Booktree.ng_Forgotten-Witness

upright and then tried the driver side door. The angle made it
nearly impossible to push it open with her hands so she leaned
back and put both feet against it. With a great heave she
shoved until the hinges caught. At exactly that moment, the
wind whipped through the mountains and drove the rain
horizontally, drenching her in the process.
“Damn! Damn!”
Josie turned her head as she slid off the seat and took the
short drop to the ground. One foot hit a bush and the other slid
in a river of mud. Muttering, cursing, wet to the skin, she
slung her purse across her body, took one last look at the car,
and started to hike. The incline wasn’t much but she was
shaken and the terrain was sodden so it was slow going. She
slipped, grabbed onto a tree, and pulled herself up a few feet
toward the bridge before slipping again and sliding all the way
back to the beginning. She set to it once more with a grunt,
choosing her footholds, pushing the rain out of her eyes,
spitting it out of her mouth, and clutching at any plant that
seemed to have deep roots. Josie almost reached the top before
she felt herself going backward again but this time she was
ready. She grabbed for a root that wove in and out of the
ground like the hump of a sea serpent. It held strong. Hanging
there, her feet buried in mud, her arms stretched taut, and her
grip weakening, she heard:
“Hello! Hello there!”
Just as Josie looked up, the rain stopped, the sun broke
through and the short, wide man standing on the narrow bridge
above her threw his arms out and splayed his hands on the
railing. He was grinning at her, his face nearly hidden by a hat
that was half beanie, half mini-umbrella.
“Good God, I’ve found me an Amazon!”
“I don’t believe it,” Josie muttered and then called back,
“Can you give a hand?”
“Delighted.” He came around the edge of the bridge railing
and positioned himself solidly with one hand on the rail and