Chapter Twenty-Nine
Jace and Katie dropped us off at the old hiking trails. When they left, me and Cousin stared at the entrance to the trail, and neither of us were amused.
The entrance, if you could even call it that, was completely engulfed by weeds. "Damn it." I say more to myself than to Cousin, "We should have just gone to the park."
Cousin doesn't respond, and because there's nothing better for us to do, I step into the weeds, and beckon for him to follow.
I walk slow, not wanting to tire him out quickly. We are side-by-side. His arm slightly touching mine as we hike.
The path begins to get steeper, as we move up. Not even twenty minutes into the exercise, I decide to rest for a bit, pretending it's because I'm tired, and not because I'm scared he'll push himself too far.
The path hikes up in some large hills. I remember that one of the hills is high enough to see the outskirts of town, but I don't believe we will be climbing that high this time. I doubt Cousin could even make it half way up that one.
Instead I chose an easier hill, one that looks out across a few creeks. It's still pretty steep, but doable if we take our time.
When we begin moving again, I faintly hear the hushed sound of water. "Do you hear that?" I ask him, walking closer to the edge of the hill, I peer down to see a large creek. The water was rushing through several feet down. The drop is a scary one, and it would be a miracle if someone fell and survived.
Cousin also looks down, and I get scared he might jump. I make sure to keep close to him, and if gets any nearer to the ledge, I was going to grab him.
He didn't get any closer.
I studied him, not realizing I was doing so. The way he held himself, his back straighter, his gaze fixed on the water, but a very faint emotion of knowing existence in his stature. It is not confidence I detect in him, but an understanding that he is who he is, and that is not an animal, or an anomaly in a cage.
I can see it in the way he walks, in the way he still keeps his shoulders hunched but he doesn't slither down in front of others like he used to. I know it is going to take him years to adapt to a normal life, and even then, the trauma he has experienced will never allow him to feel and be entirely normal, but I don't think he will always be the way he is now.
When he realizes I'm staring at him, I quickly look away, returning to the path, and encourage him to start walking with me. He does.
If I'm not mistaken, I think he enjoys walking. He is always quiet, but the way he looks around, is different than when we first escaped the circus. He is not focusing on his lack of strength but the scenery around him, and I admit, I find it kind of cute.
It takes over an hour, but we reach the top. Even I have to take several deep breaths. The sight was worth it, though. We look down, the large creek, and the tops of the trees are abundant. In the distance are the larger hills, ones that we could perhaps hike a different day.
I see a miniature water fall, where the creek leads up to, and I have a desire to walk there one day. Cousin looks out, and I let him admire the view, as I check the time on my phone.
It's not even two yet. Jace wouldn't be back to pick us up until nearly six.
I sit on the edge of the cliff, and Cousin slowly moves to sit beside me.
I dangle my legs over the edge. "You've adapted to exercise pretty well you know." I compliment him, "Your body has endured more than most, and yet, you're also able to do more than many."
He says nothing, he seems invested in the view, the tops of the trees, the birds flying between them, the creek far underneath.
I can't stop myself. I am captivated by his wonder.
I don't know what possesses me to do it, but I reach out to him, and I touch the sleeve of his arm. He stills, his head slowly moving in my direction. His eyes break away from the view, and slowly inch up my body.
We lock eyes, and I don't know why I feel like it is harder to breathe now, then when we were hiking up the steep hill.
Realizing what I'm doing, I quickly pull my hand away from him, but his eyes do not leave mine.
At this moment, I wish, more than anything, that he'd say something.
Of course, he doesn't.
Unable to handle the awkward moment that I put us both in, I hoist myself up form the ledge, and move away. Cousin stands as well, and follows me. "I guess we move back down the path." I tell him, with a slight clear of my throat.
But when I look back at him, he isn't looking at me.
I follow his gaze to some bushes. I don't see anything, and I don't really hear anything either.
Looking back at him, I ask; "What's wrong?"
His eyes narrow, like he's bothered, and suddenly out from the bushes, walks a dog.
My heart feels as though it has stopped. Examining the dog, it didn't look like someone's pet. I knew wild dogs were frequent in the woods, but normally they came in packs.
Which means there could be more of them.
I reach out and grab Cousin's arm, this time, I don't let go. He's already tense, and each time the dog steps closer to us, we both back up.
The dog doesn't seem vicious, it isn't growling, in fact it looks more curious than anything.
I knew not to be fooled by it's innocent nature.
It is not common for wild dogs to attack people for no reason. I knew this because I've seen several wild dogs on the property, but they never got close to the farm house. I was told they were just as uninterested in our affairs as we are in theirs.
So why the hell is this dog getting so close to us?
"Cousin." I say quietly, but loud enough for him to hear. This garnered his attention, as he looked at me. His face was unreadable. I'm not sure if I've ever seen fear on his face.
He was incredible at masking his emotions.
"Follow my movements." With my hand still on his arm, I softly pull him to move with me, and we slowly make a wide circle around the creature, and I try not to think about the very good possibility of there being other dogs hiding in the bushes.
When we pass the dog, I let go of Cousin, as we move as quickly as we can down the path. Cousin stayed on the ledge of the path, and stared down the hill as we went down. I made sure he was on the ledge, just in case the dog came back, it'd attack me first.
I don't think he cares much about the consequences the dog could create.
"I think we're safe." I said to him, as I continue to look over my shoulder because I wasn't convinced of my own statement.
He says nothing, and I observe how he doesn't even look shaken up. He looks perfectly normal, in fact, he doesn't even look back once.
I don't understand him at all.
My heartbeat finally begins to slow down, "We are never coming back here." I tell him, and I'd like to think that he agreed with me. Though his face was blank, and he didn't say a word.
I glance down the ledge of the path, we were back at the opening with the rushing water running several feet below.
The water is so loud, I almost don't hear the rustle of nearby bushes, and the growl that abruptly stops everything around me. I glance over at the dog running up to the both of us, it's teeth on display, as it jumps and lunges towards not me, but Cousin.
I scream, and with not another thought in my mind, I push him out of the way, and the dog hits me instead. I grab a fist full of the creature's fur, forcing it to focus on me and only me. I lose my footing, the earth underneath my right foot gives out, as I fall off the ledge; I keep my grip tight on the dog, forcing it to follow me down.