“Sorry, but we don’t have enough food for that.”
Lily huffed. “I could eat a horse.”
Carter burst out laughing, and the sound echoed about the stone walls. “I bet you could.”
She climbed to her feet and dusted off her legs. “Oh, and you couldn’t?”
“Hell yeah. The horse and its rider.”
“Ewww, that’s gross.”
He cocked his eyebrow. “And . . . eating a horse isn’t?”
“It’s a saying.”
“Well, so’s mine.” Carter led the way out and they made their way toward Otomi.
Their guide had everything packed up ready to go, and Pompa was back in his cage. “You ready, Miss Lily?”
“I don’t want to go. This has been incredible. Thank you.”
“You welcome. We lucky to have special ruin so close to our home.”
Carter nearly chuckled. Close to home was a gross exaggeration—he’d hate to experience what Otomi thought was a long distance.
“How far is it to the next campsite?” Lily tugged her water bottle from her hip.
“Not far.” Otomi hoisted his pack onto his back. “We take shortcut back to boat.”
“Shortcut?” Carter wondered why they hadn’t taken that route up here.
“Yes, no need to go Yaxchilan. We go straight down to river and find boat. It okay, I know the way.”
“Why didn’t we come up that way?” Carter had to know.
“It too steep to climb up. But down is okay.”
Lily glanced at Carter, and he thought he saw concern in her eyes. He shrugged. So far Otomi hadn’t missed a beat with his directions.
Otomi handed each of them what looked like a strip of dried meat. “Eat.”
“What is it?” Lily sniffed the leathery-looking morsel.
“Beef cecina. It good. Give you energy.”
Carter bit into the strip and tugged on it until his teeth cut through. It was chewy and spicy, and he had to admit, delicious. Or maybe he was just so hungry anything would’ve tasted great.
Lily nodded her approval. “Tastes good.”
“My wife, she make it.”
She tugged another chunk away. “Please tell her we like it.”
“Yes. I tell her.” Otomi’s face lit up with pride. “We go now. Must make camp before sunset.”
They set off again with Otomi in the lead, and Carter took his position at the back of the line. Just like the hike to Agulinta, there appeared to be no obvious trail. How Otomi knew which way to go was a mystery to Carter, yet the guide continued on unerringly. The terrain was relatively flat, maybe with a slight incline, but was dense with vegetation. Every step involved shoving one plant or another out of the way.
It was an hour or so before there was any change in the terrain, but when it did change, it wasn’t subtle. One minute they were walking on relatively flat ground; the next minute they tramped down a very steep decline. The pressure on Carter’s knees had him wincing at every step, and not for the first time in his life, he cursed his old rugby-playing days.
It wasn’t easy underfoot either. Loose rocks of all shapes and sizes meant constant surveillance, and looking down made his neck ache too. Some of the rocks were so big they had to sit on them to get down, and dozens of fallen trees crossed their path, forcing them to go around or over them at regular intervals.
The sun struggled to cut through the dense canopy, but the change in temperature had Carter sensing sunset wasn’t too long away. He hadn’t worn a watch in five years, not since his had died, and he hadn’t felt the need for another one since. It’d been liberating—the last thing he needed was to see the countdown on his life.
A scream shattered his reverie.
Carter jumped and his eyes darted down to Otomi, who’d fallen over face-first. The screaming man rolled onto his side and clutched his leg above his knee. Carter’s instant thought was that Otomi had broken his leg. He scurried down the embankment and the second he saw Otomi he knew it was a hell of a lot worse.
Midway down Otomi’s calf were two bite marks.
“Oh, Jesus.” Carter knelt beside him. “Is that a snake bite?”
Otomi’s face twisted with pain. “Snake. Snake. Very bad.” He clenched his teeth in obvious agony.
“Shit.” The blood drained from Lily’s face. “What do we do?” Her eyes darted from Otomi to the surrounding bush, possibly looking for the snake.
Carter flipped his pack off and tugged Otomi’s pack away.
“Lie down.” Carter tried to push him back to the dirt, but Otomi’s writhing and rigid clutches on his leg made his attempts useless.
Carter reached into his pack and despite knowing there’d be no signal, checked his phone anyway. None. He glanced at Lily. Her terrified eyes matched his own thoughts. “Help me keep him still. He must stay calm.”
She placed her hands on Otomi’s shoulders. “Calm down, Otomi.”
Carter yanked his first-aid kit from his bag and flicked to the index in the emergency handbook. Blocking out Otomi’s sickening howls, he searched for the right page.
Lily’s eyes bulged. “You don’t know what to do?”
“No, I don’t fucking know what to do! Do you?”
Her jaw dropped and she turned back to Otomi.
Carter found the snakebite page and skimmed the instructions. “Take off his shoe,” he demanded.
“Okay.” Lily shuffled to Otomi’s feet and untied his shoelaces.
Carter plucked two bandages from his first-aid kit, and kneeling at Otomi’s side, squeezed his shoulder. “Listen to me.”
Red spider veins riddled Otomi’s eyes. His clenched jaw stressed his battle against the pain.
“You need to keep still. Very still. Understand?”
Otomi nodded.
“Now please try to stay calm.”
The guide released his grip above his knee and leaned back. Because of the angle of the hill, it was impossible for him to lie flat. Which was a good thing. He needed to keep the bite below his heart to slow the poison flow.
Grabbing his water bottle, Carter poured a generous amount onto the bite mark and blood flowed in two rivulets down Otomi’s calf. Carter tugged a shirt from his pack and dabbed at the area around the wound to dry it. Working as quickly as possible he fought against Otomi’s jerky movements and wrapped a bandage across the fang marks several times.
He glanced at Lily. Her eyes replicated his fear. “Hold him still.”
His heart thumped in his chest. Bile rose to his throat. And his brain zipped around dozens of horrid scenarios as he strapped Otomi’s leg toward his upper thigh. He tried to ignore his trembling fingers as he secured the end of the bandage in place with a couple of butterfly closures.
Otomi’s howls echoed about the trees.
His body jolted in painful spasms.
His bloodshot eyes blazed terror.
Carter overlooked it all, forcing his hands into action. Using the second bandage, he wrapped the rest of Otomi’s leg to his ankle and foot.
“Otomi, please keep still. Otomi. Otomi!” Otomi’s eyes met his and the panic Carter saw drove fear up his spine. “Keep still, buddy. Deep breaths in and out. In and out. Understand?”
Otomi sucked in a shaky breath. “Yes. Okay. I know. But it hurt.”
“I know buddy.” Carter turned to Lily. “Show him what to do. Deep breaths in and out. He needs to stay still and calm.”
She nodded and placed her hand on the guide’s forearm. “Okay, let’s do this together.”
Carter stood, and Lily’s eyes darted up to him. “What are you doing?”
“We can’t stay here. We need to find flatter ground.”
The horror in her eyes intensified, yet she nodded. “Be careful.”
“I will. Just keep
him calm.”
Carter set off down the hill. The decline was extreme, testing his already aching knees. With continual glances over his shoulder to make sure he didn’t lose sight of Lily, he made his way downward, scouring the area for a level patch. Ideally, the spot would be big enough to put up at least one tent.
At the point where he could only just see Lily, he traversed the hill horizontally. With each passing second, Otomi’s pained cries bounced off the trees in a grotesque chorus.
Sheer desperation had Carter choose a giant stone that jutted out from the cliff face. It was relatively flat, but barely big enough to pitch one tent, let alone two. Carter tore off his shirt, tied it to a branch of a nearby tree and then ploughed right back up the hill.
By the time he returned to Lily, Otomi’s screams had reduced to agonized moans. He’d deteriorated dramatically. Sweat poured from his forehead, his flesh was ghastly gray, and his eyes flickered beneath his closed eyelids, fighting the horrific nightmare.
Lily looked up at Carter, and her lip trembled.
He knelt at her side. “Have you tried your phone for a signal?”
“Yes. Nothing.” Her voice was shrill. “I haven’t had a signal for days.”
“Shit. Me neither.” He glanced at Otomi. “He’s in shock.”
“What do we do?”
Carter touched Otomi’s forehead and recoiled at the furnace beneath his pallid skin. “Let’s get him to flat ground for starters.”
She looked down the ravine. “How?”
“I’ll have to carry him.”
“What can I do?”
“Just help me out. Bring a pack and tie something to a tree so we can find the rest later.”
“Okay.”
Lily tugged a white T-shirt from her pack and tied it to a branch.
Carter readied to pick up Otomi. He was a big man, maybe two hundred pounds, and Carter hoped like hell he could lift him. Exhaustion and lack of food already had him weak. He drove his hands beneath Otomi’s knees and back, dread gnawed at his stomach, and with nothing left to do but lift, Carter glanced at Lily. “Ready?”
She threw her pack over her shoulders. Beads of sweat trickled down her brow. “Ready.” Clenching her jaw, she nodded.
Carter dug his toes into the rough ground for grip. “Lily, put his arm over my shoulder. Quick.” She trudged around him. When the heavy weight of Otomi’s arm hooked around his neck, Carter gritted his teeth and lifted.
Otomi screamed. His eyes snapped open.
Carter gasped at the bloodshot pools.
But he blocked out the sight and took his first step downward. Each movement was a cocktail of agony and determination. It was painfully slow.
Carter’s knee suddenly crumbled beneath him and he yowled as he fell backwards. Otomi landed across his lap, but the guide barely whimpered.
Lily sprang to Carter’s side. “Are you okay?”
“My bloody knee gave way. That’s all. I’m fine.” He glanced downhill and was horrified at the distance he still had to cover. “We’re heading toward my shirt. See it?” He pointed at it.
She followed the direction of his finger. “Yep.”
“Good. Let’s do this!” Clenching his jaw, he braced to push off again.
Otomi wailed as Carter lifted. The sound prickled the hairs on his neck, but he didn’t stop. Instead, he put one foot in front of the other and aimed for his shirt hanging limply dozens of feet below. He dodged trees, ploughed through spindly shrubs, and wove around and over enormous boulders. It was impossible to keep Otomi completely still, and Carter had to ignore his pained moans.
“You okay?” Lily held back a nimble branch. “Do you need to stop?”
“No, I just want to get there.” Sweat trickled down his back, his muscles ached, but he kept going. It was an eternity before the terrain levelled out slightly. The relief to his knees was instant.
“We’re nearly there, Otomi.” Lily touched their guide’s arm, but if he’d heard her, he gave no indication.
Finally, at the rock, Carter groaned as he placed Otomi down. “Help me sit him up a little. Put your pack behind him. We need to keep his leg lower than his heart.”
Lily rushed to kneel at his side and wedged her pack behind Otomi.
Carter crumbled to the ground and touched Otomi’s forehead. Fire burned beneath his flesh.
“His lips are blue.” Tears pooled in Lily’s eyes.
“I think it’s just shock.”
“How do you know?”
“I’ve seen shock before. Blue lips are a sign, and profuse sweating.”
“But how do you know it’s not the poison?”
“I don’t.” Carter placed his hand on Otomi’s arm. “Hey, buddy, can you hear me?”
Otomi moaned and opened his eyes.
“Hey. There you are, mate. You’re going to be okay.”
He turned to Lily. Her skin was ghostly pale. “Keep talking to him. I’m going to get our stuff.”
She leaned into Otomi’s ear. “Hey, how are you feeling?”
Carter headed back up the grueling incline. Every leg muscle screamed. He arrived at their abandoned gear, fell to the ground and sucked in deep breaths, fighting back severe dizziness. Glancing around, he grew acutely aware of the darkness creeping over the jungle.
The sun was setting.
He shoved his first-aid kit into his pack and hoisted it onto his back, then put Otomi’s pack over his right shoulder and, trying not to calculate the weight he was carrying, picked up the rooster cage. To take his focus off every burning muscle, he concentrated on his breathing. Long, deep breaths. In and out. In and out. His heart thumped louder with each step.
He was barely able to breathe when he finally returned to them. Plonking the cage down, he tossed the packs off. “How is he?”
“Not good.” Lily’s eyes pleaded. “Do you have any medicine?”
Carter shook his head. “The guidebook said not to give him anything, not even water.”
She sucked in a shaky breath. “What’re we going to do?”
“I’ll set up the tent. Can you get a fire going?”
“Yeah, sure.” Lily quickly pushed away, and Carter couldn’t decide if she was eager to help, or just wanted some space from Otomi for a bit.
Carter unhooked a tent from the pack and zipped it out of the flimsy bag. He’d seen Otomi put these up in a matter of minutes. It took Carter about fifteen. It didn’t help that the site he’d chosen was solid rock, which meant pegging the tent’s corners wasn’t an option. In the end, he’d used heavy boulders to secure it in place before he threaded the flexible poles through the loops.
Once Lily had a small fire going, she helped Carter with the tent poles. The woman who’d oozed vitality over the last couple of days looked completely shattered, and the temptation to wrap his arms around her and tell her everything would be okay was powerful.
But he couldn’t. Everything was far from okay.
Once the tent was finished, she blinked at him as if awaiting instruction. She was relying on him to have a plan. He wished he did. He’d been in a hopeless situation before that was just as horrific, and knew from that experience that the best thing to do, if possible, was just to keep busy. Anything to keep their minds active might help keep them sane. That in itself was a plan. “Do you want to get some rice on?”
“Okay.” She turned, her shoulders slumped, and every step she took toward the packs looked like a chore.
Carter checked on Otomi. “Hey, buddy.” He put his hand on Otomi’s forehead and although he couldn’t be certain, he thought his body temperature had dropped a bit. “You’re going to be okay.”
Otomi mumbled something. His voice was a croaky whisper.
Carter leaned in. “Hey, mate, what’d you say?”
“Rattlesnake.”
“Are you sure? It might’ve been a different type of snake.”
Otomi’s eyes opened. They looked like they were bleeding. “It was rattlesnake. I’m going to die.”
Carter’s blood turned to ice. “No. No, you’re not. We’ll get you out of here.”
Otomi slowly shook his head. “Too far. I won’t make it.”
“That’s enough of that talk. We’ll get you home.”
Lily knelt at Otomi’s side. “Hey, you’re awake.” She dabbed a damp cloth to his forehead.
Otomi blinked slowly and turned to her. “I’m dying.”
Tears pooled in her eyes. “No. You were in shock; that’s why you felt so bad.”
“Lily’s right,” Carter said. “Now that the shock’s worn off, you’ll feel better.”
Otomi lifted his head to look down to his right leg.
“We’ve bandaged your leg to stop the flow of poison,” Carter said.
“It no help. Rattlesnake.” He flopped his head back and stared upwards, unblinking. “Very bad.”
Lily’s eyes begged Carter to have an answer.
“Otomi, look at me. We have the tent set up; do you want to rest in there?”
Otomi turned his gaze from Lily to Carter. “Please take Pompa back to my wife and tell her and my children I love them.”
Carter’s heart stung at the resignation in Otomi’s words. “That’s enough of this talk.” He patted Otomi’s chest. “Let’s get you inside.”
Otomi rolled his head toward Carter and simply blinked in response. Carter put his hands beneath Otomi’s armpits, and Lily grabbed his ankles. Otomi squeezed his eyes shut, clenched his jaw, and sucked the air in through his teeth as they carried him the short distance to the tent.
Once he was inside, they sat him up, then Lily ducked out of the tent. She returned a moment later with a sleeping bag and a towel that she placed under Otomi’s torso and head to elevate him. “There you go. Get some sleep.”
When they laid him back, Otomi groaned and reached out to clutch her wrist. The whites of his knuckles bulged. Carter swallowed, waiting for Otomi to speak yet also dreading what their guide would say. “Please come back for me. I want to be buried with my father.”
Lily’s chin dimpled, a tear spilled over her cheek and she sucked in a sob. “We’re not leaving you.”
Out of Reach Page 9