The lucky one

Chapter 6

"Well, here's to my first good meal in a while!" said Oliver to no one but himself as he took a bite of his burger. He was comfortably seated on a log, his boots and raincoat drying by the fire he had set up not far from the camping nearby. 

It had been two weeks since he started walking toward Louisiana and so far, the only incident that had happened had been when a grizzly had stalked him for an entire night. Apart from that, the only real problem he had really experienced was food. 

Thea had slipped a credit card in his bag sometime before his departure, but he didn't want to use it. He wanted to be alone with his thoughts, to sort them out. It was something he could only do away from Star City, away from his family, his friends, and everything that had to do with them.

A place such as this one, a simple fire not far from the sign announcing Garden City's municipal camping. From his spot, he had a beautiful view of Bear Lake. And if he took his small binoculars, he could see the small spot of light coming from Cokeville, which was on the other side of the border separating Utah from Wyoming.

It was in this State that his next objective, the city of Kemmerer, was situated. When calculating the time it would take him to reach it, he had been pleased to see that he was getting better at evaluating distances and travel times. It was something that he had been practicing since his departure.

And that evening, at the local library. Google Maps had confirmed to him that the 18 hours of walking he had estimated it would take him to reach his next destination were on point. Maybe he would try to take a ride with a passer-by like he usually tried to do when he had more than twelve hours of walk a day.

The taste of that sandwich brought a smile on his face despite him. He had worked the rush-hour of a small family restaurant 5 minutes out of the camping. When he had arrived and asked if he could work a few hours in exchange for food, he had been surprised by the kindness of the woman that had welcomed him.

She had welcomed his aid with a great, true, smile, and literally open arms. Apparently, she had been keeping this place running all by herself for a month since the last of her 5 sons had gone to college. Her husband, Logan Thibault being dead for a few years now, she had found herself alone for the first time.

It was why she had given him enough food for a few days, maybe a week if he spent it carefully, and the right to camp on her personal campsite for the night. She had tried to invite him to stay at her place, but when Oliver had learned that she was staying in the small apartment above the restaurant, he had kindly refused, guessing that she probably didn't have a lot of space to share.

As he was taking a sip of water, he heard a panicked child yell. Instantly, he jumped on his feet and ran toward the voice. When he arrived in the woods, he found a German Shepherd snarling toward one of the kids Oliver had seen in the camping sooner in the evening.

"Hey," he said, announcing his presence to avoid startling the animal further.

"I was just trying to help!" said the child, his eyes still wide with terror "It's bleeding and I wanted to put a Band-Aid on it"

Oliver couldn't help but smile a little at the kind intentions of the child, as it showed just how innocent and positive children could be.

"Don't worry kid, it alright. Go back to your parents, okay? I'll take care of the dog"

"You're not going to hurt it, are you?"

"No, I'm not. I'll try to calm it and see what I can do for its wounds"

"O-okay" the child finally agreed as he got back, backing away slowly. When he was at a good distance, he turned and bailed.

"So buddy, I heard you're bleeding. Care to show me where?" asked Oliver as he slowly took a step toward the animal.

The dog apparently didn't like that, as it started growling again. Oliver stopped and thought about his options.

Sure, he could always call law-enforcement and someone would come to get it. But Oliver knew that it would probably mean death for the animal, aggressive and apparently wounded as it was.

He could also kill it right here, it would be over in an instant, but something prevented his hand for going to grab the knife he had hidden in his boot.

Instead, Oliver decided to try something even crazier: heal it. The why and how we're still to be determined but he decided that he didn't care. He would help this guy get better. Starting by giving it the first meal in a probably very long time.

That why Oliver went back to his camp and retrieved his sandwich and brought it back to the animal. He got the small piece of steak out and threw them to the dog.

It moved to avoid it the first time, then smelled careful to know what it was. The animal seemed to determine that it was not dangerous as he took the meat in its mouth and ate it in a second. Oliver smiled, happy to be of service. He spent the rest of the evening talking to the animal, throwing a piece of steak every now and then.

And the next morning, the old lady seemed pleased to see him again at the door of her restaurant.

"Hello dear, did you sleep well?"

"Yes ma'am. And I know that I said I would continue my road today but, do you happen to know a veterinarian around here?"

"I do? But what for? If you're sick, I could get you to Doctor McFarland. He lived nearby."

"It's not for me. Yesterday, I found a dog in the woods and it looks like it's wounded. I would like to help it"

"That awfully noble of you young man. Well, let me get my key and we'll go see her."

"Thank you, ma'am. And I would also like to ask another thing"

"Yes?"

"If it takes more than a day for my furry friend to get better, do you think I could stay and help you again with the restaurant?"

"Of course! I love the company. Especially the one of such a handsome and kind-hearted man like you. Do you want to let your bag in the restaurant while we go there?"