Chapter Twenty-two
Whit roused as her head bobbed and sleep tried to overtake her. She palmed her aching neck, having fought sleep all night as she’d sat motionless at the small table, listening to Abby’s rhythmic breathing from the bed.
Dawn seeped in through the edges of the damaged door.
She’d propped the fortress up as best she could, but the damn thing was barely remaining upright, much less giving them any sort of respite from danger.
So she’d remained awake, keeping watch, while trying to find a way out of their predicament.
They needed to reach some sort of help, that much was obvious, but how they were going to do that with Abby’s injury was the real brain tickler.
She’d debated making her some sort of stretcher that she could then drag behind her like a makeshift sled, but she wasn’t sure she was strong enough to gain enough ground on such a low quantity of food.
Not to mention that Abby would fight her on it and probably wouldn’t allow her to do it.
So that idea went out the window, along with a few others that involved her in some way helping Abby walk.
Their best bet was to take it slow and steady and forge their way through the forest until they hopefully hit the highway or came across a hiking trail.
But also, along the way, they could check out that other X, to see if it would in any way help them.
According to the map on the wall, it should take them about seven days’ time to reach the highway, if they took it slow, and a little over a days hike to that X.
She could only hope that it wouldn’t snow until after they’d reached safety.
Though she didn’t care for Boyd, he’d been correct when he’d said he could smell the oncoming snow.
She could feel it looming as well, and last night’s temperatures had plummeted, leaving her to stare at the mist of her breath in the faint firelight from the stove.
She stood and stretched and then stirred Abby awake. She was curled in a ball on her side, obviously trying to keep warm. Whit gently shook her.
“Abby,” she said. “Time to wake up.”
Abby groaned as she turned, slitted eyes searching for focus. “What time is it?”
“Early.”
“Ugh, too early.”
“You know what they say about the early bird,” Whit said, bringing her the water bottle. Abby sat up and took a few sips.
“Yeah, I do. And the early bird can kiss my ass. I’m not into worms.”
Whit chuckled. “Noted. Now come on, we need to eat and get going.”
She helped Abby to her feet, and they sat at the table.
Whit opened the pot and served them both cold fish and berries.
She didn’t even want to take the time to heat up their breakfast, she was so anxious to leave.
Boyd had left them alone all night, but that didn’t mean he would continue to do so.
So she wanted to try to get as much of a head start on him as she could.
“Nothing like cold fish first thing in the morning,” Abby said with a grin.
“At least you can joke about it.”
“Joking is about all I can do.”
They continued to eat, with Whit pushing more fish Abby’s way as she noticed she was mostly consuming berries. Abby didn’t fuss, but ate the fish in silence, making subtle faces as she did, the taste obviously disagreeing with her.
“We’ll find more berries today,” Whit said.
They packed up to leave as soon as they finished eating and drinking, and then headed out front to glance back at the cabin one last time before they slowly walked away, with Abby wiping at a tear.
“Sad to say goodbye?” Whit asked as they proceeded through the forest.
“It was a good little cabin,” Abby said soberly. “Protected us as best it could.”
“Yes, it did.”
They walked on at a snail’s pace for about twenty minutes before Abby was able to pick up the pace. Whit, alarmed at her increasing speed, stopped her.
“You’re going too fast. You’ll hurt yourself.”
“I feel good, Whit. Really. I think I just needed to warm up a bit.” She started off again and Whit caught up.
“You’re sure?”
“Yep.”
“The second you’re not, you slow down, okay?”
“Yes, ma’am.” They wound through more trees and Abby covered her mouth and nose as the strong scent of death slammed into them for the second time.
“Oh, God, Whit, it’s that smell again.”
Whit stilled and motioned for Abby to do the same.
Then Whit knelt and crept forward until she came to the carcass of the bear she’d stabbed.
She scanned the surrounding area, searching for animals feeding, but spotted nothing.
She gave Abby the signal that all was okay and then stepped on the bear for leverage so she could extract her spear.
Gases escaped the brown heap of the body and Abby turned away and vomited.
Whit held her blood-soaked spear proudly, like a triton, but the stench was starting to get to her too. “You okay?”
Abby waved her off. “Give me a second.” She threw up again, this time much less, and then brushed her hand across her mouth. She faced Whit with an ashen look of despair. “Can we go now?”
Whit motioned for her to lead the way, and they continued with the quicker stride until about two hours later, when Abby halted.
“Time for a break.” She placed her hands on her hips and took some deep breaths.
“You’ve done really well,” Whit said, checking the time.
“I’m pretty much just stiff-legging it.”
“I’ve noticed.”
“Worked great for a while, but now my hip’s starting to hurt.” She winced as she straightened and then bent her leg. “Not sure which causes the most pain at this point. The knee or the hip.”
“Do we need to stop for the day? Make camp here?”
“Of course not. I just need to rest a moment.”
Whit wasn’t apt to believe her. She knew Abby had a tendency to put on a brave face, and she worried she would further injure herself if they continued on as they had been.
“I think we’d better call it and just start early again tomorrow.”
“Whit, no. We can’t afford to stop now.”
“You’re not okay and—”
“I’m fine.”
“Abby—”
“We’re going and that’s final.”
Whit blinked. Abby was demanding her way. It was new and unexpected. Whit wasn’t sure what to say.
“I said I’m fine and you need to believe me,” Abby said. “Okay?”
Whit agreed, feeling like she had little choice. Arguing with Abby would get them nowhere, and if Abby said she was alright, she had to let her be to make up her own mind. After all, Abby had to know what was best for Abby.
“Good, let’s get back to it,” Abby said, suddenly in charge.
She stiff-legged it for a short while before changing to bend her knee, walking at a slower speed than previously.
Whit fell in next to her and they forged through the forest for the next couple of hours, taking a few short breaks to garner breath, get their bearings, and take sips of water.
Eventually, they came across a narrow, trickling creek.
Whit set down the shirt bundle and pot of food and began rinsing the dark smears of blood off her spear, while Abby went upstream and began undressing.
Whit watched as she knelt at the shore to wash her face and hands, wearing only her jeans and a red, lacy bra.
She glanced over at Whit once, as she was starting to scrub beneath her arms, and Whit quickly refocused on her already clean spear.
“You’re right, it’s super chilly,” Abby said.
Whit rubbed down her spear again, feeling prudish. “That it is.”
“You should join me. It’s cold but it feels refreshing.”
“Maybe later. I need to build a shelter first.”
“You’re going to go to all that trouble to make a shelter? Just for one night?”
“We have to have cover. Too cold now not to.”
Abby straightened and rubbed her hands on her jeans, taking Whit’s breath away as her hair lit up like fire against the backdrop of the deep green forest and her alabaster skin glowed in the fall sunlight. “I’m going to help this time,” she said, matter-of-factly.
It took a moment for Whit to concede, she was so flustered from Abby’s appearance and nearly nude form.
But after Abby dressed, Whit managed to give her instructions on what kind of branches to gather for the shelter.
They worked quietly, with Whit collecting and fashioning the heavier pieces of timber and Abby dragging over more heavily leaved branches than they ended up needing.
She seemed proud of herself regardless, and Whit then gave her the task of starting a fire as she finished up with the dwelling.
Half an hour later, all was complete and they sat by the tranquil fire, warming their fish and berries on a slab of rock. Whit felt almost numb as she relaxed in the heat, and her eyes had just started to drift closed when Abby spoke.
“Think Boyd’s nearby?” She mindlessly poked at the logs with a stick.
“Hard to say.”
“At this point I don’t even care. After the bear, what’s the worst he can do?”
“Don’t say that,” Whit said. “There’s always something worse.”
“I just want to kick his ass,” Abby said, setting her jaw to stab at a big piece of burning wood. “You know, really pummel him good.”
Whit laughed. “You’re not the only one.”
“That bear,” Abby said. “We could’ve been killed.”
“I think that was the intention.”
“Then I really really want to kick his ass.”
“I’m afraid I want to do worse,” Whit confessed.
Abby grew quiet for a moment. “You know what? Me, too. Me, too, Whit. And I’m usually a pacifist. So, damn him for making me even contemplate violence.”
Whit hugged her knees and stared up at the materializing stars. Thousands of tiny flickering diamonds set upon the backdrop of a frigid, glowing sky, lulling her back to relaxation, Boyd all but forgotten.
“He won’t try that again, right? The bear thing?”
Whit wanted to comfort her and tell her surely not. But she honestly had no idea and tonight, unfortunately, she really needed to get some sleep. She couldn’t stay awake all night keeping watch.
Abby was studying her closely. “You look beat, Whit.”
Whit smiled, her eyes feeling heavier by the moment. “I think I am.”
“Go on to bed then,” Abby said sincerely. “I’ll stay out by the fire.”
Whit started to argue but then realized she was too damn tired. She turned to crawl into the shelter. “Night, Abby. You were a real soldier today.”
Abby smiled back at her, sentimental-like.
Whit paused briefly, wondering what the look represented, but then proceeded into the shelter without saying another word.
She settled on the mound of crisp-smelling pine needles and sighed, crossing her hands over her chest. She was beyond exhausted and grateful for Abby volunteering to take up the watch.
Even if it was only for the time being. At least she’d be able to get a little sleep.
She closed her eyes and thought of the brilliant stars twinkling above. What a beautiful sight. What a beautiful night. If only Boyd would leave them be so it could be a peaceful one as well.