by Marion Myles
“Aw.” He playfully slapped her hand. “You say the nicest things.”
She turned her head and looked into his eyes. “I mean it. You’ve been a wonder. I owe you my life.”
“Hey, maybe you should save that for when we actually get out of here.”
She blew out a breath. “It’s hard not to think about losing the food, isn’t it?”
He struggled to his feet, a hand clamped to his back, and walking over to the duffel bag fished out the Juicy Fruit. “Madam, can I offer you a piece of gum. It was grass fed and raised without antibiotics.”
“Oh, I don’t know. Should I? I’m watching my weight at the moment. What the heck? Maybe just one.” She held out her hand, and he dropped a piece into it.
“This might make us more hungry,” he commented before rolling up his stick and putting it in his mouth.
“I’m willing to risk it. What’s going on with your back?”
“Nothing serious. I think I rolled over a rock. And that’s not the only place that’s sore.”
“I bet we’ll both feel worse in the morning,” she said.
He lowered himself down beside her. “It’s hard not to love your cheery optimism.”
She gave a half shrug. “Sometimes the truth hurts.”
His eyes were intent on hers as his smile faded away. “We had a hell of a day, didn’t we?”
The softness in his voice reawakened the tears. She blinked at them. “Seems like it’s the new normal. Tomorrow we’ll probably have to fend off a hungry bear or a mountain lion.”
“Well, bears are in hibernation mode this time of year and cougars don’t typically attack humans, so we should be okay on that front.” He pulled the cuff of his sleeve over his hand and gently wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Becks, I believe it in my soul that we’re going to get out of this mess. You and me. Now come here because I think someone needs a hug.”
He carefully pulled her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her. Rocking gently side to side, he hummed a few bars then began singing “Amazing Grace.” She remembered mass from her childhood, the congregation holding candles, and the choir in full voice. Her mother so beautiful, her brown eyes shining as she sang.
When he was done, she sighed and lifted her face from his chest. “Liam, that was…how did you know it would make me feel better?”
“Music always gives me a boost. And the right song at the right time can work magic. At least I think so.”
Stretching up, she fitted her mouth to his and kissed him, letting all the fear and hurt and pain bleed out of her. She brought her hand to the back of his head and held him close, deepening the kiss and exploring his lips with her tongue and teeth.
Everything melted away. Their situation. The hunger. The worry. It was all gone in a flash. Instead, she was wrapped up in the heat of him, the solidness of his body, and her nerve endings danced with anticipation. His lips nibbled down her neck, and she felt it all the way into her core. She flexed her hips and rubbed against his thigh finding the friction glorious.
Groaning, he pulled his face away until he held her gaze. She saw the question in his eyes. She smiled. Lowering her head, she latched onto his neck and sucked. He tasted salty, and when she brought her hand up to his throat, she felt the pulse beat wildly in the carotid artery. She tried to find his chest beneath the clothes, but he stilled her hand.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“Way past sure,” she said.
He kissed her again while he worked on her yoga pants. She pressed into his hand, and he found her warm and wet and ready. Laying her down on the sleeping bag, he knelt and slipped her pants all the way off. His hand worked up under her layers of tops and closed gently over her left breast, kneading, his finger circling the nipple.
She closed her eyes, and her head fell back. “Oh my God, that feels amazing.”
“Should we…I mean…what’s better? You on top maybe. I don’t want to hurt your shoulder.”
“Let’s try you on top.” She gasped when his fingers dove into her. “I can’t even feel my shoulder right now.”
When he pressed into her, his eyes locked with hers and they hung there on the balance, two bodies joining, two souls seeking comfort and release.
He began to thrust in slow strokes, watching her, careful not to jolt her shoulder and ribs. She flexed impatiently and matching his pace, urged him faster. The pleasure built in waves, slowly, gently, the same way the fire had caught earlier.
It suddenly peaked up, dropped a degree, then swelled and blossomed and finally burst into life, taking Rebecca crashing through on a cry that sounded like triumph. Watching her fall, Liam chased after, faster, harder, the pressure building to maximum intensity until it exploded on a rush, and he groaned out his release. Gasping for breath, he half rolled off, and lay against her, his hand blindly stroking her face and neck.
“Okay, okay,” he heard her whisper.
“I hope it was more than okay,” he said, and carefully laid his arm across her waist and pulled her closer.
“It was so much more than okay,” she said. “But not quite as good as ‘Amazing Grace.’”
He tugged her hair. “Hey. Watch it, missy, or I won’t help you put your pants back on.”
She glanced down and laughed. “That would not be a good look for me tomorrow while I’m limping down the mountain.”
“Oh, I don’t know. It might get a lot more guys interested in mountaineering.”
“I don’t think so.” She tugged the sleeping bag over herself. “If you’d had a choice between losing the food or all this sleeping stuff, which way would you’ve leaned?”
“That’s a hard one. It sure would suck to spend the night huddling together in the dark with nothing but the clothes on our backs, wouldn’t it? But this time tomorrow we might be ready to trade everything we have for a slice of bread. All I can say is I’m glad I didn’t have to decide.”
“I guess so.” She patted around her chest and stomach. “I lost my gum somewhere.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “So in this case, it looks like you traded your gum for an orgasm.”
She lay back again and smiled up at him. “Totally worth it.”
Chapter Twenty-six
The next afternoon, they finally made it off the mountain and turned, looking up toward the narrow peak.
“I get that it’s fairly high,” Rebecca said. “But it still took us two weeks to hike down. That has to be an all-time worst.”
“Depends on how you look at it. It’s not as if we’ve seen anyone else out here climbing the fucking thing. I’d say just surviving, especially in winter and without proper gear, is winning.” He sighed. “I wish the sun would come out again. I guess all we can do is key off that flat mountain in the distance to gauge direction.”
“I thought I’d be happier to make it this far,” Rebecca said, “but it feels anti-climactic because there’s a whole lot more trekking ahead of us.” She glanced up at the swirling clouds. “It’s already getting dark.”
“Yeah. We should find someplace to park for the night. I’d say it’s warmer, wouldn’t you?”
“For sure. It’d be better if the stupid wind would calm down.”
They walked on, scouting around for a more sheltered area and eventually found some woods. Despite stopping earlier than usual, they were both worn out by the time camp was set up. They sat drinking water and studiously avoided any mention of food.
The wood Liam collected fought against the flames, and he had to make a second pile of shavings to get the fire going. When it was finally burning cheerfully, he lay back on the blanket and pulled Rebecca to him, tucking her in at his shoulder.
“Maybe tomorrow we’ll find something,” he said.
“I hope so.”
* * * * *
Three days later, Liam stopped short and looked straight up at the sky.
“Is that…holy shit, it is a plane,” he said pointing.
“Down
here,” Rebecca screamed, waving her arm wildly.
Liam joined in, leaping into the air and yelling at the top of his lungs. He started etching SOS into the snow, but she stopped him before he’d finished the O.
“It’s already past us. Without the flare gun, there’s no way to attract their attention.”
They followed the plane’s progress across the sky until it gradually disappeared into the distance.
Rebecca dropped to the ground and hung her head. “It wasn’t a search plane, was it?”
“I’d say not. I think search and rescue fly lower and circle around an area before moving on. That guy was shooting across in a straight line like nobody’s business.”
“It’s the only plane we’ve seen in more than three weeks.”
“Doesn’t mean there won’t be more.”
“Liam, we’re going to die out here. We haven’t seen any sign of human life since we made it down from the mountain. There are no roads. No trails. And we’re both getting weaker.”
“Well, since we’re not dead yet…might as well keep going,” he said, holding out his hand to help her up.
After a moment’s hesitation, she grasped it and struggled to her feet.
They didn’t talk again until they’d settled into the tent a few hours later. Even then it was only the bare necessities of communication. Rebecca was disheartened after the plane incident and crawled under the covers as soon as the bed was set up. She closed her eyes, desperate to escape into sleep.
Liam lay awake for a long time watching her sleep and thinking about the future. And the past. But mostly about her.
“I think it’s time you left me,” Rebecca said the next morning. “You can walk so much faster on your own. We’ve hardly covered any ground in the last few days, and my ankle is getting worse. If you go on ahead, we might have a chance.”
He shook his head stubbornly. “No way. I’ve told you before…I’m not leaving you. We’re doing fine. It’s just a matter of time.”
“We may not have much of that left. We’ve both lost so much weight, and it’s hard work trudging through the snow. We’re using up calories we literally don’t have. I know it’s only a little below freezing now, but that’s still low enough that our bodies have to work hard keeping us warm. More calories again.”
“I don’t feel like I’m at the end,” he said. “I have plenty more walking in me.”
She shook her head. “I’m not so sure I do. And you’re making my point for me. You’re strong enough to walk, so walk. Find help. Get us out of here. My ankle needs a break. Look at it.”
When she pulled back the sleeping bag, he saw the whole of her lower leg was enormous. Bigger than when the injury first happened. The skin from her knee down was a bluish purple color, and he couldn’t begin to find her ankle bone. Her toes were so big they were mashed up against one another.
He sighed and rubbed his eyes. “Becks, I can’t walk away and leave you here. It’s…I just can’t, okay?”
She studied his face and saw the determination. “Where is Drunk Liam when I need him? He’d have agreed—no problem.”
“Yeah, well, Drunk Liam is an ass, and he wasn’t in…he didn’t know you like I know you. So the choice is yours. We either stay here for the day, or I pull you on the toboggan.”
“I’ll walk. It’d be a suicide move to take our strongest link and use you up further with a day of pulling my carcass through the wilderness.”
“What you said before counts. You shouldn’t be walking on that thing.” He pointed to her ankle. “So make your choice. Do we stay or go?”
She dropped her face to her hand. “I don’t know what to do anymore,” she said wearily. “I’m so sore and tired and knowing I’m dragging you down is breaking me up inside. If we die because of me…”
“Stop talking about dying,” Liam snapped. “Nobody’s dying today, and that’s all that matters. Now quit feeling sorry for yourself and make a goddamn choice.”
Her back stiffened. “I’m not feeling sorry for myself. I’m feeling sorry for you.” He stared back at her, eyes hard as flint. “Fine,” she said. “We go with me on the toboggan.”
“Good. Let’s pack up.”
They maintained a frosty silence during the process. Rebecca jammed clothing into the duffel and dragged the sleeping bag outside while Liam pulled off the insulating branches and arranged the tarps. Once everything was set up and Rebecca slid into the sleeping bag, he double-checked the knots on the tarps and knelt down beside her.
“Hey,” he said, stroking a hand across her cheek. “We’re going to be fine. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you.”
He kissed her, then stood and started walking.
“You pissed me off on purpose, didn’t you?” she called out.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“That was sneaky, and I can’t believe I fell for it. Well played.”
Liam walked until it was almost dark. The temperature had dropped throughout the day, and the wind blew briskly from the west. When they stopped to set up camp, his beard was frosted over, and tiny icicles hung from his mustache. Rebecca’s fingers were numb from the cold, and she was decidedly light-headed when she stood.
They sat close to the fire while around them the branches banged against the tarp and blasts of wind wormed their way in through even the smallest openings. Rebecca knew she should ice her ankle, but the thought of more cold being applied to her body was too much to bear.
“Either we stay here and rest for a day, or I’m going to start walking again tomorrow,” she said.
“Okay,” Liam said.
His easy acceptance scared her more than anything had in a while. She snuggled her hand inside his coat and against his chest, feeling for his heartbeat. Much too fast, she thought. He trembled ever so slightly under her hand.
When she insisted he drink more, he obediently sat up and gulped down most of a container before collapsing back onto the bedding. She piled some of the extra clothes over him, added her blanket, and fitting her body against his, tucked the sleeping bag around them. Liam was asleep in less than two minutes, and gradually the shivering stopped. Rebecca breathed out a sigh of relief and lay there listening to the wind pound against their tent.
She woke with a start when one of the tarps came loose and the wind whipped through, sending the duffel bag flying and lifting the covers from them. Crawling over, she managed to wrestle the corner of the tarp back into position, and Liam reached over her shoulders and tied it into place.
The light was dim, barely past daybreak. The fire had gone out. She and Liam huddled together under the blankets.
“I don’t think I can get back to sleep,” he said.
“Me either. Should we start walking?”
“I guess,” he said without enthusiasm. “We’ll freeze sitting here in this weather.”
Liam didn’t bring up the idea of putting Rebecca on the toboggan, which made her equal parts grateful and concerned. Covertly studying him, she noticed he was drawn; although she couldn’t see his body beneath the bulky clothes, his fingers and wrists were all bone…his cheekbones alarmingly prominent.
They tied shirts around their faces to protect against the wind and added extra layers of socks to cover their hands. A solid crust had formed over the top of the snow and made the going more challenging as sometimes it bore their weight and sometimes crashed through. Rebecca lost count of how many times she stumbled and had to be helped up by Liam.
It started to sleet in the late morning, coming down in sharp, icy pellets—which the relentless wind drove into their faces. They talked about stopping, but since sitting in a freezing cold, windy tent held little appeal, they struggled on. Eventually, it turned to snow. With the cloud cover seeming to hang only inches above them, it looked to be settling in for a long, messy dump.
Time ceased to matter, and to Rebecca, it seemed they’d been walking forever. That they’d always been lost in the wilderness. Comi
ng out of the forest and into the open, they could barely see a few feet in front of them. And besides, everywhere they looked was nothing but a white misery.
Up ahead, Liam tripped, going down on his hands and knees. Pushing himself up, he walked forward several steps and stumbled again. This time he stayed down. Rebecca’s heart skyrocketed. Something must be seriously wrong with him.
She struggled to move faster. “Oh my God. Are you okay?”
He turned his head slowly side to side then fixed on something over his left shoulder.
“Liam, what’s wrong?” Rebecca asked, leaning down and undoing the shirt from around his head so she could get a better look at his face. “Are you dizzy?”
He lifted his arm and pointed. “Look.”
Straightening, she turned and squinted through the blowing snow. At first, she couldn’t see anything and wondered if he was hallucinating, but when the wind paused between gusts, she realized there was a building across the way.
She sank down beside him. “Holy shit.”
“We finally caught a break,” he said, grinning widely. “Come on. Last one there’s a rotten egg. Watch out, there’s some kind of boundary or trail marker here. I think it’s made with logs.”
He hauled her to her feet and picked up the duffel bag, turned, and stepped high through the snow. After stopping, he tramped down an area and pointed to Rebecca letting her know to step over it. A few feet later, it was nice and flat, and Liam sped ahead while she kept to her slow, awkward limp and shuffle.
Keeping her head down, she followed his footsteps and tried to imagine what they might find inside. Top of her list was a working phone or radio of some sort. Food would be a bonus, and hot, running water might actually make her weep. If there happened to be a first aid kit with fluids and pain meds, she’d probably pass out from joy.
“Rebecca,” Liam yelled. “Stop. Don’t move.”
Her head shot up, and she saw he was standing stock still and staring at the ground. He slid a foot back. Then another. Inching back again, he momentarily froze then began scrambling before he disappeared straight down through the snow. A hole appeared, and water lapped up. Rebecca dropped to the ground and began crawling forward.
