Southern Stars

by Melissa Good

  The ropes had cut into his skin and Dar had it into her to feel sorry for him. “We need to go get help,” she said. “We can’t move you.”

  He just stared at her. “Hurts too bad,” he finally said. “Couldn’t move anyhow.” He paused, and breathed for a minute, his mouth open and sucking in the air. “Help me.”

  The thunder rumbled overhead and it felt a little like it rumbled through her as well, the words sounding a gentle, far off chord in her ears she had no understanding of the source of. “We will,” she said. “Just hold on.”

  The thunder rumbled again, but more softly.

  Chapter Twelve

  “WHAT’S SHE DOING?” Amy asked.

  Kerry half shook her head. “Probably talking to him. Figuring out what to do.” She shaded her eyes from the rain and squinted, barely able to discern what Dar was doing in the faint reflection from the flashlight. “Wish she’d hurry up.”

  Amy folded her arms over her body as she too stared upward. “This is so screwed.”

  Kerry couldn’t find it in her to disagree. “Hope that rope’s tied down freaking tight.” She felt a sense of impatient anxiety and wished with all her heart they were somewhere else. Anywhere else. Even New York under the subway, else.

  Dar moved position and edged over to where Todd was slumped, her boots wedged on a small outcropping just around the level of his chest. She shifted her grip over to the ropes holding him up and then, with a glance to her right she took the rope she’d been climbing and tied it around her waist.

  “What is she doing?” Amy asked again.

  “No idea.” Kerry watched as Dar lowered herself into a crouch, hand wrapped around the ropes as she leaned out a little. “Really no time for us to be asking.” She folded her arms over her chest, feeling utterly helpless at the moment.

  “Okay.” Dar found a purchase for her left boot that was deep enough to feel stable. “So, I’m going to pick up your arm and get my knee under it. “

  “Fuck.”

  “Yeah it’s going to hurt,” she said. “But if I can get some leverage, and you can take it, we maybe can pop your shoulder back in place.”

  “Fuck.” Todd repeated.

  “Want me to just leave you?” Dar said. “Your choice.”

  His head was pressed against the rock and she could barely see his eyes in the darkness. But she knew he was looking at her. After a pause he nodded. “Don’t...I don’t care. It hurts so much, how much more could it?”

  Dar felt a moment of compassion. “Okay, hold on.” She drew a breath and then exhaled, shifting forward and grabbing the fabric of his jacket over his elbow, pulling it up toward her.

  His body arched and he let out a hoarse scream, then biting his lip and muffling it.

  Dar shifted her weight over and got her knee under the upper part of his arm, resisting the urge to throw up as she felt the unnatural motion. “Move toward me.”

  “Can’t,” he grunted out.

  “C’mon.” Dar put some pressure on his elbow. His arm was so muscular it resisted manipulation and the angle was wrong for it.

  He let out a muted scream and his boots scrabbled against the stone, pushing him against the motion she was causing trying to relieve the pain. Dar swung closer and grabbed him right under his upper shoulder and then she swung backwards and pulled.

  He went limp, his head thumping against the rock with a sodden crack as she felt the joint come back into place. She released her hold and moved her knee, letting his arm fall back down against his side, this time at least in a more normal position. “Hey.”

  No answer.

  “Ah crap.” Dar sighed. She straightened back up and stood there a moment, waiting to see if he came to again, but there was no response to her nudges. She examined the pressure of the ropes and could see scrapes and bruises in the light from her flash.

  What to do? Anything to do? Dar decided not. She backed away from him and untied the rope from around her body, then grabbed it and shifted her weight to it, pushing away a little from where he was hanging.

  She felt her body start to shiver a little as she made her way hand over hand down the side of the rock, bumping against the wet stone as she decided to just use the rope and felt her boots get purchase on it, wanting nothing more than to be once again on solid ground.

  Kerry used her flash to light the way down as she saw Dar’s form outlined against the faint light from the clouds overhead. She felt a sense of relief as Dar passed the halfway point and she moved forward to get next to the wall as the sound of the rope scraping against leather came to them. “Jesus.”

  She drew in a breath and then released it, and then inhaled sharply as she heard a sudden cracking sound. “Dar!”

  At the same time, Dar let out a startled wordless yell, and there was the sense of sudden motion over her head as rocks came tumbling down.

  Kerry lifted her hands in reflex to shield herself from them.

  She ducked and felt something come past her very fast.

  Then she heard boots hitting the ground and Dar was sprawled next to her, as a coil of rope came down on both of them with a slithery thump. “What the!” She grabbed Dar’s arm as she got to her feet and heard Dar’s grunt of surprise.

  Amy came running over. “What happened?”

  “Rope came loose,” Dar said. She looked back up at the wall. “Came out of the rock I guess.”

  Amy grabbed the rope and sorted it with experienced hands, coming to the end and looking at it. “Wow.” She held up the piton still tied on it. “Look at that.” She looked up as well. “Is Todd okay? Did you talk to him?”

  Dar grimaced as she looked at her hands in the light, scraped and raw. “He now has something in common with you, Ker. I put his shoulder back into its socket.”

  “Oh fuck,” Amy said.

  “And?” Kerry looked around. “Did that help?”

  “When he comes to, probably. He passed out.” Dar flexed her fingers. “Let’s go find everyone.” She started away from the wall and toward the path, with both of them hurrying after her. “We need to move.”

  “You okay?” Kerry asked her, as she caught up. “How far did you fall?”

  Dar remained silent as they walked for a long moment. “Not that far I guess,” she finally said, as they came down from the rise and got back onto the path. “I was pushing off against the wall and it just came loose.” She flexed her hands. “I just...” She frowned.

  “Just?” Kerry put her hand through Dar’s elbow and squeezed her arm.

  “Felt like I was tumbling for a minute, but then it was okay,” Dar said, with a shrug. “I guess it was wasn’t as far as I thought it was.”

  Kerry eyed her. “Glad you came down on your feet. No matter how high it was.”

  “Mm.”

  They made their way back to the shelter and ducked inside, where the fire was still crackling in a low, comforting way and Amy knelt next to it and held her hands out. “Oh my God that feels so amazing. You have food here?”

  “Venison kabobs.” Kerry handed her one. “Something killed a deer before.”

  Dar knelt next to their bags, studying them. “Does it pay to take this, or just go with what we have?” She asked. “Does it pay to change into dry pants? I don’t think so.”

  “Probably not.” Kerry knelt next to her. “I’m going to put on another shirt under this jacket though. At least I can keep a little warmer”

  “Good idea.” Dar put her jacket down and pulled off her shirt, setting it aside as she paused to regard what she had in the pack she’d been carrying.

  Kerry suppressed a smile, as the light from the fire splayed crimson against Dar’s sun darkened skin, the underlying strength of her body very evident as she moved.

  Dar sorted through the cloth and pulled a dry long-sleeve shirt from her bag. “What a waste of time.” She sighed. “A set of radios would have been a good idea.” She put the shirt on and tugged the sleeves down.

  “No power.” Amy was
chewing the venison, crouched next to the fire. “They’d have to keep them charged. The whole point of the eco stuff is to not need that.”

  Dar considered that as she donned a second shirt, feeling much better despite the stress from the climb and her scraped hands. “Screw it,” she said. “When we get back to Miami I’ll design some system of power and make a million bucks selling it to campers.”

  “I like that idea.” Kerry got her jacket on and fastened. “Solar?”

  Dar tucked her pack and Kerry’s in a niche at the back of the wall. “On this trip that would be pointless.” She zipped her jacket up. “Make it kinetic. Use all the hiking and crap to charge it. Let’s go.” She pulled her hood up. “He’s pretty cold up there.”

  Amy scrambled to her feet and followed them out into the rain, and they started back up the trail.

  FOR ONCE, ON the trip, they got lucky. They were no more than halfway across the valley toward the waterfall when they saw flashlights ahead and then heard Dave’s voice call out.

  “Hell yeah.” Kerry breathed a sigh of relief. “Dave! Rich!”

  “Hey!” Rich came trotting toward them. “Hey! We found you!”

  Tracey was right behind him and they met on the path. “Is that rock shelter still there? We’re freezing.”

  Janet limped up, then trailing them the rest. “Glad we caught up.” She gave Rich an ambiguous look. “Oh...and you caught up to the other two?”

  ”˜Sort of.” Kerry said “Yes, the shelter’s still there. We just left it to come find you.”

  “You found us,” Rich said. “We’ve got the tarps, so we can get out of the weather.” He rubbed his upper arms, as they all gathered around. “Hi there.” He nodded at Amy. “Let’s hurry up.”

  “There’s a problem,” Dar said, bringing everyone to a halt abruptly. “Her SO tried to climb the wall and got stuck.”

  For a long moment there was just a bunch of people silently staring at each other. Then Tracey snorted. “Screw him,” she said. “Hope he croaks up there, the asshole.”

  She pushed past Dar and headed toward the shelter, with Pete limping after her.

  Don and Marcia sidled silently after them, with a glance at Amy.

  “Sorry.” Rich shrugged, not even slightly uncomfortable as he also pushed past Amy. “Got what’s coming to him.”

  Amy stood there and watched them pass. Dar and Kerry stayed with her, until all of them had gone ahead and they had few choices but to follow. “Huh.” Dar shook her head.

  Kerry sighed.

  “Screw them.” Amy turned and walked quickly away, angling to the side of the line the others were taking, on an angle that would bring her past the shelter back toward the wall Todd was hanging from.

  Kerry put her hands on her hips. “We go with them or with her?”

  Dar rocked up and down a few times, her arms folded over her chest. “That’s like asking me if I want lettuce or tofu.”

  Kerry half shrugged. “I don’t think we can do anything for her or for him until it’s light out,” she admitted. “Maybe we can talk these guys into helping.”

  “Maybe we can,” Dar said. “At least we can try.”

  “So let’s go with them,” Kerry said, and they walked down the path that would take them to shelter. “That’s where our stuff is anyway.”

  Dar followed her in silence, going over and over their options and ending up right where Kerry had, no matter how she tried to make them work out differently. So she left off trying and turned on her flashlight, playing it over the ground in front of where Kerry was walking.

  Her shoulders ached from the climbing. Her hands hurt even more from the rope. She still felt the jarring shock of falling in those milliseconds of, holy crap, before she hit the ground.

  Now that she had a few minutes to think, she did think about falling.

  She remembered that moment of panic when she felt the rope give way and she’d gone head over heels downward. Then somehow in midair she’d found herself twisting round like a gymnast to get her legs under her and her knees unlocked before impact.

  In the dark. In the rain. Like a cat. It had gone from being terrifying to ordinary in a breath, and she really had no idea why.

  No idea. Ahead of her she heard the group talking, and the pace picking up as they approached the shelter. Voices rising in relief as they found the shelter in the glow of their flashlights. But for some damn reason her mind was focused on that kid she’d left up on the wall.

  She had zero obligation. She’d done all she could. Had risked her life in the bargain. It could have been a completely different story, and then what? What if she landed and been crippled? Broken her back or her legs?

  Or her neck?

  “Dar?”

  Zero obligation to him. “Yeah?” But what obligation did she have to her own conscience?

  What obligation did she have to Kerry? Was any risk worth the heartbreak getting herself hurt would cause Kerry? Or if she’d died? Dar’s face tensed into a grimace. For that jackass?

  Ugh.

  Kerry paused, just at the edge of the rocks. Dar came up behind her and put her hand on her shoulder, and nudged her gently. “Let’s go inside,” she said. “At least to get our gear.”

  They went around a boulder and into the calm of the overhang, where the rest of the group was already spreading out with looks of relief. They were all wet, many were limping, and the expressions of exhaustion were not in the least feigned.

  “You got a fire here?” Rich was kneeling down, his hand extended. “Holy shit that feels amazing!”

  “Yeah, Dar got it started with her knife and a rock.” Kerry came over and pulled her pack over to her, opening it and pulling out the plastic bag she’d put the remaining venison in. “Here.”

  Voices lifted in surprised delight. “Holy crap!” Rich sat down, putting a shaking hand up to his head. “I’m about to fall down I’m so hungry.”

  “It’s not much, but...” Kerry handed the bag to Marcia, who had come over to sit next to her. “Something killed a deer a little ways away.”

  Marcia divided the contents and everyone just sat down where they were, wet or not, dressed or not, and started chewing on the tough, greasy meat without restraint, even the vegans.

  Kerry got up and went over to sit next to Dar, who was leaning back against the rock wall, eyes slightly unfocused. “You know what?” She asked, after a few moments of just watching the rest of them.

  “I’m about to know something.” Dar smiled briefly, reaching over and putting her hand on Kerry’s knee, the edge of her thumb rubbing gently against the wet fabric “And knowing you it’ll be worth the knowing.”

  Kerry paused and regarded her in silence. “I love you.”

  Dar’s pale eyes twinkled a little, now visible as the fire had been stoked. “I do know that,” she said, clearing her throat a little. “That what you wanted to say?”

  Kerry cocked her head to one side slightly. “No. What I was going to say was that we know what the true value of loving each other is.”

  And as she said it, and as they stared into each other’s eyes, she felt a deep resonance she’d only felt a few times before. A sense of a history between them she knew logically did not exist. She knew she’d only met Dar a few years back.

  They hadn’t known each other before. Their backgrounds were completely diverse.

  But when Dar lifted her hand up and she fit her own into it, and their fingers clasped, it was like they were sharing a private joke of the subconscious that echoed down a far longer stretch of time than that. It was a strange synergy that was there for a moment, and then gone as the situation they were in reasserted itself.

  “So what did that moron do?” Rich asked, looking up at them. “Sorry to be an asshole but there was no way I was going to go haul him out of a ditch.”

  Kerry half turned to face him. “Well, he was trying to climb the wall to see where they were, and if they could signal someone. He slipped and pulled his ar
m out of its socket, and he’s hanging probably three stories off the ground.”

  She had everyone’s attention abruptly, focused and tense.

  Janet stopped chewing. “Shit. How long has he been up there?”

  “Couple hours,” Kerry said. “So Dar climbed up to try and help him.” She rested her hands on her knees. “There was a rope hanging down so she went up it and got his shoulder re-set. That’s crazy painful, by the way. Anyway, on the way down the rope came loose, but low enough so that Dar could land on her feet.”

  “Whoa,” Rich said, sounding impressed.

  “But we knew there wasn’t much else we could do but come find you all for help. I felt bad leaving him there. Dar said he’d passed out from it. But what else could we do?” She made her tone gently inquiring. “People are still people, you know?”

  The apprehensive discomfort from the group was almost a tangible thing. Kerry worked to keep any judgement from her expression and her words. “So, Dar and I are going to go back there with them, even if they’ve been really jerky.” She paused. “I know how I would feel if it were me, with someone I cared for stuck up there.”

  Dar waited until she was sure Kerry was finished with her sweetly Midwestern kicks in the groin. “He’s probably going to die. It’s too cold,” she said, briefly. “We’ll take some of those tarps.”

  Kerry got up and shouldered her pack, handing Dar’s over. Then she pulled her hood up and went to the edge of the shelter, not turning her head for an instant as she moved back out into the rain with an inner sense of rightness impossible to ignore.

  Useful or not, smart or dumb, maybe pointless. Did it matter? “We should have grabbed that damned sat phone,” she remarked, as their boots crunched against the gravel.

  Dar smiled into the darkness. “I did. They were all too busy grabbing meat to notice”

  “Ahh, my hero.”

  “Soggy froggy hero.”

  IT WAS A little difficult to find their way back. Dar finished a backtrack that ended nowhere and found Kerry where she’d left her, in a crossroads standing with her arms crossed and back to the wind. “Nope.” She closed her flashlight to save the battery. “Dead end.”