The Great Thirst Boxed Set

by Mary C. Findley

  “Can’t we go get some weed-whackers or something? This is nuts!” Keith groaned as they took another rest from trying to clear space in the ball court a few days later.

  “Just kill me … again.” Jiggly collapsed on his back and stared up at the sky. “Is it supposed to be moving away from me like that?”

  “That’s how you know it’s time to rest.” David flopped down beside him. “When the sky moves away. Naddy, I don’t like your looks one bit. I keep telling you this is not your job. You need to go sit in the shade.”

  “C’mon, Naddy, there’s a patch of shade over here.” Keith made the older man get up and follow him to an overhanging tree at the edge of the court. As Naddy sank down against the wall, Keith added, “Maybe we should just quit for the day. I don’t want to be carrying you back to Sophie and Talia. In fact, I’m pretty sure I couldn’t. I’ve got blisters on blisters.”

  “I just figured out how to get my hand to actually cut with the machete!” Jiggly protested. “But you’re right. It’s too late for my still-human body to try to make up for lost time today.”

  “C’mon, even you must be tired, David,” Keith said.

  “Look at me, lying down flat on very hard bricks,” David said. “You have your answer.”

  “We should have at least tried my suggestion and used a big ball to flatten this stuff out,” Jiggly complained.

  “I wish I didn’t believe I have to explain to you how flattening brush does not get it out of the way,” David said.

  Keith shuffled down the shady wall some distance from Naddy, finding the bricks cooler than he had expected. He put his hands over different spots. “Hey, guys, why does this part of the wall feel so weird? It’s almost like there’s an air conditioning duct –”

  His words were snatched away as the ground collapsed under him and he plummeted down in a shower of dirt and bricks. Cold air raised goosebumps under his sweat-soaked T-shirt and he tried to scramble up. The only thing that happened was another collapse and fall. This time he found himself in complete darkness and unable to move. Any attempt produced a spurt of pain in different parts of his body. He could hear scrabbling and faint voices but more bricks and dirt started to hit around and on top of him.

  “Stop!” He screamed. “You’re knocking more down!” Fiery agony shot through him with that effort. He lay still and silent to try to conserve strength.

  More shouting that he couldn’t understand ensued but the falling debris stopped, at least. His head throbbed and he tried to hold his breath to stop the pain, between breathing in dust and the sensation that he was crushing his own ribcage against the mountain on top of him by using his lungs. The gnawing sense would not go away that anybody who tried to rescue him could end up burying him completely. As it grew quiet he sensed the biting cold that had first drawn him to the spot on the wall of the ball court.

  “If I don’t get crushed, I’ll freeze,” he whispered into the blackness. “God, please help.”

  “Keith,” said a voice in the darkness. It was Talia. “Are you hurt?”

  “… Can’t move,” he said, wheezing out the words. “… Ton of stuff … right on my chest.”

  “Lie still,” Talia ordered. “The guys are going to try to find another way in.”

  “Every time … they move up there … more stuff falls …” Keith said. “Hurts. … Hurts all over.”

  “Okay. They’re going far away from you to look for a way down. They won’t come near.”

  “Can’t … breathe … so cold …”

  “Stop. I can hear you struggling. Just stop,” Talia urged.

  “Like ice … Can’t get away … from the wind …”

  “Wind?” Talia’s voice faltered. “Do you have feeling in your arms and legs, Keith?”

  “Cold,” he said. “Hurts.”

  “Keith, we’re all praying for you. I’m going to sing to you until they find you and get you out.”

  Talia’s voice trembled and choked but she went through hymn after hymn. Keith had long lost track of time.

  “… Love you,” he said.

  Her voice broke and she paused. “I love you too.”

  “Oh,” Keith said after a long pause, squinting. “… See some … light.”

  “Keith …” Talia’s voice had all but failed. His name came across as a bare whisper.

  “Yeah … kinda getting … brighter down here. Oh … man … now I see what’s … making it so cold. There’s … a waterfall … all that wind … and … look at that. Found the … tablets, Talia. Found them … behind the waterfall … Tell those guys to get them … ”

  Chapter Eighty-nine – Crushing Disappointment

  “Talia, my precious, we have to leave. We will meet them at the hospital.” Sophia was too tiny to have any effect as she pulled her niece toward the Rover. Talia was easily able to resist her and stay rooted to the spot where the tent she had shared with Keith had stood in the now-empty field.

  “I want to fly in the helicopter with him.” Talia knew she had been saying the same thing for an hour while others had broken down the camp, but she couldn’t get the words to stop repeating.

  “It must be enough for now that they found him and have him out of there,” Sophie said. “David is flying him and the others straight to the hospital.”

  “Why can’t he stop here? Why can’t he take me with them?” Talia asked.

  “If you will only come, we will see Keith very soon. Please, Talia. You know why they cannot stop.”

  “Because he has no heartbeat. Because he isn’t breathing,” Talia parroted the terse message Naddy had communicated just before the helicopter had taken off.

  “God can still do wonders,” Sophia said, tears streaming down her face. “Staying here will accomplish nothing. Please, come.”

  “I was talking to him,” Talia said. “Just before David said they found him. He was alive … just before …”

  “Talia, let’s go.” Drew Summers approached.

  She turned and stared at him, and said, “He was alive. I was talking to him.”

  “Hold onto that thought,” Drew said. He waved Sophie away. “Keep holding onto it. Now let’s go see him, okay?”

  Talia looked up at him. “Drew, How can you want to go anywhere, or do anything? Anne …”

  Drew looked around. Everyone else sat in the vehicles, waiting for them. He took one step closer to Talia. “You need to come with us,” he said softly, “because I want to show you that miracles do happen. I promise you, they do. Come on.”

  Talia looked down at his hand held out to her. Slowly she made herself reach out and take it. “Okay.”

  Talia sat in the back seat of the Rover beside Drew all the way to Veracruz, holding his hand. She had never let go of it. One of Drew’s men drove. Cindee sat beside him, and Sophie sat beside Talia, twisting her hands as she stared fixedly at them. No one said anything the entire trip. Every now and then Talia shot a look at Drew and he gave her hand the slightest squeeze.

  David, Naddy, and Jiggly met them at the hospital in the surgical waiting area. Talia had to force herself to notice how filthy and exhausted they looked. Cindee launched herself at David and he almost fell over. They collapsed together on a vinyl bench. Sophie disappeared into Naddy’s arms. Talia turned her eyes toward Jiggly and saw that he was staring at her hand, still in Drew’s. She didn’t pull it out.

  “Well, they must have jump-started him, huh?” Drew asked, his voice sounding artificially hearty.

  “Yeah,” Jiggly shrugged, still staring at their clasped hands. “I mean … I’m not sure. Nobody’s come out yet. More people keep going in. But it says surgery, right? So I guess that means … He’s in surgery.”

  “David said over the radio that you pretty much dug him out all by yourself, Cyborg.” Drew walked Talia over to another vinyl bench and sat her down.

  “It was fun, being able to pick up bigger rocks than muscle man,” Jiggly replied with a lopsided grin. He sobered when he shifted h
is gaze back to Talia’s face. “I kept trying that mouth-to-mouth thing … I did. All the way here.”

  “Thank you,” Talia whispered. Louder, she said, “Thank you all.”

  Drew squeezed her hand. “I just need to go check on something. I’ll be back as quick as I can.”

  Oh …” Talia said, but she didn’t let go of his hand when he stood up.

  “Something to think about while I’m gone,” Drew said. “Ezekiel 37. Take a look at it. Especially verse 9.”

  He pulled his hand free very gently and left the waiting room. Talia got out her tablet and stared at it. The others waited but she said nothing, so, one by one, they collected around to look at what was on her display.

  Then he ordered me, Prophesy to the Spirit, Son of Man. Tell the Spirit, This is what the Lord GOD says: Come from the four winds, you Spirit, and breathe into these people who have been killed, so they will live.

  “This coming from the man whose wife was involved in the shootout at the OK Corral,” Jiggly said in a low voice.

  “There is also John 11:25,” Sophie said timidly. Talia swiped and tapped and the chapter came up.

  Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life. The person who believes in me, even though he dies, will live.

  All of them got out their phones. “II Kings 4:34,” Cindee offered.

  “Mark 5… umm … 41,” David said.

  “Acts 20:12,” Naddy offered.

  “Ooh! I got one! Acts 9:40!” Jiggly crowed.

  They all started finding and reading off more resurrections.

  “I Kings 17:22,” Talia finally said. Tears streamed down her cheeks but she looked up and smiled. “Thank you.”

  Talia walked the halls after too many hours had passed with no word except, “still in surgery.” She approached the reception area and heard bits of a conversation that drove her back into a side passage.

  “An American. There can’t have been that many Americans admitted here in serious condition recently. Yes, I’m sure it would involve emergency surgery. When? I was pretty sure it was more recent. Miracle? Yeah?

  “Must be the one I’m looking for. Look, I’m new at this. I don’t know all the permissions and protocols. My editor just wanted me to cover this for the folks back home. Sort of a human interest story. Can’t you just point me in the right direction? Thank you!”

  Jenny Kaine marched by Talia and stabbed an elevator button. After she disappeared, Talia grabbed the next one and pushed the same floor. When she got off, she saw the reporter disappearing around a corner and followed. Jenny Kaine prowled the hallway, studying room number signs.

  Talia saw a man standing at the far end of the hall looking out a window as Jenny Kaine stopped in front of a door and quietly let herself into the room. The man turned around and Talia saw that it was Drew.

  Talia gestured frantically. Drew walked toward the room and they met in front of the door.

  “Jenny Kaine just went in there!” Talia hissed. “Who is in that room?”

  “The trap is sprung,” Drew said into his phone instead of answering. “The rat took the bait.” He turned his attention to Talia. “I need you to get back out of sight. For your safety and that of your husband, you can’t afford to be recognized, and neither can I. Go. Now.”

  Talia scooted back around the corner and peeked. The room door opened and Jenny Kaine backed out, hands up at her shoulders. Anne Summers, wearing a hospital gown, her arm in a sling, pointed a gun at the reporter’s chest.

  “Sorry, wrong room,” Jenny Kaine said with a big, fake smile pasted onto her face.

  “You better believe it,” Anne said.

  Talia hurried back to the surgical waiting area, her head spinning with the knowledge that Jenny Kaine had been caught red-handed, finally, and by Anne Summers, no less. She had a feeling these were things Drew did not want her to share with anyone yet.

  Everyone on the ball court expedition had showered and changed by the time she got back but it was clear that no one had slept. Naddy and Sophie stood talking to someone in scrubs so Talia quickened her pace.

  “This is his wife,” Sophie said, motioning to Talia.

  “Buenos tardes. I’m Doctor Alvarez.” The short, mustached gentleman said. “Your husband is out of surgery for now and we’re moving him to Intensive Care recovery. We have listed his condition as critical and at this time I cannot call it stable. I’m so sorry I can’t be more positive, but no one on our surgical team has ever seen this many injuries. His whole chest was crushed. And there are so many other breaks. He will need many more surgeries, therapy … We have to wait for some of the swelling to go down so we can see our way more clearly.”

  Talia closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them again. “Can I see him?”

  “Of course, as soon as they have him set up in the room,” the doctor replied. “Señora Bradley, one of our concerns is your husband’s mental state. I know you’ll think this is strange, but he seemed to be very resistant to the anesthetic … the only way I can describe it is that he has been fighting for consciousness ever since we revived him. We’ve been trying to sedate him, to get him to rest, but it’s as if he feels the need to communicate something.”

  “Are you saying he’s conscious now?” Talia asked.

  “Technically, yes, but he’s just on the threshold. He’d be in so much pain if he fully breaks through our attempts to get him to relax. We’ve maximized the medication … there’s nothing more we can give him.”

  “Is he fighting because the pain medication is not working?” Sophie asked.

  “Not as far as we can tell,” the doctor replied. “This … unsettled mental condition … is a substantial barrier to further treatment. We’ve taken some first steps toward repairing his injuries, but until we can get him to a calmer state of mind, we’re afraid to proceed.

  “Think of the American racehorse called Ruffian. She underwent surgery to repair a leg shattered in the midst of a race, but anytime she began to emerge from the anesthesia she began running again, as if she were still trying to win the race. They were unable to get her to stop. This, mentally, is what is happening with your husband. If you can do anything to calm his spirit, please try to do so.”

  Chapter Ninety – “Go Back”

  Talia slipped into Keith’s hospital room and sat down beside his bed. She immediately saw the tension constricting his forehead and touched him between the eyebrows, stroking gently. Softly she started singing.

  “You … still singing?” Keith asked in a harsh whisper as Talia’s voice died away on “Amazing Grace” sometime later. He opened his eyes and immediately shut them. “Ow. Too bright.”

  “Hi,” Talia said, and then went silent.

  “Oh … you’re right here,” Keith said when he seemed willing to risk opening his eyes again. “Not still … under all those bricks … am I? Why … still … so hard to breathe?”

  “Your chest was crushed,” Talia said, forcing a smile. “That’ll do it.”

  “Whoa …” Keith’s eyes traveled up and down, slightly unfocused. “This a … hospital?”

  “Yes. Are you in pain?”

  “Naw … just … hard to breathe … Things are fuzzy …”

  “Use your nose. The oxygen will help. And the medication might make things seem harder than they are. Keep thinking about breathing, Keith.”

  “Joana …”

  “What about her?”

  “She sometimes … said how hard it was … to want to keep breathing … Never understood it before …”

  “But she kept doing it for you, and for your dad, and your grandma … as long as she could, just like you have to do it for us.”

  ‘“It is hard … Never thought it would be … so hard just to breathe …” Keith scowled. “Tablets … you found them?”

  Talia had forgotten all about Keith’s mention of cold wind, an underground waterfall, and seeing the tablets. She hesitated before answering. “The guys were only concerned abo
ut getting you out. But nobody saw any tablets.”

  “Under … waterfall … Right by me …” He panted.

  “Shhh …” Talia stroked his forehead again. “You will be feeling the pain if you don’t relax. The doctor says they can’t give you any more morphine.”

  “Morphine? Oh. … But you got to … go back … get the tablets … behind … waterfall.”

  “Morphine sometimes causes … strange dreams,” Talia said.

  “Was I …”

  Talia could see awareness of pain creeping into his expression as his focus sharpened. She kissed his fingers without moving his hand.

  “Was I … on morphine … first time … I told you … about the waterfall … about the tablets?”

  “No. You were still underground,” Talia admitted.

  “Not a … morphine dream.” Keith gasped, his first attempt at a full breath. “What are those black spots?” He stared at nothing and she could see him forcing his eyes to stay open.

  “Please relax. You’re struggling too hard. Let it go.”

  “Go back. Get ‘em.”

  “Keith … it’s dangerous,” Talia said. “The antiquities authorities said the site will be scheduled for stabilizing, but we can’t go back there right now. Besides … You may have been delirious. You were in so much pain.”

  “I saw them.” His eyes squeezed shut and he shuddered and made them open again. “Not crazy. Not delirious. Saw … tablets.”

  “There was nothing there, Keith. Nobody but you saw anything. And even if the guys are wrong, I can’t go back there. It’s not safe.”

  “Okay …” Keith struggled harder. “Didn’t mean … you go … Somebody … get the … tablets.”

  “Keith,” Talia said finally, “I promise to try to find out where the tablets are. Please rest now. Promise me you’ll rest.”

  “Promise …” Keith said with a sigh. “Love … you.”

  “I love you too. So much.”

  Talia grilled Jiggly, David, and her uncle but they repeated their insistence that Keith could not have seen anything from where he was lying.