Lightning Lingers

by Barbara Freethy

  It would stop, she told herself. The water would slow down, or she'd find a way to grab on to something and hang on…any second now…

  Ten

  A dozen curses ran through Jake's head as he battled the current and the trees and the huge rocks that seemed to slam into him every time he came up for air. He couldn't see Katherine anymore, and that terrified him. She'd never been the strongest of swimmers.

  But she was determined, he told himself. She wouldn't give up. She'd fight like hell to survive.

  Finally, the rush of water began to slow as the trees split the current in dozens of directions, defusing the power of the flood. He managed to hook his arms around a tree, and then with all the energy he had left in his body he pulled himself halfway up the trunk. It was so damn dark, he couldn't see anything.

  "Katherine," he yelled. "Katherine."

  He could barely hear his own voice over the rush of water.

  He didn’t have his backpack anymore. No phone and no lantern to spill some light on the situation, which was no doubt going to present more problems down the road. But right now all he cared about was finding Katherine. He could not lose her.

  "Katherine," he cried out again.

  She didn't answer his call, but when the lightning lit up the area around him, he could see her bobbing in and out of the water about ten feet away from him. He let go of the tree and swam in her direction, which was thankfully exactly where the current wanted to take him.

  Katherine slammed into a tree and tried to find a way to hold on, but she was losing the battle. He knew he had about one second to get to her before she'd be gone again. He swam through the water as hard as he could, barreling into her, pinning her body against the tree. He wrapped one arm around the tree and the other arm around her.

  She stared at him in shock and amazement.

  "Hang on," he said. "Let's try to get on the other side of this tree. There's less water."

  Together, they managed to edge around the tree. When they finally got to the other side, he saw a low hanging branch that could lead them to the safety of some rocks a dozen feet away.

  "You need to grab that branch and use it to cross over to the rocks," he told her.

  "I can't. I'm too tired. I can barely hang on to you."

  "You can do this, Kat. I believe in you."

  "It's too hard, Jake. Go without me."

  "No way. Nothing has ever been too difficult for you. You like challenges, remember? And the bottom line is that I'm not going without you." She didn't say anything, but he could see the light coming back into her eyes. "I'm going to lift you up. You grab the branch and kick your way across. I'll be right behind you."

  "I'll try," she said.

  "On three. One-Two-Three." He used all of his might to help pull her high enough out of the water so she could grab the branch. She almost didn't make it, but Katherine used whatever energy she had left to grab on and then move her hands across the branch as she kicked her way through the water, finally landing on the rocks.

  Once she was safe on the ground, he went across the same branch, hoping it would hold his weight.

  He was two feet short when he heard the branch crack, and his body sank deeper into the water.

  "Jake," Katherine yelled, extending her hand to him. "Grab on."

  "You can't hold me."

  "I can do it. Come on."

  He swung his legs as hard as he could and then jumped toward Katherine's outstretched hand. True to her word, she hung on as he landed half on the rocks and half in the water. She helped pull him to safety and then they both collapsed, gasping for breath.

  They lay there for several long minutes as the flooding water ran past them.

  Finally, he sat up. Katherine was on her side, coughing up water. He patted her on the back. "You okay?"

  She nodded.

  "So the mountains weren't a great idea," he said lightly.

  "You think?" She shot him a dark look.

  "I thought going up would be safer for us."

  "It probably was. If we'd been on lower ground, we might have drowned before we even realized what was happening." She moved into a sitting position her feet tucked under her and her arms wrapped around her body. Her blonde hair was soaking wet and plastered against her face and back. When she turned to look at him, he could still see the fear in her wide eyes. "What are we going to do now? I lost my bag, my phone, my computer, my passport—everything."

  "Me, too, but we're still alive. Still beating the odds."

  "Barely." Her mouth trembled. "I thought I lost you, Jake. I thought you were gone."

  "Hey, you know how hard I am to get rid of," he teased. "I'm like a bad penny; I keep showing up."

  "I thought I was the bad penny." She tried to smile, but she couldn’t quite get there as tears streamed down her face. He wrapped his arms around her. "We're going to be okay, Kat."

  She rested her face against his chest as her body heaved with sobs. He let her cry. She needed to release the tension, and he needed to hold her, to feel her body against his, because for a while there, he'd thought he'd lost her, too.

  The idea of a world without Katherine in it seemed too painful to contemplate. She might not have been in his life for a decade, but he'd always known she was all right, and that was something.

  The water around them began to recede about the same time Katherine's tears did. The storm had also passed, and in between the tall trees, he could see moonlight.

  Katherine finally lifted her head to look at him. She rubbed her eyes. "Sorry. I never cry."

  "I guess you were overdue. You don't have to apologize. That was terrifying."

  "I don't know how you found me again, Jake. When I saw you coming toward me, I couldn't believe it."

  "It was the lightning. It lit up the area and I saw you, so I went after you."

  "You mean you were already out of the water and you jumped back in?" she asked in amazement.

  "Not exactly. I had scrambled up a tree, but I wasn't on dry ground."

  "But you still went back into the current to get to me?"

  "I didn't want to be out here alone," he joked.

  She shook her head, amazement in her eyes. "You are so much better than me, Jake. I let you drown all those years ago, but when you had the same choice—"

  "It wasn't the same choice. Back then I was only figuratively drowning in my grief. Today, you were actually going under water, and like I said, I didn't want to be out here alone, not without a smart doctor telling me what to do next."

  "I have no idea what to do next. We need shelter, and I'd love to get out of these wet clothes, but I think we're miles away from anything. And we could still run into those men again."

  "You've once again clearly identified the problems in front of us."

  "Sorry."

  "I doubt those men are walking around in this storm. So I'm not going to worry about them right now. But I do think we should start walking again. Even though it's dark, we can't stay here. Let's head away from all this water."

  "I wonder where we are now. I can still see that road in my head, but where did the water bring us?"

  He shrugged. "I don't know." He got up and held out his hand to her. She stood up, holding onto him for a moment.

  "I feel a little weak," she said.

  "Me, too."

  "But while my body might be worn out, I am mentally tough. I've been pushing the limits of exhaustion for years; I can do this."

  He smiled at her mental pep talk and realized her words had imbued him with a renewed sense of purpose. He could push himself, too, and that's what he was going to do, because there was really no other option.

  They walked for about a half hour. He honestly had no idea what direction they were going. He couldn't see enough of the night sky to use the stars to guide him, and he was more than a little worried that they were going to end up nowhere closer to civilization than they'd been before.

  But then, to his surprise, they came thr
ough the trees and stepped onto what appeared to be a dirt road. Down that road about a mile, he saw lights.

  "Oh, my God," Katherine said, putting her hand on his arm. "Is that a house, Jake?"

  "I sure as hell hope so, and I hope the people inside aren't wearing uniforms or carrying guns."

  "Right now, I don't know if I care who's inside."

  "You care. We should stay on the side of the road, close to the trees, just in case we don't like what we see when we get closer."

  "It has to be help, Jake—it just has to be."

  "Let's find out."

  They picked up the pace, their energy restored by the sight of lights. When they got closer to the property, he could see a house and a barn about fifty feet away.

  "Look, a baby swing," Katherine said, pointing to the porch. "I think a family lives here, Jake."

  Through the curtains, he could see a man and a woman in the living room, and he felt immensely reassured by that sight. He just hoped they'd answer the door and not be alarmed by their dripping appearance. His watch had stopped in the flood, but he was guessing it was about eight o'clock at night.

  He knocked on the door.

  A moment later, a man stood in front of them. He appeared to be in his fifties or sixties and had black hair tinged with gray, dark eyes, and weathered, ruddy skin. He held a rifle in his hands and judging by the look in his eyes, he wouldn't hesitate to use it.

  "Hola," Jake said, giving the man a smile. "Ingles?"

  The man stared back at them without replying, which wasn't a good sign.

  "Didn't your great-grandmother teach you any Spanish?" Katherine asked him.

  "Mamich always wanted to talk in English when I visited her," he replied.

  "Let me try. I know some phrases from the hospital. Nos puedes ayudar?"

  The man looked from Jake to Katherine. He hesitated and then glanced over his shoulder.

  "What did you ask him, Kat?"

  "If he could help us."

  A woman came to the door. She had the same dark hair, dark eyes and olive skin as the man, but she appeared to be in her late twenties. "Papa?" she questioned looking from the older man to Jake and Katherine.

  The man said something to his daughter in Spanish.

  "What's wrong?" she asked them.

  Relief ran through Jake. "You speak English."

  "Sí. You are American?"

  "Yes," Jake replied. "We're sorry to bother you, but we got caught in a flood, and we lost everything. We've been walking for hours, and we haven't seen another house. Do you have a phone?"

  "The cell phone doesn't work out here," she said. "I am Gloria. This is my father, Eduardo Lopez."

  "I'm Jake, and this is Katherine," he returned.

  "Hola," Katherine said.

  "Come inside. We'll get you some dry clothes to change into. It's been a terrible storm tonight."

  "Gracias," he said, happy to have found a woman who spoke English and a house that was warm.

  "You can leave your coats there." Gloria pointed to a line of hooks by the front door.

  Jake was more than happy to shed his waterlogged coat and Katherine seemed thrilled to do the same.

  Gloria's father said something to her, but she just waved a dismissive hand and led Jake and Katherine up the stairs.

  While the older man didn't try to stop them, Jake was acutely conscious of his suspicious gaze following their every step.

  Gloria led them into a bedroom. It was a small room, made even smaller by the double bed and the large dresser and desk in the room.

  "This is my brother's room," Gloria said. "He doesn't live here anymore. You can stay here tonight. He left some clothes behind in the closet, Jake. Please use whatever you want." She smiled at Katherine. "I'll get you something from my room." She paused at the sound of a baby's cry, a frown crossing her lips. "I just put her down five minutes ago."

  "I hope we didn't wake her," Katherine said.

  "She never sleeps. Come with me, Katherine. You can rummage through my drawers while I get my daughter."

  "I'll meet you downstairs," Jake said.

  Katherine paused in the doorway. "Thanks for getting me here, Jake."

  He tipped his head. "I'm glad we found some good luck for a change."

  "Me, too."

  * * *

  When they entered the room across the hall, Gloria walked quickly over to a bassinet and picked up a very angry baby. The infant didn't appear to be more than a few weeks old. Gloria patted her daughter's back as she pulled clothes out of the dresser and tossed them on the bed. "You can change in the bathroom. I'm going to try to feed her again."

  "Gracias, Gloria," Katherine said, feeling an overwhelming debt of gratitude toward this young woman who had taken two strangers into her house. She wondered if she would have done the same—probably not. Although, she would have called someone for help, but that was different than actually getting involved. Still, this was a very different world—a remote location and no phone. Maybe, strangely enough the lack of technology made people more willing to help each other.

  "Bring your wet clothes out when you're done, and we'll put them in the dryer. And then we'll get you and your husband some food. You're hungry, sí?"

  "Yes," Katherine agreed, her stomach rumbling at the thought of food. "Starving." She didn't bother to say that Jake wasn't her husband; she was far more interested in getting dry.

  She took Gloria's clothes into the bathroom and indulged in a hot shower before drying off and changing into black leggings, a long-sleeved tunic, and thick socks. She felt so much better just being clean and warm and dry. But her good mood evaporated when she returned to the bedroom and found both the baby and Gloria crying.

  "What's wrong?" Katherine asked, sitting down on the bed next to Gloria, who was propped up against the pillows, trying to get her daughter to nurse.

  "She won't eat. I can't get her to take my breast. She's hungry, and I can't feed her. I keep trying, but it just doesn't work. She's not comfortable. I'm not a good mother."

  Katherine felt a wave of sympathy for Gloria's obvious distress. "Your baby is just trying to figure it out, that's all. How old is she?"

  "Ten days. The nurse is supposed to come tomorrow, but I'm afraid my daughter will starve to death before then. She sucks for a minute and then she starts to cry. I gave her some formula earlier, but she doesn't like the bottle either. She takes just a little and then she screams."

  Katherine frowned. "Poor thing. It sounds like she's all mixed up. May I hold her?"

  "Do you know about babies? Are you a mother?"

  "I'm not a mother, but I'm a doctor. A pediatrician, actually."

  Gloria's mouth dropped open. "A doctor? Do you know what's wrong with her?" she asked as she handed the squirming, screaming baby to Katherine.

  "Let's take a look," Katherine said.

  She checked the baby's skin color and eyes for jaundice and gently palpated her abdomen to see if she could feel any obstructions or masses, but aside from the baby's obvious distress, she didn't feel or see any abnormalities. "Was it a normal birth, Gloria?"

  "Sí. I thought everything was fine. My friends said that breastfeeding would be easy, but I can't do it."

  "Well, she's getting some nutrients; I can see that. First thing we need to do is try to calm her down."

  "I don't know how to do that."

  "Let's try something. One of the pediatricians I trained with showed me a little trick. There's a way to hold a very young baby to comfort them." Katherine pulled the baby's right arm to her side and then brought the child's left arm across her chest. Then Katherine held the baby's arms in place with her own hand, her fingers gently resting under the baby's chin. With her other hand, she held the baby's bottom and gently rocked her back and forth.

  Almost immediately, the baby stopped crying.

  "Oh, my God, how did you do that?" Gloria asked. "It's a miracle."

  "Not a miracle—just a position that comforts he
r. Now that she's calming down, you can try breastfeeding again."

  "She'll just start crying again."

  "Let's try a slightly different position. First, I want you to take the baby and just hold her like I'm holding her. Bring her close to your body and just let her rest against your bare skin. Let her feel you for a minute. You both need to relax, to feel in touch with each other."

  "All right," Gloria said, taking the baby. "I'll try."

  "She's probably picking up on your worry and nervousness," Katherine added. "The calmer you can be, the calmer she can be. I know that's difficult, but try taking some deep breaths and just speak softly to her."

  Gloria did as Katherine suggested, speaking in soft Spanish to the child who was now nestled against her bare breasts. Katherine piled extra pillows on Gloria's lap and encouraged her to shift the baby higher so they were both belly to belly, and Gloria didn't have to lean over or hold the baby up to her breast. Within a moment, the baby opened her mouth, and with a few more words of encouragement, she latched onto Gloria's breast and began to nurse.

  "She's doing it. She's taking in milk," Gloria said in amazement. "I'm afraid to breathe."

  "Don't be afraid. Just enjoy. And no crying," she added, seeing the tears gathering in the young woman's eyes. "This is a good thing."

  "I've been so worried. I thought she hated me. She wouldn't eat; she wouldn't sleep. All she would do is cry. She has been driving Papa mad."

  "It's hard to see your baby cry, but think of her cries as her words. You'll soon figure out what she really needs. You're going to be fine, Gloria."

  "She doesn't usually stay on my breast this long."

  "She's comfortable, and so are you."

  "Thank you so much. I will be forever grateful."

  "I'm the one who should be thanking you for taking two strangers into your home."

  "I think you were sent here for a reason. You should go downstairs now. Papa is heating up some soup. You must be hungry."

  "I am, but I can stay with you if you want."

  "I'm fine now. If you take your clothes down to the laundry room, you can put them in the dryer."