Hollow Inside and Out

It would be 7:00 p.m. in about two hours, and if the weather held up, Jen and I would arrive in Denver. However, the snow was accumulating on the hood of the truck and my anxiety was building. Blurred lights ahead led us to a service station. We pulled in early for gas and food. Jen was driving as she said she had experience pulling a horse trailer carrying horses. Not only did I not have that kind of experience, I also had no idea how to drive in snow.

I covered Abby, Jen’s baby, with a heavy blanket, grabbed my purse and stepped out of the truck. As soon as my foot hit the slick pavement, I began dancing around like an ice skater. Jen was slipping and sliding as well, but we managed to keep our footing and slid our way up to the store. We couldn’t help but notice the icicles clinging to the edge of the roof.

To reach Denver by 7:00, we had to continue on our journey. The traffic was light as we pulled onto the highway and headed up the mountainside. Signs read “slippery when wet”, “ice on the highway”, “take caution”. We looked at one another with wide eyes then stared at the steep highway before us. My heart was pounding, but I didn’t let Jen know and if she was worried, she didn’t let me know. She placed the truck in four wheel drive and continued climbing. There was no place to stop or pull over as the sides of the highway were lined with big, tall trees draped in snow. I made the mistake of looking down the mountain and could not see the bottom. I began praying. The truck was sliding but Jen kept control. There was no shoulder to pull over on if we needed to. There was nothing but those huge trees and drifts of snow. Thank goodness we still had good daylight. I could only imagine what driving in this stuff at night would be like.

The snow kept coming down out of the sky like rain. It blanketed the hood and covered the windshield. Jen turned the wipers on, but it was like looking at a sheet of white paper. The truck was struggling to get up the mountain. The weight of the horses in the trailer was tugging on the truck. But we took our time and cautiously drove on.

I was looking at Abby and making sure she was O.K. The last thing we needed was for her to start crying. Taking my eyes off her, I turned and looked up. A huge truck and trailer was speeding and sliding down the highway coming straight for us in our lane!

My eyes fluttered open. I couldn’t move my legs. I rubbed the snow away from my eyes and tried to focus on my surroundings. I was lying on my side crumbled up like a wadded piece of paper. I grabbed my legs with my cold, cold hands and pounded on them to get feeling back. Slowly, I managed to sit up and feeling began to return. Shivering, I brushed the snow off and tried to stand.

I looked all around me. Trees enveloped me. There was hardly a blank space between them. I could barely see the gray sky through the snow covered branches.

“Where in the heck am I?” I asked myself as I tried to understand my situation.

I pulled my heavy coat closer around me. The blistery wind blew through the torn parts which was freezing me. My eyes began to focus and I looked up the mountain that I must have tumbled down. It had to be a thousand miles high. Standing looking up that mountain, my leg buckled causing me to plop back on my butt. I screamed in pain. I thought I had broken a bone. My coat did a good job protecting me, but not that good. My jeans were torn and I lost a boot.

“How long have I been here?” I wondered to myself as I looked around. “I must have passed out.”

Darkness would soon be upon me. I was freezing and hurting. I looked at the snow covered mountain covered in trees and realized there was no way I could climb out of here. I scanned the mountain again as I tried to pull my thoughts together on how I got down here.

Suddenly I remembered Abby and Jen. Where were they? I stood up again and screamed at the top of my lungs for them. The only sound I heard was my voice echoing back at me as it bounced from tree to tree. Tears filled my eyes and an uncontrollable cry overtook me.

Looking up the mountain again, I noticed there was not a trace of my slide that brought me here. I figured the snow had covered my tracks. I cupped my hands around my mouth and shouted again.

“Jen!!!” No response.

I was terrified they had been badly hurt. I listened as I stood in the middle of the forest. There was not a sound except the wind blowing through the branches that soared above me.I couldn’t even hear the snow that was falling. I kept yelling for Jen over and over till I couldn’t shout anymore. I was freezing. My pants were wet from the snow. I pulled the furry hood back up over my wet hair. My bootless foot was frozen. Pain was shooting up my leg.

There wasn’t anything around me but trees. I tried my best to control my fear and anxiety hoping someone would poke their head down from that mountain or from around a tree.What a blessing that would be.

Finally, there was a break in the snowfall. I studied the mountain again. Something glistened up through the trees. It looked like the horse trailer. It appeared to be swinging, dangling. I sucked in a deep breath wondering what happened to King and Lovely Lady, our horses. My throat was hurting but I shouted again. No answer back. I sat down under a big pine tree, rubbed my hurt leg, and tried to remember what happened exactly.

I recollected the highway up that mountain was covered in snow, and the ice pelting the cab and roof. Jen was huddled over the steering wheel trying to focus as hard as she could. I was afraid for Abby. I remembered placing her on the seat between Jen and me. I wrapped her blanket around her and braced her with my hand. With her safely on the seat, I looked up in time to see a truck barreling down the mountain sideways facing us. I thought he was coming down too fast, but he had to have been sliding. He was not stopping or even slowing down. The rear end of his truck swung around the front of the cab which caused him to be in our lane. Then the whole thing was skidding toward us and then BAM! It felt like we had hit a brick wall. Jen and I were screaming as the truck began sliding backwards. As we continued sliding, the heavy horse trailer was pulling us down the highway faster. We started turning sideways. We were scraping the sides of the truck and trailer with the trees that lined the edge. At last we came to a complete halt. My mind was blank as to what happened next.

I shook my head trying to clear it. Feeling the cold air around me, I shuddered. I tried to walk back up the cliff, but I was in a lot of pain. Breathing was hard. I started thinking about all the western books I have read. I tried to think of something in particular that those old, tough, frontier men did when they were in the same shape as I was in right now. They could start a fire without a problem. They always had the perfect stones to rub together and like the snap of a finger, they had a fire. I sure could use a fire right now. I dug in my coat pocket thinking maybe, just maybe, I had a match. I pulled out a bag of chips and a Hershey bar. Another thing those old cowboys would do is find a hollow log. I thought that was more plausible for me than starting a fire. I tried walking again. The snow was knee deep and took all my effort to move my legs forward. I hurt from head to toe. But it paid off as I spotted by lost boot.

I took baby steps as I focused on the fallen trees as well as the standing ones. I searched for a hollowed out space that I could crawl into for protection against this miserable weather. Maybe I could find perfect tree logs that could form a teepee. I laughed at that idea which hurt my side. My ancestors would be proud of me though. All I would have to do is find a buffalo, kill him, skin him, and make a cover from his hide. I felt I could kill a bear with my bare hands, well maybe a rabbit. I laughed a little harder at that idea. I kept walking up the mountain slowly. I grabbed hold of low-lying limbs to help pull myself forward. I noticed a big log lying on the ground in front of me and walked around it to see if it was hollow. It seemed to be, but I would have to dig out the rotten wood inside. Well, that created another problem. What was I going to dig it out with? I looked around and picked up a stick. I started digging and then it cracked and broke. I picked up a stronger stick and continued emptying out the wood inside. Soon I had a good size hole dug out but not big enough. After what seemed like forever, I wiggled my way inside the hole.

It was very tight quarters. I thought if I could just go to sleep, I wouldn’t worry so much. It was so cold. I was shaking. I couldn’t rub my arms because I couldn’t move once I got inside. It was so quiet. I was all alone with nothing but my thoughts.

I am only 22 years old and had dreams of Colorado for as long as I can remember. Maybe they should have stayed a dream. I wouldn’t be in this spot if I had stayed where it never snowed, like home. I wouldn’t have lost my best friend if I had paid closer attention to her suicidal signs. I wouldn’t have given into lust and spent the night with Clint. Oh Clint, where are you? I was able to twirl the silver ring he had placed on my finger. This ring belonged to someone, but for the life of me, I couldn’t remember who he said it belonged to. Probably an ex-wife, I laughed. My heart was so heavy. I told myself to stop feeling sorry for myself, but I couldn’t help it. I started crying. The baby kicked and brought me back to my senses before I lost it completely.

I tried listening for a sound, but there was nothing. I didn’t hear a rustle of the leaves, flowing water, or a sound of a bird or any animal. There was absolute quietness. I finally fell asleep.

I managed to get myself out of that darn hollow tree and I witnessed a beautiful quiet sunrise of many different colors. Maybe this meant the sun would be out today and melt the snow. Gosh, I was hungry. I ate the last of the candy bar and was wishing for water. I looked all around me hoping to see a cabin or a shed or some kind of dwelling I could get in out of this wet and cold. I didn’t see anything. I heard a snort which brought me to full attention. I stood perfectly still. Up ahead of me stood a herd of deer. They looked like they were drinking from a stream. I headed in their direction even though it hurt to move. The shuffle of my feet and my grunting from effort reached the sensitive ears of the deer. They scattered as if a gunshot rung out. I squatted down next to the frozen water. I chopped at it with a sharp stick and broke the ice. I pulled water up through my cold hands and drank it’s sweet liquid. My fingers were almost frozen, but the water was delicious. It reminded me of the tasteful water from a windmill. But it was so darn cold. I decided that I probably should stay near this stream. I had no idea how far away I was from where I had tumbled down the mountainside. This could pose a problem if searchers were looking for me. I pulled a big log up closer to the water and sat down. I could hear other animals hidden in the surrounding brush. I wondered about the bears, mountain lions, and coyotes. They could be watching me right now. I stumbled back to my hollow tree. My breath could be seen in a cloud of mist in the frigid air as I trudged on.

The sun was high overhead but didn’t give hardly any heat. I chipped away inside the hollow log again hoping to make my new home a little roomier. It gave me a little more space, but not much.

The sun would be sinking soon. I had to do what I could to find someone and alert them of my whereabouts wherever that was. I screamed and screamed for help. But a movement in the brush made me stop screaming. There was something big and black coming down the mountainside. I climbed back inside the log. I watched but a bear did not come into my view.

I had to make it back to the stream for water. I quietly sneaked out. Luckily my trek to the stream and back to my log was not an issue.

Two dark nights had passed. Hunger stung at my insides. Each day I screamed for help to no avail. The twinkling stars winking at me through the canopy of tree limbs gave comfort to my soul.

I had managed to fall asleep inside the log which protected me from the snowfall.

On the third night, I was awakened by a faraway sound. I was so cold that I thought the sound I heard was probably my teeth chattering. I knew I had to get out and stand or I was going to be stiff and numb all over. But I heard the sound again. I wasn’t sure if it was an animal or not, so I just stayed cocooned. It was dark out, and I was terrified to move. I closed my eyes because if it was a bear and he reached in to drag me out, I didn’t want to see him start mauling me. The sound was getting closer, and my heart was beating wildly inside my chest. I opened my eyes and reached for the stick I used as a shovel. I thought, by George, if it was a bear, he was going to have a fight on his hands.

Swerving my head back and forth, back and forth, I strained my ears and listened. I could have sworn I heard someone calling my name. At first, I thought it was my imagination. I stayed focused and listened again. I was hoping and praying it was someone coming to get me. I didn’t believe that would be possible because I was lost in this thick forest of trees. Another worry was on my mind. I had not felt the baby move.

Looking out into the night, I thought I saw a light of some sort. Someone was calling my name. I had to get out of this darn tree, but I was stuck. I wiggled and wiggled scratching my already bruised arms and legs, but by golly, I was out. I shouted as hard as I could, but it was a very weak call. With painful arms, I began banging the log with the stick.

“Jennie!” I screamed. “HELP!” I yelled.

I heard shouting from somewhere. It sounded like a man’s voice. “Over here. I think I have found her!” he shouted.

I saw him then. I fell to my knees and called out to him. Could he hear me? Was I dreaming?

“Over here!” I shouted.

My shout wasn’t all that loud but it was all I had. I called out and began crawling to him.

“Please don’t go away!” I cried. “I’m right here.”

Finally, he was right in front of me. “Anna?” he asked.

He pulled me up with his strong arms then wrapped a blanket around me.

I nodded my head as I stood shivering, crying and slobbering as the cold wind stung my face. I eagerly placed my hands on his chest and pounded on his arms and all over to make sure he was real.

“Where have you been, Clint? I’ve been waiting and waiting to hear from you,” I cried out beating the poor man’s chest.

“I’m not Clint, Anna, but you can call me Clint all you want.We are here to take you home,” he told me.

I was hanging onto the man’s body and slipped down his legs to the ground.