Serendipity

Chapter 7

They say that the best way to make the fates laugh is to tell them what your plans are. Hannah and I had a tough month, working through a lot of things that we needed to talk about, but had been avoiding. I spent that time getting to know her all over again. Four years apart was a long time and in that time, she had grown and matured into a young woman that had the poise and confidence of a queen. After that month was over however, I began to relax, and accept that we were almost over the rough part. The day after I allowed myself to look forward to completing my bond with Hannah, I woke with a sense of foreboding. It felt like the world was holding its breath. I was on edge most of the morning and snapped at a trainee that had asked for my help with weapons skills. Even Hannah was walking on eggshells around me. I couldn't help myself though. Something had my gut in a twist and it was like everything around me was preparing for a coming storm.

The storm hit just before lunch time. My phone buzzed as I was entering the dining room to get something to eat. I took it out of my pocket and glanced down at the name that flashed up on my screen. The frown that had been creasing my brow most of the morning, deepened and I could feel fear pull at my gut.

Breanna Langford was a park ranger in the Oxley Wild Rivers National Park. She was also Claire's cousin. In the almost fifteen years that I had known her, we had developed a brother/sister type of relationship. She was good at her job and I knew that if Breanna

called me during the day like this, it was serious. She kept her social calls to the evenings, after her work for the national park was over for the day.

She got right to the point after I greeted her. "Walk outside and look to the north east Dieter."

Confused by her request, I did as she asked. The second I did, I let out a few choice words, in both languages. The sky in the north east was cloudy and there was a thick haze that made the horizon look like a thick cloud had descended over it. I didn't need my Mori's enhanced sense of smell to detect the smoke that was in the air. "How can we help?"

"We're cut off here Dieter. The only way in or out of the park is by the road that leads to Uralla. I've evacuated everyone I can, but there's a group of biology students from the uni that I can't find. Their cars are still at the top of Dangar Falls, but they were planning to hike through the park. They checked in this morning and missed a check in about half an hour ago. Normally I wouldn't worry. The person leading them is an experienced hiker and knows the bush well. But with all the fires around us, they could have gotten into trouble."

"It will take a couple of hours to put a team together. Are the SES involved in the search?"

"Yeah. They were helping to evacuate the park so it wasn't hard to get them involved. They've set up a temporary command post at Dangar Falls. I'll let the commander know to expect you."

"Thanks Bree. Don't worry. We'll find them."

I ended the call and went to find Pete. "Bree just called, she's got some hikers that haven't reported in and the park is surrounded on three sides by bushfires. The only road that's open leads here."

"I'll put a couple of teams together. How long do we have?"

"I told her we'd be there in two hours, so no more than an hour. I'll get in touch with Boyd. Some of his flock are part of the bush fire brigade."

"Alright. I'll have everyone meet you out front in an hour."

"Thanks Pete. I better get moving."

Boyd Morrison and I had known each other for most of his life, Just like his father and grandfather before him. Arthur Morrison and I had been in school together when I first moved to Australia. I had not long been out of warrior training when I had saved Arthur's life and since then, I had become the family's guardian angel. I kept up the friendship through the decades and helped out when things got tight. A deeply spiritual man, Arthur had believed me when I told him that I was a warrior that was born to protect people like him from all the nasties of the spiritual world. He had been one of the few humans that knew who I really was. After he died, his son James found me and talked to me about how he wanted me to continue watching over his family. After James died, my caretaker duties passed on to Boyd and his family.