And Then What?

by D. R. Graham

  “We’re going to die,” I choked out between heaves.

  “No we’re not,” Mason said, without much conviction. “We’re going to be okay.”

  Sophie stood with her hands on her hips trying to catch her breath. “Maybe we should dig a hole and hide under the mulch.”

  “They’re still too close. We don’t have time,” I whispered.

  The light of a flashlight scanned across the trees we were standing behind. We all froze. I held my breath. A man’s voice yelled something in Spanish. Sophie and I both looked at Mason for an interpretation.

  “Run!” he shouted.

  We took off again and zig-zagged through the trees. We scrambled up a rocky incline on an angle to make the climb less steep and I heard the distinct rumbling of running water. It was coming from the other side of a ridge—a huge ridge. Another bullet ricocheted right next to me and sent slate shrapnel flying all around us. Once we cleared the top of the ridge, I dug my heels into the dirt to climb down the slope. I literally had to skid to a stop when I realized I was about to fall over a cliff. The loose dirt slid under my feet and I landed on my butt. Sophie and Mason caught up to me and stared over the edge as I scrambled back to a standing position. We were at the top of a waterfall, which was over fifty feet high. I could only sort of see the river at the bottom in the slivers of moonlight. It was impossible to tell if it was deep enough to jump or if there were rocks under the surface.

  “We have to go back,” Mason urged us.

  We turned and saw four flashlights bouncing through the forest towards us. “Your dad will pay the ransom. Why don’t we just give up? He’ll pay them and then they’ll release us,” Sophie reasoned.

  “It doesn’t work that way here,” Mason muttered under his breath. “They’ll take the ransom and kill us anyway—or worse.”

  I grabbed Mason’s hand with the fingers on my braced hand and Sophie’s hand with my good hand, then turned around. “We can jump. I saw this in a vision. We’re going to be fine if we jump.” I pulled and felt resistance from both of them.

  “No way,” Sophie scoffed.

  “We have no choice.”

  “I can’t,” Sophie cried.

  Shots rang through the night air and bullets skimmed by dangerously close to my head. “Trust me. I saw it in a vision. It’s going to be okay—I think.” I pulled them again and we all ran three steps, then leapt over the edge.

  CHAPTER 16

  I had no idea if we were going to make it. My visions hadn’t really extended past the hitting-the-water part. The air tore past my ears as we fell. It was just like what I had seen in my vision. I was falling and falling. It seemed to take forever and my body instinctively flailed as it realized the height I had just flung it from. Every one of my muscles clenched at the thought of making impact with something completely unknown. I had way too much time to think about what was going to happen. My dying wish was to kiss Trevor one last time.

  My hand slipped from Mason’s and he hit the water first. Then I was driven under water and separated from Sophie. There was a delay in the agonizing pain that shot through my body from the impact of the water. It felt like something ripped through my tissues, then shattered my bones. The pressure of the water on my skull was intense. It was too dark to see Sophie or Mason. I couldn’t tell which way was up but I kicked hard and propelled myself in the direction that I hoped was the surface. My lungs moved inside my chest, expecting oxygen, and I had the unbearable urge to take a breath. I couldn’t remember if drowning was supposed to be a good or a bad way to die. It seemed like a bad way to me. I was about to give up and take a breath of water when arms wrapped around my chest and pulled. After I broke through the surface, I gasped repeatedly to fill my lungs over and over.

  Mason dove back down and resurfaced only seconds later with Sophie. “Are you okay?” he asked her.

  She nodded and gasped.

  He swam over to me and asked the same thing, “Are you okay?”

  “I think so. Are you?”

  “I’m fine. What else did you see in your vision?”

  “Nothing. It ended here.”

  He looked up at the top of the waterfall. I followed his gaze and saw the silhouettes of the four men. They shot down at us.

  “Dive!” I screamed.

  I dove under the surface and swam towards a pile of large rocks near the far bank of the river. The brace on my wrist made it hard to swim effectively, so Sophie and Mason made it to the shore before I did. We slinked out of the water and crept behind the rocks. I crouched down next to Sophie and listened for more gun shots. I was shaking so badly it felt like a seizure. I couldn’t make it stop. Mason peered over the rocks. “They’re on the move. We have to keep going,” he said and pulled us both to our feet.

  “I can’t.” I stumbled to the ground.

  Mason yanked one of my arms and Sophie pushed my butt to get me going. I tried to jog, but my legs were ridiculously weak. I stumbled again, then tried to walk—it was more of a drunken stagger. My brace felt slimy-wet against my skin, so I took it off and shoved it down the back waistband of my shorts. I fell and landed on my wrist that no longer had the brace on it. I expected it to do some damage, and I waited for the pain, but it never came. I felt nothing. I was strangely numb. The trees around me moved in a wave, as if the ground was a waterbed. My eyes tried desperately to focus, but every blink made my vision blur again. Something was wrong. I rested on my hands and knees, digging my fingers into the grainy dirt to try to make the ground stay still. It was difficult to tell if the men were behind us because all I could hear was a horrible gasping sound. It took a second for me to figure out that the sound was my own breathing. I blinked repeatedly and tried to snap my head out of the weird fog.

  “Mason!” Sophie yelled. She ran back and crouched next to me.

  I heard Mason’s footsteps run back to where we were. It sounded like he gasped. “What is that?”

  “She’s hurt,” Sophie said frantically.

  I tried to say I was fine, but only a muffled gurgling sound came out of my throat. Then I tasted blood.

  “Derian, you’re hurt.”

  “Her shirt is soaked in blood.”

  I struggled to look over my shoulder and got extremely dizzy. My shirt had changed a dark colour all the way down my back. I collapsed down onto my stomach and rested my cheek on the ground.

  Dad, I screwed up real bad. I think I got shot, I’m lost, and I can’t run anymore. It’s okay if I die because I’ll come to be with you, but please help Sophie and Mason. I love you and I’m sorry that I messed up so badly.

  My eyesight focused in and out. Mason took his shirt off and folded it up to pad my back wound. Sophie slid her belt off and they angled it across my shoulder and under my armpit to hold his shirt in place. His shirt was completely soaked in blood before they even finished tightening the belt. Mason pressed both his hands down on my back to try to stop the bleeding. His arms trembled as he held the pressure. The dirt scratched against my cheek and all I could hear was my own raspy breathing. Everything turned black and even the sound of my breathing went silent.

  When I opened my eyes, I watched Sophie take her shirt off. She layered it on top of Mason’s, then tightened the belt again. They fitted my brace back on my wrist. The forest floor spun like the Tilt-a-Whirl at the fair. I spread my arms out as if I were flying and tried to hold on as the ground rotated beneath me.

  When I became aware again, I was sitting up with Mason crouched beside me. “Where are we?”

  “Mexico.” Mason pulled my arm to slide me onto his back. He hooked his elbows under my knees to prop me up in a piggyback. He was breathing heavily and his chest expanded against me. “Hold on, Deri. Don’t you dare let go.”

  “Am I going to die?”

  “No.”

  “I think I’m going to die. Promise you won’t blame yourself,” I breathed out.

  “I will blame myself, so you better hold on.”

  “No. Blame
me.”

  My brain transitioned in and out of blackness. Each time I opened my eyes, Mason was still carrying me on his back. Sophie was leading us along the river. I couldn’t tell how much time had passed between blackouts. It felt like a long time. Eventually, I couldn’t tell anything.

  “Deri, try to stay awake,” Mason said and I felt his fingers pinch my leg.

  “But I’m sleepy.”

  “Try to stay awake so you can hold on. I can’t carry you if you let go.” My eyelids closed. I tried desperately to open them again, but they weighed a ton. They were jarred open when I hit the ground. “Sorry, Deri.” Mason must have slid me off his back to take a rest. He kneeled next to me and cradled my head onto his lap. Sophie cupped her hands and scooped water out of the stream, then tipped it into my mouth.

  “Where are we?” I mumbled. “I should get back to the Inn. Granddad is going to wonder where I went.”

  “We’ll be there soon.”

  “I’m tired. Can you carry me?”

  “Sure.”

  “Where’s Trevor?”

  “He’s going to be at the Inn when we get there.”

  “Okay. I’m thirsty.”

  Sophie scooped more water and tipped it for me to drink, then everything went dark again. The next thing I remembered was riding on Mason’s back, my chin propped on his shoulder and my teeth clanking against each other with each step he took. My eyes kept trying to stay closed, but I fought after each blink to pry them open. I could tell it was night and we were in a forest, but I couldn’t remember why.

  “Are you Mason?”

  “Yes.”

  “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  “I know.”

  “Am I hurt?”

  “You’re going to be okay.”

  “Bill.”

  “Yes.”

  “That’s what I’m supposed to call you, right?”

  “It’s okay now.”

  “Are you mad at me?”

  “No.”

  “You should be.” I tilted my head so my cheek rested on his shoulder and then closed my eyes.

  Dad, can you please help Mason and Sophie find a safe place to rest? I’ll probably see you soon. I love you.

  CHAPTER 17

  The sky brightened as dawn arrived. I vaguely remembered leaving the camp before bed time and travelling through the forest all night, but I didn’t understand why we would have done that. Mason slid me gently off his back. We were in some sort of small cave and I could hear the stream rushing outside. Mason stepped near the opening of the cave. Silhouetted with the filtered morning sunlight in the background, he looked like he used to in my dreams. My eyes got heavy and the next time I opened them, he was kneeling next to me. He tipped a huge, green, waxy leaf up towards my lips. The cool water rolled forward on the leaf and I forgot to tell my mouth to open, so it ran down my jaw. He tipped the leaf back for a second, then tried again. I was able to split my lips open just enough to let the water trickle in. My eyes closed and I saw my dad. He was standing in the snow. He seemed worried.

  “Is something wrong?” I asked Sophie before she tipped a leaf full of water towards my mouth.

  “Just drink.”

  “Okay.” My throat didn’t open and the water choked me. “Are we in Britannia Beach?”

  “Almost.”

  My hands shook so bad it seemed as if I had a tremor. When I looked back up at Sophie, everything went dark. “I can’t see you. Where did you go?”

  “I’m right here.” I felt her hand on mine.

  “Why can’t I see you?”

  “You’re just tired, Deri.”

  “Can you tell Trevor to come here?”

  “Yeah.”

  The wound burned with a radiating throb that expanded over more and more of my back with each passing minute. It felt like someone had heated up a fireplace poker until it was white hot, then drove it into my body and twisted it around. Mason sat with me propped up in his lap. His arms wrapped around me to keep me warm.

  “My dad is here. He’s with Cody. Do you want to meet him?”

  Mason kissed my forehead. “Not right now, Deri. Tell him I’ll meet him some other time. Not right now.”

  “Okay. What happened?”

  “Don’t worry about anything right now. Just concentrate on getting better.”

  “I’m shot.”

  “You’re going to be okay.”

  “But, they shot Orrett, right?”

  “He’s going to be okay, too.”

  “Did they shoot him because I called you Mason?”

  “No. They shot him because I am Mason.”

  “Are we in Mexico?”

  “Just rest, Deri.”

  “Okay.”

  Dad, what if I don’t get to be where you are? What if I can’t be with you because of the bad thing I did? I think people are dead because of what I did. It’s bad. Really bad. I might not be forgiven. Obviously, I don’t deserve to be with you. That’s my punishment. I’m sorry if that hurts you. Maybe it doesn’t. I must be a colossal disappointment to you.

  The damp floor of the cave dug into the bony parts of my shoulder blades and hips, but moving caused excruciating pain in my back, so I endured the discomfort. I wanted to whimper, but since I was starting to remember that it was entirely my fault, I wouldn’t let myself. I was glad I was the one who was going to die. I deserved to suffer and I was glad it was taking painfully long. I could feel a hand holding mine. It was rough and strong and it felt so familiar.

  “Trevor?” I smiled. “Please keep Mason and Sophie safe. Sorry I screwed up.”

  The hand moved and ran down the contour of my face. I fell asleep.

  When I opened my eyes, it was getting dark again outside the cave, so at least one day had gone by. I turned my head to see who was holding me. It was Mason. “Where did Trevor go?”

  “Uh, he’ll be back soon.” Mason rested his palm on my forehead as if he was checking my temperature. “He’s getting you some more water. He wants you to drink more water so you’ll get stronger.”

  “Okay.”

  I closed my eyes and dreamed about Trevor when he was old. He had children who were grown and their families were visiting for a summer barbecue in the back yard. One of his grandsons, who looked just like Trevor, asked Trevor to tell him his best rescue story. Trevor told him about the time he had to fly all the way to Mexico to try to save someone from men with guns. The grandkids all thought he was making it up.

  I woke up from the dream and felt the dampness of the cave soaking into my skin. Sophie and Mason talked near the opening. He was shirtless and she was just wearing a bra and shorts, so obviously their shirts were still acting as gauze for my bullet hole. I tried to shout out to them. It came out like a husky whisper, “Tell Trevor to come back inside. I’m cold.”

  Mason turned and walked over. He cradled me and moved me to a spot where the sun was angling into the cave, then he knelt and slid in next to me. He whispered in my ear, “Trevor’s looking for a way to get us out of here. I’ll keep you warm until he gets back.”

  “Okay.”

  When I woke up again, I knew Trevor was back. I could feel the side of my face resting on his warm chest. I could hear his heart beating and it made me feel safe. When he felt me move, he wrapped his arms even tighter around me.

  “Trevor, I’m going to die. Will you be able to forgive me?”

  “No,” he whispered almost inaudibly.

  “Did you find a way to get Mason and Sophie home?”

  He kissed the top of my head, but didn’t say anything. I wasn’t sure if he was reassuring me that he would get them home soon, or if he was consoling me because that wasn’t going to happen.

  “I’m glad you’re here.” I tilted my head up and pressed my lips against his. It felt so good to kiss him again, almost like the first time. It felt as if electricity was pulsating through my body and it made me feel better.

  The next time I woke up, Mason was sittin
g with me again. He looked tense and concerned.

  “Hey.” I smiled and my lips cracked from the dryness. “Don’t look so worried. Trevor will get you out of here. He won’t quit until you’re safe. I promise.”

  Mason forced a smile. “Trevor wants you to get stronger so we can all go home. Can you do that for him?”

  I nodded.

  “Do you still have the Tylenol 3s Orrett gave you?”

  “Maybe in my pocket.”

  Mason reached into my pocket and pulled out the plastic bag. He placed two in my mouth and tipped some water from a leaf in so I could swallow. I closed my eyes and concentrated very hard on healing my body because Trevor wanted me to. I imagined an army of little workers rushing around inside me. I pretended they were repairing everything that needed to be fixed. They cleaned and rebuilt all of my internal organs and tissues. It was kind of cute and funny. When they discovered the bullet wound, they all looked up at it like a meteor had created a big gaping hole in the ceiling. They each comically scratched their heads in bewilderment.

  Sophie woke me up to drink more water from the leaf.

  “Does Trevor think we can leave soon?” I asked her.

  Her eyebrows angled together, her forehead creased, and her lips formed into her sympathetic pout. “Soon,” she said.

  I faded in and out of sleep, or maybe it was consciousness. I lost track of how many times the sun had come and gone outside of the little cave. My dreams were crazy and didn’t make any sense. Sometimes, there were people who I didn’t even know in my dreams. Other times it was Sophie, Mason, and me. The three of us were sailing in a boat in the middle of the ocean and we realized there was a hole in the hull and we were taking on water. Sophie and Mason tried to bail the water out with big leaves, but it was filling the boat faster than they could scoop it out. I woke up all sweaty and breathing heavy.

  By the following afternoon, I was able to sit up on my own and I was feeling a little bit better. Sophie helped me stand and walked me down to get cleaned up with the stream water.

  “How many days have we been here?”

  “Two,” she said as she helped me to sit on the shore with my back to the water. She reclined me and splashed water over my hair.