A tall man walked with a cautious stride. Dust clouded around his worn hiking boots as he stepped along a desert trail. Tangled hair swept across his forehead and scruffy gray beard covered his sun-burned face. A baseball cap and the wrinkled, sweat-soaked sleeves of his shirt helped protect him from the sun’s rays.
But for the sound of his steps and an occasional squawk from a distant bird, silence surrounded him.
Thomas Barker concentrated on a large triangular rock, protruding from the next ridge, as his goal before stopping to rest. This was his second day in the desert without water. His car was destroyed, and he barely escaped with his life. The wind carried a dry smell and tiny grains of sand touched his face. As he reached a crest, he saw a thin line of green, contrasting against the bright beige of the desert. It evidenced small trees lining a creek far in the distance. His thin tired lips curled into a smile. He kept walking.
His goal stuck out from the ridge about one meter. It became larger with each step. Barker picked up his pace. After a time filled with concentrated effort, he reached the rock. He touched its edge to balance himself. His lazy smile reappeared, and he eased down with his back leaning against the large rock’s subtle shades of grey and yellow. A spotted green lizard scurried away from its hiding place.
After a brief rest Barker reasoned that he would be able to make the creek before sundown. Good…doable he thought. He carefully walked down the slight grade of the trail, making sure he didn’t slip on the loose rocks. The screech of a low flying hawk breached the silence and caused him to involuntarily flinch. His reaction caused him to chuckle in spite of the circumstances.
Small, cautious steps continued to move him down the trail. Twice he stopped to search the hills behind him. Time and effort passed. Light faded. Now trees, bordering the fast-moving, clear water, stood in close view. Wide, green leaves topped the trees and contrasted with the dark bark covering their limbs and trunks. Barker’s heart rate increased as he threw caution away and scrambled the last distance.
He touched the trunk of a tree for balance as he sunk to his knees, then bent forward, placing his face in the cold, gurgling water that he sucked into starved body. His feet slid into the moving stream, sending chills though his body. Barker felt a sweep of relief. He struggled to pull himself back on the bank and relaxed across the dirt, leaning against the tree.
A splashing sound invaded the silence causing Barker to spin around, his fists clinched. A small deer delicately bounced across the stream and disappeared in the brush on the other side. Barker laughed…his first sound since the ambush. He pulled himself onto the bank then relaxed. His eyelids slowly closed in a jerky fashion and face relaxed—his first rest in two days. A light wind gently crossed his wet body, relieving it of the extreme heat.
In less than an hour he sputtered awake; clumsily climbed to his feet and began his night’s trek downstream. A rocky bank between the gurgling water and trees provided a perilous path for Barker. He walked carefully, sometimes wading in the stream…slowly, consistently. The chirping of birds joined in with the sounds of the creek and the fresh smells of the water and plants filled his senses.
Although his body was drained from his flight, the coolness of the night and stream revived him. The water he drank, and moments of sleep magically strengthened him. Barker rose above the reality of the moment and concentrated on his mission…one step then another in the dark.
Many miles behind him white clouds of smoke rose slowly from the remains of his destroyed car. Small dots shot around the black star-lit sky. Four beings with unusually large heads silently wandered across the scene.”
Recent Comments