On The Edge

by Catherine Vale

  Finally, sometime near dawn, she dragged the comforter and all the blankets and sheets onto the floor, making a nest of them and the pillows. She pulled a corner of the sheet over her shoulder and finally comfortable, drifted off into a deep sleep.

  She was still curled on the floor when something jerked her out of sleep. The door to her room was open, and she peeked under the bed. Across the room she saw a man’s pair of boots, followed by a smaller pair of shoes, clearly a woman’s.

  “This is her room, right? Where is she?”

  “The hell if I know. She’s got to be here somewhere.”

  “What happened to the bed?”

  Addison scrambled out of her nest of blankets, tugging the sheet around her as she stood. Daniel and Grace stood in the doorway.

  “Oh, my God. Grace! Daniel! How did you get here so fast?”

  Daniel set down the bags he was carrying. Before he could speak, Grace ran across the room, bounded over the bed, and pulled Addison into a hug.

  “Addison. It’s really you.”

  Addison buried her face against her sister’s neck, arms around her shoulders. “Yes. And it’s really you. Let me look at you.” With an effort she pushed her sister back. “You look amazing.”

  She glanced over Grace’s shoulder. “How did you manage a flight so soon? I only just talked to you yesterday.”

  Daniel closed the door, walking toward her, brows creased. “Addison. It’s been almost two days since you called. We’ve been trying to get through to you. The hotel was about to send someone to check on you. No one’s heard a sound from you since you ordered room service when you checked in.”

  Grace pulled Addison onto the bed. “Why are you sleeping on the floor?”

  “I…the bed was uncomfortable. I fell asleep really soundly.”

  “Soundly isn’t an adequate word, Addison. You’ve apparently been asleep for almost an entire day.”

  Addison sat on the bed, Grace practically sitting on her lap. She’d forgotten what her sister smelled like, and now, with her close, she took a deep breath. Beneath the chemical smells of civilization, she smelled Grace, her own individual scent, slightly warm, a bit ripe from travel. She smiled, thinking what Griffin would say about her heightened sense of smell.

  Her smile froze. Beneath those scents was another, a sickly sweet smell. The smell of sickness. Grace wasn’t cured; she was still sick.

  Chapter Five

  “This looks like a miniature tank, Daniel.” Addison looked up at the vehicle Daniel had rented. It was large, black, and looked as if it could scale Mt. Everest. She shouldered her new pack. Daniel had filled it with a rudimentary set of tools, Grace adding clean clothes. Addison had happily bagged her old clothes, tossing them into the trash.

  “I wanted to get closer to the ruins than we did last time. This…” He patted the side of the truck, looking not at Addison, but at Grace as he spoke. “This will get us almost right to the ruins.”

  Addison turned to Grace, a comment on her lips. But as she caught sight of her sister, standing in the bright sun, the words faded. Grace was pale, dark circles under her eyes. They hadn’t been there before, or Addison hadn’t noticed them. She’d been so excited to see Grace, and then she’d been in such a rush to leave, she might have missed them.

  “Grace? You okay? You look a little ill.” She set her hand on Grace’s arm. She felt warm, warmer than she should be, even standing outside.

  “Yeah. Just tired, you know? It’s been a rushed two days. You called, and then Daniel went into action.” She smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “And then we flew down…I didn’t get much sleep.”

  Addison caught Daniel’s eye. He shrugged, tossing a backpack on the passenger side floor. “She’s right. It’s been a hectic couple of days.” But she caught something in the tone of his voice. He thought something was wrong as well.

  Daniel drove them through Cusco, back up the same track they’d taken originally. It seemed like years ago, and as hard as she tried, she couldn’t really remember how long she’d been in the jungle. She thought about asking Grace, but then she realized it didn’t matter.

  “Speaking of being ill, are you okay, Addison?” Grace glanced at her, then shot a pointed look at Addison’s stomach. “I saw you when you changed clothes. I think you have worms.”

  Daniel laughed and Addison jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow. “I don’t have worms. And I’m in perfect health.”

  “There’s something going on with you. I’m your sister, Addison. You can’t hide things from me.”

  “It’s a long story. I’m fine. Tell me about you though, about Osbourne’s cure.”

  Grace sighed. “It was such a hassle. The hospital refused to have anything to do with giving me something experimental. I insisted, but they stuck to their guns. So I left, checked out against medical advice. I was so tired and weak Daniel had to carry me out of the building.”

  Addison took her sister’s hand. Her fingers brushed across Grace’s wrist. Her pulse was rapid, her skin clammy.

  “Osbourne came to the apartment and gave me the medicine he’d made.” She pulled a face. “It tasted absolutely vile. But I took it.” She squeezed Addison’s hand. “Because I knew you wouldn’t have found anything that wouldn’t work.”

  “How did you feel afterward?”

  “I slept for days, and days, it seemed.”

  “She did.”

  Addison glanced at Daniel, who kept his eyes on the road. “You were there?”

  “He never left. He camped out in my room until I woke up, and then he stayed in the guest room.”

  Addison didn’t miss the change in Grace’s voice, the softening, or the side-long glance she gave Daniel. “He’s basically moved in.”

  “Well, I couldn’t leave her alone. And you were…well, you were busy.” He glanced over at her, his mouth quirked up in an all too familiar teasing grin. “So, Addison, tell Grace what you’ve been up to.”

  She shot him a look that he chose to ignore.

  “Addison? What is it? Daniel’s been really secretive about why you stayed behind. He wouldn’t tell me why, or what you were doing.”

  She hadn’t really thought about this moment, how she’d tell Grace about Griffin, about the arrangement, or about the outcome of that arrangement.

  “I needed help to find the orchid. So I enlisted the help of one of the…” Shifters? Villagers? Man I fell in love with? “One of the local men to help me find the flower. He wanted an arrangement…”

  Daniel made a noise and she elbowed him again. Grace frowned. “Addison, I really don’t understand.”

  Addison closed her eyes. This wasn’t working. “I made an arrangement with the man, and that arrangement was he’d help me find the orchid, and I would stay until I conceived. And…well, I’m pregnant.”

  Grace stared at her. “What? You’re kidding, right?” She leaned forward, looking past Addison at Daniel. “Daniel, tell me she’s kidding.”

  “I can’t. She agreed to this…this arrangement, and by the look of her, it’s come to fruition, no pun intended.”

  “You really agreed to carry a stranger’s baby! Are you crazy?”

  “No. Not crazy.” She squeezed Grace’s hand. “I was desperate to find the orchid, to find a cure.”

  “You really agreed to that?” Grace’s voice still held disbelief.

  “She agreed without knowing what the terms were. You left that part out, Addison.”

  “You went off with a stranger, agreed to something without knowing, and then you went through with it when you did?”

  Grace’s voice rose, cracked and she broke into a violent bout of coughing. Addison turned, and Daniel slowed the truck.

  “Grace? Are you okay?” Addison reached into the backpack at their feet and found a bottle of water. Grace took it, tried to drink, but coughed and sputtered water.

  “Daniel, pull over.”

  Grace waved her hand, water sloshing out of the bottle. �
�No. I’m okay. Really.” She took another drink, managing to swallow the water. “See. I’m fine.”

  Addison sat back, letting Grace calm down, letting her catch her breath. They were on the outskirts of Cusco, heading toward the mountains.

  “We should go back, find a hospital…”

  “No! I’m not going back to any hospital, especially here. I want to go with you. I’m fine. I told you, I’m tired. That’s all.” She set her chin, and Addison let it go, knowing there was no arguing with Grace.

  “She’s as headstrong as you are, Addison. It’s pretty obvious you’re twins.”

  “You’re no help, Daniel.”

  They drove in silence until they were out of the city, heading up the mountain road. The day was bright and hot, but Addison knew as soon as they entered the higher elevations, and the jungle, it would be cooler.

  For the first time since she’d been taken it seemed entirely possible she’d be with Griffin soon, maybe even tonight. She’d be home, and they’d be together.

  As if reading her thoughts, Grace took her hand again. “So, is he a nice guy?”

  Addison smiled, a wave of emotion washing over her. “He is. He’s one of the most wonderful men I’ve ever met.”

  Daniel shifted beside her, the car suddenly lurching forward as Daniel jammed his foot down on the accelerator. Grace squeezed her hand, rolled her eyes, and leaned close to Addison’s ear. “Later.”

  “Later.”

  The drive seemed endless; although Daniel appeared to be hell bent on pushing the truck to its limits. They bumped over the track, and Addison remembered coming down with the men, and then past that, further than she and Daniel had gone in their Jeep. Daniel had a new map spread across the dash, something topological looking, with much more detail than her map had contained. There appeared to be a network of smaller roads she hadn’t known about that went up the back of the mountain, circling the ruins from the other side.

  “Do you think we’ll be there by nightfall? To the ruins at least? I don’t know if Grace’s up to roughing it in the jungle.”

  Grace was asleep beside her, head resting on Addison’s shoulder. She’d fallen asleep shortly after they’d left Cusco.

  “That is my intent. We’ll be able to camp in the ruins.” He shot her a side-long glance. “I’m reluctant to camp there though, knowing there are raiders in the area.”

  “I know. But there’s not much choice. At least in the ruins we’re under cover, out of the weather. If it rains…”

  “You’ll stay in the storage rooms? You won’t be silly enough to stand on top of the damned ruins, looking for Griffin?”

  “Yes, Daniel. I know enough to stay out of sight. I’m not that foolish.”

  “I didn’t say you were foolish. But you aren’t the same woman I left behind. You’ve changed.”

  “Changed how?” She wasn’t sure she wanted to know what Daniel thought. His brutal honesty was sometimes hard to take, even if it was what she needed to hear.

  “For the first time since I met you, you’re in love.”

  His words took her by surprise. “I loved you, Daniel. I really did.”

  “I know. And I loved you. But you weren’t in love with me. There’s a difference. This is different.”

  She sat in stunned silence for a moment. “I’m sorry, Daniel. Really.”

  “Me, too.” He turned, flashed her a rueful smile. “Griffin’s a lucky bastard. But you’re still my friend, and I won’t give that up for anything.”

  The sky above them darkened, threatening rain. Daniel sat grimly behind the wheel, and it looked to Addison as if he were trying to move the truck forward by sheer force of will. The track had narrowed to nothing more than a wide space between the trees. Leaves and foliage scraped against the sides of the truck.

  Daniel negotiated another hairpin turn, and then slammed on the brakes. Addison instinctively flung one arm across Grace’s chest, her other arm outstretched, hitting the dash. Pain ran up her arm into her injured shoulder. Wincing, she turned to Grace.

  “Are you okay?

  “Are you?”

  “I’m fine.” She flexed her arm. The shoulder that had been hit with a rock by the raiders was stiff, but nothing seemed any sorer than it had been.

  “What happened?”

  “Tree.” Daniel pointed, then opened his door.

  Addison looked out the windshield. A tree lay across the track. Through the trees she saw the roots, torn from the ground in a tangled, clotted mass of dirt.

  “Can we drive over, or around it?”

  Daniel was already out of the vehicle, hands on hips, staring at the tree as if he could move it with his mind. Addison waited, Grace tense beside her. Daniel turned and shook his head, walking back to the truck.

  “It’s too big to drive over. And it’s far too big for us to move. Even if we could get a chain around it…” He glanced back at the tree. “There’s nowhere to drag it to.”

  “So we walk?” Grace opened the door, stepping into the mud, looking up the trail. Addison climbed out behind her. “How far is it?”

  “This track ends around the next bend. Then it’s about a mile.” Daniel leaned across the front seat, grabbing his and Grace’s packs from behind the front seat. He looked up at Addison, his expression grim. She nodded. With no trail, a mile through the jungle could take hours of struggling through thick foliage, over rough terrain. This wasn’t going to be easy, for any of them. Addison grabbed her pack, swinging it over her shoulders.

  “What should I carry?” Grace leaned against the truck.

  “There’s nothing left. I’ve got my pack, and Daniel has the rest.” She watched Daniel shoulder both packs. “You just follow Daniel. He’ll cut brush, if we need to clear a path.”

  Daniel brandished his machete, a wicked looking affair. Grace’s eyes went wide.

  “Oh. Yeah. Okay.”

  They started up the muddy track, Daniel in the lead, picking the least rutted route. They climbed steadily and Addison kept an eye on Grace. She walked slowly and carefully, but she seemed to be doing okay.

  Daniel finally stopped, consulting his map. Addison walked past Grace, rubbing her shoulder briefly. She got a wan smile in return. Grace’s cheeks were pink and Addison resisted the urge to put her hand on Grace’s forehead.

  “Where are we?” She peered over Daniel’s shoulder. Daniel stepped closer, holding the map between them.

  “Here.” He pointed to a splotch on the map. “We need to be there.” He pointed to a different splotch. On paper the distance was miniscule. But Addison knew it was close to a mile.

  “It’s mostly up the side of the mountain.” He dropped his voice, glancing past Addison to Grace. “Do you think she’ll make it?”

  “I’m not sure. Her scent is off, something isn’t right with her. She seems fine, and then it’s like a cloud passing over the sun and she’s exhausted. Was she like this before you got here?”

  He shrugged. “She was better and that’s all anyone really paid attention to. She’s really great at hiding how she feels. It wasn’t until we were on the plane that I noticed how tired she was, how her hands shook.”

  Grace was watching a butterfly flit from flower to flower. She was her sister, just as beautiful as always, and apparently just as stubborn.

  “That’s Grace.” She turned back to Daniel. “Listen. Let’s try for the ruins. At least there’s shelter there, and it’s going to rain sometime before midnight.”

  Daniel’s eyebrows rose. “So you can tell when someone’s sick, and when it’s going to rain now? You really have gone native.”

  “Stop teasing. It’s not that hard, if you pay attention.”

  “What’s not hard?”

  “Your sister is giving me the weather forecast. Sunny and clear.” He smiled at Grace, winked at Addison, and folded the map back into his pocket. “We’ll be at the ruins and I’ll make you a gourmet dinner. How does that sound?”

  “Sounds implausible, but
if anyone can pull it off, it’s you.” Grace smiled as Daniel turned away. The look in her eyes wasn’t hard to miss: she was in love with Daniel.

  There were worse men to fall in love with, Addison thought. Daniel began hacking at the jungle, Grace watching from the rutted path. They’d make it to the ruins, spend the night, and then tomorrow she’d find Griffin.

  Chapter Six

  Addison swatted away an errant frond that smacked her in the face. Daniel was like a machine, clearing a path. Addison walked behind him, pushing aside the fallen debris, and Grace brought up the rear. It was hot work, made all the more urgent by the darkening skies overhead. Addison’s prediction for rain before midnight was coming true much sooner than anyone would have liked.

  She’d lost track of where they were, trusting Daniel. As she pulled aside leaves and branches, she’d started a little daydream, that Griffin would catch her scent on the wind, and would be at the ruins waiting for her. Daniel and Grace faded from her little fantasy, and it was just her and Griffin, in each other’s arms. They would find a secluded space, he’d scowl over her new clothes, but then they’d be gone, and they’d be together in the soft rain.

  Her fantasy was shattered by a muffled cry behind her. She turned just as Grace slid to the ground.

  “Grace!” She ran the few steps back through the rough-hewn jungle. “Daniel! Help me. She’s collapsed.”

  She turned Grace onto her back, shocked by how hot she felt. Her skin was on fire, but she wasn’t sweating. Daniel knelt beside her, a bottle of water in his hand.

  “Did she faint? Is it heat stroke?” Addison took the water, splashing some over Grace’s face.

  “She’s had her own bottle and she’s asked for another, so she’s been drinking enough I think.” He laid a hand on her cheek. “But she’s burning up.”

  Addison shook Grace’s shoulder. “Grace, wake up. Come on, babe.” Grace’s eyelids fluttered, but her head lolled to the side.

  “Daniel. What do we do?”