“I made a will, Mom. Did I tell you that? I did. I left everything to Lily. I never told her. I guess I should have. I wonder why I didn’t. You’d like her, Mom.”
The terrain was really different now. The ground was wet and soggy. He started to shake and couldn’t stop. He thought he heard water, but he wasn’t sure. Was he near one of the bayous? If so, what did it mean? Would he be closer to civilization, closer to ... what?
He was soaked through to the skin. He had a high fever. He had blood poisoning and was shaking from head to toe. If he didn’t have pneumonia, it was only a matter of time before he got it. He did the one thing he hadn’t done before.
He prayed.
“This sucks!” Dennis muttered. “I’m soaking wet down to my underwear. My ass is as cold as my feet. I’d kill for some hot soup. I wasn’t cut out for this. I wish there was something I could do, something I could contribute. I feel like a slug. How can the two of you sit there eating that beef jerky?”
“It’s dark, Dennis. There’s nothing else we can do unless you want to continue searching in the dark. I don’t recommend it, but we do have flashlights. If you want, we can start out again. We’re pretty close to the bayous now. It’s unfamiliar terrain to Sadie and me. The forest is one thing, we know how to track and take care of ourselves out there. The bayou is something else. It’s your call, if you want to keep going, Sadie and I are game.”
“Sitting gets us nowhere. Let’s keep on going. Isn’t Gracie picking up on anything?”
“Yes, she is, but I can’t let her loose. I’m basically following her. She has Matt’s scent. If he’s out here, she’ll find him. Okay, Sadie, let’s go. I’ll lead. Keep Buzz close to you, Dennis.”
A long time later, Dennis grumbled as he ground to a halt. “I haven’t heard a peep out of either one of you for the past five hours. Aren’t you soaking wet? Aren’t you miserable? Where the hell are we going?”
Lily turned to look at Matt’s best friend. A sharp retort was on her lips, but she bit down on her tongue. She had to remember that Dennis was out of shape, he knew nothing about outdoor life, and while he was concerned about Matt, he was also worried about his own endurance. “We’re following Gracie. It’s three in the morning, Dennis. We’re all tired and yes, we’re all wet. Getting excited and angry only uses up energy. I suggest we stop, sleep until it gets light, then head out again. The rain isn’t going to let up, that’s a given. The ground is exceptionally wet, so that has to mean we’re near the bayou. I can see cypress all over. By daylight, we’ll have a better idea of where we are and which way to go. Gracie will find him if he’s out here. Let’s find some shelter and call it a night.”
“I’m sorry, Lily. I wish I was better equipped physically and mentally for this search. If I’m slowing you down, just say so,” Dennis said.
“You’re doing fine, Dennis. No one said this was going to be easy. I’m pretty miserable myself right now. So is Lily,” Sadie smiled.
“I guess what you’re saying is, suck it up, right?”
“That pretty much covers it,” Sadie grinned. “Try and get some sleep.”
Dennis closed his eyes. How the hell was he supposed to sleep when he was so cold and wet he expected icicles to form on his nose any minute? He knew he had blisters on his feet, and his back felt like it was sprained with the heavy load he’d been carrying. They were girls for God’s sake. Neither of them weighed more than 105 pounds, and he hadn’t heard a peep out of them all day long. Talk about sucking up. Maybe if he thought about something pleasant, he might nod off for a little bit. He smiled to himself when he wondered what Sadie looked like in a bikini.
Lily hunkered down between the dogs with Sadie on the other side of her. Buzz stretched out, but Gracie remained on her haunches, her ears straight up, ever alert. “We’re going to find him, girl. I feel it in my bones. I think he knows we’re out here. Easy, now, we’ll set off again when it gets light out.”
Her hand closed over the Wish Keeper, her other hand secure on Gracie’s leash. She waited for something to happen. She sighed, and then tugged at it again.
She was here but she was there. It was a place she didn’t recognize. A large field or perhaps a large garden area. She watched as a man on a tractor tilled the soil. From off in the distance she watched an elderly lady shield her eyes from the sun to stare at the kind, generous man who helped her from time to time and who never wanted or expected anything in return. Just a loving man who did for others. And then he was gone, the small tractor overturning. The elderly lady ran as fast as she could. The tractor, the kind man, the elderly lady disappeared and a little girl walked over to the spot in the field and looked about. She dropped to her knees and ran her hands over the wet ground. So much blood. She looked at her hands, then at the dirt. Her daddy’s blood. Such sorrow in her big, dark eyes. She didn’t understand. The elderly lady returned to lead her away, washed her hands and told her to go home to her mama. Such tragic, dark eyes. Such grief for one so small.
Lily jerked to wakefulness and stared out at the darkness all around her. What had she just seen? Was it a dream or one of her spells? Did she just experience one of the secrets entrusted to her? If that was the case, then she couldn’t talk about it to Sadie and Dennis. If she was the new Wish Keeper, even temporarily, she had to keep her own counsel. Who was the little girl with the big, dark eyes? Surely there was no secret to the kind man’s death. Perhaps the little girl was wishing for her father to return. How was she supposed to know what was a wish and what was a secret? Would knowledge come in time? She felt like the young man in the television show who got tomorrow’s newspaper today and then had to act on it. What was she supposed to do in the future? She sighed. Time would undoubtedly give her the answer. She sighed again as she closed her eyes and prayed for sleep to come.
Matt woke to rain splashing on his face. It must be raining harder than it was when he first lay down to sleep. How many hours ago was that? He felt disoriented. It was almost light, so at least eleven or twelve hours had gone by since he’d lain down in his pine bed. He struggled to move, to stretch out his hands to catch the precious rain. He gulped at it from his cupped hands. Nothing in the world had ever tasted as good as the fresh rainwater. He tried to move his injured foot that was swollen to twice its size. A hard cough erupted from his chest that left him gasping for breath. He felt his foot, and it was fiery hot to his touch. There was no way he was going to be able to get the Wellington back on. He was also burning up and shivering inside his wet clothes. He coughed again, his head rocking on his shoulders with the force of the strain.
Lily’s words thundered in his ears. Move. Crawl if you have to but move. How was he to crawl on one leg? His wet clothes now weighed more and he would be dragging deadweight. He wondered if it was possible to roll along, but where would he get the momentum from? Scratch that idea.
He waited for full light. Twenty minutes later he pulled his trouser leg up to stare down at the red streak going up his leg. It was almost to his knee now. A flurry of panic washed over him.
Move! Dammit, I said move! You have to keep moving till you drop in your tracks. He coughed again as violent chills racked his body.
“I’m going. I’m going.” He crawled forward. Once he thought he heard a dog bark. That’s when he knew he was delirious.
As he slogged his way forward on his elbows and one good leg in his best combat crawl, he thought about how nice it was going to be when he could take a shower and fall into Lily’s bed. The big king-size bed with the sweet-smelling sheets that had little purple flowers all over them. The pillows all made from some kind of duck feathers would hold his head and caress his cheeks. He grimaced as he tried to figure out how they caught the ducks to steal the feathers. Poor creatures, they must freeze without the warmth of their feathers so people like him could dream about soft feathers. He wondered again how they got the ducks to stand still to pluck the feathers. Someday he was going to ask someone who was an authority on duck feat
hers. Lily would probably know. Dennis wouldn’t know. Dennis slept on some kind of foam that curved into your neck. He continued to cough as he struggled forward.
Move! Faster! Don’t stop. Don’t think! Move! No matter how badly you hurt, no matter how badly you feel, keep moving. Don’t give in. Move, dammit!
“I swear to God, Lily, I can’t go any faster. I’m doing the best I can. I’m not slacking. If there was a way for me to get up and walk out of here, I would do it. I would do it for you, Lily. I don’t ever want to disappoint you. I don’t want you to think I’m a wuss.” He fell forward on his face and started to cough, the sounds ratcheting up from somewhere deep in his chest. He wanted to curse his circumstances, but the words simply wouldn’t come. Exhausted from coughing, he lay there for a moment before he pulled himself up on his good knee and moved forward. How was it possible to feel so hot and yet so cold at the same time? He thought he heard a dog bark again. “Oh, Gracie, I’m so sorry. I let you down. I promise if I ever get out of this, I’ll track those bastards to the ends of the earth, and I promise you, I will find you. I will, Gracie. I swear to God, I will find you. You got me through some bad times in my life, and I’m not about to forget that. It was me and you. Just me and you for a long time.” He fell again. This time his energy was so depleted all he could do was roll over. He coughed until he couldn’t cough anymore. He closed his eyes and was asleep almost immediately.
Chapter Ten
“I can’t believe you two girls earned a living doing this day in and day out for nine months out of the year. How in the hell do you do it?” Dennis gasped as he slogged forward.
“It was a job,” Sadie said quietly. “We rarely had this kind of mud, and it didn’t rain every day. I guess my best answer is you get used to it. And we didn’t do it in the winter. For the most part the people were nice. I’m not saying you aren’t nice. This is a whole different ball game, Dennis. Don’t talk, just keep moving. Talking saps your energy if you’re walking.”
Lily stopped and turned around. “I don’t know why but I have this feeling I should let Gracie loose. We need to rest a few moments so we can go after her because she’s going to take off like a bullet. Actually, we’ll have to run. This mud will slow us down so be prepared. Five minutes,” she said breathlessly.
“Okay, on the count of three, I’m going to take off her leash.”
The shepherd lunged forward the moment she was free of the leash and sprinted away, the others behind her. Her bark was so loud, Lily cringed at the sound. To her ear it sounded like a joyful bark. Please God, let Gracie find Matt. And please let him be alive and well. I promise, I will never ask You for anything, ever again. Just let Matt be alive and well.
It wasn’t the rain that woke him. Maybe it was the dream. The best one ever since he’d been abducted. The tremendous weight on his chest and lower body made his eyes snap open. Or maybe it was the loving licks to his face. “Gracie! Oh, God, Gracie, is it really you? I found you. This is the best dream. I swore I’d find you. I was prepared to go to the ends of the earth. Oh, God, I love you as much as I love Lily. How come there are so many of you? You brought the whole army, didn’t you. Six, seven, they all look like you. C’mere, baby, let me hug you.”
Out of breath, the others skidded to a stop to watch Gracie lathering Matt with her own brand of love. “Matt! You’re alive!” Lily screamed, running over to where he lay with Gracie.
“God, Lily, this is the best dream. What the hell took you so long?”
Tears dripped down Lily’s cheeks. “I had to tree this bear, fight off a couple of alligators, ford Old Muddy, that kind of thing.”
“That’s it!”
“I stopped in town to buy a push-up bra before starting out. God, I can’t believe we found you. We have to get you out of here.”
“I didn’t stand you up, Lily.”
“I know that, Matt. Sadie, shoot off two flares. That should bring somebody. In case no one shows up, we have to make a litter and get him out of here as soon as we can. Dennis, help Sadie.”
“Dennis. Old buddy, are you here? I knew you’d come looking for me. You brought a double, huh? There are three of you, Lily. Which one should I kiss first?”
Lily laughed. “Gracie would rip out my throat if I tried to take her place right now. That’s the way it should be. Later, we’ll have all the time in the world.”
“I don’t know if I have that much time, Lily,” Matt said, struggling for each breath he took. “I think I have pneumonia, and I know I have blood poisoning. The streak going up my leg is moving pretty fast. I keep seeing my mother. She’s waiting for me.”
“Shut up, Matt. I don’t want to hear that kind of talk. Don’t say that again. If you did see her, that just means she’s watching over you. We’re here now. We’re going to get you to a hospital as soon as we can. I’m going to peel off your socks and look at your foot. I’ll do what I can with what I have to work with. We each have a thermal blanket so we’re going to strip you down and wrap you up before we put you on a litter.”
“Where are you getting a litter?” Matt gasped.
“We’re making it, buddy. Just hang on,” Dennis shouted as he stripped a young sapling to match the one Sadie had cut. He watched as she wove the climbing rope around and through the three saplings that would carry Matt’s weight. It took all of six minutes. His face reflected the awe he felt.
“Okay, help me here. We need to get him out of these wet clothes and wrapped in the thermal blankets as soon as possible. C’mon, people, hustle. Time is crucial here. Move, move, move!”
“I did it, Lily. I kept moving. I did everything you said that I could remember.” A violent fit of coughing overtook him before he could say anything else. “I licked the dew off the plants, I chewed the bark. Can you bake bread?”
“You did good, Matt. I’m very proud of you. Don’t talk now. We’re stripping you down. You’ll be nice and warm in a minute. These are some duds you’re wearing. I never made bread, but I can learn if it’s important to you.”
“Push-up bra, huh? How sick am I, Lily?”
“Pretty damn sick. You already know that. Stop talking, Matt. Trust me, okay?”
“With my life, Lily. I love you, Gracie. I really love you. How’d you get here with the army?”
“I found her, Matt. Actually, Buzz found her. She was looking for you. She’s fine now, so shut up. I don’t want you talking. Talking triggers your coughing spells.”
“Okay, buddy, you’re snug as a bug now,” Dennis said the moment they peeled off Matt’s clothes and wrapped him in the thermal blankets. “Do you feel warmer? Of course you do. Don’t answer that. Okay, we’re going to lift you onto the litter and get you out of here. Did you check that GPS thingamajig, Lily?”
Lily looked down at her Global Positioning System and prayed the batteries wouldn’t run out. If they did, she had her compass and her map. With a GPS, even a rat could find its way out of a maze of navigational challenges. “I’m doing that right now. We’re on the money.”
“Tell me where to buy those things. That’s what I’m going to give everyone for Christmas this year,” Dennis said.
“Don’t give me one!” Matt mumbled.
“Buddy, you are Numero Uno on my list.”
“Okay, let’s go, we’re outta here!” Lily said, taking one end of the bottom half of the litter while Sadie took the other half. Dennis carried both ends from the top.
“Move, move!” Lily said jogging forward.
“That’s all you ever say, move, move, move!” Matt mimicked Lily. “Been there, done that.” In spite of herself, Lily smiled.
“How long before we make civilization?” Dennis queried an hour later. “I’m exhausted. You two must be tired.”
Lily could have been dropping in her tracks but she wouldn’t admit it, and neither would Sadie. “You talk too much. Keep moving. We have another hour to go. Where the hell are those people who live around here? Someone should have seen the flares.”<
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“They’re probably following their daily routine. The chances of someone actually looking out of their window and seeing the flares had to be about zip. Nor are people with brains clomping around out here at this time of year.”
“I heard that,” Matt mumbled.
“Can you really trust that gizmo, that GPS thing?” Dennis demanded.
“Sometimes you get crappy reception if it’s a bad satellite afternoon. Sometimes you run out of batteries. I carry spares. It’s called a low-tech backup for a high-tech solution. Sadie and I both took clinic courses in Arizona before we bought them. We’re okay, Dennis.”
“She’s okay, Dennis. Stop bothering her,” Matt mumbled again between bouts of coughing.
“He doesn’t sound good, Lily,” Sadie whispered.
“No, he doesn’t. The blood poisoning has really taken hold, too. That guy of mine is pretty tough, Sadie.”
“Yeah. Yeah, he is. I didn’t mean . . .”
“I know. We’ll get him to the hospital in time. Modern medicine . . .”
“Is wonderful. You wanna bet someone shows up just when we make it to the car? If they do, I’ll give them what for,” Sadie snarled.
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