The Arrow, the Wolves, and the Guardians
by
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But these thoughts led back, inevitably, in a circular path beaten deeply into his brain, to his own recent troubles. Maybe I do need help. But I can’t see it happening the way Shayla wants. No sirree. But after he had wallowed in his own misery again, all the anger and confusion was replaced by a sort of deadening hollowness and Harold started feeling less depressed. He reached into his pack and pulled out his lunch, which had been lovingly prepared by Shayla the night before.
Sure enough, the first thing he encountered was one of her love notes. Unfolding it, he read,
To my mountain man. Roses are red, and elkies are brown, but you are the best hunter in forest and town. Love you and BE CAREFUL.
This last capitalized phrase was in lipstick, but it seemed to him to be a warning rather than a sweet promise. Sighing, he thought again about how to break the news of his firing to her as he unwrapped the first turkey sandwich and chewed it slowly, savoring the view and the wind, the latter of which was now quickening and getting colder. What is happening to the warm fall weather we have been enjoying? He was still so absorbed in his thoughts, though, that he never noticed the strange, almost purple cast of the sky to the northeast, where the wind was now coming from. He did recognize that he was tired, that it would be late afternoon when he got back to the pickup, and that there was no sense in hunting longer today.
After finishing his sandwiches, an apple, and an orange, he tucked two candy bars in his pack for later, and swung the pack back over his shoulders before grabbing his bow. At that moment, he heard a loud scrunching and crashing to his right, just at the edge of the timber where the old fire had stopped. It was followed by a quavering scream unlike anything he had ever heard before. It was such an unearthly noise that he froze. What is that? The crashing noises intensified, and it sounded as though a fight had broken out in the brush.
Harold was in a small depression and could not see the source of the noise, but he thought that if he eased to his right and looked out over a huge boulder about twenty feet away, he might be able to figure out what was making this racket. Fitting an arrow to the bowstring, he crawled forward, keeping his body crouched as low as he could.
When he peeked over the rock, it took him a few moments to make sense out of what was happening.
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About the Book
It is early in the morning during the second week of elk hunting season in Montana as Harold Hendricks leaves a note for his sleeping wife, Shayla, and heads out on a solo bowhunting excursion into the woods. But when he spontaneously decides to change direction and hunt in another location, Harold has no idea of the implications of his choice.
A few hours later, Harold sustains an accident that leaves him momentarily unconscious and severely crippled. When he regains consciousness, he realizes he is alone in the mountains of Montana unable to summon help, and in life threatening circumstances. As his time in the mountains drags on, his loved ones embark on a desperate search to find him. And Harold finds himself on his own trip that he has no control over—a trip of beauty and wonder that is also more terrifying than any trip he has taken before. In the course of this trip, Harold searches for a loving God to help him amidst his suffering, his fear, and his troubled relationships at home and at work. Will he find the answers he seeks, and will his family find him before it is too late?
In this inspirational novel, an attorney must grapple with his complicated feelings about God after a hunting accident leaves him injured and without much hope in the mountains of Montana.
About the Author
Charles L. Hay has held numerous jobs over the course of his life, including that of: a forest lookout; a trail surveyor; a clerk; a logger; a nanny; a house sitter; an exterior house painter; an elementary school teacher; a boys’ home supervisor; and lastly a caregiver. Besides writing, his most rewarding career has been the law. He has been a trial lawyer in two large firms, a solo practitioner and a judge in juvenile court. He has published several articles in Christian, outdoor or legal magazines, and this is his first published novel. He currently resides with his wonderful wife of 51 years in Meridian, Idaho.