Prairies of Heart

Chapter 1

"Easy boy, settle down"; Henry said to the horse trying to ease him after the thunder spooked him. Henry had arrived at his father's cabin only an hour ago after running from the Sheriff. His wife, Lucille, had spread lies about him setting off TNT and killing a boy named Martin in the mines. Any miner knew that it was easy to set off the bombs and that if an accident happened, it wasn't anyone's fault. Henry got off his horse and tied the reins to a tree tightly as the storm above him grew. It had started to pour heavy

"Raining like hell"; Henry said and got inside. He tossed logs in the fireplace then started a fire. When Henry looked out the window, he had noticed the horse was gone

"boy"; Henry called but couldn't see anything since fog loomed around

Henry looked over the cliff and saw the river rising. It was going to flood the small town of Dimley. He saw people panicking and trying to run for higher points, it was traumatizing to see. Though no matter how much he wanted to help there was no way he could. Henry's father, Arthur, had built the cabin 2 feet above the river so that way if it flooded everyone would be safe; His mother, Leanne and his siblings Boyce and Leroy who had passed at childbirth as did his mother. Suddenly, Henry saw the flood levels rise and end. He sat in the rain and watched as it destroyed the town of Dimley. Leaving nothing behind but scraps of wood. The storm stopped and Henry gathered supplies then ran down to Dimley. He looked everywhere but there seemed to be no survivors except a few cattle in the hills of a field. Henry then saw a child curled up in the middle of what looked to be a diner or a pub.

"Boy are you alright"; Henry asked the feeble child, and the child held his stomach. Henry looked around and found a blanket and a horse, so he picked the child up carefully then set him down on the horse

"Hold on, we going to get you some help"; Henry said guiding the horse to his cabin

"Mama"; The boy said

"Just hold on now, it will be alright"; Henry said

Once they arrived at the cabin, Henry saw a woman lying on his front steps. He gently picked the boy up again and carried him into the cabin, lying him on the bed. This child could be no older than 4 or maybe 5. Henry never liked children, but he was not one to leave one alone hurt. After he left the boy on the bed, he scampered over to the woman and brought her inside. His cabin was small and had only a bed along with a rocking chair, so he let the woman on his chair.

"Mama"; The boy said again

"Do you know where you Mama is, boy"; Henry said, and the child shook his head and then Henry noticed the child's arm was bleeding. At a young age, Leanne had taught him all he needed to know about how to patch up a wound and cure one. Arthur disagreed with that notion as he believed it was only a woman's job to care for so on days when Henry's father was gone his mother taught him how to clean and cook. Even taught him how to sew. Henry looked down at the child who had a bullet wound in his arm. Jesus! Were these folks mad? He thought as he grabbed his medicine box.

"It's okay, I need you to hold on"; Henry said, and the boy moaned, repeating "Mama" over again. Henry plucked the bullet out with his fingers and the child wailed as Henry cleaned and sewed the wound

"It's okay, you're alright"; Henry said and covered the boy with a blanket then he looked at the woman on his chair. He put a hand over her head and realized she was running a fever, so he went outside and got a rag full of rainwater then put it over her head. Once he began to do that, she woke

"Easy now"; Henry said

"Where am I"; The woman said weakly

"There was a flood and you landed on my porch"; Henry said, and the woman looked at the bloody rags

"MASON!"; She screamed startling Henry. The woman got up and looked at the boy

"What happened"; The woman asked

"There was a flood. The whole town got washed away and I went down. Found this kid curled up. Now I cleaned his wound so he should be fine"; Henry said

"I'm sorry to trouble you, mister"; The woman said

"Names Henry and you're alright. What you just went through was like war"; Henry said

"I'm Summer"; She said and looked at the boy

"Can you tell me how a 4-year-old boy like him got shot"; Henry asked

"He is my sister's son and I have raised him since birth. Even got him a name. Before this storm went raging, he was out playing with his pals and the one kid Johnny, he is like this disobedient brat. He grabbed a shotgun thinking it was a doll and shot Mason in the arm. I left him outside to go get help but then the storm came, and everything went blank"; Summer said

"Are you who he been crying for"; Henry said but she said nothing

"Are there any more people"; She asked

"I reckon, you get some rest. I will check it out and see if there anyone left"; Henry said, and Summer nodded

"I hate to pry but do you have anything to eat; She asked

"No, but there is water outside and I'll go hunting"; He said grabbing his gun then left

There was something that the girl was hiding but he could not tell what it was. His mother had raised him to be kind to strangers even to the cruelest of strangers because as she said 'you never know their story' but he wanted to. He did not know why but he wanted to know Summer's story and with that he took off to town