“Here’s breakfast, guys. Chew slowly so it seems like more. And even though you don’t like coffee, Don, you should try a few sips to warm you up.”
“Yuck,” Don made a face, but she noticed he took several drinks when Ricky passed him the cup. They really were good boys who had been through a lot. She and Cord were going to get them out of this and back to their family. If she must miss several meals to do it, she would see that they ate. Hopefully they wouldn’t have to resort to bugs and grubs as their survival instructor forced them to do on one trip. Shuddering at the thought, she slipped her power bar into her pocket for later. She took out her toothbrush and hair pick to take care of her morning toilette.
Stacey felt what she really needed was a pressure washer and a gallon of soap. Her hair was almost beyond help. The continuous dampness made it curl even more and pine needles had become so tightly ensnared she pulled out some of her hair with each one. Doing the best she could, she finally pulled the thick jumble into a ponytail then went outside the shelter to brush her teeth. When the boys finished eating, they worked together to pack up and were ready to head out by the time the weak morning light filtered through the trees. Stacey tried to give Don her rain jacket, but all of the ‘men’ insisted she keep it.
They climbed and descended several ridges and hills before the terrain finally began to be less steep and more rounded. They entered dense pine forests with only scattered glens of undergrowth and thickets. As the morning passed, the small group endured several downpours and a constant cold wind from the northwest.
Without the sun to guide her, Stacey relied on her small compass to keep them traveling southwest. She let Don and Ricky show her what they knew about reading the compass as they hiked. They talked constantly and questioned everything. The boys shared some of what their father taught them on their camping trips. Stacey didn’t mind their chatter. It helped keep their minds off the cold and the damp and how tired they were.
Cord didn’t take part as he walked a distance behind to protect them from being unexpectedly overtaken. He often dropped back to check their back-trail.
As Stacey predicted, they crossed several streams too small for fish. She explained to the boys that these were just runoffs and would dry up as soon as the snow and wet weather were gone. But she and the boys managed to pick several edible leaves and stuff them in a bag as they walked through the woods.
At noon Cord called a halt for lunch and a much-needed rest. Instead of eating and resting with them, he hiked back even further to make sure they weren’t being followed. He didn’t really think the criminals could catch them now, but it didn’t pay to take chances. Plus this way Stacey wouldn’t insist he eat food she and the boys would need later.
Even though the terrain was getting easier, the cold and damp were draining their energy by forcing their bodies to work harder to stay warm. Not knowing how much longer they could keep hiking, he hoped Stacey was right about finding a logging camp. There had been no sign of a chopper or plane in days. They were well away from the area the chopper pilot was told to fly over and the bad weather likely grounded him, anyway. Cord would just have to trust that Stacey knew what she was doing.
At almost three that afternoon, the cold, weary bunch came to a very wide stream. Stacey showed the boys how she caught the trout they ate their first day together. These fish were smaller, but large enough to eat. After catching one for each of them, she left the boys to try for a few more while she put the others on to cook.
Cord scrounged some nearly dry wood and built a fire. Sitting down beside him, she put the fish on a spit and kept an eye on the boys.
“You surprised me again this morning,” Cord said quietly.
“Really?” Stacey refused to look at him.
“I wouldn’t have been surprised if you had lied or just not said anything.”
Stacey knew at once what he was referring to. “One thing you should have already learned about me, McConnell, is that I always try to be honest, even when it hurts. I detest lying.” She reached out to rotate the fish over the fire. “You did a good job with the fire, considering how soaked everything is.”
“I do know a few things about survival. This, however,” he gestured toward the trees and mountains with one hand, “is slightly out of my usual element.”
“What is your element?” Cord opened the door and Stacey wasn’t going to miss the chance to find out more about him.
“Most of my training was in the jungle, then in foreign embassies and large cities. Lately I’ve even spent some time in the desert. I go where the job takes me and that seems to be the Middle East or South America recently.”
“Where is home for you?” She turned the fish again while he added more wood to the fire.
“If I told you that I’d have to kill you.” He said it straight-faced, but she caught a slight twinkle in his eyes. He seemed reluctant to share any details.
Stacey laughed out loud and punched the arm nearest her. “Come on, McConnell, where do you live when you’re not on a job?”
“I have an apartment in New York and another in Dallas.”
“I see,” she spoke softly. Then Ricky and Don interrupted to show them the three trout they caught.
“If I can borrow your knife, Stacey, I’ll clean them,” Ricky offered.
Stacey dug it out of her pocket and handed it over.
He went back to the stream bank to work on the fish.
“Ricky caught two, but mine was the biggest,” Don boasted as he sat down near the fire. “Here’s your line. I wound it up carefully, just like you said. Are they done yet?” She lifted the cross stick off the spit and poked the largest trout. Putting it back over the fire, she told him, “Just a little longer unless you like sushi.”
“I’ll wait, thanks.” He got up and went to see how Ricky was doing.
“How do your clients find you if you have two apartments?” Stacey asked Cord curiously. “Do you have an office?”
“I have a special number with an answering machine at both places. I return the calls that I’m interested in. I don’t advertise and usually only take referrals. I work out of the apartments.”
“Do you enjoy what you do?”
“Sometimes. Depends on the outcome.” Uncomfortable with how much he had already revealed, Cord stood up and moved slightly away. “Those are done enough. We need to eat and get moving. There’s not much of the day left.”
Stacey lifted the stick holding the fish off the fire and let them cool a few minutes before calling the boys. She put the other three on to cook while they ate. Ricky and Don wolfed down another trout each while she and Cord divided the third one.
After breaking camp and refilling the canteens, they prepared to cross the stream. The rain slowed to a drizzle and the wind wasn’t blowing as hard, but it was still fairly cold.
The water reached Cord’s knees and came up to mid-thigh on Stacey, Ricky, and Don. Holding hands and walking carefully, they managed to get across without falling in the swiftly moving water. Their feet were soaked completely and Don shivered continuously as they hiked on.
Stacey insisted Don put on her rain jacket for a while to keep the wind off him. They warmed a little climbing up to the top of a small ridge where Stacey stopped for them to catch their breath. She scanned the valley below and stared across to the next hill. “Cord, come look. Tell me if that’s what I think I see,” she pointed across to a slope on the other side of the valley. Her eyes watered from the wind and she didn’t want to get everyone excited only to find she made a mistake.
He joined her and looked where Stacey indicated. Freshly felled trees, a large trailer partly filled with logs and some kind of hoist were visible from where he stood. “Yes, I see it. How long to reach it?”
“Not before dark, I’m afraid. From the sounds I hear, there’s a fairly large river we’ll have to cross. By the time we reach it the light will be going. I think we should find a safe place to camp near the bottom of this ridge and
cross tomorrow when it’s lighter and we’re rested. What do you guys think?” Stacey turned to include Ricky and Don in their discussion.
“If it’s a logging camp, can’t we just yell and let them come get us?” Don asked through chattering teeth. He was all for getting warm and dry as soon as possible.
“I don’t think so. It’s where they’ve been logging, but they don’t usually work in the rain.” She moved to hug Don’s shoulders as his face fell. “Their camp is definitely there somewhere, but with the river and the distance I don’t think they’ll hear us no matter how loud we yell. Don’t worry, we should be able to follow their tracks and find someone tomorrow. Can you handle one more night of camping out?”
“I think so, but it sure would be nice not to need to hike anymore,” Don agreed. He was still shivering and Stacey grew more concerned about him.
“We should probably do what Stacey says,” Ricky added quietly. “Trying to cross the river while we’re tired and in the dark sounds dangerous.”
“I agree,” Cord made it unanimous. “We also don’t know how far it will be to the logging camp and we don’t need to go stumbling around and miss it. Maybe when it gets dark we can pinpoint its location by seeing their lights. Why don’t you find us a good place to camp, Stacey, and we’ll start early in the morning? We might even meet those guys as they come to work tomorrow.” Cord was trying to build their morale for the hike down the ridge. He knew they were tired, wet, and cold because he was also feeling the effects.
“Wouldn’t that be great?” Ricky poked Don. “We might scare them out of a year’s growth.”
Don laughed a little then followed as Stacey led the way down the slope. He moved closer and held her hand. “I wouldn’t mind so much if I just wasn’t so cold, Stacey,” he whispered. His hand felt like ice in hers.
“I know and I promise we’ll take care of it as soon as we find a place to camp, okay?” she whispered back.
Just over an hour later and almost halfway down the steep slope she found an outcropping of rock with a twisted white pine growing from the top. The roots of the tree and the trapped rocks and dirt created an overhang similar to a shallow cave. With huge boulders on each side it would provide more shelter than they had slept in since they started. Stacey just hoped that it wasn’t already occupied. Taking a flashlight, she carefully checked each nook before declaring it varmint free.
Even though there was a bit of daylight left, Cord agreed this was the best place to spend the night and they began to set up camp. Cord left to check the back-trail and gather dry wood for a fire.
Stacey sent Ricky in search of dry pine needles for bedding and kept Don with her to move sticks and rocks from the sleeping area while she made the fire ring. Noticing his teeth still chattering and his lips looked a little blue, she told him, “I’ll be back in just a minute, Don.” Behind one of the large rocks, Stacey stripped off her jeans and boots then peeled off her thermal underwear. They were only slightly damp in spots, having mostly dried on her while she hiked. After pulling her jeans back on and stuffing her feet into her boots, she walked quickly to where Don was flapping his arms and stomping his feet to generate some warmth.
“Go in there and undress,” she ordered. “We’ve got to get you into something dry to get you warm. I won’t look when I pass you these to put on. Hand out your wet things and we’ll dry them when we get the fire going.”
Don went into the shadows of the shallow cave and she heard the rustle of clothing. Taking a blanket from her pack, she used her pocketknife to cut a slit in the middle. “Okay, Stacey,” Don called and held out his wet clothes. Backing up, Stacey held the thermal bottoms out to him by reaching behind her. He took the thermal pants and placed his wet clothes in her hand. She held her other hand behind her to pass him the blanket. “See that hole in the middle? Put your head through there and wear it like a poncho.”
“Something wrong, Stacey?” Ricky asked when he returned with an armload of pine needles. He dumped them at the mouth of the cave to stay dry.
“Don’s freezing. We’re trying to get him a little dryer so he can get warm. Will you take my belt and fasten that blanket around his waist? He’d probably rather you do it. And would you hand him the other blankets to wrap up in?” Stacey handed the canvas belt to Ricky then moved over to the fire ring. She hastily started a small blaze. “His skin is really cold, Stacey, so I told him to stay in there where it was dry. That’s okay isn’t it?” Ricky came back to warm his hands at the small fire.
“I think that’s best for now. If he wants to help, he can arrange the bedding. I’m going to make him a cup of coffee. When Cord gets back, I’ll go down to the river and see if I can catch some fish to eat.”
“Grilled trout really sounds good. Course we would probably eat grilled hippopotamus about now.” He grinned at Stacey. “I need to go back for more needles. Now that I found them, it shouldn’t take as long this time.”
“Okay. Be careful.” Stacey soon had water heating in her tin cup. They were a bedraggled group, she couldn’t help thinking. The only reason they weren’t offensive to each other was because they all smelled. The animals left them alone because they couldn’t stand the stench, she decided with a slight smile as she stirred one of the precious packets of coffee into the water. Using her sleeve as a potholder, she carried the cup to Don. “Use the corner of the blanket so you don’t burn your hand. Are you getting warmer?”
Don accepted the cup, took a sip, and made a face. “Yeah, I’m a lot better now.” He looked around the inside of the cave before taking another sip of the warm liquid. Then he handed the cup to Stacey. “I don’t like that stuff, but it does help get you warm. You need to drink some, too. This place is kind of neat, huh?”
Don was so covered in blankets she could only see his face. “Yeah, pretty neat. I had a place sort of like this—well—me and my brother did. It was our secret place when we were about your age.”
“Where’s your brother now?”
“He died several years ago.”
“Bummer. Do you still miss him?” Don asked and accepted the cup for another drink.
“Every day.”
“That’s the way I’d be if something happened to Ricky. Don’t tell him though. He’d think it was sappy.” After a minute, Don looked down and went on, “Thanks for getting me warm and for not making a big deal out of it in front of the others. I never had that happen before, not being able to warm up, I mean. Once we get back—do you think I could write to you?”
“I don’t see why not. I might even write back,” she teased. “Or better yet, do you have e-mail? I really need to practice on the computer.
“Yeah, me too. That would be way cool.”
Ricky came in with a larger armload of pine needles. “Cord’s back with firewood. You doing okay, squirt?”
“Yeah, I’m okay. You want some of this coffee?” Don offered the cup to his big brother.
Stacey went to talk to Cord. The rain had stopped altogether while she talked with Don inside the cave. She saw that McConnell brought a load of wood back with him and was busily breaking the largest sticks to build up the fire. Gathering Don’s clothes, she placed his sneakers on their sides near the heat to dry out.
“I should go down to the river and see if I can catch some fish. Maybe find some more edible plants. Don is better, but we’re going to be a blanket short tonight,” she told him.
“We’ll manage. I’ll go for more wood while you take care of supper. We’ll need to keep the fire going most of the night if we’re going to dry out everything.”
“I’m going to rinse Don’s clothes out while he’s got them off then spread them out to dry. They feel like they could stand up by themselves if I don’t.”
Ricky brought the cup and handed it to Cord. “Do I need to get more bedding?”
“No, we’ll make do with what you’ve already brought. I have to get more wood and Stacey needs to work on supper. We need you to stay with Don and get warm
yourself. Why don’t you take off your shoes and put them by the fire so they can start drying?” Cord told him.
“Okay. Is there something I can give the squirt to eat? I know he’s hungry. He can have my share if there’s not enough.”
“Get some trail mix and the raisins out of my pack for both of you to munch on. Here’s a power bar you can half until I get back with something to cook. I’ll make it as quick as I can,” Stacey handed Ricky the bar she stashed in her pocket that morning.
After Ricky turned back to the cave, Cord grabbed her arm and whispered, “Parker, you were supposed to eat that. How do you think you can keep going without eating?”
“I ate fish. Besides, I know my limitations. I’ve skipped several meals before without swooning,” Stacey answered pertly.
“One thing about you, Parker, I can’t imagine you swooning.” Cord hid a smile and let her go. “Just be sure you eat tonight.”
“Yes, Great Leader. May I go now?”
He turned his back without answering and stomped off uphill. She is definitely a handful. Cord pitied her poor father trying to keep her under control these past years. That boyfriend of hers was either a very patient guy or let her run all over him. Oh well, it wasn’t his business. Once the boys were back to safety, he probably wouldn’t see her again. Of course, if things were different she would definitely make life interesting. Shrugging, he reached the deadfall providing the dry wood. This trip should provide enough to keep them warm for the night.
Stacey took her fishing line and Don’s clothes with her to the river. The water ran high and flowed fast. Going downstream, she found a spot where the water pooled and she could fish. After catching five good-sized trout and cleaning them, she rinsed out Don’s clothes.
Desperately craving a bath, she looked around carefully then stripped. Holding her breath against the cold, she slipped into the edge of the freezing water. Using sand, she scrubbed lightly then dipped down to wash it off before hurrying out. Stacey rinsed her clothes several times and wrung them out before tugging them on. Her teeth chattered and she shivered continuously, but at least she felt cleaner. Finding some plants with edible salad-like leaves on her way back upriver, she picked enough for all of them. Then she happened upon a plant with edible roots.
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