by Reina Torres
“Yelp?” She shook her head. “It’s great for finding places to stay and eat, but I can’t imagine that anyone gave him enough information to hike over the giant’s head in the dark. The trail is narrow enough in the daytime to make it difficult, but at night?” She let out a frustrated sigh. “You said you stopped at the trail marker.”
Again, he tried to nod but stopped and squeezed his eyes shut against the pain.
“Then you were there when I went up the trail earlier. I didn’t see you, but you must have been there?”
He cracked his eyes open and squinted at her. “That was you?” Slumping against the side of the vehicle he yawned. “I thought it was my mother yelling at me. Every time I get sloshed, I have the same nightmare. It’s like a repeat of that first time I got drunk and threw up on my mom’s lace coverlet.
“The stains never came out and she yelled and yelled,” he pressed the heel of his hand against the center of his forehead. “I thought you were my mom so I kept quiet and hid in the bushes.”
There was no way she was going to yell at him now. She didn’t have the energy to waste.
“David?” When the paramedic looked at her, she gave him a sweeping gesture of her hand. “Go ahead and take him. I’m going to have to go back up the trail.”
David crossed over to her and gave her a one-armed hug. “You be safe up there. Getting up and over the head-”
“I know.” She turned and pressed a kiss on his cheek. “I’ll call you later if I don’t see you after this.”
He winked at her. “You better.”
Moving away from the ambulance, Ku‘uipo stared up into the cloud laden sky for a long moment.
“You’re going back up the trail.”
It wasn’t a question. Efrain had probably heard her talking. “At least now I know where to look.”
“You’re hurting.”
He looked down at her legs and she fought off the urge to pull at the legs of her shorts. Ridiculous, sure, but it didn’t stop her from feeling more exposed than she should.
“All the volunteers are tired,” she explained, “but this is kind of personal for me. The missing man came to Kaua‘i for a destination wedding with his fiancé. They’re supposed to have their rehearsal and dinner tonight, but…” She gestured at the circus in the parking lot. “Once James is safe and sound, I can get out my White Flower bottle and feel the burn.”
He narrowed his eyes at her and she laughed.
“White Flower is just what we call it. The bottle is written in Chinese characters but the label has white flowers on it. The liquid inside is better than Bengay or other creams. Just thinking about it gives me hope that I’ll be able to walk tomorrow. I just have to get James first.”
Moving up toward the trail head she stopped after a few steps to look back, but he was right beside her again.
“Where are you going?”
He shook his head before gesturing in the direction they’d both been traveling. “With you. I wasn’t joking about my experience with search and rescue. Most of us have more than adequate mountain climbing skills and we can transfer an injured hiker to a basket just fine.”
She felt guilt well up in her belly again. “I know I promised you guys a tour of the property already. I’m sorry it’s not going to be today, but you don’t have to volunteer for this. Aren’t you guys on vacation or something?”
“Vacation? Hardly. We came so Ajax could have some time with Hi‘ilani here on the island after the filming is done for the episode. It was the commander’s idea to make us work for the privilege. So, hiking another few miles is going to be the easiest part of our day.”
She thought it through, looked at him for any sign that he was joking or just saying it to placate her. She didn’t see those emotions in his face.
All she saw was a willingness to help.
And that, she smiled, was worth its weight in gold.
“Okay. Go ask your guys. I’ll go up and let Officer Kim know what’s going on.”
She didn’t move at first as he jogged back across the lot towards the others. He didn’t move like a man doing something out of obligation. No, Efrain looked like he was eager to help.
It was a vast difference from most of the people she was working with. Sure, some of the students were eager to help and learn, but others like Miles made every day a drudge.
When she started over toward Officer Kim he was already on the phone. He knew rescues as well as she did and was probably calling the helicopter pilot to let her know to head back asap.
The deck was stacked against them in some ways. Robert had kept silent because of his drunken condition. She didn’t think James would have done the same thing.
He was likely injured. Maybe unconscious.
But none of that dimmed her hope.
They knew where to look and she had a good idea of what had happened.
If she had Efrain and his friends to help her, and if they were as good as Hi‘ilani said they were, she had a really good feeling that they were going to find him quickly and bring him back alive.
And that was worth a big hopeful smile.
Things were looking up.
Lifting a hand, she tapped her knuckles on the side of her head. “Knock on wood.”
Once they’d gone past the trail marker, Ku‘uipo was glad for the sunny day. Rain would have made the trek dangerous and Kaua‘i was a magnet for rain, but the sun held court in the sky as they traversed the narrow path over the rock formation.
Mace kept his gaze glued on the trail at his feet, but Cullen moved like a goat. She didn’t say anything out loud for fear that he’d end up with that as a name. The others were following behind and moving a little slower along the trail checking for disturbances which could lead them to James.
Efrain was still with her though. She could hear him moving quietly behind her. He didn’t crowd her at all, but he moved like he had been on this trail as many times as she had over the years, which was quite a few times.
It was odd. Having him behind her. She was more comfortable at the end of the line, having everyone in front of her. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust people, it was just surprises. She didn’t like things coming up behind her. It was an old thing that she was used to dealing with.
Probably from a haunted house or something like that but having people behind her put her on edge.
But not Efrain. At least not yet.
“What’s this thing about a head?”
Slowing her steps, she stepped off to the side and looked at him. “What?”
“What the best man said. The head.”
Smiling, she gestured along the trail in front of them and behind. “Nounou is the Sleeping Giant. When you get back down into Lihue, you can look up here at the top of the mountain. You’ll see a giant lying on his back. The regular trail goes up the chest, but if you want to see the best view from the mountain, you have to get up and over his face, but it’s the most dangerous part of the trail.”
Efrain laughed and she enjoyed the sound too much for her own peace of mind.
“Why?” he wondered. “Does he move his face if you tickle him? Are we talking about Gulliver?”
“The face doesn’t move, but the trail has its narrow points and it can get pretty dicey up here. I can’t believe James took a chance like he did.”
They continued along, carefully moving over the rocks, their eyes on the trail.
Minutes later, a whistle split the silence and Ku‘uipo stopped cold and reached back with her hand.
She’d meant to stop him from moving forward in case he didn’t see her stop, but what she felt was his hand closing around hers.
Looking back, she saw Efrain’s smile and the knowing look in his eyes. “That’s Mace. Looks like he found your guy.”
“Okay then,” she squeezed his hand before letting go. “Let’s go see how we can help.”
Four
Train was dazzled. Some would say it was the brilliant sunlight cast ove
r the entire scene. This high above sea level there wasn’t much between you and an overabundance of UV light.
But it wasn’t just the sun that was making him a little short of breath.
It was the effortless way that Ku‘uipo climbed down the rock face and descended to a ledge that he guessed was almost twenty feet down.
Twenty feet below the trail.
Twenty feet out of his reach.
He wanted to call out and ask her how she was. Was she okay?
He just didn’t want to startle her.
He didn’t have eyes on the situation.
He couldn’t see far enough over the rock he was standing on to be of any good to her. Looking back at Mace and Cullen he waved them over. “Someone hold onto my feet.”
Mace looked at Cullen standing beside him and nodded. “Go on.”
Cullen started forward and then stopped short. “Wait, why me? You’re taller. Heavier.”
“Yeah, well if Train and I both go over the edge, are you going to be strong enough to pull both of us up?”
The indignant look from Cullen would have been comical if Train wasn’t ready to kick both their asses.
“Come on, guys.”
Cullen didn’t grumble, he just moved forward and crouched down beside Train. “What do you need me to do?”
Train gestured at the edge. “I want to see what’s going on down there and the rocks are blocking the view. If you hold my feet, anchor me here, I can look over and see what’s happening.”
“Uh,” a sweetly feminine voice rose up on the wind, “I hear a lot of talking up there. Is something going on?”
Before Train could stop him, Cullen dropped down onto his belly and crawled forward, wrapping his body around a rocky outcropping like a lizard.
“Hey… we’re just trying to figure out a way to get Train a look over the edge to keep an eye on you.”
Laughter. A little tighter than a true laugh, but the sound was positive and gentle and it had a soothing effect on Train’s rumpled nerves. “Well, just don’t let him fall down here. Can we talk later, I’m a little busy down here?”
Train’s phone rang and he stepped back from the edge. Mace moved forward to take a place beside Cullen.
He answered the phone. “Train.”
“Chastain.”
Train stood a little straighter when he heard the commander’s voice. “Yes, sir.”
“Eyes?”
“Not really, sir. Ku‘uipo climbed down to assess. I’m waiting to hear from her.”
“Train?”
He turned toward the sound of Cullen’s voice. With his belly plastered to the rock, there wasn’t much of a chance for Train to say much of anything to his friend. Train kept his attention on Cullen and the ledge even as he spoke into the phone. “I need to call you back.”
“We’ll be here.”
“Cullen? What’s up?”
The younger man turned toward him. “I thought I heard something.”
Train nodded and leaned forward, cocking his head to make it easier to hear. “Hello?”
Silence was his only answer for a minute.
He was a patient man for the most part, but not too patient.
“Sweetheart?”
That got a soft laugh. “Really? Do the girls all fall for that?”
“What girls?” He waited for a minute. “Can I come down now?”
“There’s hardly any room down here. I’m basically straddling him as it is.”
Shit.
“We can get him another way. Can you get back up?”
“I’m here and I’m not going anywhere. If he comes to and he turns on his side, he’s going to roll right off and then we’re not having a wedding.”
“Okay,” he let out a breath, “okay.”
“Your friends are still up there, right?”
“Yeah. Yeah, they are. Mace and Cullen.”
“Wait…” An odd laugh reached his ears. “Cullen? Like Twilight?”
“The vampire thing?”
Another laugh. “Yep. Although he’s too tan to be one of them. So calling him something along those lines would just be confusing. Besides, it looks like he’s an outdoors kind of guy.”
“Well, we kind of have to be.” It was good to hear her in good spirits.
“Yep, that’s the truth.”
“Does he look okay?” What he meant was, “Are you okay?” He really should have gone down first.
But she would have hated him for it. And she was the one who was used to this. She was on the search and rescue crew on this island. His knowledge of the process was only so good.
“He’s out,” she paused again, “but I think that’s a good thing. If he was conscious it would probably be hard to keep him still. One second.”
One second. He hated that phrase because one never meant one. It meant ‘I need more time and this isn’t as simple as it should be.’
“It feels like a break. Nothing compound, but a break is bad enough. Do you think you can call down to Officer Kim?”
He took in a deep steadying breath. If she wasn’t making the call herself, he didn’t want to know why. Exactly how ‘narrow’ was the outcropping down there?
“Efrain?”
He heard the tremor in her voice. “Yeah, yeah. I’m here. I can call down. What do you need?”
“We’re going to need rope eventually. I’m not going to be able to climb back out without it.”
“That’s the easy part. We’ve got a bunch of it in our packs.”
He heard a soft lift of laughter. “Do I want to know why you carry around a bunch of rope?”
Cullen bounded up to him and stopped short when Train held out a hand.
“Sweetheart, I can make it as fun as you want it to be, but you’re going to have to come up here to find out.”
“HA HA.”
He swore he could almost see her rolling her eyes at him.
“Hey, a guy’s gotta try. Rope, check.” He looked over and saw Mace standing behind Cullen. They nodded at each other.
“And then they’re going to want the chopper to fire up the engine and come and get him with a cradle. If we’re lucky he’ll sleep through this. Although,” she sighed, “I’m kind of wondering how long he’s been out. I don’t want to move his head to reach under and feel for a bump or anything else. I’d rather not have to move his neck until we’re sure.”
We. He wasn’t sure she was including him in that, but it sounded nice.
Really nice.
“Good. I can get the chopper up here. Are you going to be okay? Are you sure there’s no room for me down there?”
“Oh boy,” she gave it a tone but laughed at the same time, “you’re not going to be one of those clingy guys, are you?”
“You mean having my arms around you?” As the words passed his lips, he realized that there wasn’t much of a joke to them. The idea sounded too good. Much too good. “Cause I could handle that.”
A moment of silence passed and he wasn’t going to push his luck. “Let me make the call.”
Ku‘uipo rattled off the numbers for Officer Kim’s phone and he dialed. The call was picked up in a moment and he relayed the information.
Mace caught his attention when he was done. “I’ll go get the rope so you can stay up here. Does that work for you?”
“Yeah, sure.” Train moved closer to the edge and tried to look over it. “Whatever you want.”
Mace took off, down the trail with Train looking after him. Cullen shook his head. “Don’t tell him I said this but he looks like a gazelle when he does that.”
Train agreed. “Don’t try to beat him in a run. He’s damn fast and surefooted.”
“You okay?”
The question startled him. “Yeah, sure. Why?”
“You’re not your usual self.”
Something about the way that Cullen said the words upset him. “What are you talking about? I’m just focused on the rescue.”
Cullen didn’t cha
nge the look on his face. He stared Train down and waited… for something.
“What are you talking about?”
Smiling, Cullen leaned toward the edge. “You’re antsy. That’s not you being focused.”
“I’m just not familiar with the terrain here.”
“Right.”
“And I haven’t worked with her before.”
“Sure.”
Train felt the muscle in his jaw tick. “And you’re talking to me like you’re placating me, Cullen. Stop it.”
“I’m talking to you like this because I think you’re ignoring the obvious. Now, I might be the latecomer to this group, Train, but I know you.” Cullen didn’t wait for Train to answer. “You like her.”
“Okay,” Train shrugged but couldn’t stop the need to get back to the important things. “Is that all you have to say to me because she’s down there and I can’t see what’s going on.”
Cullen’s smile would have been funny if it wasn’t more than just a little irritating at that moment. “Sure. It’s not like I’m going to offer to do your nails or curl your hair, Train. I just thought you’d like a little reminder that you need to get your head in the game.
“Like her… or whatever, all you want. Just remember that she knows her thing. She’ll be all right. And you worrying about her… about this… might just be more of a hassle than a help.”
Trying to keep a positive outlook was the most important thing in Ku‘uipo’s life. It was one thing to smile in the face of anger but waiting on a rocky outcropping for a second rescue attempt was like waiting for a second shot at the doctor’s office.
James Kimball was conscious and upset.
She didn’t blame him.
“I’m going to miss my rehearsal.”
Smiling down at him she shook her head. “You’ve already missed it. Sorry.” She continued, hoping to bolster his spirits. “But Hilarie knows that you’re going straight to the hospital and she’ll meet you there.”
He groaned and covered his face with his hand. She could barely hear his words through his fingers. “My mother-in-law is going to hate me.”
“I don’t think Hilarie will let her. I’ve seen the two of you together and she’s so in love with you.”