Chapter 23

A gentle touch on her back made her twist. In the next blaze of light she saw it was the mother's trunk. Unsure of the right response, Ally reached and very gently placed both her hands on the trunk, as if reassuring a nervous friend, and softly squeezed.

Cold air blasted around them, more noise shattering the area as hail stones thundered down. Giving the gently probing trunk another pat, Ally decided to make a run for it and in the next snap of extreme illumination she spotted the way she'd come. Pushing off from the protection of the large bodies allowed the hail to assault on all sides, pinging off her scalp. The grape sized hailstones were fairly small all considered, so she didn't think it too risky. Until she hit a patch.

Skidding across the ground, arms whirling backward to try and slow her trajectory, Ally felt her extended right leg tip over the edge of the hole.