by Debbie Pack
Jim's eyes flicked to the skies. He thought about the first helicopter they had seen pass overhead yesterday. It had to have been Ryan's contacts from Cascade, but as of yet, there had been no indications that they were using the chopper for the search. Whether they were having mechanical problems or the density of the forest was hindering them, it didn't matter to Jim. He was grateful for the break and meant to take full advantage of it.
"Why do you suppose we haven't heard the helicopter?" Blair asked from beside him.
Jim gave a start. Sometimes it was spooky the way Sandburg could almost read his mind. "I don't know. Let's just be glad they're not."
He looked down at his partner. Jim had been setting the pace for them that day and despite the thinner air, lack of food and the stress and strain from the previous day, he was please to see Blair keeping up with him without complaint. Of course that in itself was not necessarily a good thing with Sandburg.
Blair's reluctance to speak up yesterday about the continued bleeding of his injury and Jim's past experience with him made it clear to the Sentinel that the younger man would keep going without complaint until he dropped from exhaustion.
A small frown crossed his face as Jim brought his hearing back to a more normal level. He could hear Blair's heart pounding in his chest and he had noticed him stumbling a few times during the morning. Blair hadn't shown any signs of concussion yesterday, but Jim couldn't help but worry. Concern and protectiveness toward the younger man had become as natural to him as breathing.
He reached into the backpack Blair wore and withdrew the bottle of water they had filled at the stream that morning. They had been fortunate to cross several streams during the day, making water plentiful, however, none of the small streams had been large enough to offer the opportunity for fishing and now both men were once more ravenous. .
"Here," Jim said as he handed the bottle to his partner and sat beside him. It wouldn't hurt for them to rest a few extra minutes.
Blair took the bottle without protest. "I don't suppose you hear anything big enough nearby to have fish in it, do you?" he asked then grinned wearily, "A Red Lobster or a Long John Silver's maybe?"
Jim looked down at him in concern until he saw the gleam in Blair's eye. He smiled in return, "Nope. Not even a Wonder Burger," he said, closing his eyes to rest for a moment.
"Just our luck."
Jim didn't have to see Blair's eyes closing also, he could tell from the sound in his voice the young man was drifting to sleep even as he spoke.
Jim felt the pull of drowsiness flow over him; warm and enticing. He shook himself awake and reached out a hand to do the same for Blair. They couldn't afford to give up any ground to the people following them.
"Come on, Sandburg. Let's go," he said, pulling Blair to his feet.
"Can't we rest a while."
Jim heard the weariness in his partner's voice and debated for a moment the danger involved in extending their rest. They had a descent head start on the men after the diamonds and Jim was reluctant to lose that advantage. Also, he could feel the atmospheric pressure changing and knew a storm wasn't very far off. They needed to make it to the logging road before dark and he wasn't sure how far away it still remained. With regret he gave Blair's arm another tug to start him moving with him. "We'll rest tonight. Now come on. We've got to go."
Reluctantly, Blair followed him.
* * * *
As they continued on into the afternoon, Jim could feel the storm's approach and he could also hear the men following them with more and more clarity. Jim's heart beat increased at the thought of the thieves catching up to them. Had they gained that much ground on he and Sandburg? He stopped suddenly and felt Blair stumble into him.
"Ow. Sorry, man," the younger man apologized.
Jim instinctively caught him by the shoulders to keep him from falling and motioned him to silence.
*Whittaker...telling you...can't...up...directi...trav...* Jim shook his head in frustration and tried to focus harder. *catch up...have to...soon*
The voices were very faint and no amount of coaxing would make them clearer. Still, Jim strained to catch the last of the fading voices until he felt himself being shaken.
With a great effort he brought himself back to the hear and now. He shook his head and forced himself to listen to the panic building in Blair's voice.
"Jim. Come on, man. Jim!"
The Sentinel drew a breath into his oxygen starved lungs and felt Blair, his hands gripping his arms, take a deep breath as well.
"I don't think I'm ever going to get used to that," Blair said, exhaling in relief as Jim came out of the zone-out. "What did you hear?"
Jim continued to watch the area behind them, "Voices," he said absently, "One of their names is Whittaker."
Blair's face paled, "Are they that close?"
Jim shook his head, "I can't tell. I'm getting an echo that keeps bouncing around these mountains. It's hard to even tell what direction it's coming from."
Blair nervously scanned the area surrounding them, wondering if the men were close enough to see them yet? Could he and Jim.....
A group of vaguely familiar bushes caught his eye and distracted his train of thought. After making sure his partner was safely breathing again, Blair stepped away from the bigger man's side.
Jim remained rooted in place, staring toward the landscape behind them. He was still concerned that the men seemed to have drastically closed the distance between them. A closer study of the lay of the land alleviated his fears and brought him a sliver of hope. It was very possible that his hearing improvement had been caused by echos created by the numerous hills and valleys he and Blair had been traversing.
"Hey. Jim. Look at this."
Jim turned his attention back to his partner. Blair stood beside a cluster of bushes, deftly picking at the berries that still clung to inside branches.
"What'd you find?" he asked, joining him.
Blair looked up at him with a grin on his face. He popped another of the berries into his mouth as he held his hand up, offering Jim the ones he held.
"Blackberries," he said, smacking his lips.
Jim smiled at his childlike eagerness. "Yeah?"
"Yeah. Look. There's a whole bunch of them inside here." He stuck his arm into the bush again, "You just have to...ouch....be careful pickin'em."
Jim took the handful that Blair offered him. It had been a long time since he had eaten fresh blackberries.
"The last of this years berries," Blair announced as he continued to plunge his arm into the depths of the bushes.
They spent the next half hour picking and eating. By the time they were finished, both were stuffed.
"Oh man. I don't know if it was because we were hungry or if those were exceptional, but I don't remember blackberries ever tasting that good."
They were leaning against a tree, taking advantage of their good fortune and resting while the opportunity presented itself.
Jim stretched his legs out and leaned back against a tree as he rubbed at his stomach in satisfaction. "I used to love visiting my grandmother when the berries were ripe," he said. "She made the best cobbler...," his voice trailed off as he recalled the fond memory.
Blair smiled from beside him where he lay, his eyes closed in remembrance, "I know what you mean. I met this Native American woman in New Mexico about five years ago. She made the most incredible blackberry cobbler."
Jim heard Blair sigh as he settled into a relaxing recline and knew they had to get up and move pretty quick. It was too much of a temptation to fall asleep with full stomachs and they couldn't afford to lose any more ground to Whittaker and his people.
Regretfully, Jim pushed himself to his feet, "Come on, Junior. Let's get this show on the road again." He offered a hand up to Blair and they began walking once more.
After a few steps, Blair halted and turned to face his partner. "Jim," he said, "If at any time in the near future, I say anything, anything at all, about wanti
ng to go camping or hiking, do me a favor and shoot me. Okay?"
Jim smiled as Blair turned away without waiting for an answer and began walking again. "You got it, Chief."
They continued and within another mile they reached the logging road.
"This is it?" Blair asked, turning his head to look both directions of the barely distinguishable roadway. Time and disuse had not been kind. The dirt road was deeply rutted in the spots the forest had not yet reclaimed.
Jim was eyeing it dubiously also. "It must be. The map didn't show any other roads in this area."
"This doesn't look like it's been used in years. Maybe decades."
Jim shrugged. "It probably hasn't. I think logging's been restricted in this area for thirty years or more," He sighed before continuing, "Well, at least it should be easier travel now. Let's go."
Jim began walking once more only to stop suddenly and turn his ear toward the north.
Blair barely avoided another collision with the sentinel, managing at the last moment to stop himself before walking into his friend again. "What is it, Jim?" he asked.
"The wind," Jim commented as he stared into the surrounding tree tops.
At that moment a gust of wind blew through the overhead branches, bending the tall pines until they creaked and groaned under the strain.
"It's here." Jim announced.
"What's here?" Blair's eyes widened.
"The front. Feel it?"
As if in answer to Jim's question, the temperature of the wind cooled by enough degrees that they didn't need sentinel senses to feel the drop.
"Oh, man," Blair grinned. "That feels good."
He turned his face into the wind and closed his eyes in appreciation as the heat from the day and the sweat from his body evaporated.
Jim shot his partner a look of concern. Evidently Sandburg didn't realized the danger the weather was tossing in their path. Jim had previous experience with mountain storms. They hit quick and hard, and at this time of the year one could change from a violent thunderstorm, complete with lightening and torrential rain, to snow and freezing temperatures within a matter of an hour or less. He'd been caught unprepared in one once before and had nearly paid with his life. He had no intentions of doing so again.
He began moving down the roadway, pulling Blair in tow, "Come on," he said above the rising wind, "We've got to find shelter."
* * * *
The overhead sky had darkened to a premature twilight. The wind continued to increase as they walked but the temperature seemed to have leveled off, at least for the time being.
Jim cringed as the first flash of lightening was immediately followed by a tremendous crack of thunder, grateful he had remembered to turn his sense of hearing back to normal. He didn't need the headache that would have resulted if he had been in sentinel mode.
"Whoa! That was loud," Blair remarked as he involuntarily ducked his head and moved closer to his partner.
Jim's worried eyes turned toward the northwestern sky. Even through the dimming light he could see the dark thunderheads boiling into themselves. He had hoped they would reach some type of shelter before the storm broke but that possibility was rapidly diminishing.
"Mountain storms, Chief. They hit quick and hard," he explained. The sentinel took a chance on using his enhanced eyesight between lightening flashes to scan the area for a possible shelter. But not wanting to chance the temporary blindness he knew would follow if the lightening caught him unprepared, he didn't test fate for long and was unable to locate a quick shelter for them.
Lightening flashed again as Jim nodded his head down the road they were traveling. "Come on, Sandburg. We've got to find someplace out of this storm," he said urging Blair to move forward as he followed.
The wind continued to increase and the lightening and thunder pounded a relentless rhythm. Rain began shortly afterwards and within minutes, he and Blair were soaked and shivering.
Jim winced as the lightening flashed with increasing frequency. Even keeping his eyesight at normal levels, its strobing effects were making it difficult to continue.
Between the claps of thunder and the roaring of the wind, he caught the sounds of his partner's struggle to keep up with him. The exertion was causing Sandburg's breath to come in ragged gasps.
Jim slowed his pace, dropping back slightly to Blair's side and finally putting a hand on his partner's arm to help him along and to prevent them from becoming separated.
The wind howled around them, slowing their progress and making them fight for every step. Through their physical link, Jim could feel Blair's strength ebbing as they both stumbled through the darkening night.
The storm's intensity was frightening as it continued to build. Jim could feel his own heart pounding as the lightening flashed in time to the thunder. They weren't going to be able to continue much further, the storm was too violent and he and Blair were exhausted. Even now he could feel his partner slipping on the rain-soaked ground, unable to maintain his footing. Jim adjusted his hold on the younger man's arm, unconsciously tightening his grip as he searched for a place for them to hold up until the storm was over.
Jim had decided they were going to have to take their chances among a cluster of boulders to one side of the road when a series of prolonged lightening flashes revealed an apparition to him.
Ghostly structures loomed up to their right less than fifty feet away. At first Jim thought he had imagined them, his exhaustion and the lightening combining to confuse his already overworked senses. But another flash revealed the structures again and this time he felt Blair tense as he sighted them also.
"Jim?" his partner called, his voice barely heard above the noise level of the storm.
"I see'em, Chief." They were having to shout to be heard now.
Lightening began flashing nonstop as thunder pounded in a continually roar. Jim didn't think it would have been possible, but the storm was increasing in fury. Both men involuntarily ducked as lightening struck nearby. Jim couldn't tell where it had hit, but knew they had to get in out of the violent weather. He took a firmer hold of Blair's arm and pull the exhausted anthropologist into a run for the safety of the nearest building.
They reached the door of a huge barn-like structure only to find it padlock against trespassers.
Fatigue and concern for their well-being brought Jim's anger to a boiling point as he slammed his fist against the door in frustration. *What else could possibly go wrong for them?* He hit the door again and this time felt the flimsy wood shudder. His heart quickened as he realized that it wouldn't take much to break through the rotting boards, but then in the same breath, wondered if the building was going to offer much protection if the rest of it was as weak as the door. He quickly shook his head and told himself that any shelter was better than what they were experiencing now.
He placed his shoulder against the door preparing to shove and felt the warmth of Blair's body next to him as the younger man added his strength to the effort. A quick look showed Jim his partner was determined to help despite his near total exhaustion. He flashed a smile and nodded.
Together they pushed and felt the wood around the locked hasp splinter and give way under the rough treatment of their combined weights.
They stumbled forward, collapsing inside the doorway as the wind roared around them. Bits of leaves and debris followed them in, to be plastered to their faces as Jim ushered Blair further inside and turned to push the door closed behind them. He reached for a stray length of two-by-four lying nearby and used it to prop at an angle against the door, effectively closing it.
With a heavy sigh, Jim leaned his back against the wall, still feeling the wind and small amounts of rain come through gaps in the rotting structure.
The noise level was barely diminished and in the brief respite Jim let his eyes wander around the inside of the barn-like building. His stomach clinched in apprehension. This did not look good at all.
To the back of the building, Jim could see the surroundin
g tree growth beyond the dilapidated structure when lightening flashed. One portion of the far wall had already collapsed. Brush growing up through the tangle of timbers indicated the fall-in had occurred a number of years ago but Jim still had an odd, uneasy feeling. Maybe he'd been wrong about this being better shelter than nothing. He shivered as thunder vibrated the walls once more. Their meager shelter would have to suffice for now. But Jim knew as soon as the storm let up a little, he would have to search the other buildings and find one that was more secure for the remainder of the night.
His tired eyes sought out his partner in the darkness. Blair didn't seem to have moved since they had fallen through the door. He was still, much too still. Jim's heart raced as he scrambled over to the younger man.
"Sandburg! Chief? Can you hear me?"
Blair slowly turned over as Jim's hands assisted him. "Yeah, man," he breathed, his eyes still wide with shock, "That was just....way...too intense." He looked up at Jim, his face solemn and serious, "I don't like storms."
Jim tried his best not to laugh at the look on Sandburg's face, but the simplicity of the statement he had just made and the look of total terror Jim had seen as they had run for the shelter of the building were too much. "Is this a new revelation?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
Blair pushed himself up and began brushing away what leaves he could from his jacket.
"Yeah. Something that just occurred to me," he paused, listening to the roar of the wind and his voice took on a sad note. "You know, I was in Texas once, years ago, with a group of friends. We had stopped at an overnight camping area and this storm came up during the night," he paused and swallowed hard, " It was thundering and lightening and the wind was blowing. It sounded a lot like this, almost as intense."
