Suddenly there was a rustling in the brush in front of them and Blair looked up, fearing the worst. He expected Brackett. He expected to die. He didn't expect the small brown rabbit that sat there, staring at him. "Oh man, I'm really sorry about this, but..." Blair slowly picked up a rock and the rabbit just turned a little away from him, sniffing the air. He took aim, prayed, and let the rock fly, hitting the rabbit square in the head, killing the animal instantly. "Thank you." Blair was now grateful it was his left arm chained to Jim, as it was his right arm he threw best with. Now, to get dinner from several yards away, with Jim's unconscious body attached.
It took him several minutes to pull Jim back up the hill, close enough to the dead rabbit to grab it when he stretched as far as he could. He reached out, pulling Jim's arm up as he did so, and gritting his teeth against the sharp pain in his left wrist. He didn't know how long Jim might be out, and leaving a dead rabbit that close was just asking for an unwanted visitor. He snagged the rabbit by an ear and pulled it closer. Jim was still unconscious, so Blair gathered as many branches as he could reach and started to build a fire. The sun was just beginning to set, and if he couldn't wake his friend, he'd have to keep him warm against the cold night air. If he didn't wake up soon there was no way Blair could carry him. Maybe he could build some kind of stretcher. How long was too long to be unconscious from a head wound? Jim hadn't been out this long after Kimberly hit him. Blair had little experience, other than taking a couple of blows himself. He did remember something about how a concussion caused pupils to dilate. But then, Jim's Sentinel eyes could dilate impressively at will. Still...he leaned over and lifted Jim's right eyelid, peering inside. Immediately a hand came up and grabbed his wrist,
"Ow! Jim!" Blair pulled his sore wrist out of Jim's grasp and looked down on his friend. "Thank God. Man, you were starting to scare me. How do you feel?"
Jim blinked heavily, then reached up to touch his head. "What happened?"
"Easy, easy." Blair pulled his hand down. "One of Brackett's little surprises. Caught you dead center. You've been out for a while."
"Oh, man, what a headache." Jim was trying to sit up slowly so Blair supported his back. "What the hell is this?"
"Don't pull it out, Jim." Blair pushed his hand away from the bandage around his head. "Just take it easy, okay?"
"I'm okay." Jim was sitting up now, supported by Blair. "Any sign of him?"
Blair glanced around. "No. Not one."
"What is this?" Jim reached up again and was feeling the slight bulging of the bandage.
"It's yarrow, Jim. It's a flower, used to stop bleeding. Head wounds bleed a lot and I couldn't get it to stop." He paused, still holding his friend up. "God Jim, I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention. I just..." He faltered, unable to find the words to say how sorry he was that he had nearly gotten Jim killed. Blair let go of Jim's back and reached around to produce dinner.
"It's okay, Chief." Jim was rubbing his neck, trying to clear his head. "Just stay behind me from now on, okay?" He looked up and noticed the dead rabbit. "How did you manage that?"
"Curve ball."
Jim looked skeptical, but stopped fingering the bandage and looked at the small fire that was taking on more shape. "How long was I out?"
Blair shrugged as he pulled out his knife and began to gut their meal. "I dunno, maybe twenty minutes. I'm not sure." He paused. "Long enough to scare the hell out of me."
"My head is killing me." Jim was rubbing the back of his neck. "Got anything for a headache that grows naturally?"
"Yeah, coffee beans. But we're in the wrong part of the world for those. Sorry." He had finished gutting the rabbit and shoved the meat onto sticks, placing them into the flames.
"We're going to need more wood soon." Jim started to get up and Blair reached out,
"Hang on, you should sit for a while. Jim..."
His friend had already made it shakily to his feet and was tugging on the chain as he rubbed his neck again. Blair stood quickly, trying to stop the metal from rubbing into his wrist.
"I'd love to just send you out for some Sandburg, but under the circumstances...."
"Yeah, right." They walked together in a circle around their small fire, this time Blair picked up the wood and handed it to Jim, so his friend wouldn't pass out with the rushing of blood to his already throbbing head. Blair tried to keep an eye on his friend and gather wood at the same time. How could he have been so stupid? Walking in front of Jim like that. He never did that when Jim was in charge. He never did that period, and for good reason. After a good armful they returned and found dinner sufficiently browned. Blair wasn't very hungry anymore, so he let Jim have most of the meat. He still had a chill from standing in the stream, and there was a faint scratching at the back of his throat. His wrist was throbbing, but he didn't want to mention it, having been properly scolded earlier that day over what he had done. And after nearly getting his partner killed...he didn't want to cause any more trouble.
"It's your turn to sleep, Chief."
Jim's statement startled Blair. He had been sitting, who knew how long, just staring into the fire, mesmerized by the flames. "I don't think I can."
"Sure you can. You were practically asleep right there." Jim replied, tossing the stick that had held dinner into the fire. "Come on, you've been awake too long. If you don't get some sleep we won't make it out of here. I'll keep watch. My head's throbbing too much to sleep anyway."
Blair nodded, deciding not to argue. He could at least lay down, close his eyes. But being chained to someone, in the middle of the woods, on who knew what mountain, with a madman hunting you, was not conducive to a good night's sleep.
It wasn't good, but it was sleep. Every sound woke him, only to find Jim sitting beside the fire, scanning the surrounding area. He kept waiting for his partner to let him know it was time to trade off, but Blair had lost all sense of time during that fretful night. When Jim did rouse him the sun was already up.
Part 5
* * *
"Jim, I thought we were taking turns?" Blair sat up, feeling guilty, and pushed his hair away from his face.
"Don't worry Chief, I dozed off a bit." Jim was spreading the embers of their fire and Blair held out his hands, trying to push back the night's chill before all the warmth was gone. "You hungry?"
He thought for a moment, then shook his head. His throat was still scratchy, and his skin was beginning to feel sensitive. Great time to catch a cold. "How's the head?"
Jim nodded, "Feels fine. I've got the dial turned way down."
"Jim, that's not always such a good idea. I mean, pain is your body's way of telling you there's something wrong. What if you have a concussion? You could be walking along, feeling fine, then drop dead." Blair knew he was sounding a little over dramatic, but the thought of Jim, helpless and hurt, with no way to call for help...No, he didn't even want to think about that. He wasn't so much concerned about being chained to an unconscious man, it was the thought of him being the only thing standing between Jim and death that he couldn't handle. "Come on, let's just lay low for a while. Like you said, Brackett could have made a move already."
Jim shook his head and pointed up. "Not a good idea, Chief. We are about to get very wet. If it rains hard enough, it could provide some cover against Brackett. Maybe we can make some headway."
"Headway to where, Jim? We still don't know where we are, or what's at the bottom of this ridge." He was shivering a little and started to rub his arms. "I still think we'd be better off taking Brackett on." Well, maybe not better off, but at least something would get resolved, we could end this stupid game.
"I'm working on that. But for now, let's get moving. Come on." Jim reached down and pulled Blair to his feet. "Walking will generate some body heat."
Blair let Jim pull him to his feet and he nodded, following him. He knew Jim had to be as cold as he was, they were both dressed alike and without coats. But why didn't it seem to affect him? Blair was shivering, and felt as though he h
ad been for months now. Except for the bandage around his head, and the red and purple skin over his eye, Jim looked like nothing was wrong. He kept a close eye on his friend, partly to keep from thinking about how badly he was feeling, and partly out of concern. Blair just knew that being unconscious from a blow to the head for more than a few minutes couldn't be good. For those first few minutes, when he realized he couldn't wake Jim, he panicked. And, if he was honest with himself, his first thoughts were of himself and what Brackett would do if he knew Jim was down. He hated to admit that, and he never would out loud, but he did take some comfort in knowing that feelings of that sort were normal. Weren't they? Jim never seemed to think of himself first in any situation. Blair tried not to, but he still found himself doing so when things got tense. But he was trying. Being around Jim was teaching him an entirely new way of thinking. A way that Blair had never considered before. His life was so much more now, so very different than he might have imagined just a year ago. All those trips to Sumatra, Peru, Borneo, as fascinating and educational as they had been, they didn't compare to the excitement of the everyday life of one James Ellison.
"Hey Jim, how's your hearing now?"
Jim looked at Blair for a moment, then looked out into nowhere. "Fine. I don't think he's close."
"But how far can you hear?"
Jim stopped, "What do you mean?"
Blair raised his hands, wincing a little as the shackle rubbed his sore wrist. "Back there, when you found the stream, you heard it from miles away."
"Yeah?"
Jim's replied had a strange tone, but Blair ignored it for now. "Well, I was thinking, we are assuming Brackett's out here, and he's using the white noise generator when he gets close enough for you to hear him. But how does he know how close is too close? I mean, he can't know your range. We don't even know your range."
"And?"
"And, I think he's had it on all this time. Not just when he's close. I think it's on now, but he's far enough away so that you don't hear it, not so loudly. But if you focus, maybe in one direction, you could hear it. Like feeling for the walls of a room in the dark when you're trying to locate the door. Only instead of the door, you're looking for the wall."
Jim stood there for a moment, considering what he said. "So, you think I can focus in a grid pattern, and the one area where I can't get much range, that's where he is?"
"Yeah, I think so." Blair was shrugging, but he was beginning to convince himself with the theory. Before he could continue his thoughts, the sky opened up with a thundering blast, and the rain came down in buckets, drenching them both almost instantly. Blair looked up just as Jim clutched his head and swayed. "Jim! What's wrong?!" Blair had to shout above the downpour.
"My ears! I was focused when that thunder hit! I'm okay!"
"We've got to get out of this!" Blair had reached out to steady his friend while he swayed, and now tugged at his arm, pointing to the trees. "Come on Jim!"
Jim nodded and Blair led the way farther into the forest. Once there, the din of rain was much quieter and Blair stopped. "Jim, you okay?" God, why did he tell him to listen so hardwhen a storm was brewing?
Jim was squinting his eyes against a pain Blair couldn't see. "Yeah, I think so." he blinked and shook his head slightly. "Just had my ears open full blast, you know? I'm okay. Headache's worse, but I'm okay. Let's see if we can find a cave or something, this rain's just too much to get through."
Blair nodded and let Jim once again lead the way through the trees. The rain was coming down heavy, but in the trees it was easier to take. The drops were larger, but the pounding roar was dulled by the forest. There were rivets of water running down Blair's face, his hair was clinging to the back of his neck, sending water down the inside of his shirt. He tried to suppress the coughs that were tickling the back of his throat, but after an hour trudging through the rain he couldn't hold them back. They had walked for miles with no sign of a cave, or the rain stopping. Jim thought Brackett would be having trouble keeping an eye on them in the rain, but Blair had stopped thinking about their hunter. His cold was turning into something worse, but he wasn't going to mention it. There wasn't a thing Jim could do about his discomfort, but if he said something, he would try. Another cough was forcing it's way and Blair gave in, falling into a coughing fit long enough to cause Jim to stop.
"Sandburg, you okay?"
Blair waved him off, "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." He forced the coughing to stop and looked at Jim. "I'm fine." Jim was just as cold and wet as he was.
"We have to get out of this rain, get warmed up." Jim was looking around their location, scanning the trees. Suddenly he stopped scanning and Blair saw him focus intently in one direction.
"What? What do you see Jim?"
"There's a cabin, over there." Jim pointed to their left. "No one's there. I think it's a hunters cabin." He took hold of Blair's arm and started walking in the direction of the cabin Blair couldn't see. "It should have a stove, and maybe some dry wood. If we're lucky, maybe even food."
"What about Brackett?"
Jim shook his head, urging Blair along. "No. He's not there."
Blair didn't argue. Another coughing fit struck and he had to lean on Jim to keep from falling over. He didn't feel lucky. He didn't feel good at all. This cold had become a major case of the flu. They had to get these shackles off if Jim was going to survive this. If Jim is going to survive me. By the time they reached the cabin, Blair was too ill to be impressed at the distance from which Jim had seen their new shelter.
The door to the small shack wasn't locked, and once inside Blair gratefully let Jim insist he lay down on one of the two bunks they found. The cabin was small enough, and Jim had put him in a bunk that left his shackled arm free, so it wasn't long before there was a warming fire in the stove between the bunks. Blair's head was pounding now with the fever that had started to build. Great timing, just when Jim has a chance to spot Brackett's location, I have to get sick.
"Here." Jim was putting a blanket over him that he had found under one of the beds. "Looks like this place is a winter hunting cabin, it's well stocked with blankets and wood. Just take it easy for a while."
"Thanks Jim." he accepted the blanket, but made sure he kept his left arm out from under it. The small cabin was heating nicely with the stove, and the blankets helped against his damp hair and clothes. Jim was wrapping a second blanket around himself as he sat on the edge of the bunk opposite Blair. He closed his eyes against the cold and concentrated on warming up as the fire sent waves of heat his way. Somehow the chill that had penetrated his bones standing in that stream slowly began to fade. He heard Jim moving around, felt the occasional tug on the chain, then he stopped caring as the stress and fatigue caught up.
* * *
Jim dried off as best he could without taking his clothes off. The fire in the small stove was heating the cabin up quickly, so he knew his clothes would dry soon enough. Blair was finally asleep and he put a hand on his partner's forehead, feeling the fever there. Why hadn't he said something sooner about not feeling well? They could have done something, stopped and warmed up. He, too, had caught a chill in the stream that morning. But their hike down the mountain warmed him right up. Jim could see cupboards in the small kitchen area of the cabin, but with Blair asleep, he couldn't reach them to see if there was food there. He sat back on the bunk, eyeing the chain that held them together.
He hadn't been able to make a dent with the rocks, and picking the lock was useless. Brackett was sure to have used a lock too complicated, as well as chain that wasn't going to break. But, if he could weaken a spot just enough..He had come up with the idea last night, while Blair slept. But the wood in the fire couldn't hold enough heat to do any damage. He glanced around, and behind the stove found a metal poker. Placing the poker into the fire, he pulled a barrel from the end of his bunk that someone used for a table and set the chain on top of it. If he could melt the chain, or at least create a weak spot, they'd have a better chance. He wanted to
go after Brackett, but he didn't want to endanger Blair any more than he already was. The idea of listening for that one area where his range would be less was a good one. It already worked once, just before Jim found the cabin. He was working on it as Blair made the suggestion, at least until that clap of thunder shot through his brain like a bullet. It took more than a few minutes to shake off that echoing between his ears. And his head was still pounding from it.
Blair stirred, moaning softly, and Jim looked up. He was still asleep, but restless with the fever. Jim prayed it wouldn't get any worse, that it was just a chill and Blair only needed to get warm. God, why wasn't he doing better? He should have heard, or smelled the bear. He shouldn't have gotten them both so close to the first trap. Then the bridge...How could he have missed those charges planted there? It was just like what happened back on the train, after he had taken the cold medicine, only on a much more subtle scale. How long was this drug going to last? The cold medicine had worn off while he was fighting to get back on board the train. He had been able to concentrate, push out all the distractions, then focus tightly on the task at hand. He was going to have to do that now, just take control.
He pulled the metal out of the fire, examining the red-hot tip, then put it back in. The rain was showing no sign of letting up, and with the sky so dark from the heavy grey clouds, Jim had no idea what time it was. He had already resolved that they stay the night in the cabin, Blair was far to sick to keep going at this pace. Whether Brackett would come after them in such a confined space, he didn't know. But then, their hunter hadn't even shown his face to them yet. And except for the two traps, and the bridge, Jim could almost believe he wasn't out there. But he knew better. When he focused as Blair suggested, he could feel a definite dull area behind them. An area that he couldn't seem to hear past or through. He was still afraid to stretch his senses out too far, for fear of knowing just how far they would go. Blair had never suggested a limit to his range, and they hadn't really done any of his tests lately. Laboratory tests were not Jim's favorite thing, and after having agreed to Blair's cough medicine one, well, it would be a cold day in hell before he did that again.
Retribution Page 4
