Southern Stars

by Melissa Good

  Amy looked relieved. “If we get back to that raft, we can do it.”

  “And I can catch us more fish.” Dar’s lips twitched a bit.

  “Though right now I’d rather catch a cheeseburger.”

  Amy smiled. “Me too. And a big plate of French fries.” She turned and went over to where Todd was still shaking the tent out. She grabbed hold of one side, leaned close, and whispered to him.

  Dar went back to their little shelter and sat down. “You hear?”

  “Uh huh.” Kerry leaned against the rock with her hands folded over her stomach. “That’s a crappy thing to do, hon.”

  “You rather stay here?”

  “No,” Kerry admitted. “It’s a crappy thing, but staying here is crappier. We can send help back.”

  “We can,” Dar said. “But who knows? We could be flying off into space by the morning with all the insanity that’s been going on around here. Or be attacked by a sheep.”

  “Not if it knows what’s good for it,” Kerry replied. “Stop making me think of lamb chops” She took out the last protein bar and split it in half, handing Dar a portion. “Actually, at this point, I’d take some of those crackers.”

  Thus prompted, Dar pulled her bag over and started rooting in it, as though by wishing she’d find some inside. She upended the bag and dumped the content out, a pair of sunglasses, an empty water bottle, her book, a t-shirt, and, last of all, a packet of crackers.

  With a satisfied grunt, she handed it over to Kerry. “There ya go.”

  Kerry stared at it. “I thought you didn’t have any more?”

  Dar shrugged. “Maybe it was wrapped in the shirt, or maybe it’s just because you wanted it.” She smiled at Kerry, and winked.

  “Should we save it?” Kerry asked. “Just have our bar, and save this for the morning?” She studied the package. “At least it’s something.” She handed it back. “Especially if we’re going to start hiking.”

  “Okay.” Dar put the packet back in her bag. “Better than roasting and eating those ants. Or eating them raw.” She closed the bag and put it away, then turned to see Kerry staring at her. “What?”

  “Have you actually done that?” Kerry winced, seeing Dar nod.

  “Dar, no!”

  “They taste kinda lemony,” Dar said, after a pause. “It’s better than starving.” She crossed her ankles. “Lot more stuff to eat in Florida than here, though.” She nibbled on the edge of her protein bar. “Best thing we had was—

  Kerry covered her eyes. “Please don’t say palmetto bugs.”

  “Rabbit,” Dar admitted. “But squirrel isn’t bad either if you put enough hot sauce on it.” She studied Kerry’s horrified stare. “Give it a rest, Yankee. You were just asking for lamb chops.”

  Kerry drew breath, then made a hmphing noise. “Bunnies are cuter than sheep,” she muttered, then fell silent for a moment. Then she turned and regarded Dar.

  “Yes, its crappy to leave everyone,” Dar responded promptly. “I just don’t know if there are any good choices at this point.”

  “You can read my mind.”

  ”˜Yes.”

  Kerry studied her profile, as Dar tilted her head a little to return her gaze. “Or I’m that predictable,” she finally said with a slight grin.

  Dar’s eyes warmed and gentled. “You wear your convictions on the outside.”

  One of Kerry’s blond brows quirked. “Says the shining old soul.”

  Dar stuck her tongue out.

  THE CLOUDS WERE back the next morning, and they all gathered together around the table rock, regarding the sky overhead and each other. The wind was shifting and fitful, blowing their hair in varying directions as they felt the renewed moisture in it.

  It meant nothing good.

  There was nothing but hot water to drink, and they did, burning the last of the grass and standing in silence until it just got too uncomfortable to bear.

  Dar finally bent to the pressure. “Okay. We can’t stay here. We can’t climb over this thing, we can’t go anywhere but back the way we came. That’s it.”

  “It’s true,” Janet said. “But if it starts raining again it’s going to flood out. “She looked around. “At least this is high ground.”

  “High ground to starve to death in?” Todd asked. “You’re an idiot.”

  “No, there’s still Doug,” Janet said. “If he got down the river, there will be people looking for us. We just have to hang in here. We’ve got people hurt, and it could be dangerous if we get caught in another flood.”

  “But what if he didn’t?” Dar asked, in a mild tone. “How long do you wait?”

  “Well...” Janet hesitated, but looking around at the crew showed nothing but noncommittal faces.

  “You can’t hike out, because you’re too weak?” Amy said. “We have to move out.” She indicated herself, then Todd. “We’re going to go.” She looked at Dar, and Kerry. “You coming?”

  Kerry nodded. “We have to move,” she said. “There is literally nothing here for us.” She looked around their surroundings. “At least on the other side of the valley, there was brush and a chance of finding something to eat.”

  Don nodded as well. “That’s true. We can’t stay here.”

  “Yeah,” Rich said, reluctantly. “Wish you’d kept that damn rabbit,” he muttered, giving Dar a slit eyed look.

  Dar was actually wishing the same thing, but remained silent regarding that and changed the subject back. “So we should pack up and move out before it starts raining,” she said. “Sooner we start, sooner we can get somewhere useful.”

  Reluctantly, Janet nodded in agreement. “Let’s see how far we can get.” She motioned to the crew to start breaking down the tents. They all separated and moved around in grumpy silence to gather their things up.

  Dar unhooked the tarp they’d used and folded it up, tucking the bungee cords away as Kerry rolled up the sleeping bag, much the worse for wear. But at least they’d gotten some rest. From the bleary eyes of the other passengers, it seemed most hadn’t.

  And they’d had their crackers. Kerry tried to feel guilty about not sharing them, but failed miserably. “Know something?”

  Dar eyed her. “You’re never going to tease me about snacks in my pockets again?”

  Kerry just smiled. “Anything to keep me from eating ants.”

  Nearby, Rich and Dave rolled up the tent the rest of the men had shared. On the other side of them Sally and PJ were doing the same with theirs. Pete was limping gingerly around, and Janet was shaking out the cooler they’d stored the dried grass in.

  Rich stood up with the rolled up rain shade in his hands. “Hey, something’s in here.”

  “More ants?” Todd asked sarcastically. “Or maybe some scorpions?”

  “No.” He unrolled the canvas, and as he did something fell out, rectangular and black. It clattered onto the stones at his feet. “What the hell?” He stared at it. “What is that?”

  “I was sleeping on it I think,” Dave said, rubbing his back. “I thought it was a rock.”

  Janet pounced on it. “It’s the sat phone!” She felt in her pocket for the battery as the rest of them gathered around in excitement.

  Todd said what they all were probably thinking. “Are you fucking kidding me? You had this the whole time?”

  Kerry clapped her hand to her forehead mutely, as Dar turned and stared off into the distance for a brief moment. Then she turned back around and put her hands on her hips, her body language expressing a singular level of silent frustration.

  “OMFG,” Sally said, after a shocked pause.

  “How could you have missed that?” Marcia added.

  “No one knew. Trust me.” Janet fit the battery to the phone and closed the module in, then turned on the device, waiting for the screen to come on. “Not much batt left but we don’t need much.” She stared at the readout impatiently. “C’mon.”

  After about twenty seconds of charged silence, she turned in a circle. “We’re bl
ocked. Can’t see the sat because of the walls.”

  “Turn it off,” Dar ordered. “Let’s move down the trail until we get back to that open area and try again.” She looked at Todd. “Or we find a wall hard enough for you to climb.”

  After a pause, he nodded. “Rock on.” He went back to shoving his and Amy’s gear away. “Let’s move.”

  Janet turned off the phone and started to put it in her pocket, but Rich came over and took it out of her hand. “I’ll take that. Don’t want you to lose it again.” He put it in his cargo pocket and buttoned it. “Sorry. Gotta agree that was bush league.”

  Janet shrugged, and turned away. The rest of the group continued packing and getting ready to move.

  THEY WERE TWO hours down the trail when it started raining. Dar got her hood up and tightened around her head as she felt the impact of the drops. Behind her, the party was clustered into a group, but Todd and Amy were ahead of them, stumping stolidly along using their hiking sticks in short, digging motions.

  Kerry unfolded their sticks and handed Dar hers, pausing to pull her own hood up and trying not to think about bacon and eggs.

  She didn’t even usually like bacon and eggs. But right now, she was imagining them both in their kitchen, with second cups of coffee and plates of breakfast. She felt herself getting angry, at the situation and the people around. And more than anything she wanted it all to end.

  End, end, end. She slid a little in the gravel and flexed her hand around her stick, as the rain increased. Perversely it was driving against them rather than coming from behind.

  Of course.

  Behind her she heard Rich and Sally sniping at Janet. Tracey had her arm around Pete, supporting him as he limped along with his hand curled around a branch. From where she was Kerry could see he was sweating.

  Don quickened his pace, and caught up to her. “That back of his is getting worse,” he said. “Hope we find that open spot soon.”

  “Me too,” Kerry said, briefly. “I’m trying to remember how far it was from this bottom part back to that camp we made the other night.”

  “Downhill, after this bit here,” Don said. “Should be faster.” He wiped the rain out of his face. “That arch wasn’t much of a shelter, though. We should go past it.”

  “True.” Kerry shaded her eyes with one hand, blinking the rain from them. “Maybe we’ll find a better spot.” She slid a little again as the gravel got wet and a moment later felt Dar’s grip on her arm. ”˜Thanks, hon.”

  They walked quickly across the bottom of the valley and then up the slope, between the striated walls that had lost their picturesque beauty and become stubborn impediments to their escape.

  “Ugh.” Don exhaled in frustration.

  Ugh. Kerry echoed silently in agreement. Her cargo pants were already wet and she felt the water coming through her hiking boots. She decided to do as Dar had done and switch to her sandals at their first break.

  She wished that she’d already done that, though the boots provided better protection against the rocks, and any snakes. She glanced around, acknowledging any snakes in the area were comfortably tucked somewhere, laughing at them, smart enough to avoid both the rain and klutzy tourists.

  Ugh.

  Dar took a sip of water, then tucked the bottle back in her pack and took a grip on Kerry’s belt, as they leaned forward to start the climb up into the headwind blowing against them. Despite the lack of snacks, she felt relatively energized and was more than willing to lend that out as long as it lasted.

  It was completely different, this hiking, than their usual physical activity, and in a perverse kind of way a little bit of her enjoyed it.

  It was a challenge, and she didn’t often get physical ones as their day-to-day lives usually required her to provide a mental response instead. It was a somewhat new experience for her to rely on her body in this kind of way, and despite the rain and discomfort, she was extracting some satisfaction from it.

  A little like way back in the day, when the need to not only keep up with, but exceed the guys. Dar smiled a little in self-deprecation as she considered what those old friends would have said seeing her face off against a mountain lion.

  A mountain lion. Dar was human enough to admit slight disappointment that Kerry hadn’t gotten a picture of that, though she strongly suspected it would have ended up framed in their office if she had.

  Probably right over Dar’s desk, in fact. Where it could be put to appropriate purpose during contract negotiations. Dar laughed silently at herself.

  Kerry felt it, through the contact with her arm. “What’s so funny?”

  “Tell ya later.”

  A yell, behind them. Dar turned and put her back to the rain. “Damn.” She released Kerry and they both started back to where a cluster of people were now stopped around someone on the ground. “Now what?”

  They arrived to find Rich kneeling next to Dave, who’d slipped and ended up landing on his hand. “Dude, that’s nasty,” Rich told his friend. “It bent all the way back, I saw it.”

  Of course it was. Dar dropped to one knee and held her hand out to him. “Let me see it.”

  Without hesitating, Dave complied. She gently cradled his injured hand in hers. She could see the bruising starting already, a deep, blue-black stain spreading across just above the wrist. “He’s right, that’s nasty.”

  Kerry knelt next to her. “What can we do?”

  Janet sat down on a nearby rock. “Not much.” She produced the battered aid kit. “Nothing in here for that.”

  The rain came down harder. Dar studied Dave’s hand for a minute. “Anyone got some sticks? A shirt we can cut up?” A certain engineering mindset took over as Dar made a picture in her head of what she thought might work for this injury. Then she eased her knee forward and rested his arm on it.

  Rich came plopping down, a little out of breath. “I passed this back there.” He displayed two branches, spindly and bare, about a finger width in size.

  Dar took out her knife and put it down on her knee as the rest of the gang gathered around them, some standing with their backs to the rain blocking it somewhat. She broke the branches midway along their length and then picked up her blade and used it to trim off the edges.

  “Okay, let’s see if we can at least make it so it doesn’t move.”

  Rich nodded. “That’s the ticket.”

  Janet looked past them. “Hey, someone run after those other two and tell them to hold up,” she said, motioning to the crew standing around.

  “Screw them,” Tracey said, bluntly. “They’ll figure it out.”

  “Or they won’t,” Don said. “But I agree with the lady. Let ”˜em go.” He edged over a little to watch what Dar was doing. “They wanted to go off on their own anyhow.”

  “And I’ve got the phone,” Rich said. He ripped a shirt into strips of cloth that were twisting and wet in the rain as he handed them to Kerry to hold for Dar.

  “But he can climb the wall,” Janet said.

  “I can climb it,” Rich said. “I’ve done half dome too.” Everyone looked at him. “I just keep my mouth shut a lot more than he does.”

  “Got a plan B then. Good,” Don nodded.

  Dar lay the sticks along Dave’s hand, holding them in place as Kerry carefully wrapped a strip of cloth around them putting the binding just exactly where she would have in some odd synchronicity between them.

  A momentary flash of almost memory flickered through the back of her mind, of kneeling in just this way, using the roughest of tools. In that memory too, there was rain, and the close presence and steady unremarkable assistance at her side.

  Then it was gone and she was cautiously tying the cloth in a knot. “How’s that?”

  Dave looked forlornly at his hand. “I can’t move it.”

  “That’s the point,” Don said. “C’mon, give me a hand getting him up on his feet.” He waited for Rich to scramble up and they got Dave under the arms and lifted. “Good job there, lady.” He gave
Dar a brief grin, as Tracey hiked Dave’s pack back up on his back.

  “Dar has pretty much unlimited skills,” Kerry said, as they turned and started their march back up the path. “She’s a human Swiss Army knife.”

  Dar gave her a droll look.

  Kerry shrugged, and patted her on the back. “Well you are.”

  THE ARCH, WHEN they got back to it, seemed somehow less of a shelter than it had the previous day, with the rain now coming down in earnest.

  There was still some daylight left, and they stood under the arch regarding the way forward. There was no sign of either Todd or Amy, and no one said anything about that either.

  Kerry folded her arms and leaned one shoulder against the rock wall. “After what happened to that other arch? Not sure I want to stay under this one anyway. If we’d been camped there last night, I’m pretty sure we’d all be toast.”

  “I’ve never seen that happen before,” Janet said. “It was a freak chance.”

  “Everything in this trip’s been a freak chance,” Rich shot back. “I’m with Kerry. I don’t want to take it.”

  They were tired, grumpy, and hungry, and at least some of them scared.

  “We should keep going,” Dar said, after a pause. “Let’s see how far we can get.” She opened her water bottle and stepped out into the rain, watching it fill from a torrent coming off the arch. “At least we have this.”

  “At least.” Dave tried to hold his bottle one handed, giving Tracey a look of gratitude as she came over to help. “I’d rather walk. If I sit down, this is going to hurt so much it’ll drive me crazy. Walking at least I can think of something else.”

  Kerry removed her pack and fished out a small case, opening it. “Want some Advil?” She offered him the tablets, which he eagerly accepted. “I’ve only got about a dozen, but you’re welcome to some.”

  “Thanks, Kerry.” Dave gulped them back with a swallow of his water. “They burned through what was in that little aid kit.” He clipped the water bottle back to his belt and took hold of his stick again, waiting for the rest of them to start moving.