Oscar’s Renegades

Thunderstorms are notorious in the desert and can suddenly appear without warning. Today was no exception. The sky grew dark with the threat of the oncoming storm. Lightning began to flash zigzag patterns across the sky and thunder crashed in the distance. We decide to look for shelter and wait for the storm to pass.

“Look, I can see that old abandoned barn not too far from here. Let’s head that way.” Toby tells them. The trio are able to reach it before the rain starts to pour. The old barn is dark and musky smelling but at least they are dry. They huddle together to stay warm as the storm continues to rage outside.

Morning came and the storm was still as strong as the day before. We get nervous as we know the Gila River is rising and we will not be able to get back the way we came. Everyone is hungry and cold and we do not know when we might eat again or even see our families. We shiver from the damp air and Oscar and Toby are huddling close together but neither one of them is talking. Maybe they are losing faith in me; someone who always gets us out of any dilemma, I think.

All of a sudden, the thunder and lightning is right on top of us. The thunder is so deafening we cannot even hear our own breathing. Without warning a thunderous, booming crash descends on us. We realize the lightning has struck the barn! We huddle together, fearful that we might be left with no shelter. . .or worse! The roof begins to burn. We will soon have to make a decision to run from the burning barn out into the storm or hope somehow the rain will put the fire out.

It seems like hours go by when… just as quick as the lightning hit, the downpour puts out the fire but leaves a huge hole in the roof. Rain pours in through the hole in the roof but at least we still have some dry shelter. The rain continues for the next two days as we try to stay warm in the damp, cold barn with wind and rain whistling through the holes in the wallboards.

Finally the next afternoon the rain lets up. The first to venture outside, I notice the colorful rainbow that reaches from one end of the horizon to the other. The vibrant blue, green, yellow and red of the rainbow, made me realize the storm is over. We need a plan now on how to get back home. We will need to survey the river and search for food.

As we exit the barn we are in shock to see how saturated the ground has become and we are afraid of getting stuck in the mud. We decide to go north to old man Leonard’s farmhouse in search of food and drier ground.

They arrive at the farmhouse to see old man Leonard feeding his dogs. They wait while his dogs finish eating. The dogs are licking their chops as they turn and follow their master into the barn.

We cautiously move closer to the house to see if any food is left. There are only a few bites of stale bread and two or three little potatoes. We share what is in the bowls. But we are still hungry, so we decide to see how high the river has gotten.

We start out towards the river. From the top of the little knoll we climb up, we can see a great distance. But the water is still high and the river impassable.

We decide to return to the farmhouse again, when we notice old man Leonard loading up his truck with hay – that can mean only one thing. He must be taking hay down to the south forty for his other cows and horses. In order to reach the south forty he will have to cross the river. We know this will be our one chance to get back home. Mr. Leonard goes back into the barn to get more hay, so we seize the moment.

Toby and Oscar look at each other and realize that Champ will have a problem getting up the ladder. Oscar instructs Toby to lay down flat on the ground so that Champ can crawl on Toby’s back with Oscar pushing him from behind. In order for him to not fall off, Toby will hold his front paw in his mouth very gently but firmly. We then begin the climb up the small ladder Mr. Leonard is using to get the hay up on the truck. Toby does not want to go too fast. He wants to make sure that Champ remains balanced and not fall off. Not wanting Old Man Leonard to spot us before we can even get on the truck, we hurry to make our getaway. We know we must get this right the first time if we want to get back home to our families. Hiding behind several bales of hay, we wait for Mr. Leonard to put the last bale on the truck and load the ladder. We hear him walk around the side of the truck, open the door and close it. We hear the engine began to purr and know we will soon be on our way and one step closer to home. It seems like Mr. Leonard is driving for a long time and we are afraid we are getting further and further away from our families.