Chapter 20 Chapter 20
A terrifying snap cracked through the air and she jumped up looking around. No more than thirty feet from her, the top of a large tree was speared into the ground. Rayne looked up at the trees she was using as her sanctuary and wondered if they were stronger than the tree that had plummeted to its death. She was really, really starting to not like thunder storms. Sliding back down, she sat on the large root at the bottom of the tree. There was nothing she could do but wait this out.
Rayne wondered for a moment how she was going to get the water out of the canoe, but decided that wasn’t important right this second. Turning, she looked through the trees towards the lake. Just seeing the water rising up in choppy waves made her more thankful she’d reached the shore when she did. Through the pelting rain, she glanced to where she’d left the canoe, it wasn’t there. Had she run straight into the trees or weaved through them? She stood up and leaned around the tree more, looking along the edge of the lake as far as she could from there. She did not see the canoe. Maybe the wind had blown it away. Wiping the water off her face she squinted through the rain trying to see if the canoe was out in the lake when a something whipped up against her face.
Holding her stinging cheek, she lowered herself back down to sit on the root again. A canoe search and rescue was going to have to wait, she was not giving up this shelter for anything until the storm was gone.
She had no idea how long she’d stayed hidden amongst the trees. It was one of those times that felt like hours but, in reality, could only be a few minutes. Peeking around the tree once more, she noticed the puddles on the ground in the open area between the shore and where she hid, she was pretty sure it was more than a few minutes. Her muscles hurt, she was cold and now that the adrenalin had ebbed, she was scared. All the wrong thoughts were whizzing around in her brain. What if the canoe was gone, how would she get back? Could she even find her way back by going all the way around the lake? What if the storm didn’t end before it got dark? Was she going to last the night here alone? Unless Devin noticed the canoe missing, there wasn’t another soul on earth that would even know she was missing. She didn’t want to turn into one of those horror stories of people lost in wilderness and never found again. She really didn’t.
Rolling her shoulders Rayne tried to relax, but with her shivering and fear wouldn’t allow that to happen. She rubbed her hands up and down her arms and tried to warm up. Her feet were throbbing and she finally allowed herself to examine them and see how much damage she’d done by running over the rough ground. Picking up her right foot, she turned it to look at the bottom, it had a few scratches and was dirty, but she didn’t see anything wrong with it. Her left foot, however, wasn’t in great shape. There was a long gash covered with bits of nature and blood. She brushed it off as best as she could, gritting her teeth as she pulled a piece of twig out. If she had to walk back, she was sure it would be the longest walk of her life.
Her bare legs hadn’t faired all that well either. They were covered in scratches that were likely going to attract every mosquito on the planet when the wind and rain stopped. She was going to be an insect smorgasbord. Rayne looked deeper into the trees and scanned the area around her, if the bugs were the only thing she had to worry about, she’d consider herself very lucky.
Unable to distract herself from the noise of the storm any longer, she covered her ears, just wanting a few seconds of silence. How long could a storm like this last? Didn’t they scream themselves out quickly when they were this intense? She had no idea, but was starting to think that she should begin coming up with a plan to get out of here. She couldn’t leave her survival to a man that may not even know she was missing.
She was so cold now, her body started to ache. Uncovering her ears, she leaned around the tree and looked for the canoe again. If she could drag it ashore further she might be able to flip it over and hide under it out of the rain. Of course, that plan would only work if she could find where she had left it, and that she was brave enough to go look. She stood up on stiff legs and stepped away from the comfort of the trees and back into the wind.
Her foot objected to touching the ground, but she ignored it and moved in the direction she thought she’d come from. If she couldn’t move the canoe, she could at least get her shoes and camera. I can’t believe I left my camera. Not that she’d had any time, the only thing she’d been concerned with at that moment was to get off the water.
The closer she got to the water, the stronger the wind was. The rain, although it hurt, didn’t really matter. There was no getting any wetter than she was. Rayne crouched down and held onto a fallen tree to catch her breath and look along the shore. She saw the log that had stopped her being able to pull the canoe all the way in, but she did not see the canoe. It wasn’t there. She looked along the shore for as far as she could see and it wasn’t there. Squinting, she looked out onto the lake and her heart sunk as the blurry image of the canoe spinning about, out in the deep water, registered. She was stranded. Would Devin see it? Would he come looking for her now?
A small branch smacked up against her arm and snapped her back into action. The only choice she had was to go back to find a better spot to wait this out. Her wet hair whipped around and stuck to her face as she stepped carefully away from the shore, so discouraged she didn’t even bother to move it away from her face. Something blew right past her and she straightened to follow it with her eyes. It looked like a piece of plastic. Plastic was waterproof. Rayne held her breath and watched as it snagged in a branch and flapped chaotically in the wind. She looked back at the trees she’d been hiding in, memorizing what they looked like so she could head back and turned to work her way to capture the snapping piece of plastic.
She hissed with each step, the gash on her foot burned now, but she kept going, determined to get that plastic. When she was a few feet from it, it jerked in the wind like it was trying to free itself. Rayne lunged and grabbed just as the wind jerked it free from the branch. Quickly, she hugged it tight before the wind claimed it again. She had to use both hands as she jogged, well, limped back towards the shelter of the trees.
As she slid back against the large tree, she discovered the plastic wasn’t as large as it had looked, there were a few tears, but it would still cover part of her and give her a short respite from the rain. Carefully, she opened one of the tears further and pulled it over her head. She didn’t know what the bag had been used for, but at this point it didn’t matter. Wiggling it down over her wet shoulders, she was more than happy that it covered her almost to the waist. Even though she was wet and cold, the plastic hugged her and brought a small amount of comfort with it.
Now she just had to wait for the wind to go away. She didn’t care if the rain stopped or not, it was the wind that scared her and prevented her from going anywhere. Had the thunder lessened? She hadn’t even noticed, but hoped she was right and this onslaught was almost over.
She just had to wait.