Wake Me

Chapter Eight

Dani watched the young family pass by on their way out again. This time, the father was carrying the little girl on his shoulders. Dani smiled, recalling riding on her daddy's shoulders many times as a little squirt. Waving her fingers, the family still didn't notice her. Thinking that was odd, she considered they must've had memories they were reliving of their lost loved one.

Curiously, she walked in the direction they'd come from; up and over the ridge. There, she saw the fresh flowers they'd left, resting at the base of a small headstone.

A little infant had died; a stillborn baby girl.

Dani felt the pain of death; its' finality. She looked around her, realizing she was surrounded by those who'd left behind a small imprint of their lives, as their corpses lay at her feet.

She started to return to her belongings when the sun broke through the clouds, streaming a beam of light down upon the crest of the ridge. Her pace quickened, trying to reach the light before it lost its' battle with the stormy clouds.

Dani's legs locked, stopping her stride in an instant.

A pure, white wolf was sitting in the middle of the beam of sunlight. Its' fur was radiant, glowing almost. The wolf was staring at her; its' massive body and thick bushy tail waving back and forth. Dani looked around, completely unprepared to meet a predator.

Quickly, she picked up an old plastic flag that merely crumbled in her hands like ashes from its weathered age.

When her eyes searched for the wolf, it was gone.

Cautiously, Dani made her way back to her mother's headstone and was packing up her things when someone called to her.

"Hello?" she called back.

"Hi!" A young, handsome man said, running up to her. "Did you, by chance, see a white dog?"

Dani grinned, feeling stupid suddenly, "You lost your white—dog?"

He smiled, his brilliant, pale blue eyes searching hers like he could read her mind. "Yeah, I guess that's what I get for breeding a white wolf and an albino Alaskan Malamute. They just can't seem to get enough exercise."

"Ah, a hybrid." She'd definitely recognized the wolf breed in his dog. "Yes, I saw your dog just at the top of the crest there." She pointed, "Is your dog—vicious?"

He chuckled, backpedaling toward the crest, "Depends."

"Depends on what?" She questioned further. But he didn't respond, he only shrugged his shoulders before turning around and was out of sight before she knew it.

Feeling somewhat better, Dani had decided to carry on with her story with her mother. Grabbing half of her peanut butter and jelly sandwich, she told her mother that the whole drive home with Gunner was nothing but her talking, filling the cab of the truck with her fears of Lars.

Gunner listened, carefully, looking at her here and there. He'd ask a few questions and she'd answer them as best as she could. By the time they got to the ranch, she'd noticed Gunner's left leg was shaking...

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"Man, it feels amazing to be back home!" Gunner expressed, walking inside my home.

We found David and Daryl sitting at the kitchen table, sandwich makings strewn across the countertop. "Gunner!" Daryl blurted out, his mouth full of chips.

Shaking my head, I headed for the sink and washed my hands. "Gunner, want a sandwich?" I asked, interrupting the loud camaraderie at the kitchen table.