The thunder sounded from the northwest again, making Jeff look up at the
clouds gathering there. Quickly, he capped the canteen he was filling at
the stream and stood up. If he wanted a dry place to wait out the weather,
he had to get moving.
He ducked instinctively as a large piece of wood flew over his head. It was followed a few seconds later by Gus, in a mad dash to capture his prize. The dog ran into Jeff's knees as he turned sharply.
Jeff swore loudly and dropped the canteen, trying desperately to keep his balance as a wave of dizziness caught him off guard. Grabbing a nearby tree branch, he steadied himself. Stupid dog, he thought as Gus snatched the stick from the ground.
It was then that Jeff realized he was smiling despite himself. Kai was apparently keeping herself entertained as she worked. He suspected it was a distraction from the situation.
It was a short hike to the lean-to he and Kai had constructed against the south side of a cliff face. Gus came back through the woods more than once, whining for Jeff to toss the stick for him. He obliged the dog, flinging the wood back towards the stream. Each time, the animal sent up dirt as he flew back down the path.
Jeff put on his most stern face as he came back to the campsite. Kai had begun to pile leaves on the shelter to camouflage it from prying eyes. She had expressed to him that she would have preferred to walk all the way without stopping, not wanting to be caught unawares by the madman she was now sure was stalking them. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had a different agenda.
Gus ran ahead of him and dropped the teeth-marked stick at Kai's feet. She looked down at him. "Can't you see I'm busy?" She piled more leaves on the three-foot tall structure that would shelter them from the elements.
The dog cocked his head and growled at her playfully. Kai giggled "All right, one more time." She grabbed the stick and flung it in to the brush that grew all around. Gus tore after it, leaping in to the bushes and making a tremendous racket.
"You really shouldn't be making all that noise, you know." Jeff dropped the canteen and stowed the water purifier back in the pack.
He turned to find Kai giving him a wry look. "How many times did you throw it for him?"
"Once, to get him to leave me alone," he lied. She raised an eyebrow. "All right three times, but I didn't throw it into the bushes."
Jeff took the stick from the dog when he returned, feeling the need to act out his aggravation on an inanimate object. The stick flew deep into the woods. "I guess the old saying about a dog's life is true. I would love to be as oblivious as he is right now."
Kai stopped working. "How close do you think he is?" There was no fear in her voice, merely concern.
"It's hard to say," Jeff began to help her. "Leaving the river was a good move. It may have been the easier route, but it also made us easier to follow."
Kai shrugged. "I didn't really think about that. I just didn't feel like getting wet again today."
"Don't worry," Jeff felt the need to console her a little, though she seemed calm. "He couldn't have caught up with us that fast, if he's behind us at all. Besides, if the river is rising, that will slow him down."
Kai had noticed that the level of the river steadily rose over the course of an hour and concluded that it was raining to the north. She had said something to him and they had agreed to take the more direct route to McPhereson. That meant leaving the relatively easy path along the river for the hills and cliffs of the woods. It was harder terrain that would probably take them a little longer to negotiate, but at least they were harder to find amongst the flora of the forest.
Between the two of them, they managed to finish the shelter in a matter of minutes. Kai sat down on a fallen log and retrieved two energy bars from the pack. She held them up and Jeff took her up on the invitation. He grabbed the canteen and exchanged it for the food as he sat down next to her. He shook his head when Kai broke her bar in half and handed a piece to Gus.
Kai fished a compass from her pocket. "We should probably head east tomorrow. We've come as far south as we should."
Jeff nodded. "It sounds like a plan."
The last bit of blue sky above them was quickly being overtaken by the clouds as they ate. Jeff felt the temperature drop as the front moved in. Kai pulled her coat more tightly around her, as she formed herself into a ball, trying to conserve body heat. It had been a silent agreement that a fire was out of the question with the approach of the massive storm.
A shadow passing overhead caused them both to look up. A large hawk was riding the air currents the storm was generating, soaring through the last rays of the sun before they were completely blocked. The bird gave a piercing cry and banked left, keeping watch over them from above.
Jeff was struck by the boldness of the animal. The hawk soared through the sky, unyielding to the bank of dark clouds that approached. He flapped his long wings with confident strokes, climbing higher in the darkening sky as if daring the wind to knock him down.
Kai murmured beside him. He looked over to see her watching the hawk as well, lost deep in thought.
"What did you say?"
Kai shook her head to send the last bits of the memory away. She was back in the clearing, cold and surrounded by an unfamiliar forest.
Jeff looked at her curiously. "You were a million miles away just now, weren't you?"
She gave a small laugh, "Only about 1500, actually."
"Someplace nicer than this?"
"No, it was quite similar to this." Kai said looking around. "I was thinking about a camping trip I took with my dad. We would go out for days on end to fish and swim, he would tell stories . . ."
"About Thunderbird?" he asked. He had heard her the first time, but the thoughtfulness of her expression made him want more of an explanation.
Kai blushed. She hadn't meant for her thoughts to be voiced, it just happened without her being conscious of it. "Yeah, about Thunderbird."
"What exactly is a Thunderbird, Ms. Taylor?"
Kai tried desperately to avoid the conversation. "Nothing, just a story. You'd think it was silly."
"Well, we've got nothing better to do until that gets here." Jeff pointed to the sky. "Try me."
Kai drew intricate patterns in the dirt with the toe of her boot. Eventually, she looked up to see Jeff staring at her expectantly. She sighed. "I'm not going to get out of this, am I?"
Jeff shook his head and she relented. "My dad used to tell this story about a being that could control the storms. When he flapped his great wings, the winds would howl. When he was still, the wind was calm."
"You're going to have to work on your delivery." Jeff said. "It's not much of a story when you talk to the ground."
"There was more to it." Kai looked up, staring into the approaching darkness. "When Thunderbird was absent from the world, it fell into ruin and disease. He was a protector, watching over his people and keeping them safe."
The only sound to be heard was the rumble of the thunder as it came closer.
Realizing that she had said more than she meant to, she gave Jeff an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I just loved that story, too, I guess."
"It sounds like it means a lot to you."
"It used to," she sighed heavily. "Before I grew up and realized that such things don't really exist."
Jeff was silent, fully intending to let her talk through whatever she needed to. "You can't believe in things like Thunderbirds and watch good people get hurt or killed. Like my Dad or Al . . ."she paused. "Or you."
He didn't move, not wanting to show how much her blunt assessment had touched him. "Why do you say that?"
If Kai had any reservations about confronting him, she didn't display them. "You don't wear the angry guy act well, Mr. Tracy. Something has been bothering you since High Level."
"Do you always make such quick assumptions about people?" Jeff asked. Kai shrugged
"You're right," he replied after a few seconds. "One of my sons is seriously injured, and I was trying to get to him."
Kai's face was full of compassion. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I wish there was more I could do to help you out."
"I don't see what more you could do." Jeff answered. "You are helping me get through this." He finished his dinner. "I assume you father taught you how to survive in the wild."
"Yup, Dad was a real outdoorsman. He thought wilderness survival was something every girl should know." She gave a short laugh. "He was right, as usual."
"You learned very well. I'm sure he would be proud of you."
"I'm not," Kai said, "He didn't want me to become a pilot. He always told me it was too dangerous."
"What did he want you to do?" Jeff asked, curiously.
Kai narrowed her eyes at him. "Promise you won't laugh?"
"Yes." He answered slowly.
"He wanted me to be a lawyer."
Jeff bit his lip and slowly turned away from her, studying the tree next to him. Beside him, he heard quiet laughter as Kai tried without success to keep from giggling herself.
He couldn't help it. "From what I have seen today, you probably could have made a fortune from it, kid." He said laughing
Kai gave him a mock-infuriated look that quickly slipped into a large grin. "Gee, thanks."
Jeff calmed himself down, sobering as a thought occurred to him. "I guess parents have to learn when to let their kids make their own choices." He leaned forward on his knees. "Something I have yet to learn myself."
Kai seemed to reciprocate his earlier gesture of letting him talk through his troubles. "I have barely talked to my own son in over a year." Jeff's voice got lower as he spoke.
"Does he live far from you or something?"
"Gordon is in the submarine service, and they stay pretty busy," Jeff smirked, "but he manages to call home every week to talk to his brothers."
"Why don't you talk to him then?"
He thought before he answered, wondering why he was admitting all of this to a person, who up until a few hours ago, he couldn't stand the sight of.
"Because I thought I was still angry with him about not doing what I wanted him to do with his life." Jeff looked over at Kai, who sat smiling sadly at him. "I just hope I get the chance that your father didn't."
Lightning flashed above them, reminding Jeff that the storm was approaching. He got to his feet and waited for Kai to rise as well. They hunched themselves over against the wind that had begun to blow furiously, and trudged to the shelter.
Jeff climbed in first, thankful that Kai had spread a large water-proof blanket on the ground before the construction had begun. He sat down with his back to the rock face.
"Who invited you?" he growled as Gus trotted through the opening and plopped himself on Jeff's feet.
"More bodies: more body heat." Kai said as she sat down beside him. The shelter was cramped in the interest of keeping it warm. They were forced to sit close to each other, but Jeff found it wasn't as unpleasant as he anticipated.
Kai seemed comfortable as well, going so far as to lean against him after wrapping the edges of the blanket around her to keep out the chill.
"You're not very helpful in the body heat department," he kidded her. "There's not enough of you for that."
"All the more reason to let the dog stay." The wind whipped around outside, whistling as it blew over the cliff. "Gordon Tracy. That name sounds familiar."
Kai thought for a minute. "He was a swimmer at the last Olympics," she said triumphantly, "the youngest person ever to break a World Record in swimming at an Olympic games."
"I didn't know that anybody paid that close attention." Mr. Tracy said. "How can you remember so much about him?"
Kai didn't answer. He couldn't see her in the darkness, but knew she was grinning.
There was amusement in his voice as he prodded her. "Why do I get this feeling it has nothing to do with his performance at the games?"
Kai began to laugh. "When you see him, just tell him that his White Oak High All-Girl Fan Club sends its regards."
Jeff chuckled. "I'll be sure to do that. He'll be thrilled."
"As soon as he gets well, he's more than welcome to visit, if he brings an armed escort."
Gordon would probably love that, Jeff thought as the rain began to fall outside. *******************************************************************
Accursed weather.
He stood on the rise, looking across at the river that had overflowed its banks, making it impossible to follow his quarry. He clenched his fists as the rain water flowed down his face. He was so close, so close. He knew Tracy was nearby.
He walked along the bank, sliding and nearly falling. Tracy would pay for the trouble he was putting him through. He would pay dearly and so would his little companion that he was sure Tracy had in tow.
Lightning struck a tree above him and he leapt out of the way of the falling, flaming branch. He fell to the ground, sputtering and cursing. The rain beat hard on his back as he gained footing. His boot hit a patch of mud as he tried to stand, sending him down again.
Wiping the mud from his eyes, he got to his knees again. They must have realized the storms were coming as well. Tracy wouldn't have been stupid enough to stay along the river.
He ran through what he knew about the land. Civilization was to the southeast. They would go that way, though the land was considerably harsher than that of the river. It was more direct and Tracy was a direct man.
The thunder sounded again, drowning out his voice as he growled. It would be too easy to get disoriented in the rain, clues would be missed. He toyed with the idea of using the transmitter, calling his hovercraft to spend the night in comfort.
He dismissed it. The hovercraft was still on the west coast, hidden from obtrusive eyes. He planned to call it when he knew he was closing in on his target. By the time it arrived, the storm would probably have passed. If he summoned it, he would risk someone seeing it, and all of his sweat would have been wasted.
He slid under the overhang of a cliff, and sat, planning his revenge to the most intricate detail, the cold simply fueling his wrath.
He ducked instinctively as a large piece of wood flew over his head. It was followed a few seconds later by Gus, in a mad dash to capture his prize. The dog ran into Jeff's knees as he turned sharply.
Jeff swore loudly and dropped the canteen, trying desperately to keep his balance as a wave of dizziness caught him off guard. Grabbing a nearby tree branch, he steadied himself. Stupid dog, he thought as Gus snatched the stick from the ground.
It was then that Jeff realized he was smiling despite himself. Kai was apparently keeping herself entertained as she worked. He suspected it was a distraction from the situation.
It was a short hike to the lean-to he and Kai had constructed against the south side of a cliff face. Gus came back through the woods more than once, whining for Jeff to toss the stick for him. He obliged the dog, flinging the wood back towards the stream. Each time, the animal sent up dirt as he flew back down the path.
Jeff put on his most stern face as he came back to the campsite. Kai had begun to pile leaves on the shelter to camouflage it from prying eyes. She had expressed to him that she would have preferred to walk all the way without stopping, not wanting to be caught unawares by the madman she was now sure was stalking them. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had a different agenda.
Gus ran ahead of him and dropped the teeth-marked stick at Kai's feet. She looked down at him. "Can't you see I'm busy?" She piled more leaves on the three-foot tall structure that would shelter them from the elements.
The dog cocked his head and growled at her playfully. Kai giggled "All right, one more time." She grabbed the stick and flung it in to the brush that grew all around. Gus tore after it, leaping in to the bushes and making a tremendous racket.
"You really shouldn't be making all that noise, you know." Jeff dropped the canteen and stowed the water purifier back in the pack.
He turned to find Kai giving him a wry look. "How many times did you throw it for him?"
"Once, to get him to leave me alone," he lied. She raised an eyebrow. "All right three times, but I didn't throw it into the bushes."
Jeff took the stick from the dog when he returned, feeling the need to act out his aggravation on an inanimate object. The stick flew deep into the woods. "I guess the old saying about a dog's life is true. I would love to be as oblivious as he is right now."
Kai stopped working. "How close do you think he is?" There was no fear in her voice, merely concern.
"It's hard to say," Jeff began to help her. "Leaving the river was a good move. It may have been the easier route, but it also made us easier to follow."
Kai shrugged. "I didn't really think about that. I just didn't feel like getting wet again today."
"Don't worry," Jeff felt the need to console her a little, though she seemed calm. "He couldn't have caught up with us that fast, if he's behind us at all. Besides, if the river is rising, that will slow him down."
Kai had noticed that the level of the river steadily rose over the course of an hour and concluded that it was raining to the north. She had said something to him and they had agreed to take the more direct route to McPhereson. That meant leaving the relatively easy path along the river for the hills and cliffs of the woods. It was harder terrain that would probably take them a little longer to negotiate, but at least they were harder to find amongst the flora of the forest.
Between the two of them, they managed to finish the shelter in a matter of minutes. Kai sat down on a fallen log and retrieved two energy bars from the pack. She held them up and Jeff took her up on the invitation. He grabbed the canteen and exchanged it for the food as he sat down next to her. He shook his head when Kai broke her bar in half and handed a piece to Gus.
Kai fished a compass from her pocket. "We should probably head east tomorrow. We've come as far south as we should."
Jeff nodded. "It sounds like a plan."
The last bit of blue sky above them was quickly being overtaken by the clouds as they ate. Jeff felt the temperature drop as the front moved in. Kai pulled her coat more tightly around her, as she formed herself into a ball, trying to conserve body heat. It had been a silent agreement that a fire was out of the question with the approach of the massive storm.
A shadow passing overhead caused them both to look up. A large hawk was riding the air currents the storm was generating, soaring through the last rays of the sun before they were completely blocked. The bird gave a piercing cry and banked left, keeping watch over them from above.
Jeff was struck by the boldness of the animal. The hawk soared through the sky, unyielding to the bank of dark clouds that approached. He flapped his long wings with confident strokes, climbing higher in the darkening sky as if daring the wind to knock him down.
Kai murmured beside him. He looked over to see her watching the hawk as well, lost deep in thought.
"What did you say?"
Kai shook her head to send the last bits of the memory away. She was back in the clearing, cold and surrounded by an unfamiliar forest.
Jeff looked at her curiously. "You were a million miles away just now, weren't you?"
She gave a small laugh, "Only about 1500, actually."
"Someplace nicer than this?"
"No, it was quite similar to this." Kai said looking around. "I was thinking about a camping trip I took with my dad. We would go out for days on end to fish and swim, he would tell stories . . ."
"About Thunderbird?" he asked. He had heard her the first time, but the thoughtfulness of her expression made him want more of an explanation.
Kai blushed. She hadn't meant for her thoughts to be voiced, it just happened without her being conscious of it. "Yeah, about Thunderbird."
"What exactly is a Thunderbird, Ms. Taylor?"
Kai tried desperately to avoid the conversation. "Nothing, just a story. You'd think it was silly."
"Well, we've got nothing better to do until that gets here." Jeff pointed to the sky. "Try me."
Kai drew intricate patterns in the dirt with the toe of her boot. Eventually, she looked up to see Jeff staring at her expectantly. She sighed. "I'm not going to get out of this, am I?"
Jeff shook his head and she relented. "My dad used to tell this story about a being that could control the storms. When he flapped his great wings, the winds would howl. When he was still, the wind was calm."
"You're going to have to work on your delivery." Jeff said. "It's not much of a story when you talk to the ground."
"There was more to it." Kai looked up, staring into the approaching darkness. "When Thunderbird was absent from the world, it fell into ruin and disease. He was a protector, watching over his people and keeping them safe."
The only sound to be heard was the rumble of the thunder as it came closer.
Realizing that she had said more than she meant to, she gave Jeff an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I just loved that story, too, I guess."
"It sounds like it means a lot to you."
"It used to," she sighed heavily. "Before I grew up and realized that such things don't really exist."
Jeff was silent, fully intending to let her talk through whatever she needed to. "You can't believe in things like Thunderbirds and watch good people get hurt or killed. Like my Dad or Al . . ."she paused. "Or you."
He didn't move, not wanting to show how much her blunt assessment had touched him. "Why do you say that?"
If Kai had any reservations about confronting him, she didn't display them. "You don't wear the angry guy act well, Mr. Tracy. Something has been bothering you since High Level."
"Do you always make such quick assumptions about people?" Jeff asked. Kai shrugged
"You're right," he replied after a few seconds. "One of my sons is seriously injured, and I was trying to get to him."
Kai's face was full of compassion. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I wish there was more I could do to help you out."
"I don't see what more you could do." Jeff answered. "You are helping me get through this." He finished his dinner. "I assume you father taught you how to survive in the wild."
"Yup, Dad was a real outdoorsman. He thought wilderness survival was something every girl should know." She gave a short laugh. "He was right, as usual."
"You learned very well. I'm sure he would be proud of you."
"I'm not," Kai said, "He didn't want me to become a pilot. He always told me it was too dangerous."
"What did he want you to do?" Jeff asked, curiously.
Kai narrowed her eyes at him. "Promise you won't laugh?"
"Yes." He answered slowly.
"He wanted me to be a lawyer."
Jeff bit his lip and slowly turned away from her, studying the tree next to him. Beside him, he heard quiet laughter as Kai tried without success to keep from giggling herself.
He couldn't help it. "From what I have seen today, you probably could have made a fortune from it, kid." He said laughing
Kai gave him a mock-infuriated look that quickly slipped into a large grin. "Gee, thanks."
Jeff calmed himself down, sobering as a thought occurred to him. "I guess parents have to learn when to let their kids make their own choices." He leaned forward on his knees. "Something I have yet to learn myself."
Kai seemed to reciprocate his earlier gesture of letting him talk through his troubles. "I have barely talked to my own son in over a year." Jeff's voice got lower as he spoke.
"Does he live far from you or something?"
"Gordon is in the submarine service, and they stay pretty busy," Jeff smirked, "but he manages to call home every week to talk to his brothers."
"Why don't you talk to him then?"
He thought before he answered, wondering why he was admitting all of this to a person, who up until a few hours ago, he couldn't stand the sight of.
"Because I thought I was still angry with him about not doing what I wanted him to do with his life." Jeff looked over at Kai, who sat smiling sadly at him. "I just hope I get the chance that your father didn't."
Lightning flashed above them, reminding Jeff that the storm was approaching. He got to his feet and waited for Kai to rise as well. They hunched themselves over against the wind that had begun to blow furiously, and trudged to the shelter.
Jeff climbed in first, thankful that Kai had spread a large water-proof blanket on the ground before the construction had begun. He sat down with his back to the rock face.
"Who invited you?" he growled as Gus trotted through the opening and plopped himself on Jeff's feet.
"More bodies: more body heat." Kai said as she sat down beside him. The shelter was cramped in the interest of keeping it warm. They were forced to sit close to each other, but Jeff found it wasn't as unpleasant as he anticipated.
Kai seemed comfortable as well, going so far as to lean against him after wrapping the edges of the blanket around her to keep out the chill.
"You're not very helpful in the body heat department," he kidded her. "There's not enough of you for that."
"All the more reason to let the dog stay." The wind whipped around outside, whistling as it blew over the cliff. "Gordon Tracy. That name sounds familiar."
Kai thought for a minute. "He was a swimmer at the last Olympics," she said triumphantly, "the youngest person ever to break a World Record in swimming at an Olympic games."
"I didn't know that anybody paid that close attention." Mr. Tracy said. "How can you remember so much about him?"
Kai didn't answer. He couldn't see her in the darkness, but knew she was grinning.
There was amusement in his voice as he prodded her. "Why do I get this feeling it has nothing to do with his performance at the games?"
Kai began to laugh. "When you see him, just tell him that his White Oak High All-Girl Fan Club sends its regards."
Jeff chuckled. "I'll be sure to do that. He'll be thrilled."
"As soon as he gets well, he's more than welcome to visit, if he brings an armed escort."
Gordon would probably love that, Jeff thought as the rain began to fall outside. *******************************************************************
Accursed weather.
He stood on the rise, looking across at the river that had overflowed its banks, making it impossible to follow his quarry. He clenched his fists as the rain water flowed down his face. He was so close, so close. He knew Tracy was nearby.
He walked along the bank, sliding and nearly falling. Tracy would pay for the trouble he was putting him through. He would pay dearly and so would his little companion that he was sure Tracy had in tow.
Lightning struck a tree above him and he leapt out of the way of the falling, flaming branch. He fell to the ground, sputtering and cursing. The rain beat hard on his back as he gained footing. His boot hit a patch of mud as he tried to stand, sending him down again.
Wiping the mud from his eyes, he got to his knees again. They must have realized the storms were coming as well. Tracy wouldn't have been stupid enough to stay along the river.
He ran through what he knew about the land. Civilization was to the southeast. They would go that way, though the land was considerably harsher than that of the river. It was more direct and Tracy was a direct man.
The thunder sounded again, drowning out his voice as he growled. It would be too easy to get disoriented in the rain, clues would be missed. He toyed with the idea of using the transmitter, calling his hovercraft to spend the night in comfort.
He dismissed it. The hovercraft was still on the west coast, hidden from obtrusive eyes. He planned to call it when he knew he was closing in on his target. By the time it arrived, the storm would probably have passed. If he summoned it, he would risk someone seeing it, and all of his sweat would have been wasted.
He slid under the overhang of a cliff, and sat, planning his revenge to the most intricate detail, the cold simply fueling his wrath.