Para's Misadventure

Para Darkwater · April 2015

Gather round the fire and prepare for a tale of misadventure... Get snacks if desired this will be a long post... My tale begins on Friday April 3rd of 2015. It was a wet rainy day. The morning thunderstorms had fell with fury upon the land overflowing the creeks from their banks. Our log house sits across such a creek thus, my boyfriend and I were flooded in. He called in to work to let them know and we settled into boredom. The day stretched on and the storms subsided yet, left scattered showers in their departure. The creek waters reseeded yet, not to a point of crossing. We waited, trapped on our property, hoping that by the evening it would be safe to venture out. eight o'clock in the evening rolls around and while the waters are still higher than we would normally cross we decided to brave it and escape. We needed to do laundry and take something to my aunt and are a very impatient pair. We packed things in the car and headed across the creek. Imminently upon plunging into the deep, rushing, muddy, waters we realized this was a foolish endeavor and we should have stayed home. Alas, it was too late to turn back now so we pushed forward. We made it across the creek with a bit of luck and headed on our way vowing not to return until the waters were at a more normal level. As we drew closer to our destination we realized something was amiss, the stop light at the intersection wasn't working and all was dark except for the flashing lights of two police cars, who weren't directing traffic at all. We made our way across the road and continued toward my aunt's house where yet still all lay in darkness. We arrived and I went to see if anyone was home. My aunt was there so I went back out to tell my boyfriend and have him bring in the TV we were taking to her. As he approached the door the lights flicker on and we knew laundry could then commonsense. Things settled into normality for a while. My boyfriend left to visit with a friend while I tended to the laundry and visited with my aunt. I sent my brother a message to ask if we could come over to his house if we couldn't make it back across the creek. I knew it would be after midnight before we would depart toward home and he was on night shifts and it was his night off thus, everything should be fine. As I suspected he was fine with the plan and the night continued on. My boyfriend came to pick me up later that night and we left my aunts house and headed home around two in the morning. As we were leaving my boyfriend pointed out that the battery light had come on after he left his friends house. He suspected a loose battery cable and tried to tighten it to no avail. We decided we would either tighten it when we got home or have my brother tighten it when we arrived at his house. We turned into the first part of our driveway, headlights dim but lighting up the swift moving water. The creek was still quite full so we decided not to risk it and head toward my brothers house. So we set out down or narrow, winding, county road. We made it to the end and turned toward our destination which would take approximately fifteen minutes. A nice night time drive in the country can at times be relaxing but halfway or so to my brother's house the CD player in the car began cutting on and off. A resounding "Uh oh" came from both our lips and we turned it off only to have the car continue loosing power. We were able to pull off at the entrance of a gated cemetery. We sat there for a second or so before getting out, locking the doors and beginning the long walk to my brother's house. We really had no other choice as there's no cell signal, it's the wee hours of the morning and we're stranded in the countryside. It's now around two thirty am, not raining thankfully but still damp. The moon was full in the night sky above but hidden off and on by clouds. A crisp chill was in the air and we set off into the night. The road, while not as curvy or narrow as our, winded round bends and followed up and down small his. We were lined on either side my trees and could hear the rushing sounds of the creek as it flowed beside us. The moon eerily lit our path and reflected off the dingy gray water. Houses would come and go as would the woods and fields. We knew we were in for a long walk and just kept placing one foot in front of the other, moving forward was our only option. At first, despite being forced into this situation, it was eerily nice. The sounds and smells that otherwise go unnoticed were brought forefront to my attention. We could smell pine trees and when passing high cliffs could hear the water trickling and dripping. We were aware of twigs and branches breaking as small animals scurried in the brush. But weariness soon settled in yet, onward we walked. We knew at some point we would encounter dogs on the loose as a lot of people in the country just allow them to roam free. This was realized in the second half of our journey. We heard a thunderous bark and saw a large dog moving in the shadows of a driveway. It appeared to be perhaps, a Rottweiler but darkness does play tricks. We continued past the drive and the dog continued to bark but stayed on it's property. This happened several more times with various dogs. My boyfriend was more anxious about this than I as he had been chased in the night by a rottweiler in his youth. I've read that you are more likely to be bitten by a quiet dog than one that's barking, growling and thus, giving a warning. However, soon my own anxiety would come knocking as we rounded a bend and heard a dog give one bark on a hill/driveway above us. I looked up and saw a large white dog that appeared to be a Great Pyrenees. My boyfriend walks faster than me and was a little ways past. I looked back and saw that the dog was getting closer and was silent. This put me on edge a bit but I kept moving forward, occasionally looking over my shoulder to see the dog getting closer. The image of a horror story came to mind where all is dark and there's a lightning storm. Each flash of the lightning shows the monster getting closer and closer to the main character. I told my boyfriend that the dog was coming closer and looked again to see it much closer than before. I decided to turn and face the huge beast in hopes it would stop, or at least I wouldn't be attacked from behind and taken by surprise. I turned and the big white canine was right on my heals and didn't stop. Fear set in but was quickly washed away as the giant dog nuzzled me with it's nose. I was relieved and told my boyfriend it was friendly. The dog continued past me and nuzzled my boyfriend's hand as well. It continued to trot back and forth between us, brushing my hand from time to time with it's soft yet muddy fur. We talked softly to it and called it a good boy though I'm not sure of its gender and believe it to be a female from it's build. The dog walked with us for longer than I expected and we could hear more dogs barking and snarling ahead of us so the big guardian's company was welcome. At one point it trotted in front of my boyfriend where it stopped longways to block our path. We had to keep moving forward so we stepped around and continued on our way. It trotted a few steps more with us and then promptly made a u-turn and vanished into the shadows returning home. Perhaps, the dog was trying to tell us we were nearing the end of it's territory but I can't say. I suppose we'll never know why the dog was trying to block up. We got closer and closer to the snarling dogs and I missed the Pyrenees that had been my companion for a brief moment in time. These dogs were among some of the most vicious sounding that we encountered. Fortunately for us we didn't see them or find out what they were. We continued onward, encountering more barking dogs, none of which came close to us. The night seemed to grow darker and stretch on into eternity. My legs were long aching by this point and I was miserable but pushed forward. Finally we came to a landmark I had been awaiting, an old closed down store. I knew the end of our journey grew near and soon my brother's house was in sight. Still the walk seemed unending, even though his house grow less and less distant. We walked up his long steep driveway and at approximately five in the morning we knocked on his door. We were let in where we rested until morning so that in the light of day we could go back to the car. We drove back to the cemetery in less than ten minutes whereas it had taken us two and a half hours to walk. My brother measured and it was just a little less than five miles that we had traveled on foot. He tightened the battery cable and jumped the car. we sat for a moment after he disconnected the cables and the car ran and appeared to be charging the battery. So we headed off toward our home and my brother toward his. In hindsight I should have either went back to his house or asked him to follow us home as our tale does not end here. We made it a little ways and the car began loosing power again. We pulled off hoping to sit and let it charge. This was not the case as it died. Yet again we were stranded in the country on the side of the road with no cell signal. At least it was daylight this time. We set out again not sure what to do as neither of us could really walk back to my brother's house and this time we were even farther ways. It's now eight am and there is a dump close by. We thought about knocking at someone's door but feared we would be greeted with a gun as this is not uncommon where I live. We set out for the dump knowing it wouldn't open for another hour but hoping that they would have a phone there. As we walked we saw a little red car pull into the community center which is an old school house. We walked there and made contact with a kindly gentleman who let us use the phone. He had a wedding to go to so couldn't stay long but we were grateful just to be able to use the phone. He also informed us that the center has wifi and that even outside by the doors we should be able to use it. This is good info to know for the future. We thanked him multiple times and he departed as we walked a little ways to a replica historical log cabin that was built on the grounds. The gentleman told us the doors to that stay unlocked if we ever needed to get out of the elements. We sat on the porch in rocking chairs until my brother picked us up. To make the rest of this long tale short we continued to have a long morning. My brother took the car battery off and we went to have it charged and checked. It came back as good with normal wear which meant what we had feared, the alternator was more than likely bad. My brother put the battery back on and we drove the car back to his house where it took him and my boyfriend two hours to remove the alternator (which for anyone who doesn't know this is what charges your car's battery). We took it to be tested and it was bad thus, we had to spend money we really didn't have on a new one. My brother and boyfriend got it back on and everything connected again and the car seems to be back to normal. And thus, ends my tale of misadventure... I actually want to get a Great Pyrenees here on VP and name it in honor of the one we met that night. Thought it was a brief encounter I feel a connection with that wonderful creature. I just don't know what kind of name to come up with.

Howdy, Stranger!

Para's Misadventure