Servants of the Living Forest Read Free Page A

home."
    Jocelyn exhaled. "Fine. I'm going to make coffee," she said. "Just don't fall in love with him, okay?" She started toward the cabin.
    "What do you mean?" Cameron asked.
    "Because when his owners do show up, it'll break your heart," Jocelyn shouted back. "That's why!"
    Cameron pouted, still rubbing Sancho's head. She knew Jocelyn was right and resented it, but she also felt venerated, not yet used to the idea that anyone could know her so well. It was a strange new way to feel alone, and she contemplated the future.
    "I know it will, but what can I do?" she said. She looked at Sancho and smiled. "What do you say we get you some water?"
    The dog barked and its tail wagged.
    "You're smart, too! Aren't you?" She stood, stretched. "Come with me, Sancho."
    Cameron walked to the pump, and the Labrador followed.
    Jocelyn watched from the cabin, the steam from her freshly brewed cup rising before her face as she plotted.
    *~*~*
    They finished their drinks, chatted pleasantly, and after an hour, went to the lake, a ten-minute walk to the east of the cabin.
    Across its distance, the rising hills created a verdant peak. The silvery water reflected the azure sky and dark green like a mirror.
    Jocelyn, in a sunny yellow bikini, raced to it and jumped in with a splash, shattering the image. She swam out, and after a few strokes, looked back at the narrow strip of beach along the tree line.
    "Come on, Cammy!" she called. "I wanna see what you got!"
    Cameron stepped out from behind a tree, into the sun, and dropped her towel. She stood stiffly. It was the first time she had worn a swimsuit outside since she was a child, and Jocelyn knew it.
    Jocelyn smiled, delighting in the sight. With her petite frame and short curls, Cameron already looked young. Now, in a skimpy black two-piece, showing her blazing paleness, she looked almost illegal.
    "OW!" she shouted. "Hey, little girl! Why don't you show me something?"
    "Um, like what?" Cameron responded, quietly.
    "You know what," Jocelyn teased. "Just gimme a taste. Or else I'll make you swim naked!"
    Cameron, visibly tense, searched around her, quadruple-checking that they were, in fact, alone and not being watched by anyone. She then turned, thrust out her rear and pushed her bottoms down, giving Jocelyn a flash. She looked over her shoulder, and offered an innocent and nervous smile.
    She wondered again what Jocelyn saw in her, especially when their ideas of what was fun were so very different.
    "WOO!" Jocelyn hollered. She knew she could push Cameron to do even more but relented. "I love it! Come splash around with me!"
    "Coming," she said.
    She glanced back. Sancho, darker than the surrounding shadows, sat behind her, facing away and staring quietly into the forest.
    "Sancho, is everything okay?" she asked. The dog did not respond. "Want to play in the water?"
    The dog whimpered, stayed in place. She shrugged. "Okay. We'll just be in the lake. If you see something, bark and come get us. Don't run off, though."
    The Labrador simply sat there, still and quiet, looking ahead, like it was waiting.
    Cameron stepped onto the beach, dipped her toe into the water. Its chill made her twinge. She steadily entered, acclimating, and swam toward Jocelyn.
    Jocelyn had already swum out and circled back. She loved swimming and had several trophies at home. It had also paid for her first two years of college, but she'd had to give up competition when her studies began to dominate her time. Still, she went to the stadium every weekend and enjoyed its pool. It was the only time she felt like a real person, as though there was more to her than her appearance.
    The rest of the time, she had Cameron.
    She glanced down then and noticed something odd in the lake, deep below the glistening surface. She wiped the water from her eyes and searched around her kicking legs. A dark mass moved under her. She glanced up, thinking it might be the shadow of something above her, but the sky was clear and vacant. When she