A Shadow in the Desert

Chapter Nine

The new morning oozed through the blinds and spread out over Laurel's bed, warming her face and pulling at her eyelids. She groaned at its insistence as she threw the covers back and sat up. The first thought that entered her consciousness was coffee. She slipped on her robe and slid into her flip-flops before making her way to the kitchen. She noticed that the mornings' were getting cooler as a shiver ran up her long, bronze legs and through her lean frame. It's time to go shopping for some warmer clothes.

She poured the water into the coffee maker just as Satdo made an appearance at the kitchen door.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

He yawned his response and went back towards the front door that was situated off the living room.

"Oh, you want out, is that it?"

He cocked his head and wagged his tail in answer to her question.

"Okay but don't run off, breakfast will be served after I've had a cup of coffee."

Sitting at the kitchen table, Laurel smiled to herself. It was nice to have another living soul in her life. She had never had a pet before. She had never really had anyone or anything...

*

Foster care had not allowed her to have a pet. Any animals in the foster homes where she had stayed, belonged to the family that had taken her in. Sometimes it was made clear in obvious ways and other times in unspoken ways – but it was always made clear. She had been an outsider, usually lost among others' like herself that came to temporarily take up space in what she now reflected on as 'holding' houses.

Her life in foster care was not the nightmare that some foster kids were forced to live. She hadn't been mistreated as much as ignored. There were always at least two other fosters' and sometimes as many as four, not to mention the family's real children – all vying for attention. Laurel had backed away and crawled into books to escape the drama that existed all around her.

Although she hadn't understood the nuances of her own particular situation back then, it was all too clear now. The scrawny brown skinned little girl was delegated to the back of the bus, never to be thought about again.

*

Laurel pushed the memories away and began making a list of chores she needed to take care of. She decided to go into Sage Mont to look for warmer clothes to get her through the fall and winter seasons. Fortunately she had never been a 'fashionista' even after all her years in Los Angeles. Now she was living in an area that put functionality before style. There was an Outdoor Outfitter where she thought she would probably find sweaters and warm pajamas. Then she'd get some groceries and maybe a book to read, a good mystery or historical fiction.

After getting dressed and making her bed, Laurel called Satdo and together they headed to the Subaru. The mornings were taking longer to warm up, sometimes they never mustered up the energy to get past fifty degrees. She felt comfortable taking Satdo along for company. If I have the windows down a little he'll be fine.

After getting him settled in the backseat, Laurel climbed in behind the wheel and stared out over the pasture to the trees wrapped in a panache of fall colors. The beauty before her forcefully sucked her back to yesterday and her encounter with Jake. She let out an exasperated sigh.

"I'd like to be back up there right now, watching the leaves fall like confetti in a parade on Park Avenue – but just for us," she told Satdo.

He let out a little sigh, as if he understood.

"We'll go tomorrow, maybe he'll be hiking up there too," she added, cutting to the heart of the matter.

She looked back at Satdo in the rearview mirror and asked, "We don't want to appear too eager, do we?"

He settled himself down on the backseat and sighed again.

Laurel shook her head and started the car. Smears of orange, gold and ochre filled her back window as she took one more glance at the hills behind her before turning off her road and heading towards Sage Mont.

The mornings were always breathtaking as they heralded in a new day, each with its own majesty. It was as if the earth offered up every dawn as a present wrapped in different colored paper to show off its place in the season in which it appeared. Laurel felt her spirit rise with the subtle lemon orb breaking over the hills and casting a mellow, barely there glow out across the valley.

When she reached the outskirts of Sage Mont, she began to give Satdo a rundown of their stops.

"Okay, Satdo, we're going to the mall first so I can get some warm clothes and a down jacket for our hiking adventures. Then a quick stop at the grocery store and maybe the drug center for a book. Does that meet with your approval?"

He remained stoic which Laurel took to be a yes.

The mall was situated across from the hospital where Laurel worked. It had several small shops with the larger Outdoor Outfitter in the center – like the crown jewel in a tiara. Although more than a strip mall it was less than a shopping center. Laurel was fast becoming aware of the area's demographics or, the lack thereof, something she never gave a thought to in L.A.

"I'll be back shortly, Satdo. You hold down the fort."

He hadn't moved from his repose on the backseat. Several people passed by the car and Laurel noticed that it didn't seem to faze him. Confident that he wasn't one of those unnerving canines that jumped at the window barking whenever she unwittingly walked by, she rolled down the back windows about two inches and locked the doors.

*

After about ten minutes of the parking lot sounds and smells floating in through the open windows, Satdo perceived a change. He was still stretched out with his eyes closed, when he felt or maybe sensed a shadow press against the passenger side window and crawl up and over as it slowly moved to the backseat and crept across his head and body. Even before he opened his eyes or emitted the low guttural growl that was forming in his throat, Satdo knew the danger that had just appeared.

*

He hadn't realized she had the dog with her until it slammed into the window with a vicious roar breaking his concentration and making him jump. He didn't like to be surprised, now this stupid animal had just made him blink. He'd make him pay for that and so much more. He slammed his hands against the window and stormed off angrily, willing to knock down anything that got in his way. That bitch and her dog had to be dealt with and the sooner the better. He smirked, realizing that he was in an excellent position to make that happen.

*

Laurel, carrying several large bags containing more clothes than she had intended to buy, was busy looking for her car, craning her neck to see if she had parked in this lane or the next one over. Just as she spotted her Subaru, she saw him step out from the line of cars and briskly walk away. She raised her hand and was going to call after him, but something about his body language stopped her. She felt a slight shiver that made her move faster. Once she reached the car she found Satdo standing up dancing in place.

"Hey, did you miss me? I hope you behaved yourself," she told him as she deposited her packages in the back compartment.

After making a quick stop at the grocery store and the drug center, Laurel and Satdo were on their way home. The drive into Sage Mont that morning had been peaceful, with autumn offering a beautiful morning to be unwrapped. Two hours later, found both occupants of the Subaru lost in their own thoughts over their encounter with the man. Satdo, if he were able to speak, would now say what Laurel would soon learn – that they had been face to face with pure evil.