Lost and Found - Part Two
See Master Post for story info
The phone shrilled for two rings before I managed to grab the handset. It took two tries to clear my throat. “I really hope this is important,” I said, as I rolled over to look at the clock. “Especially given that dawn won’t break for another two hours.
“Jim, I know you’re only on alternate status, but we just got a call about a missing hiker and we’re in a time crunch this time. The weather service says we’re about to get slammed by one hell of a summer storm,” Dylan replied soberly. “I know you had a rough few days, but if you’re feeling better, we could really use you. We’re headed out in thirty.”
The migraine that had tormented me for the past two days was close enough to gone that I could nod without wanting to remove my head. “All right. We’ll be there.” Habits made things easier. There was no need to think while I got up and dressed. Of course, as soon as I moved, Amiga woke up, so I fed her breakfast and then opened the door so she could go do her business.
“Sorry, girl,” I apologized, as I let her back in the door. “Much as I would love to let us both sleep longer, we have to go find someone before they get wet.” Her tail thumped at find. She knew what that meant, of course. There was no doubt in my mind that Amiga knew the ins and outs of search and rescue even better than I did. And not just because she started her training before I did, and passed with flying colours. She’s patient with the fact that it took me so much longer to pick things up. In fact, she was the one who decided I was her person. Oh, sure, Dylan suggested I adopt a dog almost as soon as I met her, but I shrugged it off. There were still too many days I could barely take care of myself. What the hell business did I have inflicting myself on a dog?
Any man with half a lick of sense knows that the women of the world stick together. It explains why Dylan and Amiga were both so determined to have their way. It started with a temporary foster home. But once she lived at the cabin, I made an important discovery. Amiga had a calming effect on all of my senses. Of course, the trade off was that I had to adjust to having dog hair on everything in the cabin, but that was surprisingly easy. At first, she was a little ball of orange and black fluff, but her fur grew in long and soft, and she settled into a solid black with burnt orange socks, ear and tail tips. Her shape was predominantly Husky, but there were hints of other breeds in her long legs, slightly wider build, and of course, the longer hair. I learned to sweep and vacuum more often but I was already a neat freak, so that wasn’t a huge deal. I brushed Amiga more often than she was accustomed to, but she didn’t seem to mind.
It helped that for a dog, Amiga was exceptionally easy to live with from the get go: obedient and so happy to face each day, her enthusiasm was contagious. The real turning point for us was the day she brought me back to myself. I woke up early on a Friday and decided a hike on some of the trails around the cabin was in order. It was a great way to enjoy the late spring weather and the fantastic local scenery. The brief rain shower in the early morning left everything fresh and clean. Unfortunately, I looked so closely at the drops of dew on some of the leaves that I lost track of everything else. It had happened before, just one more fun part of the haywire senses package. Only this time, instead of losing hours, I only drifted for a few minutes. When I came back to myself, Amiga was wedged up against me, as she nudged my hips, hands and any other parts she could reach. My hands were wet where she’d licked me and she was still barking, loudly insistent. Best as I could figure, she did all that until I came back to myself. How she knew to engage all of my senses other than vision to bring me back, I have no idea. But it’s hard to argue with what works, and she’s done it more than once. So far, it hasn’t happened around anyone but her, and I would like to keep it that way. It is a comfort though, to know she can do it.
Once I knew what she was capable of, it made more sense to take her to the specialized classes for search and rescue. Dylan assured me she would be Amiga’s handler, but damned if the work didn’t catch my interest. I tried to remind myself about all the reasons it wasn’t a good idea. Almost as if it was determined to spite me, my senses behaved almost normally for the entirety of the sessions. Before I knew it, I was learning about scent cones and search grids. Thanks to the military, I already knew how to handle myself outdoors, and the basic first aid every team member needed was not a problem. Not even I could deny that my senses were an asset for searches, when they behaved anyway. It was the unknown that was the real problem. Even outside the city, I never knew when I’d end up with an excruciating headache from lights that were too bright, or a ringing in my ears that wouldn’t stop, or Christ only knew what else. Sure, I coped alright. I rarely went anywhere without Amiga, my faithful shadow, but that wasn’t the point. I could hardly tell Dylan that, when she demanded an explanation for why I wouldn’t join the team full-time.
My alternate status was the best compromise we could come up with. It allowed for the flexibility to pick and choose, up to a point anyway, when I would join the team. Dylan liked to keep tabs on me, as a friend, despite the fact that the friendship had surprised the hell out of both of us. I wouldn’t have tolerated it, but it meant she rarely called when I was dealing with sensory problems. She knew better than to poke the bear. Besides, she was too blunt for the concern to feel more like I was smothered, and she took my answers at face value. That’s more than I can say for my ex-wife, who was really the only other woman I’d spent this much time with in years. Even so, I couldn’t tell her about the guilt. Every time I couldn’t go out on a call, and the team didn’t get a positive outcome, a little voice inside me liked to remind me that it was my fault someone’s loved one hadn’t made it home.
Not this time though. This time, I was good to go, but if I didn’t want to catch hell at the briefing, I needed to hurry up and get the dog and the gear in the truck. Woolgathering while I was on autopilot out the door was one thing, but now I needed to focus on the job at hand. I managed not to be late to the briefing, though it was close. Fortunately, Rafe came in behind me, and Megan was too busy with speculation about what, or more precisely who, had made him late to pay me much attention. Megan’s dog, a Shepherd named Apollo still wasn’t a hundred percent, so she wasn’t even upset at not going into the field today. Dylan was working Montague today, since she took turns between him, Capulet, and Othello. Apparently, she’s always been a fan of Shakespeare, though she shortens all three names when it suits her. Calm, but obviously pleased to be present, Montague is a black lab, like his two partners in crime. Since they weren’t on the clock yet, I gave Amiga permission to go over and say hello, and followed behind her.
It was Dylan who explained Taggert had come down with a case of food poisoning. That put him and his Shepherd, Nitro, on the bench, and explained why Dylan had called me. The other missing member, Henri Brown, was already on scene as liaison with the local authorities. He wouldn’t have been my first choice for that role, but that was my mistake. I’ve seen him in action, and he could get information out people from any agency, calm victim’s families, and still have energy left over to be sure that everything was verified before we were sent the victim information. Dylan had informed me a few weeks ago that Brown had lost his dog Sable to cancer some months ago. He’d declined another canine partner, which I could understand better, now that Amiga had taken over my life so completely. Instead, he volunteered to take the liaison position on a semi-permanent basis. The rest of us rotated team positions based on Simon’s say so and our own experience.
Since we were still inside, Simon’s ever-present cigar wasn’t lit, thankfully. I’d explained the trouble I had with cigar smoke, and ever since, he only smoked when he was outside if I was around. He might be man of few words, but he could be surprisingly considerate. “Our callout today is for one Blair Sandburg, graduate student, with a University expedition to the that new dig site up near the north end of the State Park. He and another grad student, Keely Watson, were leading fourteen students on a day hike up to the site. From what I understand, the idea was to give them a taste of field work. Sandburg dropped back to motivate a couple of stragglers and wasn’t seen again. The group looked for him, but after an hour, Watson determined that they needed to continue on to the site and let authorities know he was missing. The clock started half an hour ago. We’re being trucked to the start of the hiking trail the group was taking. Due to the large area we need to cover, we won’t be going out in pairs, so it will be vital we all stay in radio contact. We’ll have spotty cell reception too, so make sure your batteries are charged.”
He paused for a moment. “I’ve got the description sheets with his vital stats, what he was wearing, the usual. Take a good look, people. We’re short on time, the storm is slated to hit and hit hard in about four hours. We’ll only be allowed to continue the search as long as the local authorities deem it safe.”
It was under an hour’s drive to the staging area. Megan immediately set up the command post she would need, and passed out the grid assignments she and Dylan had come up with on the trip over. I checked the description once more. Amiga sat beside me, tongue lolled out in a smile. By now, she recognized the routine just as well as I did, and she knew we would be headed out soon. I wasn’t sure where the clothes with his scent on them had come from, but as I waited for our turn with them, there was a strange intensity to the preparation for me. I’d never heard the name before, and I had certainly been involved with more tragic scenarios. Still, I couldn’t shake it. This man was important to me somehow. I just wished I knew why.
My eyebrows went up when I unsealed the bag with the brightly colored vest in it, but my opinion of the guy’s fashion sense didn’t change what we were here for. I let Amiga get the deep breaths she needed and gave her the command she was waiting for. “That’s Blair, Amiga. Find him. Find Blair.” As soon as she heard that, she was ready to go, all but quivering in her eagerness. Once I was sure my supply pack was secure, I gave Dylan and Simon, assigned to the sectors on either side of me a wave, and we set off. There was no way to know if the missing man had backtracked and if so, how far. That meant we had to start where the group had started and see what turned up. After an hour, I stopped to water Amiga, and have some myself. She was still eager, though the terrain was rocky and the underbrush was dense, so I didn’t prolong the rest.
I kept half an ear on the reports from the other teams, but so far there was no sign of Sandburg, or his belongings. The wind started to pick up, and I paused again to refresh the scent for Amiga, but she was still insistent on her direction. It was easy enough to find our way. That many people, especially with so many of them inexperienced, made quite an impression on the trail. We didn’t stay directly on it. Instead, Amiga led me through a swath of land to the left of it, close enough to the neighboring drop off that it’s lucky I’m not afraid of heights. We kept at it, but the weather was against us. The temperature dropped and the clouds that the wind blew in were dark enough that I worried the sprinkles of rain we’d seen so far would turn to snow.
A few minutes later, Megan radioed with the latest weather update, which called for thunder instead of snow, but neither option was appealing. We still hadn’t located our target. Unfortunately, whether he was found or not, Megan informed me that we were to turn back and return to base in half an hour, due to the deteriorating weather conditions. I meant to acknowledge and agree, but the words stuck in my mouth. I didn’t know the guy, but the thought of leaving him out in the wilderness, especially in the middle of a storm left a bad taste in my mouth, not to mention a throb in my temple and a weight on my chest. It made no sense, but my body didn’t care.
“Megan, can you check with Simon and see if he’s okay with me staying out here to see if the storm blows itself out?” I paused to consider how best to defend my decision. “I’m no stranger to bad weather. I have all my survival gear, including my tent.”
“I’ll check, Jim. Standby.” Despite the urgency of the situation, Megan’s voice was calm as a matron hosting a dinner party. I liked that about her.
“You’re cleared to camp and continue, if you want to, so long as you stay in radio contact with the park ranger station, once we sign off. The standard search will resume after sunrise if the weather clears. I’ll let you know when the team is back at it. But Simon says to tell you, if you take any stupid chances, he’ll kick your ass harder than any storm possibly could.” Rather than amused, she sounded more serious. “Be careful, I think he means it, and for that matter, so do I.”
“Duly noted,” I answered. “I believe you,” I told her, before I signed off to set up my tent and be sure Amiga and I would be comfortable. I had barely gotten the tent up and us and our things inside before the clouds let the rain loose in sheets. We were dry and relatively warm at least. I dug out the dog food and collapsible bowls. Once Amiga had food, she settled in her corner next to my sleeping bag. I offered her the chance to go out, but she only gave me a look that clearly asked me if I was crazy. I couldn’t blame her. I preferred to do my swimming in a lake, myself.
I ate some of the jerky and trail mix from my pack and climbed into my sleeping bag. It made sense to get some rest while I could. As much as I knew that, I couldn’t settle down. After I shifted around for a few minutes, Amiga whined at me in question. “Don’t look at me,” I told her. “I don’t know either.” I reached up to hang the small battery powered lantern. The sun was already starting to set, and with the addition of the storm clouds in the mix, it was going to get darker faster than usual. Better to know where it was when I needed it.
It made no sense to try and search in the dark in the rain. I knew that, but the urge to keep going was so strong, it was all I could do not to gear up. Instead, I lay back down, and settled an arm into Amiga’s hair, so I could rub her shoulders the way she liked. She approved of that with a deep, contented sigh. I smiled, though it felt wrong to smile, when I knew he was out there, gathering darkness, tempestuous weather, possible injuries and all. I had no reason to think he was injured, no reason to care so much if he was, but the idea of it bothered me.
I must have dozed, because I woke up when the sound of rain against canvas stopped. I checked my watch, and blinked the sleep out of my eyes. Three and a half hours had passed since I sacked out. I’d hoped to feel rested; instead I was more on edge than anything else. Still, I made an effort to lie back down. Before I could settle, Amiga nudged my arm, with an imperious look at the door of the tent. I laughed, but she only did it again. “I can’t go after him in the dark,” I told her, but the words sounded tentative even to me. When she gestured again, I sighed. It wouldn’t hurt to look. The rasp of the zipper sounded too loud, and I nearly flinched. Once the door unzipped all the way, I stuck my head out, and had to smile. The ferocious storm had blown itself out, leaving a cloudless sky streaked with stars. More importantly, the moon was full, or near enough to it that silvery moonlight gave me more than enough light to see by. It was a complete violation of procedure, but in that moment it didn’t matter.
After a few minutes to think about it, I decided to leave my tent set up where it was. It wasn’t wise to go too far from it in the middle of the night, no matter how well I could see. If I looked for a bit and came up empty handed, I could get more rest then break it down. If by some chance I did find him, well, it would be better to have a shelter to bring him to, where he could be relatively comfortable. Given the terrain and how wet everything was, if it took more than just me to get him out of here, it was going to take time for help to get to me.
I let Amiga out first, so she could stretch her legs and use nature’s facilities. She jumped out with her usual happy bark, but then went directly to the bushes and came back to me. Despite the numerous distractions the forest presented, she was the picture of business, and she clearly had her own ideas of what she should be doing. “All right,” I told her. “We’ll eat, then we’ll get going. But no telling what time we get back to it,” I cautioned her, as she moved to her dish and ate a few more mouthfuls.
When I gave her the find command after we’d both finished our midnight snack, Amiga arrowed forward confidently. The moonlight illuminated everything more than enough for me to find my way. In point of fact, I wasn’t sure the stress of the situation wasn’t getting to be a bit much, because it seemed almost as if the light was comparable to daylight, which wasn’t likely. I chalked it up to more strangeness from my senses, happy that at least this one was positive. I checked my grid map then double checked that I was in the correct starting position, even as I followed behind Amiga.
After about half an hour, she stopped, head cocked to the side as she sniffed the air. Calculating how much time there had been for dissipation since we started the search, I felt my heart sink. She was good, but these were hardly ideal circumstances. After a long pause, she continued forward, and I followed with a sigh of relief. But only minutes later, she stopped and whined. At first I thought she was confused. Another look showed that she was looking over the edge of the drop off that followed the left hand side of the path. In my worry that she’d lost the scent, I hadn’t considered that there were worse options. I tried to urge her to keep going, but she was as fixated as I’d ever seen her.
None of the reasons that came to mind when I asked myself why he would go off the path were good ones. Presumably, he was intelligent: he was a grad student after all, so he would know that sticking to the path was his best chance of being found. With an effort, I forced myself to stop my train of thought, and look around more carefully. Just because I couldn’t immediately see a way down didn’t mean there wasn’t one. It probably wasn’t going to be ideal, but luckily for me, I had experience with bad terrain and how to navigate it.
Impatient, Amiga paced the rocks, but she stayed with me, as I searched for a stretch that would at least let me get low enough to look. The usual night time forest noises weren’t very loud, but the ambient background almost made me miss it. The moan was so quiet, I wasn’t certain what I’d heard. Then it came again, and my head turned so fast, I nearly gave myself whiplash. It came from further down the path a few feet or so, but close enough that Amiga was on the move before I was. She was so sure-footed on the rocky outcroppings, they could almost have been the stairs at the cabin. I spared a minute to wonder if she was part mountain goat.
Then I could see down the path, and I had better things to think about. The cliff had a series of ledges set in it, each with an assortment of rocks, trees, and other undergrowth. Another cliff rose beside it after only about four feet of space, where it was widest. It too had ledges, but fewer of them. Near the bottom of the small canyon, wedged between the two rock walls, I could make out the form of a man. “Mr. Sandburg,” I called. “Blair.” This time slightly louder, but there was no verbal response. Judging the distances carefully, I decided I could climb down, but it would take time. Amiga had her eyes locked on the man, and whined once, as she looked at me in question. “Go on,” I told her. “Good girl, you found him.” Normally, I gave her more praise than that when she was successful. But she didn’t seem to mind. And I could give her the usual treat and rubs once we knew he was safe. “I’ll be there as soon as I can. Wake him up, girl.” It had gotten to be a habit, to talk to her that way, and I watched her as she descended, steadier on her four feet than I was on two. Within a minute or two, she was beside him. I could hear her, as she whined and barked softly, so I knew she was doing everything she could to bring him back.
Time dragged for me, as I fought my way to the bottom. I ignored the branches and weeds that caught at my clothes, barely registered when I scraped my arm on the jagged edge of an outcropping I had my hand braced on. I’d never been a victim of it before, but it seemed I had tunnel vision. All I could see was the man who was wedged between the rocks below me. I was nearly there when I heard it, a rhythmic pulsing I couldn’t identify. Rigid with surprise, I caught my breath, alert for any threat. The sound continued, but there was no sign of anything or anyone else. After a moment, realization dawned. It was a heartbeat, and it didn’t match my pulse, so it could only be his. Despite the issues with my hearing, nothing like this had ever happened before, but there wasn’t time to question it. It was a little bit fast, but strong, which reassured me a bit.
At last, I reached the bottom and wedged myself as close as I could get to the unconscious man. He was soaked, his left eye was swollen nearly shut, and I could see the beginnings of a goose egg behind his left ear. Even unconscious, he shivered, which pleased me. Trust me, you have to be more worried when they should be shivering but aren’t. I reached out and touched his face then, about to try and rouse him again. Before I could open my mouth, what felt like a current of electricity passed from him to me, or maybe it was from me to him. I couldn’t really tell. It wasn’t exactly painful, but it was unexpected, and packed enough of a punch to steal my breath for a moment. Whatever it was, it didn’t seem to affect Amiga, in her position on the other side of the prone form, but it raised the hair on the back of my neck, and jangled my nerves. In the next instant though, there was another moan and Sandburg’s eyes fluttered open slowly, as though they were weighted.
***
You have to understand something about my life. Waking up from being unconscious isn’t exactly a new thing for me. I sorta made a habit of being in dangerous places growing up. My mom wasn’t big on rules and limits. In the interests of not stifling my spiritual growth, or something like that, she pretty much let me do whatever I wanted, as long as I followed her from country to country. I think she must have been a gypsy in a past life, because there were an awful lot of different countries. Not all of them were the most stable, and most of them lacked even the most basic amenities. Worse, I stuck out like a sore thumb in all of them. Sometimes the attention that got me was good. I learned a lot that there is no way I would have picked up in a classroom. Other times, it was less auspicious. Some local would decide he didn’t like the look of me, or that I’d looked at them or their child too long, and that would be that. If I was lucky, the subsequent beating was minor. If not, well, at least I survived.
Still, for all the times I’ve woken up in pain, nothing prepared me to wake up staring at complete stranger, while a dog tried to lick my face. Even if said stranger was tall, well built, and had a voice that made me feel safe and protected, it was still a bit surreal.
“Just stay still,” the man ordered. “You took a nasty fall, and I’m not sure how badly hurt you are,” he explained. I wanted to ask him about a million questions, but when I tried to talk I only coughed, which made my ribs protest, and set off a sledgehammer in my head.
“I’m Jim,” my rescuer told me, obviously anticipating me. “I’m with the local volunteer search and rescue unit. Amiga and I were one of the teams sent out to try and find you, after your group lost track of you.”
When she heard her name, the dog inched closer and licked my chin. “Amiga, huh? Well, thanks, girl,” I murmured, as Jim ran his hands over the parts of me he could reach, checking for injuries. Battered as I was, it occurred to me to wish his hands were all over me for a different reason. I stopped short of saying so though, which I was thankful for. Sometimes, the filter between my brain and my mouth didn’t work so well. Okay, most of the time it doesn’t work very well. And that gets embarrassing. “I wasn’t sure anyone would be able to find me, given where I landed and with the weather and all.
“Well, it’s lucky for you the storm blew through as quick as it did,” Jim replied, “and that it’s such a bright night. But we need to figure out how to get you back to my campsite, so I can do a better job of patching you up and let people know you’re okay.”
“I’m all for that,” I agreed. “I’m so cold, I could stand in for an ice cube.”
“From what I can tell, you have a couple of cracked ribs, your head took some hard knocks. It’s likely you have a concussion, and your knee looks like you sprained it pretty bad. I don’t think anything is broken though, which is a miracle in and of itself. The rest is the effect of exposure and shock. You’ll be okay.”
There was absolutely no reason to believe him. Likely, the man said that to all the people he rescued. Still, I relaxed when I heard it, and I believed him. Carefully, I tried to move, but I didn’t get very far. “The worst of my problem isn’t whatever injuries I have.” The pause was involuntary; I was embarrassed to have to admit it. “I’m wedged in here at such a weird angle, I’m stuck. I can’t get myself upright again. I tried.”
Part of me thought Jim might laugh. It was a bit ridiculous, but he didn’t. “Not to worry, Chief. I’m sure we can get you out. I don’t know about upright, but one problem at a time,” he told me. “Can you sit up? That will give me room to get in behind you.”
I nodded before I realized it had grown steadily darker and it wasn’t likely he could see me. “Yeah, I can do that,” I agreed.
“Hang on,” Jim cautioned, before I could move. He turned back to his backpack and pulled out a small object I couldn’t make out. There was a muted click and light spilled into our immediate area. It was a small battery powered lantern. I was so grateful for the light, it made me fight back tears. It had been a long span of hours alone in the cold, rainy darkness. I hadn’t realized how much it shook me until right then.
When I opened my eyes, Jim had crouched down beside me and offered his arm, so I could grab to pull myself up. Once I was half upright, he moved behind me. The placement of the rocks made him helping from the front impossible, but the warmth of his body pressed up against mine felt good, and reminded me that I wasn’t stranded alone anymore, thank whatever deity was listening for that. “Okay, I’m gonna try getting you upright now. I don’t think we can do this without hurting you some. I’m sorry about that,” Jim apologized.
“Don’t worry about it.” I waved off his concern. “I’m tougher than I look.” It’s true, I am, but by the time I was upright, everything had gone grey around the edges, and there was a fresh layer of sweat on my skin. My knee was very definitely unhappy, and given my collection of scrapes and bruises, neither was the rest of me. I’m very good at keeping quiet when I’m in pain so I know I didn’t make a sound, but somehow, he knew.
“Deep breaths. Just breathe. I need you to stay awake, no matter how much it hurts.” There was no mistaking that it was an order. A small part of my brain that never stopped with the questions wondered if the man who found me was a soldier when he wasn’t rescuing people. Then he walked me backwards so I could brace against the rocks and he could position himself beside me, and I had to concentrate too hard on not throwing up to wonder about anything. I listened to the blood beat in my ears for a moment, and then I heard Jim’s voice as he murmured something to his dog.
The next thing I knew, Jim was on one side of me and Amiga was on the other. While he clipped the lantern to a carabiner on his backpack, which he put back on, he explained what he wanted me to do. “The climb back up is going to be a bitch. I’ll help you, but if you’re okay with it, so will Amiga. Reach down beside you. There’s a handle on her vest. If you grip the handle, she’ll help take some of your weight and let you use her for balance.”
“That’s so cool.” It was out before I could stop it, and I was glad the dark hid my flush of embarrassment. Now probably wasn’t the best time to be focused on all the things his dog could do, even if it was cool. Jim spoke again, this time to tell Amiga forward, which I figured was her cue to become a furry walker. I gripped the handle and tried a cautious step, grateful when the dog moved confidently forward. A moment later, Jim’s arm went around my waist, as he urged me to let him help as much as possible.
I’ve been close to people in awkward situations before. This one pretty much topped them all though. Even so, as we struggled back up the incline, I was hyper aware of Jim’s body against mine. It took almost all of my concentration to stay upright and keep putting one foot in front of the other. The small part of my mind that wasn’t occupied with that, had noted how warm he was, how good he smelled, and how well our bodies seemed to fit together, despite my current battered state. I know some of my friends say I’ll try and pick up a date under absolutely any circumstances, but this was a stretch even for me.
Luck was with me though, and he didn’t seem to notice. Then again, given that I had about as much coordination as a drunken monkey at this point, it was probably a good thing one of us could focus on the job at hand. I lifted my foot to step where he indicated, but I must not have lifted quite high enough. I stumbled, and felt Jim tighten his grip, but I lurched anyway. The extra weight on my knee lanced fire down my leg. Before I could call out, Amiga shifted her position and counterbalanced me with her solid weight against my leg and hip. By the feel alone, it didn’t seem like even an earthquake would budge her, but I felt bad that she had to take so much of my weight.
“Brace, Amiga,” Jim commanded, before he looked over at me.
“It’s okay. She’s a lot stronger than she looks,” he assured me. “And she won’t move again until you do. You’re doing fine, but we have to keep going. I’ve got a dry set of clothes that should fit you back my campsite. We need to get you warm and dry.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice,” I agreed wholeheartedly. “I hate the cold and this is definitely not how I planned to spend my evening.”
That surprised a laugh out of Jim, and I decided I liked the sound, though he seemed out of practice. “Well, I hadn’t really planned to be out here either,” he agreed.
It hit me then that he had likely been dragged out of a perfectly good, warm bed to retrieve my clumsy ass. “I’m sorry, man,” I apologized.
Though he didn’t slow our ascent at all, I knew the instant Jim focused back in on me. I could feel his gaze on my skin. It wasn’t unpleasant, but it wasn’t entirely comfortable either. “You don’t have to apologize to me, Chief. It’s not like you planned this.” There was no talk for the next few minutes, and Jim and his dog both shifted positions to keep me upright and on the move. With an effort, I hung on to my dignity and managed not to beg to stop and rest. We had to keep going. I knew that, even if my body disagreed.
When my companion spoke again, it was with more reassurance. “The climb back to the path is the worst of it. We aren’t too far from the camp, once we make it back up,” Jim explained, as he paused just long enough for me to catch my breath. Don’t ask me how he knew so precisely when I needed a brief break. I was just glad he did. When we got to the top, I almost didn’t believe it. Jim let me go just long enough to step in front of me to help me back onto the path. Amiga stayed beside me, apparently content with my death grip on the handle on her vest. Once I stopped, I found myself grateful for her warmth against me. It took another minute for Jim’s voice to penetrate the fog that seemed to have obscured my mind.
“I knew you could do it,” he told me. “Just a little bit more, and we’ll get you fixed up. I promise.” Thankfully, he didn’t seem to expect me to answer. As gently as he could, he hooked his arm around my waist again, and gave Amiga the command to get us all underway again. Now that the terrain wasn’t as treacherous, and I wasn’t so concerned with another fall, I could barely keep my eyes open. Even the pain from my various wounds started to seem distant and disconnected. That wasn’t so bad though, so I let myself float, just a little. Somehow, I knew Jim wouldn’t let anything happen to me, so it was okay.
“Hey. None of that now. You need to stay awake, you hear me, Mr. Sandburg?” Jim’s voice was insistent, and loud enough to snap me most of the way back to myself. He sounded almost impatient, but I figured that was probably worry.
“Blair,” I enunciated carefully. “People who risk life and limb, not to mention Mother Nature’s wrath, to save me from dying from exposure get to call me by my first name. It’s a little tradition of mine.” I sounded a little drunk, but it didn’t matter. It got the point across.
For a moment, the only sign of reaction from him was a tightened grip, but then Jim spoke. “Make a habit of needing rescue, do you?” He didn’t sound pleased by the idea, but I could hardly blame him.
“Not on purpose,” I defended myself. “I’ve just had what you could call a dangerous life.” My unconventional upbringing was not something I just brought up with strangers, no matter how good looking they were, or what they saved me from. And yet, I struggled for a moment with a strong urge to blurt it out. My natural caution reasserted itself in time to prevent it though.
****
On to Part Three