– one of the fiction books written by Michael K. Hurder ยฉ [2025]
Read along as I create fiction. You might recognize at least one character. In the realm of make-believe, I’ve explored various themes and characters. This fiction is dearer to me than all the rest of my writing. I think you’ll know why – popi
Doh Rey Me & the Kitties 3
Chapter 9: Avalanche Aftermath
Change of Guard
The High Sierras in mid-winter were a realm of profound silence and sudden fury, where the snow-laden peaks held their breath before unleashing cascades of white thunder. Beyond Cathedral Peak, the tundra lay under a thick quilt of snow, unbroken save for the delicate tracks of hardy creaturesโrabbits etching faint lines, deer punching deeper divots, and the occasional shadow of a coyote slinking through the dusk. The air was crystalline, biting at exposed skin with a crispness that invigorated the soul, while the pines stood as stoic sentinels, their boughs heavy with frozen burdens that could snap like gunfire in the wind.
This was the season of introspection and peril, where beauty masked the wilds’ unforgiving natureโavalanches rumbling, blizzards whipping up without warning, and the thin line between survival and surrender tested every living thing. In the sanctuary, the “zoom” had transformed into a winter wonderland of sorts, enclosures now arenas of snowy play, where the animals’ breaths puffed like tiny clouds, and the crew’s footsteps crunched in rhythmic harmony with the land’s quiet pulse.
Shorty stepped out into the dawn’s pale light, his long gray hair peeking from under a fur-lined hat, bushy beard glistening with frost from the overnight chill. His weathered parka, patched from years of mending, creaked as he moved, gloved hands gripping a steaming mug that warded off the cold seeping into his bones. Slammer padded beside him, the German Shepherd’s black-and-tan coat fluffed for insulation, amber eyes scanning the white expanse with the vigilance of a lifelong partner.
The old Vietnam vet paused at the wolf enclosure, watching Doh assert his alpha role with a low, resonant howl that echoed across the drifts. Rey and Me flanked him, their silver-tipped and golden-eyed forms blending seamlessly with the snow-dappled terrain, bounding in playful arcs that kicked up powdery sprays.
The teary departure from the previous week’s early storm still lingered in the air like the fading echoes of the avalanche. Shorty, Roland, and Jake drove the girls to his base camp down by the RV he lived in before the wolves. It was still at the Sno-Park. The Rangers kept an eye on it for him, and he allowed them to bring relatives and friends out to stay in the RV. The Rangers provided upkeep too. Shorty was happy to not have that to worry about.
Jake led them on a roundabout route with the girls on the backs of Shorty’s Skidoos to the base just to stretch departure time out as long as possible. It was a spectacular yet bittersweet parting but one full of promise. Jess, Aiya, and Lariโschool-aged and bound for homeโhad bundled up one last time, their backpacks heavy with sketches, photos, and memories. Jess had hugged Shorty fiercely, her blue eyes misty. “We’ll be back in spring. I promise.”
Aiya punched his arm lightly, freckles dancing under her grin. “Don’t let the place fall apart without us, old man.”
Lari, red curls peeking from her hood, pressed a drawing into his handsโa portrait of the pack in snow. “For the lonely nights.” Evelyn, their chaperone, had left earlier with the Rangers to pick up her vehicle. She would drive them home, her short brown hair tucked under a cap, glasses fogging as she waved. “Keep safe, Mike. We’ll miss the chaos.” The hesitance to part was felt by all. The old man tried and failed to brush the tear away on the sly. Jess saw and smiled. “Me too, Shorty.” He watched until five minutes after they’d gone out of sight.
Separation and Newbies
The girls’ absence left a void, their youthful energy replaced by the quiet determination of the remaining crew, but Shorty knew the mountains waited for no oneโlife cycled on. In their place, two college students had arrived on a field study for animal husbandry, fresh from Sierra College’s agriculture program. Mia, twenty-one with straight black hair tied in a practical ponytail and brown eyes sharp as a hawk’s, specialized in vertebrate ecology. Her partner, Sara, twenty with curly auburn hair and hazel eyes full of quiet curiosity, focused on conservation management.
They were slim and fit from campus hikes, dressed in layered fleeces and boots, backpacks stuffed with notebooks and gear. Their arrival and then stay had been questionable at firstโMia skeptical of Shorty’s “old-school” methods, Sara overwhelmed by the isolation.
“No Wi-Fi?” Mia had asked, brows raised. Shorty grunted. “Mountains got better signals than you’ll ever get on the flat, missy.” He then showed them the commo shack with the top ranked satellite system that gazillionaire entrepreneur built, and two-way radio rigs. And then brought them to the weather station and lookout tower, which had its own comms to include another satellite for the weather station and weather reporting. The tower also had a repeater for the Wi-Fi”
Her eyes lit up. “Range for the Wi-Fi?” she asked.
“I’ve got a solid signal at my cabin which is farthest away from the comm shack. I watch Liverpool, the Patriots/Bruins/Celtics and most importantly, the Red Sox, old movies and westerns all night long sometimes. The girls did those zoomy meets, or something, to talk with their parents. It’s pretty cool how they can do like a live show. Amazing. It’s like they’re there in the room with us. Crazy shit!
“There’s no delay. Nothing. The Lodge has a better signal, even though it’s about the same distance away from here. The best is in the tower. The tower is enclosed and insulated. It used to be for Fire Watch. The Rangers have a better one now on top of Cathedral. But we built here with a purpose. In exchange for the rights to stay here and operate Sanctuary, we man the tower 24/7 in fire season as an auxiliary southward lookout so the Rangers can concentrate their efforts along the worst threat vector, north of the park. We also agreed to take in whatever rescues we had the facilities for.
“Anyway, as long as there isn’t a bad storm, we have a good strong signal. But some of the storms we’ve endured up here took out comms for a week, six days really.” Mia’s smile faded.
The new volunteers dove in, their education majors making them eager for hands-on work, though the transition felt tentative, like testing thin ice. But soon they were doing the things they only talked about in their dorm room at UC Davis. “This adventure would be epic,” Mia exclaimed.
Sanctuary Prepares for the season.
Mia approached Shorty later in the inner compound, her breath puffing in the cold. He was chopping wood. Every few minutes Jake would stop his work repairing the Lodge’s roof, to check on his father. “Your seventy-four dad, not forty-seven. Come on.” He grumbled under his breath. He couldn’t convince the man that slowing down was okay and that he didn’t have to do that kind of work anymore. There was no sense in bringing it up again. The old man didn’t talk to him for hours the last time he asked him to take a break.
Mia approached. “Morning, Shorty. The lynx are active. Whisper’s leading hunts in the snow.” Sara followed, clutching a clipboard. “We logged the wolverine’s burrow temps. Spike’s adapting well.”
Shorty nodded, his gravelly voice thoughtful. “Good news, ladies. Winter’s teachin’ ’em survival. We will too.” He glanced at them, noting Mia’s initial doubts were softening with each day, Sara’s quiet wonder blooming. The college pair brought fresh ideas, sustainable feed mixes from their coursework, data tracking apps, and relieved the men of all veterinarian duties, as far as any of them were authorized. Roland was two hours away. In El Portal. The dangers of the wilds would test their resolve soon enough, a far cry from classroom simulations.
Jake joined them for breakfast, his cropped gray hair neat, beard trimmed, carrying a bundle of repair gear. His hazel eyes met Shorty’s with easy warmth, the estrangement now a faded scar, healed by the sanctuary’s shared labors. “Radio from Rebekahโthaw’s causing slides in the valleys. Might bring more orphans our way.”
Over breakfast in the lodge, oatmeal thickened with nuts, Evelyn’s recipe lingering in spirit, the group planned. The sanctuary thrummed with winter adaptations. The cougars Chins, Itzy, and Bitsy continuously pouncing on snow mounds, other animals, or humans. Their tawny coats good camouflage in the churned-up snow and dirt. Bruno the bear cub snoozed in his den. Ember the bobcat stalked imaginary prey. Spike the wolverine burrowed tunnels. The lynx juvenilesโGhost, Shadow, Whisperโthrived, oversized paws like snowshoes.
Roland Chapmann arrived on snowshoes, lanky frame crunching through drifts, wire-rimmed glasses fogged. Always ready to lend his expertise to any silence, he offered this. “Avalanche aftermaths are perfect for teaching baby animals how to forage after the land reshapes itself. Lots of underground life, roots and tubers too will have been exposed.”
Shorty snickered thinking about setting the cats and the foxes loose here, not just a raptor. The smaller carnivores would have a field day.
“Let’s check the collars on Frost; that owl’s ready for longer flights.” Roland suggested trying to lead the conversation to work.
Mia and Sara assisted, Mia handling Ghost with steady hands, Sara noting behaviors. “Ghost’s stealth is amazingโshe blends right into the rocks,” Mia observed. Watching the enclosures with interest, Sara cheered Whisper’s pouncing. “They’re natural survivors.” Shorty watched, his methods blending with their academic approach.
In the Sierras, danger always loomed.
Rebekah radioed: “Major slide brewing on the north face with unstable cornices. Stay clear.” The team reinforced enclosures. The face of Cathedral Peak was directly above where Sanctuary sat. The southern slope was gradual and angled away from the compound; in fact, it was an advanced but doable hike without the snow. Their compound was sheltered behind a large stand of redwoods. A slide would have to be unnaturally huge to reach them, but it could happen.
Jake and Shorty patrolled, Slammer ahead. Mia insisted on joining, her doubt in herself turning to determination. As they crested a rise, the rumble started. There was a roar of noise as a mountain full of snow detached and obeyed gravity, cascading like a tsunami downslope.
“Back! To the hollow! NOW!” Shorty commanded without hesitation. They were not in direct path of the slide, but close enough to be involved with a little bad luck. Slammer barked, guiding as dust billowed. With moments to spare the made the turn into the hollow that would protect them, the old man hoped it would anyway. They hunkered, the slide thundering past.
“That was a Close shave,” Sara said later, wide-eyed. Mia admitted, “Your instincts saved us, Shorty.”
“Not mine.” he answered. “Slammer’s. He tipped me off or we’d have blindly walked right into its path. I was impressed how fast you shot out of there in snowshoes, young lady.” They laughed all around.
“Good boy, you mountain dog.” Jake scrubbed the big dog’s ears. Slammer leaned into his favorite form of contact, pushing Jake backwards with little effort.
Since they were out there already and safe, Shorty decided they should at least use the binoculars to search for survivors. “God forbid there was anyone out there, but we should look.” He led them to the edge of the slide where they could peer all the way to the peak. He spotted them in ten minutes. The slide unearthed a den of three pine marten kits, fluffy brown with cream throats.
“I don’t see the mother.” Shorty claimed. “Poor kits,” he said. Mia named them Nutmeg, Clove, and Cinnamon. Rehab began Immediately and in earnest. “The sooner we get these critters back to the forest the better.” Shorty had a feeling they would see a lot of customers this year. He didn’t want the Zoom to be crowded, so moving them through the system as quickly as possible without rushing the process was paramount.
The winter deepened. Clusters of storms alternated with clear skies. The rogue wolf pack returned, howls challenging Doh’s. One night, under stars, the crew confronted them at the fence, flashlights beaming. The rogues tested but retreated.
The Rogues Return
Small successes experienced by the students, built bonds. Mia and Sara proved invaluable, their field study extended through the winter. ” We had a questionable start,” Mia confessed by the fire, “but this place… it’s real.”
Yet perils persisted to test the Sanctuary. A blizzard trapped them. After a week their supplies were dwindling. Shorty’s ingenuity prevailed. Cathedral lake was less than 100 yards from Sanctuary. Shorty taught them ice fishing. They made it a family outing with anyone, animal or two-leg, that wanted to join them was welcome.
Mia and Sara dove into the work adapting to the weather and. They found another orphaned Bobcat, the result of a flare-up. A left-over from the Cathedral Blaze. “
Oh, goody. More work, for you ladies. You’re getting lazy out here livin’ a life of leisure.” Shorty grinned and barely ducked under the return fire from Mia. That wadded up towel had his name on it.
(to be continued: Chapter#10 – Thaw’s Promise)
To start from the beginning: DohReyMe&theKitties3-ch1
to read another of my fictions in progress: K9LTW [Chapter1]
Related Links:
More of Popi’s tales from the Book of Wonders
Bonus Fiction Feature: If you read any of the fiction I create here to the end, you will be able to download a free copy when It’s complete. If I get a referral from you, I’ll throw in the fiction – Burtt the Blade.
- Burtt the Blade – fiction
- Doh – Rey – Me – fiction – book – written here
- Mystery of Willow Woods – fiction – short Story – written here
- The Last Signal – part one – fiction – book – written here
- Rift Guardians – chapter#1 – fiction – book – written here
- Shorty’s Path – non-fiction auto biography book
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[…] (to be continued: Chapter#9 – Avalanche Echoes) […]