
This time the dark haired women spoke, "We were just passing through when we ran out of gas. We didn't think the gas stations would be so far apart here."
Uncas hid a smirk. "Not from around here then?"
She shook her head and stepped closer, almost dragging the other girl along with her. "No. Can you help us refill our tank so we can continue? I'm afraid we have no idea where we are or where the next station is."
Uncas frowned, sensing that something was wrong. "The nearest station isn't for about another hour, hour and a half. From the looks of it you all need to get inside." He nodded toward the lighter haired girl, "How long have her lips been that shade of blue?"
The older girl hurriedly glanced down in surprise, pulling the other girl a few inches from her body to get a better look. "Oh god, Alice." was all she muttered.
"Tell us where we can find shelter." The man demanded, striding protectively toward the women.
Uncas shrugged. "Closest place is my father's house, a few miles away. We can offer you shelter for the night and a warm meal."
"You're a fool if you think we're going to trust you-" Duncan started before being cut off by a loud exclamation.
"Duncan!" Cora gasped in shock.
The two men glanced toward the women desperately clinging to each other. "We would very much appreciate any hospitably. As you can see we are at your mercy."
"Cora!" Duncan gasped, going towards the women.
Uncas felt his anger bubble as the two quietly bickered, he was offering assistances yet was only met in insult. The younger one attracted his attention as her eyes slowly drifted toward him, as if just then seeing him for the first time. She was obviously frightened, and he could tell from the dark circles under her eyes that she hadn't rested in days. He knew that feeling; he knew the exhaustion in her eyes was the same as the reflected in his own. Uncas knew if it hadn't been for this one, this pale but beautiful girl he would have long since left them to their own devices.
"Here," he broke through the harsh whispers by stepping closer to them and yanking off his heavy jacket. "I'll ride to my father's house and come back with a truck. If you decide not to stay we can at least bring some blankets."
Cora and Duncan stopped and watched as he carefully laid the jacket over the pale haired girl's shoulders. Cora released her hold on her sister as Uncas zipped the jacket around her. He carefully zipped it up to her chin then met her eyes. She was studying him, he knew. He kept his finger on the zipper as he looked into her eyes. "I will not harm you, I just want to help." He offered gently.
"My name is Cora," The dark haired woman introduced herself as she carefully pulled her sister back into her arms. "This is Duncan and my sister Alice. Your help is much appreciated. But will you not be cold?" Cora asked tucking her sister's hair into the oversized coat.
Uncas shook his head despite already feeling the chill seep through his shirt. "Pleased to meet you, I'm Uncas." He nodded at Cora then Duncan. "Keep her warm, I'll be back shortly."
He stepped away from the girl and turned back to his horse, launched himself onto the saddle and within seconds he was riding away from the parked car and the freezing girl with pale hair.
It took mere seconds to convinced his horse to risk the high speed run back to his father's homestead. He knew the risk of running his horse during the night, one stumble and they could both be injured. Yet as Uncas tightened his hold on the reigns he thought of the pale girl with light hair and how he was the only one who could help her, and he rode harder.