Chapter 2

Tony could see the dark shape of the dog, although not any particular features. He could just tell that it was big. Big and mean.

"Good dog," he said, trying to sound soothing. "I'm not going to steal a sheep. I promise."

Tony looked around and, at long last, he saw a sign of civilization.

A light.

"Hello!" he called out. "Is this your dog? Can you call him off?"

At first, all he could hear was the bleating of sheep and the growling of the dog who was getting closer and closer. Tony backed off a few steps without running.

"Hello!" he called again.

"Connall!"

The dog stopped growling and another light appeared. Tony took an experimental step forward and the dog began growling again.

"Who's out there? I warn you. I'm armed and Connall doesn't like strangers!"

The voice was far from friendly, but this was the first person he'd run into, and Tony was getting desperate.

"I'm not armed and I love strangers," Tony said. "Please, I need some help."

"Stay where you are, and I'll decide whether I think you're telling the truth or not."

Tony stayed where he was. Connall didn't seem to like him moving, anyway. The sheep were still bleating. The speaker seemed to be taking his sweet time getting to Tony, but at last, he was there, shining a welcome flashlight beam in Tony's face. Tony couldn't see him, but he focused on looking as harmless as possible.

"Now, who are you and why did you wake up my flock?" the man asked. "And what in the name of all that is holy are you doing walking around out here in the dark?"

Tony lifted his hand and tried to block out the flashlight.

"My friend fell off the mountain and I couldn't get to him. I need some help."

"What were you doing rock climbing in the middle of the night? That's pretty stupid."

"We weren't rock climbing, just hiking, and it wasn't the middle of the night when he fell. Please, can you help?"

The flashlight lowered and Tony could see an older man than he'd expected.

"Up the mountain?"

"Yeah."

"You can't get back up there, tonight."

"I have to. We can't leave him there!"

The man walked to Tony and started to usher him forward. Tony resisted a little bit, but it was raining and it was cold and he was really tired.

"Just come with me, son. We'll get you patched up."

"Patched up?"

"I'm pretty sure you've looked better."

Tony looked at his hands and laughed a little.

"I'll assume that's the case. Some people might disagree."

The man laughed, too.

They walked to a large lean-to.

"Wow. That's pretty impressive."

"I know. Have a seat, son."

Tony gave in and sat down under the lean-to. He was impressed that it was completely dry.

"So...what's your name?"

"Tony."

"I'm Jesse. That's Connall."

"He's a good guard dog."

"He's a sheep dog. I'm a shepherd."

"Really?"

"Yep. I pretty much live up here during the summer. I'm starting to move my flock down to the fields. I have a sheep camp waiting for me for the fall."

"All by yourself?"

"Me and Connall. Now, let me get out my kit and we can get you patched up."

"But...Tim is still up there on the mountain!"

Jesse paused and looked at Tony.

"I understand that you're worried and that you want to help your friend, but if you came down the mountain in the dark, you're lucky you didn't break your neck. Clearly, you're lost."

"Why would you say that?"

"Because you woke up my sheep at two a.m. I'm not near any hiking trails."

"Oh." Tony sighed and felt his shoulders slump. "But...we can't just leave him there!"

"We won't. I'll get you patched up. You'll sleep for a few hours, get your strength back, and we'll head up the mountain at first light. I'll have to leave Connall behind to watch my flock, but if you were crashing around like a drunken bear on the mountain like you were in the trees here, you'll have left quite a trail. Even after the rain, it shouldn't be hard to miss."

Tony couldn't help smiling a little even as he wanted to protest waiting at all to get back to Tim. Logically, he knew that Jesse was right, but he didn't like to sit around. He didn't want to wait when he knew someone was in danger. It just felt wrong.

Jesse turned on a lantern and began to clean off Tony's hands. They were pretty much hashed.

"How many times did you fall down?"

"I can't count that high," Tony said with false bravado.

"I can tell. Well, we'll just patch you up and you can tell me what happened."

Tony sighed and told how they had gone hiking, how Tim had lost his balance and Tony just barely missed him when he fell.

"I was so close, but I just couldn't quite get there, and...and I couldn't get down to him, either. I almost fell down after him, trying to get to where he fell."

"Good thing you went for help. I don't think you were on a trail at all...or if it was, it's not a maintained trail and not a place people generally hike. You probably wouldn't have seen another soul on that mountain."

Tony swore feelingly.

"Now, don't get down on yourself. If he survived that fall, we'll get to him in the morning. I'd say that we could go find someone else, first, but I'm not sure how far we'd have to go. There's a campground, but it's about five miles away from here and I'm on foot, myself."

"On foot? What if the sheep ran away?"

"They won't leave. I'm their shepherd."

"Do they know that?"

"Yes, they do," Jesse said. "Now, it's true, every so often, one will wander off, but they come back, and they know that if they get lost and can't get back, I'll find them. I'd never leave my sheep behind."

Tony laughed a little. "You sound like a Marine."

"Nope. Not a Marine. Just a shepherd. I used to be more of a sheep herder. I moved them around. They were income and I didn't think about them much more than that, but... ever since my wife died a few years ago, I've focused on my sheep. They need me, and I need them. I'm not rich, but I have a good life. Connall keeps me company and warns me if any predators are coming around."

"Do you have that problem a lot?"

"Oh, I've had to get rid of some wolves. Not many. Connall's a match for them and I'm armed. And I don't leave the sheep up here in the winter. Not enough feed. So I start them down when it gets cold and the farmers let me graze them in what's left in their fields. I have my sheep camp to keep the chill out and it works really well. Used to be, all the sheep ranchers did that around here, but there aren't too many of us left following the old-fashioned way."

Tony nodded mutely. It was moderately interesting, but his mind was all on whether or not Tim was still alive.

"You're lucky that it's still so warm."

"Warm?"

"Yep. This time of year, it can snow in the mountains. This storm is all rain. Definitely warm."

"I'll take your word for it."

"Do. I'm over sixty years old and I've lived in this area most of my life. I know the weather. Now, what I think you should do is have a drink of water, lay down and sleep for a couple of hours. When it gets light, I'll wake you up and we'll head up the mountain."

"I don't know if I can sleep," Tony said, but at the same time, he was aching with exhaustion.

"Lay down and try. You can protest if it doesn't work and you stay awake."

Tony leaned back and closed his eyes. He didn't want to sleep, but he was so tired. As soon as his eyes closed, he was out.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Jesse smiled as Tony sagged down into sleep. Then, he gestured to Connall and patted the dog on the head.

"I don't know, Connall. Hours since he fell. A bad fall and no response to repeated calls? He could be dead."

Connall whuffled at him.

"I know. You're right. We can't leave him there if there's even a chance. You never leave a sheep who's wandered off. ...even if it's a human sheep."

Tony started to snore and Jesse chuckled softly. There was no question that Tony needed the sleep. No matter how worried he was, if he had been trying to get down the mountain in the dark, he had the right to sleep for a couple of hours.

However, Jesse himself was very awake and he decided to think about what they'd need to get to Tim. If he'd fallen as far as Tony had indicated, then, they'd need to get down to him. Ropes. Luckily for Tony, Jesse prided himself on being ready for every situation. He'd had to get his sheep, mostly lambs, out of the strangest places, and, generally, he had to do it on his own because he was out in the middle of nowhere.

He got out his backpack and began loading it with the first aid kit, some ropes, water, food. If Tim had survived the fall, once they got him up, they'd have to get him down the mountain. Ideally, they'd have someone else to help, but this wasn't the time of year for hiking. It was stormy which kept a lot of people away. Jesse didn't have a cell phone because there was no point when it didn't work in this area, anyway. Besides, he didn't really have anyone to talk to. Oh, he had a few friends that he would see at the coffee shop in town, but no one close. Edna had been his world. Now, his sheep were all he cared about.

...but he would leave them here to help Tony save his friend.

Preparations made, he set the alarm on his watch and lay back against the lean-to. He could still get a couple more hours of sleep before it started to get light.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

A tinny beeping noise penetrated the thick fog.

Tony wondered what it was, but then, it stopped.

"Tony, it's almost dawn."

"Wha–?"

"Wake up, son."

That did it. No one Tony knew called him that. He opened his eyes and saw...

Lean-to. Outside.

Tim! He'd fallen off the mountain!

Tony sat up quickly, heart thudding wildly in his chest.

"Whoa! Calm down, there, son. You don't need to fly up the mountain."

Tony saw the shape of Jesse in the gray of dawn.

"Here. You'll need something to eat if you're going to make it up."

Jesse handed him something. Tony took it and realized what he was holding.

"A peanut butter sandwich?"

"Wheat bread, protein, and some honey. You can eat fruit snacks on the way."

"That doesn't seem very traditional."

Jesse chuckled.

"Peanut butter is easy to carry around."

Tony started eating as quickly as he could. Jesse handed him a bottle of water. Tony chugged it down and finished eating.

"Okay. I'm ready to go."

"All right. Just a minute."

Jesse knelt down.

"Connall."

The dog came over. In the dim light, he could see the big dog. Jesse petted him.

"Okay, Connall. You're in charge. Keep the flock together, all right?"

Connall barked twice.

"Good boy."

Then, Jesse stood up.

"Okay, Tony. Let's get going."

Tony was glad to get moving, even if he felt sore and stiff as they headed out.

"I can see where you came in. This way," Jesse said. "If you feel like I'm leading us astray, don't be afraid to tell me."

"Okay."

Tony couldn't help but wonder if Tim was alive. Had he survived the fall? Had he survived the night? Had Tony abandoned him? All in all, he just wanted to get back to where Tim had fallen.

"It looks like you came down here. You certainly didn't pick the easiest path," Jesse said.

"I couldn't see anything."

"Of course, you couldn't."

It was muddy and wet, but even Tony could see where he'd broken through the underbrush. It was getting lighter, but the sun wasn't up yet. However, the better he could see Jesse, the more he wondered if he'd be much help. He was older. He looked a bit grizzled, and his build was far from muscular. Still, beggars couldn't be choosers, and Tony had no one else to turn to.

He just had to hope that things would work out.