Heart : Animal Senses Series Book 1

Chapter 25

There had been no wind to speak of two seconds ago, but a gust of wind caught her and started to turn her away from the shore. Rayne had no idea what to do other than to keep paddling and trying to get closer. Glancing towards the trees, she caught sight of several birds heading for cover. She didn't need to be an outdoorsman to know that wasn't a good sign at all. The wind continued to pick up, causing the calm water to become choppy. What kind of storm was she in for?

She was trying not to panic when she noticed she wasn't lined up with where she'd been heading, the wind was forcing the canoe away from the small building on the shore. Rayne glanced behind her and panicked when she realized she was closer to the other side than to Devin's shoreline. Did she turn and head for the closest land or keep trying? As the first few drops of rain hit her face, she found the decision much easier to make. Any land was better than blowing around a lake during a storm. A loud crack of thunder sounded in the distance, sent a warning chill down her spine.

Rayne's heart was racing faster than she was moving when the rain began to fall with stinging force against her skin. Just let me reach a shore, soon. She prayed as she pushed the paddle through the water to bring the shore closer to her. She was able to steer in the very general direction of some taller trees, hoping when she got there she'd be able to get the canoe out of the water and find somewhere reasonably sheltered to sit the storm out. The weather in this part of the world was pure craziness. She'd just been worrying about getting sunburned one moment and then the next the sky washes black and she's soaked to the skin.

This time when the thunder echoed across the water a bright jagged bolt of lightning lit up half the sky in the dark clouds. The shore was still at least a hundred feet away as she leaned and took longer strokes through the water, believing she was reaching it in record time. The rain pelted her in the strong wind and she had half a mind to let the wind blow her to the nearest ground, but that held no guarantee, so she got up on her knees and kept her head low and fought to keep the canoe heading to the trees.

The bottom of the canoe dragged across something and she cried out in relief knowing she was close now. Rayne didn't wait to see if she was strong enough to push it further in, she dropped the paddle and scrambled out the second she could see the bottom beneath the murky water. The canoe was stuck on a log so she jumped in the water and didn't even pause when it was up to her hips, grabbing the edge, she worked her way to the front and grasped the handle. She ignored the roughened lake bed that hurt her feet and used the adrenalin to find the strength, pulling the canoe further onto the shore. A rock blocked her from pulling it completely onto land, but with most of it out of the water, she figured it wasn't going to go too far. Another bolt of lightning flashed overhead and she stumbled towards the trees.

Rayne knew nothing of safety in the wilderness during a storm, but logic told her to find the tightest grouping of trees so she would be safe from anything falling on her. She just prayed she was right. Spotting a group of larger trunks, she didn't stop until she was between them. Let these be big strong trees that will hide me safely. She looked up. The rain was coming down so hard that the thick foliage on the tops wasn't able to stop her from getting wet, but at least she was on land and safer.

Limbs creaked as the wind howled through them. Rayne dropped down to lean against the largest tree and wrapped her arms around her knees. She didn't know if she was shivering from fear or was cold, but wasn't able to stop. Wind she was used to, but never had she heard wind like this. All around her trees were swaying in the force of the gusts that seemed to go in more than one direction. She didn't want to think what would have happened to her out there in the open if she hadn't seen the clouds in time, or barely in time. She was a strong swimmer, but Mother Nature was much stronger. She hoped Mother Nature would get this out of her system quickly and move along to somewhere she wasn't.

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.