"She's alive! Oh god! She's alive!" Lance knelt, gathering Winter into his arms. He stood, his face twisting, eyes filled with rage as he scanned the trees. "Where the hell is that bastard!"

In his arms, Winter's eyelids fluttered. She reached for her head, a low moan escaping her lips.

Terrence threw a panicked look over his shoulder at them, breathing a sigh of relief at Winter's state. His eyes darted back to the woods, then to the flock of sparrows that retreated like a raging storm cloud across the sky. 

"What the hell is going on here?" he whispered, shock plastered on his face.

As if in response to his question, the twitters of the sparrow flock faded to an eerie silence. It seemed like a blanket had dropped over the woods, muffling all of the sounds inside. I sucked in a shaky breath. My eyes darted from shadow to shadow over the dark trees, searching for Sheldon's figure—I could feel his presence nearby.

What the hell were you doing!? 

I nearly jumped out of my skin as Sparky's thoughts cut into mine. 

He cocked his head, sizing me up from his position on Lance's shoulder. You were supposed to protect them! His eyes bore into mine, clearly questioning my loyalty once again.

I was trying to frame my thoughts to defend myself, when the sky cracked open and rain poured down on us in sheets. The rain completely incapacitating him, Terrence was forced to lower his gun. He scooped Winnie off the ground, her legs dangling in his arms. 

Rising, he bellowed at Lance,"Let's get them back to the house."

With one last wary look at the forest behind him, Terrence tore himself away, frustration written all over his face as he turned back. The rain seemed to take on a life of its own, enveloping us as we made our way towards the refuge. It pelted on my fur, drenching me within a matter of seconds. I plotted behind Lance and Terrence, blinking my eyes to see, my thick fur plastered to my body, tail between my legs—feeling watched from behind.

The sky darkened and the wind picked up, whipping the rain sideways against our faces. In front of me, Sparky dug his talons into Lance's shirt, pressing himself low against his shoulder, raindrops sliding off his back. The sound of the rain soon deafened me. The wind flung the tree-tops around. Branches creaked and snapped above us. It was as if the entire world had churned itself into an uproar.

When we stepped out of the forest, the sky turned pitch black. I stopped for a moment, feeling as if an invisible being had descended on us. I felt it coming closer, its anger forcing everything around it into turmoil. Lightning flashed, close enough to blind me for a few seconds. When I could see again, Lance and Terrence were several yards ahead of me, their bodies tilted forward in the wind, wet hair flipped back on their heads. Winter's face was buried in Lance's chest.

Caught off guard by a sudden gust of wind, Sparky tumbled off of Lance's shoulder and spiraled in a mess of wet feathers down towards me. Miraculously, the small bird managed to plant himself in my soggy fur.

"Get her into the truck and take her to the hospital. He drugged her with something!" Terrence's voice was faint, instantly carried off by the wind.

In the distance, the sound of a siren cranked up and grew louder as it spun around in our direction.

"Shit!" yelled Lance, his voice barely rising over the roaring of the wind. "That's a tornado siren!"

Winter's father came flying out of the back door. It ricocheted off the side of the house violently and slammed shut behind him. "Get into the basement!" he bellowed, holding his hat on his head. "It's coming off to the west!"

Another flash of light revealed the massive twister on the horizon to the west of us, heading straight for us. We scrambled through the door. A couple of officers left on watch raced over and squeezed their way inside with faces white as sheets. I was the last to edge in following close on Terrence's heels. Sparky's talons dug painfully into my skin as I passed through the doorway seconds before the door crashed behind us, then ricocheted open again.

Mr. Rose and  the two officers wrestled the door shut. The house lights spurted and went dark, leaving us to grope our way down the cellar stairs.

Within minutes, it sounded like a train was coming down the tracks at full speed above us. The sound was terrifyingly familiar to me, and I struggled to keep the images of my death from clouding my senses. Beside me, Mr. Rose flipped on a flashlight and the faces of the humans lit partially in the damp room—eyes wide, each holding their breath as the storm raged on top of them.

He's had enough. Sparky shivered violently on my back. He attempted to squeeze the water off of his feathers with his beak.  I warned Winnie it would come to this. We've broken spirit law, taken forms on earth—changed the past. It was only a matter of time before he put an end to this.

What do you mean—put an end to this? I tensed, immediately wishing I hadn't asked.

Our thoughts triggered the supernatural presence in the storm I'd felt when I'd stepped out of the woods. Like a fluid being, it pushed its way around us. Impatient. Angry. Punishing.

The floor beams above us rattled violently and a cloud of dust gathered in the flashlight's beam. No one said a word, the deafening noise was to loud to attempt it. Something big crashed around outside. My heart speed up as I thought of the other animals—my mother and brothers—defenseless in the barn. 

How do we stop it? I projected impatiently.

We don't stop it. I warned Winnie the punishment would be severe. She chose this path regardless—and I—I stupidly followed. 

In the flashlight's glow I saw the sparrow hang his head. It's maddening, he said, his projection crystal clear over the thundering above us. In life, our paths never crossed. But, in death our spirits connected, drawn together with a magnetic force. I've always wished I could have been there, in her life—to save her. And now, here I am. The little bird motioned a wing towards where Winter laid. And I still can't save her.

I glanced over at her. She was sitting on the ground, cradling Winnie on her lap. I was pleased to see Winnie had started to come around, her eyes sleepy. The two of them shook simultaneously. Mr. Rose's arms were around Winter's shoulders, helplessly trying to steady her. Lance stood, watching the glass block windows, his expression grim as the storm seemed to grow in intensity outside.

Closest to the stairs, his eyes blazing with anger, Terrence fidgeted impatiently, waiting for the storm to subdue. He turned his gun in his hands. I imagined he was counting the minutes until he could resume the hunt for Sheldon.

He was supposed to die yesterday, Sparky projected, his eyes trailing mine. He stopped to help an old lady with a flat tire on the side of the highway. Never saw the truck coming. That was his fate.

He paused as a crash of thunder shook the ground beneath us. But, he was here instead. As I said, we've changed the past, and so, we've changed the future—even the fate of our spirits.

I tensed, looking from the little bird to the detective at the stairs. Realization flowed through me. I huffed loudly. My head spinning, I peered at the bird. His dark eyes gleamed in the flashlight beam. You're him? I shook my head to clear it. He's you?

He nodded curtly, as if that earth shaking revelation shouldn't matter at all. My mouth dropped open.

The fate of a spirit must not be changed. Sparky continued, ignoring my baffled look. Those who were meant to die, will die. We must make sure that no one else is harmed in the process.

So what? The Creator is going to kill us? I suddenly felt a burst of hot anger pulsing through me. Did you know this all along? What the hell was the point then!? 

The Creator won't kill you, Sparky said. Remember, you were meant to die much later. I was meant to die yesterday. And Winter—. He paused. Winter was meant to die today. 

 I stood up, a defiant look in my eyes. I won't let him kill Winter or Winnie.  

The little bird sighed inwardly.You have a very inflated view of yourself, don't you? This is the Creator we're talking about. He says it—it's done. His eyes narrowed. Besides, you didn't look like you were helping them back in the forest.

I deflated a bit as he reminded me of how weak I really was. So what do we do now? I said.

The little bird traveled slowly to my shoulder, his head turning to the stairs. There's only one option left. We need to find Sheldon and kill him, before time runs out.

Hello Everybody! I apologize for the late update. A couple of weeks ago I lost my kindred spirit, Roxie. She was a dog that looked into your heart and intuitively knew how you were feeling. If I was watching a horror movie and got scared, Roxie was there pushing in beside me for a hug. When the kids cried, she came running to comfort them. She was a dedicated Nana, watching kids as they played and making sure they all stayed together. It's been hard for me to continue Winter Rose, especially since the border collies in the story were inspired by her. I've attached a picture of Roxie with my two girls. She'll be forever in my heart, and I hope to see her again one day (there's no way dogs don't go to heaven). Thanks for your dedication to my story, I truly appreciate it!