Reclaiming by Gabrielle Demonico

father said. “Even after your drive, you are looking at a one hour hike upcountry.”
    An hour long hike? Upcountry?
    None of that sounded fun to Daniella. In fact, it sounded awful. She liked to hike about as much as she liked to do spinning classes and half marathons, which was not at all and never.
    “Alright,” Jett began. “How will he know we are coming?”
    “Leave that to me,” his father replied. “Now, it’s best if you both get to bed. Tomorrow will be a long day.”
    As they stood from the table and said goodnight, Jo hugged Daniella. “It’s a shame we don’t have more time to get to know each other a little better. I wish things weren’t so crazy.”
    Daniella nodded in agreement. “I know, I feel the same way.”
    “When this is all over, we’ll have to sit down and talk about Jett.” She replied. “I’ve got a lot of stories to tell you about that man.”
    Jett chuckled. “Daniella, don’t pay attention to her. She’ll fill your mind with all sorts of half truths about me if you let her.”
    “Uh huh,” Daniella replied. “Why do I feel like she’s the only one who will tell me what I need to know about you?”
    “Women’s intuition…” Jo replied.
    “Alright, alright,” David interjected. “That’s enough for tonight. Let’s save this for another time.”
    ***
    The next day they got the early start they’d hoped for and after Jett’s parents saw them off, they trekked back through the woods to Daniella’s car. They hopped in and after a drive of a half hour or so, they arrived at the spot on the map where they’d hike in to reach the cabin.
    “Are you sure this guy knows we are coming?” Daniella said as she turned off the engine.
    “Well, he’s supposed to,” Jett replied. “My father told me he spoke to him last night but I guess there’s only one way to find out for sure.”
    With that, they got out of the car and began the dreaded hike. Under normal circumstances Daniella would have pitched a fit about such a thing but she decided to keep her complaints to a minimum. They walked for about fifteen or twenty minutes. Every so often, Jett would send them down a new trail as he checked their position on the crude map.
    “Jett,” Daniella began as they made their way up a switchback. “Why didn’t you say anything to your parents about your um, condition ?”
    “Is that what we’re calling it now?” He asked.
    “I guess,” she said. “Unless you have a better term for it.”
    He chuckled. “I’m kidding,” he replied. “I couldn’t say. It’s not something you can just bring up under the circumstances. You know?”
    “Yes, I suppose.”
    “And besides, I’m not their biological child,” he continued. “I figure that once this is all over and I have time to learn about who I am and where I come from that I’ll find an answer to it. Believe me, no one wants to know more about what the hell happened to me than I do.”
    For the next half hour, they continued to gain elevation as they followed the trail on the map. At last they emerged from tree cover and into a clearing and a few hundred yards away stood a cabin.
    “There,” Jett said as he pointed in the direction of the rustic structure. “That has to be it. Come on.”
    They started to walk towards it and as they did, Daniella looked to her left. The hike up was steep and she estimated they ’d climbed a couple thousand feet at least but the journey was worth it. From here, she could see the entire valley floor and forty miles into the distance with ease.
    “Wow,” she said as they walked, “it’s pretty up here.”
    “Yeah, sure is.” Jett replied.
    As they neared the cabin, two dogs approached. Medium-sized mutts. They sniffed around at both of their two legged visitors. Daniella and Jett knelt down to pet them and as they did, one of them licked her face. She giggled.
    “I see you met my early warning system.” A voice said from a distance.
    The pair stopped and stood. Headed