Finding Solace

IV

A voice called out in the distance, rousing me from my slumber. The sky was still an angry grey but the rain had lessened quite a bit. At first, I thought that I had imagined the voice, my mind just playing dumb tricks on me again. I sighed and adjusted my head, a crick had already formed, and tried to dose off again.

"Hello? It's Mr. Somer! Is anyone there?" I heard the heavy splashing as they jumped over the fence.

Perking up, I wanted to call out to let them know that I was here but I couldn't even move. My eyelids felt so heavy that I thought I needed to pry them open with my fingers. I grunted and shifted, trying to gain their attention by noise and movements.

"She's over here." Heavy footsteps sloshed through the mud as they approached me. I felt them look over me before crouching down to the heights. The tarp made a crinkling noise as they removed it from my body.

Something warm trailed from my forehead down to my cheek, tickling my skin as it went. I groaned and leaned into the warmth, not wanting to open my eyes. Even though the summer brought scorching heat, the storm clouds covered the sun and brought about a bitter cold. The rains that poured down on me chilled my body to the bone, sending me into a mess of shivers. The dog had a loss of fur and was shaking along with me, the tattered tarp doing little to nothing to block out the water or winds.

"Jesus." The person muttered as I leaned into the warmth that was resting on my cheek. "She's freezing and she has the dog." The person called out to someone else.

The heat was then removed from cheek and I all
but whimpered at the loss. I was to tired and weak to reach out for it, my muscles still from the cold. Thankfully, the heat return, lifting me off the ground with a grunt, pulling me closer. I swayed back and forth in their arms, the puppy still in my own.

"The...horse." I said as I lifted my head up, my eyes blurry. My voice was very faint and quivered as my jaw shook.

"I know." The low voice reassured me with a gentle tone. A large hand gently eased my face to lie on their shoulder, encouraging me to relax.

"Barn." I croaked out. "The horse is in the barn." Is what I tried to say but my mouth and my brain were not agreeing at the movement. My voice faded in and out, some of them were almost silent. My lips refusing to form the words and ended up slurring them together in a jumbled mess. It was pointless to keep my eyes open at this point, so I closed them. I couldn't see. The water distorted my vision and my arms were to weak to rise up and wipe the liquid away.

"You don't have to worry about that anymore. Just relax."

"The horse..." I mumbled, trailing of again as my mind turned to much and threatened to shut down again. I had been so worked up over this foreign animal that it was all that my mind could grasp at right now.

"Will be fine." The male assured me again, brushing a clump of wet hair off my face. "The horse is coming with us."

Assured that the horse was being taken care of property, I let myself relax. The heat emitting off the male's body slowly ebbed away the cold. The feeling began to returned of my numb limbs, replacing it with a tingling pins and needles sensation.

I hummed and buried my face into his neck, the tip of my nose brushing against his skin. He shifted my weight in his arms, pulling me closer as he shiver and goosebumps appeared on his skin.

"I'm sorry." I mumbled again as he struggled to get himself and I across the fence without injuring himself.

"It's alright, Darling." He said before jumping down, grunting at my added weight as he landed in the mud. After a few moments, the sound of a car door opened and I was laid gently down in the seat. He reached across me and buckled the seatbelt before wrapping the puppy and I in towels.

"Thank you." I mumbled and curled up the seat, succumbing to the darkness before I even heard his reply.