Camron

by Veronica Scott

  CHAPTER SIX

  “Goddess blessed me. Kept the beast away from my most vulnerable areas.” Breathing in short gasps, he seemed more worried about her. “You did a great job protecting my back. Did you suffer any bites or scratches?”

  “I’m fine. Those two were all bluster.” She’d been fearless and invulnerable in the heat of the battle, managing to focus on fending the trackers off with the spear. Reaction was setting in now—she was trembling all over and light-headed. Desperate to take care of Camron’s wounds, frustration at having no supplies other than water, not even a scrap of cloth to make into bandages made her want to scream the way the trackers had howled. “Hadn’t we better get going? Find a safe place to shelter maybe?”

  With visible effort, Camron rose. “You’re right. This way.” He staggered past the body of the tracker, heading west again.

  Gemma hastened after him, grateful all over again for her green shoes. She’d have been disabled hours ago without Camron’s attention to her needs. She was getting used to being a naked badass primitive warrior in her protective mud coating and appreciated how he‘d avoided making the situation any more awkward between them. The soldier’s complete matter of factness about what they were going through gave her strength. Now she put her arm around his waist and did her best to support him because he was obviously in much more pain than he was letting on.

  “Can you hear the trackers?” she asked as they stumbled on their way.

  “No. Parryfilmunn must have planned his ambush too far away. He probably wanted a vid of the event, you know? Picked a dramatic backdrop. The Khagrish love their blood soaked vids.”

  “Are you kidding?” But what he’d said made grisly sense to her with how the enemy operated. “Well, I’m happy you spoiled his plans.”

  “So far.” Camron shook his head. “And we’re a team here, a good one. If all three trackers had come at me, even I might not have survived. I’m sure the beasts had imprinted orders not to kill us, but in the heat of combat, the alpha forgot and the others probably would have too. You saved my ass.”

  She was warmed by his praise, which had the ring of utter sincerity but had another, more pressing concern. “Can your metabolism heal these injuries the way it did the gliddern bite?”

  “Yes, but dealing with so many bites at once will tax me.” He sped up a bit, and she increased her speed to match. “I wish I could tell my body what to heal first because right now I need my legs at full capability, but the immune system does what it pleases.”

  “We’re getting closer to the rocks.” She hoped the news might improve his spirits. “What exactly is the plan when we get there?”

  “I’m hoping to find more Badari trail marks, which might give us a chance to find a safe shelter, at least temporarily.”

  Noticing his breathing was labored, she stopped talking and concentrated on giving him as much of her strength as she could manage although she could tell he was reluctant to lean on her. When they reached the rocky formation, he moved away, limping along the sheer walls, searching intently. Gemma hurried behind, squinting in an effort to see anything he might have missed.

  “Got it,” he said in a relieved but tired voice, hunkering down to examine a set of what looked like random scratches to her. Camron ran his fingertips over the marks before rising and pointing to the left. "This way.”

  He was off again, Gemma at his side, running along the base of the rocks then veering to the west, working their way through increasingly challenging terrain. There were more hills, less vegetation and a lot more boulders and outcroppings. This area must have undergone a major seismic event at some point in the distant past, the way the uplifts and narrow crevasses rippled across the terrain. Maybe we can stay hidden.

  “I hear the hounds again,” he said. “But we’re almost to our destination for the night.”

  Gemma found it hard to believe even her quiet, immensely resourceful soldier might actually locate a safe haven where the Khagrish couldn’t find them, especially with the trackers. Maybe Parryfilmunn wouldn’t want to hunt at night. But then shouldn’t they keep moving, to get further away? Since Camron could see in the dark? She bit her lip as she ran, deciding not to raise any of her concerns with Camron right now. He said he’d been hunted before and obviously survived so she needed to place her trust in his decisions, not force him to waste breath, time and energy on talking

  Following him closely, she came out on a cliff overlooking a larger body of water than the pond which had been so helpful in the morning. A waterfall cascaded from the heights opposite.

  Jaw dropping, Gemma shaded her eyes with one hand and stared into the abyss below. “This? How is this helpful?”

  “Follow me,” Camron took a few minutes to identify a path down the cliff then started picking his way through boulders and scrubby trees.

  Gemma followed him, teeth gritted. “I don’t normally have a fear of heights but this is extreme.” There wasn’t a true path as such and in spots Camron had to leap to another ledge then catch her as she jumped across. Being held in his strong arms for a heartbeat was reassuring—despite the fact they were both naked. She had to fight the urge to cling a little bit longer, to avoid the next hair raising portion of the descent.

  “If I’d been sure of the depth of the water, we’d have jumped and swum to our next stop,” he said as he moved out again.

  “Yeah, good luck with that. You’d have had to throw me over the cliff, and I’m the one with the spear.” She laughed.

  He smiled, the dimples flashing briefly, and shook his head.

  Eventually, they reached the bottom of the cliff and stood on a shelf about five feet above the water. The deep gorge was in shadow, and Gemma shivered from the cold. The waterfall thundered and some of the spray drifted across to where she stood.

  So much for my mud sunscreen.

  “I’ll dive in first, make sure everything is okay then we’ll swim across to the waterfall,” he said. “You can swim, right?”

  “Nice time to ask but yes, I learned in college.” She hefted the spear. “What do I do with this?”

  “Drop it to me once I’ve surfaced.” He stepped to the edge of the rock, took a deep breath and dove in a perfect arc into the sapphire blue water below.

  Gemma watched with her heart in her mouth, afraid of hidden hazards in the depths, but Camron surfaced an instant later.

  “Kind of cold,” he called to her as he gestured in a ‘come to me’ fashion. “Your turn.”

  Lords of Space, help me now. Terror held her immobilized. She forced herself to step to the edge as Camron had done and stared directly down at him. “You might have to climb up here and push me." She was only half-joking.

  “Gemma, you can do this on your own. I have faith in you.” Treading water, he waited just out of the area where she’d land. “Toss the spear, and I’ll fetch it.”

  Hoping she wasn’t going to skewer him by accident, she threw her weapon carefully and watched it spiral into the water. His calm voice settled her nerves, and she counted to ten, jumping feet first on the last number, landing with a huge splash. She rose to the surface, laughing. “What a rush! Kind of fun actually.”

  “You’re okay?” His voice was anxious, and he was frowning.

  I must have looked like a total idiot, especially after his beautiful dive. Nodding, she asked, “We’re going to the waterfall, right?”

  “There should be a ledge to the left of it. When we get there, I’ll help you out.” Camron set off with smooth, sure strokes.

  Hoping there were no predators in the water, Gemma swam after him, doing her best to remember the lessons she’d had so long ago. At one point, she flipped onto her back to rest her arms and swam for a while in that position. Camron circled to check on her.

  “If you need a rest, it’s okay to tread water,” he said. “Or I can tow you.”

  “I’ll make it. I’m just tired all of the sudden.” She rolled onto her stomach and resumed the proper form. �

��This damn lake is bigger than it looked from up there.”

  Grinning, he shot ahead in the water as if he was now a marine dweller, retrieving the spear then pulling himself out of the water, which cascaded from his body in a gleaming sheet. Gemma didn’t even try to suppress her admiring thoughts. Surely he was aware she was staring—there was a little bit of a proud strut in his movements and a flicker of a sideways glance. Her companion was magnificent, and she was fortunate he insisted on using his knowledge as well as his undeniable physicality to help her survive this ordeal.

  As she finished the swim, she blushed and gave in to a flash of annoyance because the water had completely removed the dried mud covering her body. There was nothing to be done about it, but she had been comforted by the illusion of not being entirely naked.

  Camron pulled her onto the wet rock with him easily. “Watch your step—it’s slippery.” He kept his grip on her hand and stepped with caution along the ledge toward the water fall. “There’s another trail sign,” he said, pointing at what resembled scratches on the rock wall. “We’re in the right place.”

  Hesitant, she looked at the millions of gallons of water pouring over the cliff just a few feet away now. “Where are we going?”

  “You’ll see—trust me.” He flashed her a genuine smile, one that lit up his face and brought the dimples to his cheeks.

  She took a deep breath at the impact of his good looks on her impulse control. Camron was one hell of a sexy companion.

  Gemma was forced to keep walking since he didn’t release her fingers. Camron sidled along the now precariously narrow ledge. They weren’t walking into the cascade but moving behind it, into a hidden recess. A few moments later, she stood with him behind the water, watching the constant flow from a totally different perspective. Tiny rainbows danced everywhere, refracted from the water. She raised her free hand and watched the colors move on her skin. “I wouldn’t have believed it if we hadn’t made the trip. Those tiny scratches on the rocks told you this was here?”

  “Not in so many words, because we Badari have no written language as such, but enough to tell me where to come and what to look for. It gets better, though—there’s a cave. You’ll have to trust me because we have no light source but, I promise you, I can see perfectly well.”

  “You know I trust you.” She squeezed his fingers. “I—I’m getting cold, though.” She didn’t want to complain but the idea of being inside a chilly cave when she was already soaked wasn’t too inviting. “Hypothermia could become a problem if I can’t warm up soon.”

  “My hope is we can manage a fire or another heat source. Come on.” He drew her deeper into the inky blackness.

  What other kind of heat source could there be in a cave? As she walked, doing her best not to stumble, relief flooded Gemma’s mind because the cave wasn’t as totally dark as she’d feared. Luminescent algae and small plants grew in clusters here and there, and she caught flashes of stalactites above, veined with gemstones glinting dully as she walked by.

  Camron halted. “There’s a door,” he said, “blocking the access to the next part of the cave where we need to go. Give me a minute to clear it.”

  Standing motionless, she waited as Camron worked hard to deal with the obstacle, which she couldn’t make out in any detail. Finally, she heard a grunt and a cracking sound. “Are you all right?”

  “Yes, had to break it which is a pity, but the mineral deposits had solidified at the base. We should be safe here for one night.” He drew her to the doorway and helped her carefully step through the opening he’d created.

  Again she had to halt and wait but a soft glow began spreading and dim light illuminated the small cave where she stood. Looking around from where Camron stood, holding an oddly shaped lamp, to the other wall, she gasped. The chamber looked like an explorer’s camp from centuries past, full of items caked with dust. “What is this place?”

  “An emergency supply cache.” He set the lamp on top of a stack of boxes.

  “Who left this here?” She assessed the space, noting more boxes against the far wall and what looked like a cot. Dust or maybe fine lint lay thick and undisturbed on all the surfaces.

  “A Badari.” He turned on another lamp, which also provided only a feeble light. Taking it, he knelt in front of the boxes to read the labels. She recognized the Khagrish symbols. “Rations, clothing, no weapons, but we’ll still be better off.”

  “It looks like no one has been here in a long time,” she said, refusing to get her hopes up. “How could any of the things you mentioned be in usable condition?”

  Camron selected a bin and slid it out of the stack, setting it on the cave floor. “Stasis locked.” He pointed at a tiny green glow on the side panel. “Working as designed.”

  “Can you open it?” She was having a hard time managing her disbelief. How could anyone have put this cache here?

  “Set for a Badari, which means yes, because our fundamental DNA is the same coding, no matter how many variations the Khagrish create in their damn labs.”

  “I’m not understanding any of this, but I’ll be grateful if we end up with anything usable.” She leaned over his shoulder and watched as he placed his palm on the pad next to the tiny light. There was a click, the light winked out, and the lid of the container opened in fits and starts. “Are those really nutrient bars?”

  “See for yourself.” He scooped up several of the wrapped items and handed them to her.

  Gemma moved closer to the light and read the Khagrish markings on the wrappings, like the ones she’d been given to eat while a prisoner. “I know we all make jokes about these wretched rations being edible for centuries but, before I try a bite, please will you explain?”

  “Let me find you some clothes first so you don’t freeze, okay?” He gave her a look. “Otherwise the only alternative is going to be what we did in the woods after the crash when we shared body heat. I run hotter than a human male, remember?”

  Now she was blushing and had to admit to herself the idea had its definite appeal.

  Camron lifted down another container. “No good, the stasis unit failed on this one, who knows how long ago.” He opened the lid and shut it again quickly without comment. Going after a third one, he eyed the light, which was amber, and opened the box. “Jackpot. Clothing and blankets.” He gave the large bin a shove toward her. “Ladies first—take your pick. I can use whatever you can’t. Oh, and if there are boots, I’d like them. How are your leaf boots holding up?”

  “Fine. The stems you used as laces kept them on my feet while we were in the water.” She bent over the bin, not wanting to kneel on the cold stone floor, and rummaged through the contents, which were military style pants and T shirts. A pair of boots was in one corner and she removed them, setting them aside for Camron. She took a black T shirt which was huge on her and a pair of pants, also way oversized and did her best to cobble together an outfit, rolling the pants legs what seemed like a hundred times to make them short enough for her. She had to use another T shirt as a belt to keep the Badari-size pants on her waist. There were two blankets neatly folded at the bottom, and she took them both for now. With a twinge of guilt for being selfish, she glanced at him and said, “I’ll share when you need one.”

  “No problem, we need you to get warm as the top priority,” he said. “I should be able to set the lamps to generate heat, if I don’t find a heater, but if not, you’ll need the blankets more than I will. And I found a small toolkit so I can get these damn bracelets off.”

  Wrapping the blankets around her shoulder like cloaks, she walked through the rest of the small space, deciding the cot was about to fall apart, so she didn’t sit. “Camron, there’s wood stacked back here. Could we have a fire? Would the smoke drive us out if we did?”

  He came to investigate. She had a moment of discomfort, being dressed while he was still naked but he didn’t appear to be bothered by his state of undress. Camron possessed an even temperament, not much ruffled his calm self-possessed demeanor as far as she could tell. “There must be an air vent or another opening we haven’t found yet or whoever put these supplies here wouldn’t have given us material for a campfire.”

  “Will it burn? It wasn’t in any stasis container.”

  “We’ll find out. You sit and rest—you had a hard day. I’ll get the fire going if the stuff will burn and, if you can’t bring yourself to try the ration bars, I might be able to catch some fish before it’s full dark.”

  I’ve had a hard day, he says, when he carried me, made me shoes and fought and killed the tracker. Guilt over making work for him hit her. “If I understood where this cache came from, then I’d be more open to eating this stuff. You don’t need another swim today either.”

  “Let me get dressed first.” He went to the pile of clothes and boots and unselfconsciously pulled on a pair of utility pants and a T shirt. He left the boots off for now as he took on the task of building a fire ring, collecting smaller rocks from the cave they were in and the larger cavern beyond. Striking sparks from two rocks, he got a small but cheery fire burning then sat beside her where she’d leaned against the cave wall and drowsed a bit as he worked, since he refused her offer of help.

  “Watch.” He opened a ration bar and made quick work of eating it. “Good as new. Well, as good as these things ever are. I don’t want to oversell the taste.”

  They both chuckled.

  “I can’t believe after the day we had now we’re sitting by the fire relaxing.” She watched the thin plume of smoke spiral toward the roof of the cave, lost in the gloom far above. “Are we safe tonight? No risk Parryfilmunn will see the smoke?”

  “It’d be out of character for him to track us at night, no matter how angry he may be about us eluding him so far. The smoke is going somewhere so, yeah, it’s a risk but an acceptably small one. There was a stiff wind blowing above the canyon which will dissipate the smoke quickly. Even if his trackers bring him to the cliff’s edge above, he’s not going to know we found a cave behind the water fall. You can get a good night’s sleep, and we’ll be on our way by dawn.”

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