afraid of that” was all he said.
* * *
No plane came that day. Alex hunted that afternoon,
retraced his steps and brought back the feral pig. He roasted it that night, and
as hungry as both of them were, it was delicious. By the morning of the third
day, they were down to half a bottle of water and half of the first plastic
bottle refilled with the condensation he’d been able to collect from the
greenery living in the dry streambed.
It was early, still chilly but beginning to warm. They were
sitting beside the fire, sharing a few more chunks of roast meat.
“I think we should try to walk out,” Sabrina said. “My crutches
are working great. It’s early. We can cover a lot of ground if we leave right
away.”
“It’s not a good idea. Best thing is always to stay with the
downed aircraft.”
“Yes, but even if they’re looking for us they might not find us
for days. Maybe not at all. There are thousands of acres of desert out there.
Remember that guy who got lost in the mountains outside Las Vegas? They didn’t
find him or his plane until years after he was dead, and he was some famous CEO
or something. Imagine how many people in Rio Gordo will be looking for us.”
In a way, he agreed. If he was by himself, he’d already be
gone, but Sabrina had a sprained ankle, and no matter how game she was, the
territory between here and the road was brutal.
“It isn’t all flat, you know. You saw what it looks like from
the air. Hundreds of ravines, miles of cactus, hot sand, scrub brush,
rattlesnakes and more of those damnable scorpions. And those crutches won’t be
easy to handle.”
“I can do it.” She grabbed the crutches and made a show of
using them just to prove her point. It reminded him of the first time she’d
tried them, of the hot kiss they’d shared that wasn’t really a kiss at all and
had turned him inside out. He’d hardly been able to sleep last night just
thinking about it. Aching to do a lot more of what they’d started.
“Let’s go, Alex. We’re almost out of water and I’m tired of
just sitting here roasting in the heat.”
Well, hell, if she was game, so was he. “All right, but if we
do this, we do it my way. We walk during the morning, rest and sleep during the
hot part of the day, then walk again in the evening as it starts to cool off. I
figure we can make it in two days if we don’t run into problems.”
“All right!” She grinned. “I’m already packed and ready to
leave.”
“Very funny.” All she had was the clothes on her back. He
walked over to where he’d rested his gear bag. He was sporting a three-day
growth of beard and wearing his shirt again, magnanimously handed back to him as
soon as it had warmed a little this morning.
“I’ve got a couple of things to do, then we’ll leave. We’ll
walk for a couple of hours, rest, walk again before we make camp for the
night.”
“Sounds good to me.”
He left her sitting there while he collected a few more rocks
and made an arrow pointing due west in the sand not far from the burned-out
chopper. If anyone was looking for them, they’d see the arrow and know they were
walking toward the road. The crutches were going to be a problem. As soon as the
ground turned to sand, the ends would sink into the soft soil. He’d wind up
carrying her but there was no use telling her that and she was too bullheaded to
believe him if he did.
Alex checked the wrapping on Sabrina’s ankle, then shouldered
his pack. Since her head had apparently stopped hurting but her ankle hadn’t,
they each swallowed a handful of Advil and started off across the desert.
Alex took it slow, giving Sabrina the chance to keep up on
those ridiculous crutches he had made with no intention of her using them beyond
the camp. They weren’t making much time and the sun was getting higher, the
temperature rising. By the end of the third hour, it was obvious this was going
to be just as tough as he’d imagined.
Sabrina was hot and tired, the
* * *
No plane came that day. Alex hunted that afternoon,
retraced his steps and brought back the feral pig. He roasted it that night, and
as hungry as both of them were, it was delicious. By the morning of the third
day, they were down to half a bottle of water and half of the first plastic
bottle refilled with the condensation he’d been able to collect from the
greenery living in the dry streambed.
It was early, still chilly but beginning to warm. They were
sitting beside the fire, sharing a few more chunks of roast meat.
“I think we should try to walk out,” Sabrina said. “My crutches
are working great. It’s early. We can cover a lot of ground if we leave right
away.”
“It’s not a good idea. Best thing is always to stay with the
downed aircraft.”
“Yes, but even if they’re looking for us they might not find us
for days. Maybe not at all. There are thousands of acres of desert out there.
Remember that guy who got lost in the mountains outside Las Vegas? They didn’t
find him or his plane until years after he was dead, and he was some famous CEO
or something. Imagine how many people in Rio Gordo will be looking for us.”
In a way, he agreed. If he was by himself, he’d already be
gone, but Sabrina had a sprained ankle, and no matter how game she was, the
territory between here and the road was brutal.
“It isn’t all flat, you know. You saw what it looks like from
the air. Hundreds of ravines, miles of cactus, hot sand, scrub brush,
rattlesnakes and more of those damnable scorpions. And those crutches won’t be
easy to handle.”
“I can do it.” She grabbed the crutches and made a show of
using them just to prove her point. It reminded him of the first time she’d
tried them, of the hot kiss they’d shared that wasn’t really a kiss at all and
had turned him inside out. He’d hardly been able to sleep last night just
thinking about it. Aching to do a lot more of what they’d started.
“Let’s go, Alex. We’re almost out of water and I’m tired of
just sitting here roasting in the heat.”
Well, hell, if she was game, so was he. “All right, but if we
do this, we do it my way. We walk during the morning, rest and sleep during the
hot part of the day, then walk again in the evening as it starts to cool off. I
figure we can make it in two days if we don’t run into problems.”
“All right!” She grinned. “I’m already packed and ready to
leave.”
“Very funny.” All she had was the clothes on her back. He
walked over to where he’d rested his gear bag. He was sporting a three-day
growth of beard and wearing his shirt again, magnanimously handed back to him as
soon as it had warmed a little this morning.
“I’ve got a couple of things to do, then we’ll leave. We’ll
walk for a couple of hours, rest, walk again before we make camp for the
night.”
“Sounds good to me.”
He left her sitting there while he collected a few more rocks
and made an arrow pointing due west in the sand not far from the burned-out
chopper. If anyone was looking for them, they’d see the arrow and know they were
walking toward the road. The crutches were going to be a problem. As soon as the
ground turned to sand, the ends would sink into the soft soil. He’d wind up
carrying her but there was no use telling her that and she was too bullheaded to
believe him if he did.
Alex checked the wrapping on Sabrina’s ankle, then shouldered
his pack. Since her head had apparently stopped hurting but her ankle hadn’t,
they each swallowed a handful of Advil and started off across the desert.
Alex took it slow, giving Sabrina the chance to keep up on
those ridiculous crutches he had made with no intention of her using them beyond
the camp. They weren’t making much time and the sun was getting higher, the
temperature rising. By the end of the third hour, it was obvious this was going
to be just as tough as he’d imagined.
Sabrina was hot and tired, the
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