Page 8 of Cut to the Heart of It
“Hey, son, I’m at the cabin. I’ll be up in a few. What’s up?”
“Dad! The road! I was taking a break and called Uncle Bo and he told me a Trooper just came in and said the roads up here were being washed away. I took the four-wheeler, and a section is gone. I can’t get down, so you can’t get up.”
“Shit, are you sure? Are you okay? Where are you now?” My heart was racing. I glanced over and CJ’s brows were furrowed, and she made no secret she was watching me and trying to listen.
“I made it back to the house but there’s a log down over the trail, too.”
“Well, don’t you get that chainsaw out, you hear me? It’s not safe to handle that alone. Just stay inside and stay put. I have to deal with this but call Bo and tell him to keep us posted.”
“Okay, but what are you gonna do?”
“I may go and see how the road is below here and go from there. I love you. I’ll call you back.”
“I love you, Dad. Be careful.”
I ended the call and put the phone back in my pocket. “You stay put. I need to go check the damn road.”
“Wait, what’s happening?” she asked as she followed me onto the porch.
I bounded down to the sidewalk without hitting any of the steps and jogged to the truck. I opened the door and leaned around it then yelled back up, “My son is trapped, and we may be, too. Go back inside.”
Cranking the truck, I didn’t wait for it to warm and pulled out of the gravel driveway. How she didn’t hear the truck when I pulled up is beyond me.
I drove the half mile down the gravel driveway unsure of what I’d find when I got to the road. The rain was coming down hard again and some of the gravel was washing away. This wasn’t good.
When I got to the end of the gravel, water was cascading down the road. I hopped from the truck and walked to the road to take a look; it wasn’t smart to drive on it with that amount of water running down.
Looking up, the water coming down was muddy. Looking down the road, I didn’t see anything obvious, but the water was moving pretty fast. I climbed back into the truck and was about to call Uncle Bo when I heard a loud crack.
Son of bitch.
I couldn’t tell where it was coming from, so I covered my head and hoped for the best. Several seconds later, a loud bang and a few more cracks sounded around me. Opening my eyes and looking through my arms, I didn’t immediately see where the tree had fallen. I looked all around me from the truck but didn’t see any downed trees or disturbed woods. I climbed back out of the truck and when I got to the edge of the street, there lay the tree, right across the road going to town.
Perfect.
I shook my head as I stood in the rain. My phone started ringing so I looked down and it was Bo.
“Uncle Bo, are you alright?” I asked as I climbed back in the truck.
“Oh, I’m fine. But a Trooper was in earlier and a Ranger just came by. It’s bad up there. I spoke to Danny. Are you alright?”
“Yeah, but I’m stuck at one of the cabins. Danny said the trail is blocked and the road is messed up. I was checking things out and there’s a damn tree down. I’m sure the lines are clogged up so if they come back will you tell them what I told you?”
“Yes, I can call the Ranger. I have his number. Are you gonna be okay there until they clear that and repair the road? Can anyone get to Danny?”
“I don’t know. It’s not safe for them to try, anyway. And I don’t want him using the chainsaw alone. Just call your friend. If the rain lets up, maybe I can get up there by foot.”
“That’s a long walk in the rain. If more trees fall or if the side of the mountain floods, you can get hurt walking through there. If you can, just stay put ‘til we can get some teams up there.”
I nodded. He was right. But the only dry place for me to hang out until then currently housed a very feisty woman. “Okay, I’ll be at cabin one. Let me know what you hear.”
“You bet, kiddo. Be safe.”
Here we go.
Chapter 7
CJ
