Fresh after finishing A A Binding Choice and Warden’s Rest, I turned my attention toward my blog’s final story for May, a comedy. While these tales are difficult for me to create out of nothing, the process becomes a little easier when I lean on story cubes. Despite owning several sets, sometimes it’s simpler to toss a virtual collection and see what appears before me. After giving the digital dice a roll, I looked over the options and selected the wolf, the storm cloud, and the feather. The fun of these stories comes from figuring out how I’ll work those scattered pieces into a single tale. Sit down and get ready for Sebastian & Jimmy’s latest adventure.
Storms have a way of changing the feel of your surroundings, whether you’re outside or safely sheltered away from them. Trails that appear welcoming beneath clear skies become unsettling once the first thunderclap rolls through the mountains. Every snapping branch draws heightened attention. Even distant shapes between the trees begin appearing larger than they should. Some people even hear warnings carried upon the stormy winds.
Sebastian never saw much value in entertaining fears created by an active imagination. Jimmy, however, possesses a remarkable talent for turning the smallest discovery into evidence of danger waiting just beyond sight. This time a single feather resting beside the trail transforms a simple discussion into something neither of them can abandon.
As the storm crept closer, the forest grew darker and the trail itself began feeding their disagreement. Strange sounds echoed between the trees while the shifting weather pulled tension across the mountainside. Under the right conditions, suspicion becomes easy to justify. The more Jimmy searches for hidden dangers amongst the woods, the more difficult it becomes for Sebastian to convince him otherwise.
Suspicious Trail
As the darker storm clouds rolled across the valley from the mountains, Sebastian adjusted his pack’s straps. With a deep breath, he turned and stared down the winding trail. Between breaths, the wind hissed through the sparse pine trees between devastating thunderclaps. He grabbed Jimmy’s shoulder and pulled him closer. “We should head back before we get drenched in the looming rain.”
Jimmy slapped his friend’s hand off him as he crouched down beside the path, reaching out to pluck something off the ground. He twirled as he rose to his full height, brandishing a white feather. “Hold on, don’t you think we should identify what this is?”
“No sentence that starts with ‘hold on’ has ever improved my day.” Sebastian pinched his nose as he sighed. “Nothing is so important that we need to get soaked by the rain.”
Jimmy thrust the feather forward, dangling it in front of Sebastian’s face. “What do you suppose this means?”
Sebastian groaned. “You found a feather.”
Jimmy lowered his voice. “Explain why you’re refusing to accept this conspiracy.”
Sebastian’s head shook as he stared at his friend. “Are you worried that birds exist?”
Jimmy clenched his chin as he held the feather out in his fingers, rotating it. After several seconds, he strode toward Sebastian, flourishing the feather overhead. “There’s no way this just fell along the side of the trail.”
“Yes, it did.”
Jimmy shook his head and spun the feather like a conductor’s baton, shoving the tip of the feather’s quill at his friend. “Are you kidding? This is too clean. Somebody conditioned this feather.”
Sebastian rubbed his temples. “Jimmy, birds lose feathers all the time.”
“No, this is an unusual one.” He looked up at Sebastian as his lips drew into a severe line. “This feather didn’t end up here on its own!”
“How does a molted feather qualify as suspicious? Molting is a natural occurrence and not a grand conspiracy.”
Jimmy shook his head and thrust the feather toward the trees. “That’s what I’m trying to determine.”
A jagged bolt of lightning crossed the sky a second before the thunder echoed overhead.
Sebastian pointed at the darkening clouds. “Right now, nature is wondering who might survive this hike.”
Jimmy waved off his friend as he tucked the feather into his jacket pocket. Then he turned toward the trail and froze. “Look there.”
Sebastian blinked as he shook his head. “What are you talking about?”
Jimmy rushed away from Sebastian, pointing at a solitary tree. “We have fresh tracks to explore.”
Sebastian chewed his lower lip as he marched forward. When he drew near, he spotted several markings on the ground. “Why are you so interested in canine tracks?”
Jimmy squatted down as he scrutinized the trail. “Those marks belong to a wolf.”
“No, it doesn’t.” Sebastian grabbed his hair as he leaned toward Jimmy. “You own a dog. Don’t you recognize the print’s shape?”
Jimmy dropped to a knee as he tapped the earth beside a paw print. “Based on the span of that print, there’s no way this thing belongs to a domesticated animal like a dog.”
Sebastian folded his arms as he glanced down each side of the trail. “You know there are several kinds of dogs that are the same size, if not larger than wolves. People hike these paths every day. Who knows what breeds they might have as companions?”
Jimmy stood, shaking his head. “Are you telling me that somebody is accompanied by a wolf?”
“I’m saying it is more than likely that a hiker brought a large dog hiking than a wild predator is stalking through these trails.”
Jimmy glanced toward the woods as the wind gusted past them. “You always underestimate what waits in the wilderness.”
Sebastian pinched his forehead as he drew a deep breath. “That’s brave talk, coming from someone who once got lost in a parking garage.”
“That parking structure twisted about itself like a maze.”
“It had signs,” Sebastian said, clapping as raindrops began falling around them. “That does not justify wandering for two hours. Now, can we go home?”
Jimmy rose as he stepped toward the trees. “There’s something out there sizing us up for dinner.”
Sebastian shook his head as he placed a hand beside his ear. The wind rattled the pines while a boom rolled across the mountains again. Then a heavy branch snapped somewhere deeper in the sparse woods.
Jimmy grabbed Sebastian’s arm as he tugged him closer. “Did you hear that?”
“Are you talking about the thunder?”
“No,” Jimmy said as he stepped behind his friend. “Something cracked out there. You know predators stalk their prey before they pounce.”
Sebastian groaned as he pulled Jimmy out from behind him. “It’s more than likely another hiker stomping through the trails.”
As the nearby bushes shook, Jimmy yelped and stumbled backward. Sebastian jumped as a massive blur burst from the trees and raced between them. Both men spun around, finding a huge gray dog sprinting down the trail with a bright orange leash dragging behind it.
Jimmy pointed at it as he backed away. “Did you see the size of that wolf?!”
A soaked woman burst into the clearing. “Moose! Get back here!”
The dog ignored her, disappearing around the bend. She stopped beside Sebastian and bent over, gasping for breath. “I’m sorry he frightened you, but he hates thunder.”
Sebastian nodded. “Most dogs do.”
When she rose, her eyes drifted to Jimmy’s exposed pocket. She rushed forward, claiming the feather. “You found his missing feather. Thank you for that. Replacing his outfits drains most of my paycheck.”
Jimmy reached for the feather. “His what?”
“That feather came from his costume.” She pointed down the path. “The doggy daycare is doing a bird-themed photo shoot this week. And it keeps falling off his bald eagle outfit.”
She nodded before rushing after her dog. Sebastian lowered Jimmy’s arm.
Jimmy shook his head as he walked back down the trail. “I still think it was suspicious.”