Page 3 of Kian

Lobo continued to growl, his hackles rising as he stood guard at the door. In a moment of fear and instinct, Gretchen picked up her keys, rushed to her gun cabinet and retrieved a high-powered rifle. She loaded it quickly and sat on her sofa, heart racing as she waited for whoever was outside to make a move.

But as a few minutes passed by and Lobo finally lay down, it seemed like the danger had passed. Gretchen cautiously unloaded the rifle and locked it back in the cabinet before returning to the table, shaken but grateful that she and Lobo were safe.

She opened the door, stepped onto the porch and listened but all she heard was the snow falling to the ground. It was very quiet. She noticed Lobo standing stock still, staring off into the woods. It was probably a squirrel or something. Shaking her head, she reentered the cabin, closed the door, and opened the pet flap.

“Stay close,” she said as Lobo ran out the door. She watched him sniff around in the snow then headed for a tree.

As she waited for her second cup of coffee to brew, she peered out the window at the falling snow again. It was falling steadily, and there looked to be at least six inches of snow on top of the four they already had. The sky was dark grey, heavy with clouds, making it look later than it actually was.

Sipping on her steaming cup of coffee, she made her way to the living room and settled onto the soft sofa. She reached for the remote and flicked on the TV, watching the news while she sipped her coffee. She only had a satellite dish and at times, the weather knocked it out. She had no internet or cellphone service. She usually had to walk a little through the woods to be able to make a call.

As she listened to the updates on current events, she couldn’thelp but think about her own work, her paintings. With a popular gallery in New York wanting five of her paintings, she was pushing it. She had to let them know that she couldn’t even ship her paintings because of the snow. No one was going anywhere. There was no way she could make it into the Post Office in Clifton, even with her four-wheel-drive SUV. She knew she’d have to take a walk tomorrow so she could call the gallery.

She heard the pet flap, then Lobo appeared beside her, covered in snow, and barking insistently at her.

“Could I finish my coffee first?” She laughed at his persistence as he ran back out through the pet door, only to return a minute later.

He barked at her again and then ran back out. With a sigh, she got up and headed to the kitchen, just in time to see Lobo come back inside, covered in more snow. He stared at her for a moment before running toward the door and then back to her, barking.

“What is it?” He barked again. “Alright, let me put on warmer clothes and you can show me.”

Quickly changing her clothes, she grabbed her coat, beanie, and scarf from the pegs beside the door. Before she left, she walked toward the gun cabinet, unlocked it and retrieved her rifle. She never left home without it or her pistol. After loading it, she stepped outside and locked the door behind her.

“I’m trying,” she called out to him with a chuckle. “When did you become so impatient? If you’re taking me to see a dead animal, you will get no treats.”

She watched as he bounded through the snow and disappeared around a tree. Gretchen stopped to try to see which direction he’d gone but lost him in the snow.

“Lobo!” she called out, then he came out from behind a tree, about thirty yards ahead of her, barking, then disappeared again. She trudged through the snow, then she saw it. A boot onthe ground beside the tree.

Her heart raced as she stumbled to the other side of the tree, desperate for the boot not to be attached to a body; living or dead. But as she got closer, her hands flew to her mouth in horror. The man’s shirt was stained with blood, and a thin stream trickled from above his temple. She noticed he wasn’t wearing a coat or hat and shuddered at the thought of him freezing in this harsh weather.

With trembling hands, she approached the motionless figure in the snow. Her heart pounded in her chest as she desperately hoped he was still alive, since snow covered most of his body.

Carefully, she leaned her rifle against the tree and knelt to check for a pulse. Brushing the snow away from him, she felt a pulse and a wave of relief washed over her when she felt a faint but steady beat.

“Sir? Sir, can you hear me?” She lightly shook his shoulder, hoping to rouse him. Looking around at the vast expanse of white, she saw no prints, other than hers and Lobo’s. The man must have been here at least long enough for snow to cover him and any prints he left, but as heavy as it was snowing, that could be mere minutes. She wondered how she would ever manage to get him back to the safety of her cabin. “I have to get you out of this snow.”

She gently tapped his cheek with increasing force, finally eliciting a low moan from him. Startled, she jumped back and landed on her ass in the snow.

“Damn it.” She cursed under her breath as she struggled to pull him into a sitting position. But his heavy body slipped sideways, causing both to sink further into the powdery snow. Searching through his pockets for any form of identification, she came up empty-handed. With no other options, she propped him against the tree, and that was when she saw all the blood from where his head had been lying in the snow.

Sitting back on her heels, Gretchen studied the man’s face. Despite being covered in blood and clinging to life, he was undeniably handsome. But who was he and who could have possibly hurt him?

“I’ll go back and get the toboggan. I can’t use the ATV because he’d get covered in snow pulling him behind it, and I can’t lift him onto it.” She spoke aloud to herself, trying to push away the rising panic in her chest. “Lobo, stay.” She commanded the dog who had been watching her from a safe distance. He whimpered and reluctantly lay down next to the injured stranger.

“Keep him warm, boy. I won’t be long.” With one last look at them, Gretchen picked up her rifle and trudged back toward her cabin as fast as she could.

As she reached the shed, she hurriedly entered and grabbed the toboggan from its place on the wall. She also took a length of rope before rushing back outside, then she ran into the cabin to gather some blankets. When she spotted her sleeping bag, she carried it to the living room and spread it out in front of the fireplace. On the way out the door, she grabbed Lobo’s harness.

After stepping outside, she organized the blankets on the sled and fastened them tightly with the rope. Then she returned to where the man was. As she approached, she couldn’t help but smile at the sight of Lobo curled up on top of him, even though he appeared unconscious. She paused for a moment, considering her next steps. She nudged Lobo off the man and attached the harness to the dog.

With a deep breath, she pulled the toboggan toward the man, rolled him onto his side, and placed the sled against his back. With all her strength, she pushed him until he was lying flat on the sled.

It was bitterly cold outside, so she had to work quickly. The thirty yards distance between her cabin and where the man lay seemed like miles. She covered him with the blankets, tied a ropearound his body through the slots meant for holding on, and also tied a section of rope through Lobo’s harness. Then she began pulling the toboggan back to her cabin with the help of Lobo. Throughout their journey, she kept checking on the man to make sure he was still alive.

When they finally reached her porch, she sat on the steps to catch her breath and felt frustrated trying to figure out how to get him inside. Looking at him once more, she muttered under her breath.

“Why couldn’t you be a woman? Or at least a smaller man?” she grumbled.

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