Out of Reach

by Kendall Talbot

  She waited until their erratic breathing returned to normal before she released her grip on him and smiled. “Wow. For an old man, you still got it.”

  He laughed, loud and hearty. “You’re cheeky.”

  “I know.” She reached for his hand, wove her fingers into his, and then kissed him. It was just a brief, tender kiss that said so much more. But her grumbling stomach couldn’t be ignored any more. “I’m starving. You ready to help me catch dinner?”

  “You bet.”

  As Lily stepped up onto the rock to get out of the water, Carter cupped her bottom. “Are you all right there?”

  “Yes. Just helping you out.”

  She giggled. “Really?”

  She used her shirt to dry herself, and as she picked up her underpants, she had second thoughts. “I think I’ll give these a wash. In this sun, they’ll be dry in no time.”

  “Good idea. My jocks could just about walk on their own too.”

  “Ewww, too much information.”

  “Oh, and yours aren’t like that?”

  Just as she was about to step into the shallow water, she froze. “Stop.”

  “What?”

  She pointed toward a rock that protruded above the water. “A fish, near that rock. See it?”

  “Shit yeah, it’s a big one.”

  Lily had an idea. “Did you bend those forks?”

  “Yeah.” Carter followed her back up to the grassy knoll.

  “I need a spear.” Naked, she headed toward the trees, searching for a long stick. She found one quickly. Now she needed some kind of rope. She collected her bra from the grass and as luck would have it, the straps were removable.

  Sitting back on the grass, Carter sat to her side and although she found his nakedness incredibly distracting, the thought of getting that fish up on the riverbank drove her on.

  “I need a small, flat rock, about the size of a coin,” she said.

  “I’m on it.” She watched the muscles in his bottom glide up and down as he walked away.

  She reached for the forks, and holding one on the side of the stick, she wrapped her bra strap around it twice. Then she held the second fork on the opposite side and repeated the move with the strap.

  Carter handed her a rock. “Will this do?”

  “Perfect.” She pushed the rock between the two forks, wedging them apart, then she wrapped the rest of the elastic around and around and tied it in place. The finished weapon was a four-pronged spear.

  “That’s fantastic. Remind me never to get on your bad side.”

  She giggled. “Hopefully it works. Do you want to do it?”

  “No way, you’re the Tiger Lily.”

  Lily held the spear, assessing its weight. “It’ll be a miracle if this works.”

  “I’ve already seen a couple of miracles in the last week, so I’m betting it will.”

  Lily returned to the riverbank, and to her surprise there were now two fish swimming near the rock. Easing up to the edge, her breath trapped in her throat. She held the spear above her head, then using all the energy she could muster, drove it at the fish. An explosion of water erupted near the rock.

  She squealed and Carter dived for the stick. When he pulled it above the water, a fat, foot-long fish writhed on the end.

  “Holy shit, you got it!”

  The fish flipped from side to side as he brought it up onto the grass.

  Lily could only stare openmouthed. She’d never caught a fish that way before.

  “You’re amazing.”

  “I can’t believe that worked.”

  “I can. Now we need a fire.” He put the fish on the grass, and Lily salivated just looking at it.

  Carter trotted to the tree line and began gathering wood. She dressed, no longer bothering with washing her underpants, and then set about building up the kindling.

  Within minutes, the fire was blazing and the fish had stopped moving.

  “Do you know how to gut a fish?” she asked.

  Carter shook his head. “Sorry. Never had the pleasure.”

  “Okay.” She reached for the butter knife she’d found in the mudslide. “I wish we had a sharper knife, but this’ll have to do.” She ran her thumb over the blade. It was completely blunt. “Can you find me a couple of large leaves, please? As big as you can get.”

  She waited until he returned before she tugged the fish off the prongs and placed it onto one leaf. As she began cleaning the fish, she was reminded of her father. After her mother had insisted that Lily join her brothers on their quarterly camping trips, or maybe because of her mother’s persistence, her father had demanded that she learn how to catch, kill, and prepare her own food. To the point where he sometimes reduced her to tears with his yelling.

  Never in her wildest dreams could she have imagined those lessons would save her life.

  The more she thought about it, the more she wondered if the death of her father’s first wife and child had something to do with his unwavering commands.

  “What’re you thinking about?” She jumped at Carter’s voice.

  “Oh, umm.” She cleared her throat. “My dad. Do you think it’s weird that he made me learn survival skills?”

  “I’m bloody grateful he did.”

  “Yeah.” She sighed. “I am too, but I was just wondering if he had other reasons for doing it.”

  “Like what?”

  “Well, maybe he was lost out here with his wife and child. It’d explain why he gave me such a hard time about learning them.”

  “Maybe.”

  She shoved the unanswerable questions aside to concentrate on dinner.

  After scaling, gutting with the blunt knife, and skewering the fish onto two sturdy sticks, it was slightly mangled. But still looked mighty tasty. “Dinner is prepared.”

  Carter rubbed his hands together. “Yum, I can’t wait.”

  She handed the sticks to him. “Hold it over the flames, but don’t let the stick burn.”

  “Yes, boss.” Carter beamed as he sat naked by the fire, following her instructions.

  While her hands were bloody, Lily divided the fish remains into smaller portions onto the additional giant leaves. She carried one of the leaves to the pit they’d dug earlier, and carefully positioned it over the leaves on top of the trap. With a bit of luck, something would sniff it out and they’d have red meat very soon.

  Lily returned to the fire and put the three other bundles of fish guts high up in a tree branch. Other than ants, which seemed unavoidable, she hoped no other creatures would find their bait.

  By the time the fish was cooked, the sun had begun its slide down behind the trees on the opposite side of the river. Her mouth watered from the delicious aroma as Carter divided the fish between them. Even though it was steaming hot, she couldn’t wait, and scooped a chunk of white flesh into her mouth. She sucked in air, trying to cool it on her tongue as she chewed and swallowed. “Oh my God. This’s so good.”

  “Sure is.” Carter had the leaf up to his mouth and scooped the fish in by hand. His eyes rolled and he moaned as he swallowed.

  “We’ll have to get ready for the night after this.” Lily didn’t want a repeat of last night’s insect attack and would make sure their bed was closer to the fire this time.

  “I’ll be ready for anything after this.”

  By the time they finished the meal and had a cozy bed made of dry fern leaves, the sun had disappeared behind the trees. Sunset had been a magnificent display of reds and purples, and was promptly replaced with a near full moon that lit up the night sky.

  Carter lay down on the crunchy leaves, and Lily eased in next to him, turning her attention to the fire. She sighed deeply and he draped his arm over her. “This’s nice.”

  “Mmmm. Who’d have thought we’d be this comfortable?” He trailed his
finger up and down her arm.

  “Food helps.”

  A loud crack echoed about the trees and Lily jumped. Carter squeezed her wrist, indicating he’d heard it too. Crack. Crack. Crack. Several more rounds split the silence.

  “Gunfire. Shit.” Carter launched to his feet. “Put the fire out.” As he tugged the nearest log from the fire and dragged it toward the river, Lily grabbed the tin cup, scooped the water and tossed it onto the flames. She repeated the move at a frantic pace, tossing cups of water until only minor coals glowed in the bottom. The fire hissed and smoke spiraled upwards, but the flames were gone.

  Exhausted, she went to Carter, and as he wrapped his arms around her, they eased back against the large tree. A light breeze drifted off the water, rustling the leaves around them. Monkeys howled somewhere in the distance, and other animals continued their usual nightly chorus, but other than that everything seemed normal.

  “You sure it was gunfire?” Lily’s heart was an urgent beat in her chest.

  “I’m pretty sure. What’d you think?”

  Suddenly there were more loud cracks, and Carter’s grip around her tightened. They seemed closer this time.

  “That’s gunfire,” she said. “Do you think it’s those guys from the cave?”

  “No idea.”

  “What do we do?”

  As she listened to his breathing, she heard something else. “Is that music?”

  “Oh yeah. It sounds close.”

  Clutching his arms around her shoulders, she strained to hear the music that echoed through the jungle. She heard shouts followed by laughter. “Sounds like a party.”

  “It does.” It was a long moment before he shifted. “I have an idea. But you might not like it.”

  She turned to him, but could only just make out his shape in the filtered moonlight. “Try me.”

  “There’s a chance it may not be them. It could be just a farmer or villager or something, right?”

  “I guess so.”

  “I think we should go to them. While it’s dark we have the upper hand. We can sneak up and see exactly who we’re dealing with. What do you think?”

  She was silent for a bit, but as she weighed up his idea, it seemed like this was an opportunity they shouldn’t miss. “Okay,” she finally said.

  “Okay, okay?”

  She squeezed his hands. “I think it’s a great plan.”

  “All right then. Grab that spear of yours and anything else we need, and let’s do this.”

  Chapter 23

  Carter put a couple of bananas, the tin cup, and a spoon down his shirt—but he kept the hammer in his hand. Just the weight of it alone made him feel stronger. After he confirmed Lily was ready to go, he set off toward the music. Clutching her four-pronged spear, Lily kept pace behind him. The moon was a bright beacon high in the sky, providing enough light to make out the shapes of the landscape ahead.

  With the river on his left and the jungle on his right, Carter headed toward the direction of the noises. Every once in a while, a gunshot shattered the serenity and he and Lily hit the ground. After a couple of erratic heartbeats while they confirmed the bullets were not aimed at them, they stood up again and kept going.

  With each step he took toward the sounds of gunfire, his mind spun with a crazy debate. Were these people the men who’d chased them into that tunnel? Or were they farmers celebrating a bumper crop? Were they walking toward a rescue party? Or certain death? Once they were rescued, would Lily go back to America and he’d never see her again? Or would they stay together . . . forever?

  The last two questions dominated his thoughts. He knew, without an ounce of doubt, that he’d fallen in love. Deeply fallen. Head and heart. He’d never been in love before, not even with the mother of his daughter. What he felt for Lily was so powerful it hurt. It also dominated his thoughts nonstop, and given their radical situation, that was a miracle.

  If she ran back to her family once they were rescued, although he wouldn’t blame her, he was set to be a shattered man.

  “Hey, Carter?” Lily’s whisper interrupted his troubling thoughts.

  “Yeah?”

  “No matter what happens, I want you to know I’ve had a wonderful time.”

  He just about burst out laughing. “I think you’re delusional.”

  Her fingers curled around his arm, and he turned to her. “I know it’s been crazy and dangerous, and we’ve nearly died a couple of times, but”—she ran her hand up his arm—“I found you.”

  He wrapped his arms around her, pulled her to his chest, and stroked her hair. “We found each other.”

  She leaned back to look up at him, and the moonlight glistened in her eyes. “I love you.” The words crossed her strawberry lips in a breathless whisper and his heart just about burst.

  He curled his hand around her neck, gliding his fingers over her flesh. “I love you too.”

  Carter felt like he could walk on water. The doubts he’d experienced moments ago vanished, replaced instead with a fierce determination to live. They’d get through this.

  No matter what, they were going to survive.

  He leaned in and kissed her. It was a kiss that said it all—I want, I need, I love. He hugged her to his chest and closed his eyes, feeling the warmth of her body against his.

  They remained embraced until a series of gunshots had his eyes snapping open. He squeezed her body to his, wedging her between him and a tree. The burst of gunfire was over as quickly as it started. He kissed her forehead. “Come on. Let’s go check this out.”

  As the moon crawled its way above the open river expanse, they wove around and through dense jungle, carefully assessing every step. It was slow going, but each minute took them closer to resolution.

  The music had become loud enough that lyrics were noticeable. Occasionally he heard people talking. They spoke in Spanish, but he couldn’t quite hear their full conversation, and the echo about the trees made it confusing.

  Carter smelled smoke, and at the scent of something cooking his stomach twisted in protest. Maybe the people were actually friendly. But even as he thought it, he doubted they were. The gunshots may’ve instigated that feeling, but it wasn’t just that; his gut told him something else was wrong, he just couldn’t pinpoint what.

  A distant light caught his eye. As he batted a buzzing insect away from his ear, he stared at the spot. There it was again. Flames flashed in the distance. They were closer than he expected. He grasped Lily’s hand and pulled her down to crouch with him.

  “Look,” he whispered and pointed ahead. “See the fire?”

  “Oh yeah.”

  “We have to be really quiet now.”

  “Okay.”

  He toyed with the idea of making her stay there while he checked it out, but knew without a doubt she’d refuse. She was that kind of woman, and it was another reason why he’d fallen in love with her.

  As they inched forward, the flames became more prominent. It was a decent-sized fire, at least three times the size of the ones Lily had lit over the last week. He still couldn’t see any men, and noted the music had died down somewhat.

  The fire was set back from the river by at least fifty feet and was centered in a large clearing. Carter crouched down and inched toward it. His fingers strangled the hammer. To the right of the fire, a thatched hut came into view. It was big enough to be permanent, and he entertained the idea that it was someone’s home. This was their first sign of civilization in days, but it didn’t produce the amount of elation it should have. In fact, it did the opposite.

  A thick shrub provided ideal cover, and as he lowered to his hands and knees behind it, Lily crawled in beside him. His eyes adjusted to the firelight and he noticed another building to the left of the first. This one was also thatched and had a small veranda that ran the length of the front with a couple of steps that le
d up to it. It looked cozy and inviting, and Carter had to resist the urge to step into the clearing and cheer for joy.

  A distinct smell had his back straightening and his mind racing. Marijuana smoke. It was an odor he’d never forget . . . from a time in his life he’d prefer to erase from his memory.

  He clutched Lily’s arm. “Smell that?”

  She nodded. “What is it?”

  “Marijuana.”

  Even in this minimal light he saw her eyes bulge. “Are you sure?”

  “Absolutely. Let’s go.”

  “What? No, we’ve only just got here.” Her lips drew to a thin line.

  “Yes, and now we’re going.”

  “Not yet.” She spoke through her clenched jaw. “They can’t see us. Let’s just wait and see what happens.”

  Carter grumbled at her stubbornness, but returned to his hands and knees at her side. After a couple of minutes, they still hadn’t seen anybody around the fire, and he couldn’t work out where the music was coming from. Neither of the huts had lights on inside, so he began to wonder if the occupants were asleep. But that wouldn’t explain the marijuana smoke.

  Someone had to be smoking it right now. But where?

  Looking for the telltale sign of a glowing cigarette tip, he focused on the far right of the area, where the clearing met the jungle, and panned his gaze slowly toward the left. Then he saw it, between the two huts. First one circular glow, then two more. He studied the spot and soon made out the shapes of three men in chairs.

  “Oh my God.” Lily clutched his arm.

  “It’s okay. They can’t see us.”

  “No, look.” She pointed to the far side of the left hut, beyond the fire. “My pack.”

  He followed her outstretched finger to the building with the veranda, and his jaw dropped. Sure enough, her pack, with its distinctive orange blaze down the side, was on the dirt like it’d been tossed over the railing. “Shit. Now we know who they are. Let’s go.” Carter pushed back from his hands.