Hurricane

Chapter 7

Ethan and Becca made their way out into the storm in a scurried panic; both throwing on their jackets and shoes with swift, trained precision as if at any moment Jenner could be lost to them for good. The drama, dissatisfaction, lingering inebriation, none of that mattered right now. The two diagnosticians banded together with a common goal - find the dog before the weather took another turn for the worst.

Their boot-clad feet stomped quickly through the large muddy puddles, a pattern of different callings bellowing from the back of their throats and rivaling the thumps of rain on the soft ground around them. Their desperate calls were reverberating in the eerie scene as they trekked along the marsh-like area where the normally pristine green yard meets the shore and the woods.

"Jenner! Here boy!" Ethan yelled, his strides long and purposeful, his body moving quicker than Becca could keep up. 

"Jenner!" Becca called in tandem towards the opposite direction. 

"Jenner, come here ," Ethan all but ordered into the void. 

Becca stopped to catch her breath, putting her hand on her knees to keep her lungs from becoming too overwhelmed. The mystic amber sky mixing with the humidity, heavy raindrops, and tempest winds were attacking her asthma-prone system.

Panting, she asked, "Forest or water - where do we think he went?"

Ethan strengthened, seemingly caught off guard by her question. He cast his vision around all the corners of the forest, a reserved sweat breaking on his forehead. If she didn't know him as well as she did, she'd assume it was bits of rainwater making its way under the vinyl hood of his jacket trailing listlessly down his features. The cracks of his face from years of stress seemed more prominent now than ever.

"He likes sniffing around the shed," he motioned towards the forest, squinting as wayward raindrops fell into his eyes. Ethan ran a shaky hand over his face. Deflated, he added, "With the water so high he could have gone for a swim."

Keeping her voice calm, Becca started to shift towards the shoreline; "Okay. You go towards the water and I'll check the shed."

She didn't wait for him to confirm, rather walking towards the farthest point of the property. Ethan took the hint and set off in the other direction. Not a single word was said as the two moved about their tactile mission.

The area by the shed was easier to assess as Becca rounded closer; a simple site of shrubbery outlined in an open, dirt-covered space. Her keen eyes noted not a single paw print in sight. Jenner couldn't have been gone so long that the rain washed away all evidence from the impressionable terrain.

So she ventured further into the trees. Careful not to go too far into the unknown and sure to keep the riverbed close on her right. 

As Becca made her way nearer to the water, she realized with each step just how much the hurricane had affected the outside world. Things were safe in the bubble of their cabin meanwhile the shore was a whole three feet higher than before.

The sight of a small, golden blob of fur pulled her out of the awe filled trance.

"Jenner!" she exclaimed in relief.

He was stuck along the bank between some mud and large branches. Becca jogged towards him, calling out a bit louder now;

"Jenner!"

She moved some of the impeding branches away. As she went to reach for him, arm extending for his collar, her other fist rooted in the soil to keep balance.

"Ah-ha!" she let the pre-celebratory sentiment out as her trembling and cold fingers wrapped around the leather, yanking the pooch up towards her. Just a bit too overzealous.