Trial Through Desert

The woods were silent as he glanced frantically around. Too silent. “Jesse!” The doctor’s voice quivered. “Where are ya, boy? You didn’t die out here, did you? I know it’s been a long time since I last visited you, but remember that knife I gave you? You might not remember me, but you don’t have to be afraid of me. I’m your dad, Jesse. I wish I would have come up here to visit you more, but I was so busy with all of my patients.” There was no sign of movement, nor any sound indicating the boy’s presence. “Come out now, Jesse. I need to talk to you.” He hadn’t been in the cabin, so, given he hadn’t died of starvation during the ten long years Doctor La Russo had avoided being traced here, he must be somewhere in the woods. But how far from the cabin might he go in a day?

Abruptly, he heard a whistling noise off to his right. A-hah. It must be the boy.

Jesse started when he saw the doctor. “Who’re you?”

“Man, you’re near grown boy. I’m your dad, but I haven’t seen ya in ten years.” He glanced down and saw the knife hanging at Jesse’s side. “I gave ya that knife, boy. Do you remember?”

“Yes, Sir. But your different than I remember. What’s wrong with you? Your eyes are all red.”

“They are? Well, I been cryin’ for my son. Not you. My real son. You took him away from me. Or she did. Not sure which.”

“Wait, you just said you were my father.”

" I am, now that he’s dead. She took him away from me.”

" Who’s she?”

“Your mother. You never should have lived instead of my son. She had two. She didn’t need two when my only son died that same night. So I took you for mine. Said you was dead, and she forgot about you ‘cause she had another boy to raise. Twins she had, but not at all alike. Your brother had bright blue eyes, not hazel like yours. But I took you ‘cause my son’s eyes were hazel too, and he had the same jet black hair you have.”

“Wait a minute. I barely remember you as my dad, and now you’re tellin’ me all kinds of crazy stuff like you’re not my real dad and all. You’re crazy. You look crazy, talk crazy-”

“Shut up, boy. How dare you talk to me so. You’ve already caused me so much pain. Shut up, okay!” Doctor La Russo grabbed Jesse’s shirt front and attempted to pin him against the cabin wall, but Jesse was to strong for him and held him at bay.”Get your hands off of me.”

“Don’t say that, boy. How’d you even learn to talk without me or dress, huh. Who helped you survive. I thought you’d die out here. At first I wanted you, but I had to hide you for a while until things settled down. But after a while I hoped you would die, so I didn’t bring you food or clothes or anything after that one Christmas ten years ago. How’d you survive, huh?”

“None of your business.”

The doctor suddenly pulled out a hidden pistol and whammed Jesse on the head. The boy dropped. " Oh no, what have I done.” He dragged Jesse to the edge of a steep drop in the Rockies and shoved him over. There, he would die now. It was too steep of a cliff for him to survive the fall. None the less, the doctor still climbed down and shoved him into a nearby cave, covering it with a large rock that barely fit. But it fit tight. It’s over now, boy.

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A slow realization came over him. He was awake, but it was extremely dark. His head hurt so he knew he was still alive. A sliver of light surrounded a large boulder. That rock, he decided, was blocking the entrance out of here. He knew this cave well. It was near the cabin and sometimes he slept here so that he could gaze out across the mountains. You could see far from here for this was the highest mountain this side of the Rockies, and there was a somewhat gradual but long drop beneath him. Beyond this mountain, it looked like there was a lot of desert to cross, but if he could get out of here, he would cross it and get far away from this place. He never wanted to see that man again.

He started to move but couldn’t. It was dark so he couldn’t tell what was the matter. Something seemed to be keeping his legs from moving. He tried again and felt a sharp pain in his back. He was paralyzed!

He pulled himself toward the door with his arms. He had to get out of here so he could assess his situation better. He pushed at the rock, but it wouldn’t budge. So with his knife, he began digging at the space between the rock and the cave.

Sometime later he heard a wolf howl close to the cave. They could smell him. They could also sense his helplessness, and when he emerged from the cave, they would be waiting for the kill. It must be night now if they are out.

His stomach no longer growled, and his lips no longer held any moister. They were getting puffy, and he was gradually losing strength. But he kept digging until he had made a hole big enough to climb out of. He steadied himself and sharpened his knife blade on the rock. They closed in. Suddenly one-too impatient to wait- sprang on him. With a quick slash, he sliced the hair beneath it’s throat, but his weakening strength and the lack of his legs messed up his aim. The wold clamped down onto the back of his neck and growled. His buddies slowly stepped closer-careful not to upset him by getting too close to his catch. With all of his strength, he flipped himself over and threw the unsuspecting wolf to the ground, jabbing him in the neck with his knife at the same time. The other canines leapt back at this sudden movement, and, as the wolf went limp beside him, Jesse debated what to do next.

The other wolves slowly crept in again. This time none of them rushed in too early. When they attacked it would be all at once, and it would be over i seconds. But it wasn’t over yet. Jesse raised his knife. Ready for the charge.

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There was a candle next to his bed. Where was he? He was quick to figure out his location. Not far from the cave there was a ledge overlooking the long slope downward. Someone had made him a bed of pine boughs and placed a candle close so he could see when he awoke. It was a cloudy night and therefore quite dark, but who had saved him from the wolves and done this for him?

Out of the darkness he heard a rustle. It was a girl and by candlelight he could tell that she was a Mexican.

“Who’re you?”

“Never mind who I am. I have to go soon.”

“But will you first take me across the desert. I can’t walk.”

“Why can’t you walk? Your legs don’t look injured.”

“I am paralyzed.”

There was silence for a while. “No I can’t take you. I must go now.”

“Why?”

“It it none of your business. I’m sorry, but you must somehow fend for yourself. Who lives in that cabin?”

“I did, but I am leaving now.”

“Why do you want to leave?”

“Because I must. It’s a long story.”

“Mine is too.” She paused. “That’s too bad, but you must do what you must do, and I must do what I must do. I must go now. Goodbye.

So, when she had gone, Jesse ate the food she had left and rolled himself down the long and painful slope. When he finally reached the end, his back felt like it was broken in half, but he stuck out his arms and pulled himself forward. Mile after mile of hot, dry desert, he dragged himself until his arms felt like they were going to fall off. At length he found a small oasis and filled up on water and roasted frog legs. When he looked back, his heart sank. He had probably only traveled a little over a mile though it had felt like several miles over and over again. This was going to take months, perhaps even years to cross the desert and find fertile ground.

After resting until nightfall, when it was quite a bit cooler, he began again. The days passed with little food and he was often chilled in the cold night air, but he know the daytime was coming and he could rest his tired muscles in the hot sun. Dryness was a problem though. He needed both water and food for strength, and he had little of either.

He survived though, and one night he heard voices. Creeping toward their campfire, he spotted three men, a woman and two children, and a covered wagon. They were talking about a place and a dream. The place was called Oregon, and the more Jesse heard, the more he liked it. Would they let him go with them?

He spoke and the biggest man spun around. He took one look at the boy and said, “Wwhat?”

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Twelve hundred long hard miles later, they arrived at the Cascade mountains. A major road block for settlers coming in, but there was a way through. You had to travel by water. The men cut poles, and Jesse helped tie them together for a raft. Eventually, all was loaded and they were headed downstream. At first the current was slow and the men were able to handle the raft easily with their long poles, but as they got further downstream, it became more rapid and the waters more turbulent. There were yells and struggles, and Jesse did his best to help, but it was useless. The raft was crashed against the banks and shattered. Everything was washed swiftly downstream, and, unable to swim or even stay above the water, Jesse was taken too.

When the river slowed again, there wasn’t much left, but Jesse was washed ashore, half-drowned, but alive. As people crowded the shores to receive other rafts full of settlers who had made it, a young woman spotted the boy an walked over. It was many days before Jesse was well enough to tell his story, but when he did, the woman turned pale and asked, “What was the doctor’s name?”

“Doctor La Russo his name tag said.”

" Babe, I can’t believe it, but you’re my son.”