CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

A gust of wind nearly picked Pat up off the ground and she grabbed the nearest tree branch to gain control. The roar of the wind was deafening and she glanced up into the rain, seeing a very angry sky overhead. For an instant, she felt fear. Then she shook it off, staying as close to the woods as possible, using anything she could to hold herself up against the onslaught of wind.

She would be safer inside the oak motes but as Carly had said she couldn't penetrate the brush. She knew this because she tried. Then, behind her, she heard the cracking and popping and she turned and watched as an oak was uprooted and fell to the ground, not twenty feet from where she'd just walked.

" Well, fuck me, Jack, " she said, and the wind quickly carried her words away.

She knew the closer she got to the pond, the more exposed she would be. Before she knew it, she was blown to the ground and she now knew how the wind could demolish buildings. She had just been tossed as if she were a rag doll. She got to her knees, fighting to reach the woods. It was then that she realized this was a fucking stupid idea.

" Too late, " she muttered. She would be lucky if the damn egrets were still alive anyway. The nest may have already been blown to the ground. A tree could have fallen on them. " Shit, shit, shit."

She pushed on, finally seeing the pond through the torrential rain. Not much farther, she thought. But again, a gust caught her, tossing her forward.

" Whose bright idea was this? It was yours." The she laughed, another sign that she was out of her mind. " You've really got to stop talking to yourself."

At last, she reached the woods where she'd always been able to walk to the nest. She was amazed that even the wind seemed to have a hard time penetrating the motes. She could at least hear herself think, but she'd rather the thoughts running through her mind remain silent. How the hell was she supposed to make it back, against the wind, when she could barely hold herself up?

She pushed through the brush, ignoring the branches that scratched at her face and legs. At the clearing, she looked for the nest. She couldn't find it.

" Fuck, " she whispered.

She took a deep breath, then ran towards the trees, falling down when her foot caught a fallen branch. She got back up and fought against the wind, pulling herself to where the nest should be. It was there, covered now with limb of a neighboring tree that had broken. She pulled the branches back and there, staring at her, were two of the ugliest looking birds she'd ever seen.

She laughed.

She reached under her shirt where she'd stuffed the pillowcase and pulled it out. Before the startled birds knew what was happening, she grabbed them both and shoved them inside. They gave little resistance. She tucked the birds against her stomach and turned, heading right back into the wind.

And she couldn't move. The force of the wind blew her backwards and she landed on her ass with a thump.

" Son of a bitch, " she muttered. She got back up, on her knees and crawled into the brush.

The roar around her sounded like a train and she had a sudden urge to begin chanting prayers from her childhood.

" A little late for that now, " she told the birds.

She crawled through the brush, stopping when she reached the road. It looked endless. It was also cluttered with branches and limbs.

" Okay, here goes."

She clutched the birds to her chest and bent over as low as she could get, fighting against the wind. The wind was winning. For every step she took forward, the wind blew her two steps back. The rain in her face made it nearly impossible for her to see. But she kept on, falling to her knees but getting back up again. Jeans, should have worn jeans, she thought.

It was in slow motion that she saw the oak limb flying through the air. Then, with a quick jerk of her head, she realized she had been hit. She dropped like a rock.

" Stars. You really do see stars, " she murmured.