The Trip to Raptor Bluff (9 page)

Lucy’s team took the summit trail to the top of Hammer Mountain at Rick’s suggestion so they could view Port Fortand from above and locate the landmark bridge that marked their entry point into the city.  Dakota, who had been in competitive gymnastics since preschool, was the only person in the group who made the trip without an immense struggle.  It was agonizing for the others; Sarah and Kate were both crying before they were halfway up the trail, and Lucy complained nonstop about the weight of her pack and the steepness of the climb.  By the time they reached the summit, Dakota had no confidence at all that the team would make it to their destination before their water ran out.  She was deeply frightened.

Lucy looked at the destroyed city in the distance and said with a trembling voice, “How on earth are we supposed to make it that far lugging all of this gear?”  

“It’s downhill from here, Mom,” said Dakota.  “And it’s not like we have a choice.”

“I need to rest and we need to pray for guidance before we start out,” Lucy said.  She beckoned to Dakota, Sarah, and Kate.  “Sit!  We need to pray.”

Dakota ignored her and pointed to the east.  “There is the broken bridge Rick told us to look for.  He said we have to hike there, then into Port Fortand.  We won’t be able to get down the cliffs if we stay on the ocean side of the mountain.”

“I
said
we need to pray about it,” snapped Lucy. 

“I’m
thinking
about it!” shot Dakota.  She studied the landscape around them for a few minutes.  “We have to take the long walk to the bridge.  If we hurry up, we can get there before dark.”

“That is an idiotic plan,” Lucy said when she followed the line from Dakota’s pointing finger to the demolished bridge.  “It will take us three times longer if we take that roundabout way into Port Fortand.  We are going straight north.  There has to be a way down from the cliffs.”

“I agree,” whimpered Sarah.  “The bridge takes us too far out of our way.  I can’t walk that far.”

“Mom, we will get all the way to the edge of the cliffs and then have to turn around and come back the way we came!”

“You are twelve years old, Dakota,” Lucy said dismissively.  “We are going with my plan.  End of discussion.”

“My feet and shoulders hurt,” Sarah whined.  “Can’t we just stay here?”

Lucy’s silence, a clear indication that she was considering that option, shot panic through Dakota.  “Mom, no!  We already told the others we were going to Port Fortand!  If they find a phone, they will tell Grandpa to look for us there.  How will Grandpa know we changed our minds?  How will he know to look for us here?  And what about water?”

“We could always go back to the spring,” Lucy said.  “It’s a long hike back, but at least we will be going downhill.”

“Are you guys crazy?” cried Dakota.  “We can see Port Fortand from here!  What is the
matter
with you?”

“Dakota!  I’ve had enough!  Stop arguing with me!”

“I’m going to catch up with Rick,” shouted Dakota, snatching her backpack from the ground.  “He will find help and he won’t kill us doing it!”

Dakota would have followed Rick’s route if her mother hadn’t reminded her that there was no trail going down the eastern side of Hammer Mountain, and that she would probably get lost and be on her own.  Dakota cried for the first time that day, and then announced that she was walking to Port Fortand even if she had to do it alone.  She was relieved when her mother finally acknowledged that they needed to stick with the original plan, but Dakota lost the battle to walk to the bridge and then into town.  She reluctantly followed Lucy when she started down the north side of Hammer Mountain.

Sarah’s non-stop whining grated on everyone’s nerves but she wouldn’t stop.  Dakota didn’t know what was worse: listening to her sniffles and complaints, or stopping to rest every fifteen minutes.  The city of Port Fortand stayed far off in the distance as the team walked at a pace that Dakota found unnecessarily slow.  In the end, she developed a system where she left her backpack and duffel bag where the others rested, and ran ahead to scout out the next section of terrain. 

It was late afternoon when Dakota returned to their most recent resting place from her scouting trip.  She stood with her hands on her hips and her dark hair blowing across her face when she ordered the group to follow her.  She angrily marched them to a spot a hundred yards to the northwest and pointed.  The view exposed a wall of sheer cliffs dropping straight down to the city of Port Fortand.  “We’ll never get down those cliffs.” 

“I give up!” wailed Lucy. 

Sarah and Kate burst into tears and Dakota turned an outraged face to her mother.  “I warned you about those cliffs
six hours
ago, Mom!” 

“Well, thank you very much for that reminder, Dakota.  It’s doing us a world of good right now.”

Dakota was still trembling with frustration as she, Lucy, and Kate built a fire pit and gathered wood for the night.  They were stopping where they were, even though the sun wouldn’t go down for another few hours, because Sarah complained of blisters and refused to go any further.  Sarah sat on the ground and watched as the others laid out the tarp and built a fire.  No one spoke as they ate their skimpy dinners until Lucy announced that it was time for prayer circle.  Dakota refused to join.  She stayed away from the others for the remainder of the evening and ignored her mother’s command to sleep beside her.  Instead, she lay on the far edge of the tarp, stared at the stars, and planned. 

At dawn, Lucy was roughly shaken awake by Kate, who stood over her with a candy bar wrapper in her hand.  “Dakota took off by herself while we were still sleeping,” she said nervously, handing the wrapper to Lucy.  “She left you a note.”

Lucy, instantly alert, sat up and glanced frantically around the area.  Dakota and her belongings were gone.  She snatched the note from Kate’s outstretched hand, read it with a horror-stricken face, and started stuffing items into her duffel bag.  Kate picked up the note as it fluttered by her feet and passed it to Sarah.

Mom, hike back the way you came, go to the bridge we saw from the mountain, and walk to Port Fortand from there.  I went ahead.  I will try to get in touch with Grandpa.  Do NOT change the plan.

Andrea knew nothing about opiate withdrawal and was terrified when Tara’s stomach cramps, nausea, and extremity aches grew worse.  Tara moaned and cried throughout the night and continued to produce volumes of watery diarrhea.  She dozed off occasionally but never for more than a few minutes at a time.  At least she agreed to sip water when morning arrived, which Andrea prayed would keep her from total dehydration.  She still refused to eat. 

“Mom, am I going to die out here?” Tara sobbed between shudders.

“You have to keep drinking as much water as you can hold, Tara.  And you need to eat.”

“I can’t even think of eating right now.  I feel so much worse than I did yesterday.  How can that be?”

Andrea cried softly and stroked Tara’s forehead.  “We will get through this.  We will.”

Reba watched the exchange in silence.  Her newfound hatred for Tara had not waned but she did not wish her dead.  She was deeply worried.  Tara hadn’t even begun to replace the fluid her body shed, and her shivering never stopped.  Reba and Andrea had fashioned a diaper of sorts to contain Tara’s diarrhea so at least they could cover her bottom half with a warm jacket.  Even so, Tara continued to shake and complain of feeling cold almost to death. 

“I’m going to lie down behind her and try to keep her warm,” said Andrea.  “It might help.  Cover us both with a poncho, OK?”

Reba looked guiltily at the poncho she had thrown in a heap by the spring the day before instead of rinsing it off as Andrea requested.  She used her own poncho and tucked it around Andrea and Tara before she limped towards the soiled one.  When she lifted it from the ground she saw with dismay that the yesterday’s large area of liquid feces had dried in a crust.  She carried it to the spring and did her best to wet the plastic and rub out the mess.  When the poncho was finally rinsed clean, she washed her stinking hands and hung the poncho from a branch so it could drip dry.  She retrieved an empty water bottle, filled it, and carried it back to Andrea.

“Make her drink whether she wants to or not.  That’s the most important thing.” 

Andrea reached across Tara’s body and lifted another empty bottle for Reba to fill.  “Get the water from the little stream running away from the spring.  It will be quicker than walking to the spring and easier on your bare feet.”

“No, we can’t use any stream water because the ground around it is polluted with Tara’s shit,” sighed Reba. “That is the only useful tidbit I know about surviving in the wilderness.  I’ll get the water after I check out my feet.  They really hurt.”  She sat on the ground and drew her feet into her lap one after the other.  She had a deep gash on the instep of her left foot, and cuts and bruised areas covered the bottoms and sides of both feet.  Walking was excruciating.

“Check my bag and see what’s in the first aid stash.  I know we are short on bandages but there should be some packets of antibiotic cream.  You need to put some on your worst cuts.  Count the food bars in my and Tara’s bags while you are at it.  We have six bags of chips between us, but I don’t know how many candy and protein bars are in there.”

Reba dragged all three duffel bags towards her, thankful that Andrea hadn’t counted the bars when she packed them.  Andrea had been too preoccupied with Tara’s illness to notice that Reba helped herself to bars from all three bags throughout the previous day.  Reba made sure she kept count as she raided the bags so Andrea and Tara would each have two more bars than she did, since they hadn’t eaten the day before.  “I have nine bars left and you and Tara each have eleven.”

Andrea’s expression turned to one of confusion before she said, “I know I had twenty - at least twenty - yesterday.  I was picking them up by the handfuls when I packed them.”

“Nope.  Sorry, you two have eleven bars each and I have nine.  I counted them twice.” 

Andrea snorted with disgust and stared at Reba for a long moment.  Reba just shrugged, knowing that the wrappers she had emptied from her pockets were buried in the woods.  Andrea slid out from beneath the poncho and stalked to where the bags lay.  She shot an accusatory glare at Reba before picking up her and Tara’s bags and carrying them to a spot out of Reba’s reach.  Reba shrugged again when Andrea sent her another venomous look.

**********

Andrea’s body warmth seemed to settle Tara somewhat and by late morning, Tara was less agitated than she had been since her withdrawals began.  Andrea rose gingerly, careful not to disturb her, and slipped into the woods to relieve herself.  When she returned a few minutes later, she tucked the poncho gently around Tara’s shoulders and sat with her back pressed against a tree.  Huge tears spilled from her eyes when she whispered, “What is going to happen to us?”

“Someone will find us and there’s nothing we can do but wait for that.  The first of the other teams to locate a satellite phone will let your company know where we are.”

“The section of the 101 near our first campsite crashed down to the ocean, and Rick said the bridge heading inland from Port Fortand collapsed in the tsunami.  How will rescue even get to us?”

“Andrea, we can’t give up.  Talking like that will only make us feel worse.  Just try to be positive, OK?  Things will work out.”

“My life is shit!  My whole goddam life is shit!”

“Was Tara telling the truth when she said you stopped taking your medication a couple of weeks ago?”

“That is none of your
fucking
business!”

“Did you even bring it with you?”

“No,” Andrea laughed derisively. “I’m such a fucking loser!  No wonder everyone hates me.  I don’t blame them.”  She turned her face away to let Reba know she wasn’t interested in further conversation. 

Tara dozed fitfully off and on until late afternoon, then sat up abruptly and clutched her stomach.  “Help me up,” she groaned.  Andrea rose quickly, encouraged that Tara was attempting to walk.  That in itself was a huge improvement.

Reba helped pull Tara to her feet while Andrea placed Tara’s arm around her shoulders and grasped her firmly by the waist.  “We should probably start using that area as a bathroom spot,” Reba said as she pointed to a moss covered tree stump on the far north side of the clearing.  “That’s the lowest place around here.  It looks like it’s going to rain and we don’t want to end up sitting in puddles of our own piss and shit.  There’s a tarp in your bag, Andrea.  I’ll see if I can find some high ground where we can hang it and try to stay dry.”  Reba attempted to quell the fear growing inside her.  Tara really could die out here.  She was barely able stand on her own and didn’t care at all that she was naked from the waist down, and covered from her lower back to her calves with crusted feces.  Even the back of her t-shirt was stained brown. 

Andrea glanced with dismay at the heavy clouds coming in from the west and gave Reba a curt nod before she steered Tara towards the tree stump. 

Reba surveyed the area around them.  There was a slight incline on the south side of the clearing that was topped by a large tree.  An enormous boulder sat underneath the tree’s heavy branches.  The spot wasn’t ideal; the ground was rocky and slanted, but if they draped the tarp over the branches and sat in front of the boulder’s facing side, the boulder would shield them from any rain water running downhill.  She carried the tarp to the tree, and then began clearing rocks and twigs away from the place where they would spend the night.

After the bathroom trip, Andrea half dragged Tara up the slight incline to their new sleeping spot and placed her in a sitting position with her back against the boulder.  Reba had thrown the tarp over the lowest hanging branch and was straightening it. “If it stays in place we should be fine,” she puffed.  “Let’s get the rest of our stuff.  Or maybe you should stay here and try to make Tara drink some water.  If you’ll loan me your shoes, I’ll get our bags.”

Reba donned the leather flip flops gratefully and began to move their belongings to the new area.  “It will be a cold night but it’s a waste to build a fire in the storm.”  As she spoke, the first drops of rain began to fall. 

**********

Andrea had handed Tara a bottle of water ages ago but was sitting with her knees tucked under her chin and staring into space.  Tara was lying on her side, too restless to be asleep, clutching the unopened bottle close to her body.

“Andrea!  Make Tara drink!”  Reba said nervously.  “We can’t let her get any more dehydrated!”  Andrea didn’t respond, and it suddenly occurred to Reba that Andrea had not uttered a sound in hours.  Reba scooted beside Tara and lifted the bottle of water from her hand.  “Sit up, Tara.  You have to drink!  Now!”  Tara allowed Reba to pull her to a sitting position and pour a small amount of water in her mouth.  The first taste of liquid seemed to awaken a desperate thirst in her.  She tried to snatch the bottle from Reba’s hand but Reba pulled it out of reach.  “Go slow.  You have to sip it.  If you drink it too fast, you are gonna puke and end up even worse off than you are now.”

Tara shivered as Reba poured small amounts of water into her mouth.  Two full water bottles later, she whispered, “Thank you, Reba.  I’m feeling a little bit better.  I mean it, thank you.”

“Can you eat?  Try a candy bar and break it into tiny pieces.  Come on.  You can do it.”

Tara managed to eat half of a jumbo sized bar before she handed it back to Reba.  She asked for another bottle of water.

“What’s up with your mom?” Reba whispered, thinking that Andrea probably wouldn’t hear even if Reba were shouting in her ear.  “She’s like, completely zoned out.  She has been sitting like that for hours and she didn’t even notice the aftershock that just hit.”

“We need to leave her alone or it will just make her worse.  Dad and I call this stage the ‘lull before the storm’,” said Tara weakly.  “After this, she’ll have a breakdown where she gets hysterical, and then she’ll cry for hours.  She’ll decide she needs to start taking her meds again after the crying stage.”

“Tara, she didn’t bring her meds with her.  I already asked.”

“It wouldn’t matter if she did.  It takes a few weeks for the meds to kick in, so she would be a basket case anyway.  I can’t believe Dad has stayed with her as long as he has.  He loves the medicated Andrea to death, but this one?”  She nodded at her mother.  “She’s crazy, Reba, but you will see that for yourself soon enough.”

Tara and Reba were dozing with their heads together when Andrea began to moan.  Memories were flying at her from everywhere, all of them laden with shame and regret. “So stupid, so stupid, so stupid,” she muttered.  “Why?  Why did I stop taking my meds?  What the
fuck
is the matter with me?  Oh! What have I done?”  She moaned again, louder this time.  Her thoughts raced faster and spiraled turbidly out of control.

“Leave her,” whispered Tara when Reba nudged her.  “This is the worst possible time to try to snap her out of it.  She has to beat herself up right now.”

Andrea completed her descent into self-hatred and was no longer aware of her current environment.  Instead, her mind churned with jarring memories of all the ways she had disappointed Joshua Zeem. 

Andrea had applied for a sales job at Zeemercise when Joshua’s business began to boom.  She could not believe her good fortune when she was hired; the atmosphere was casual and fun, and Joshua treated his employees with kindness and respect.  He also paid extremely well and was generous with time off.  Andrea worshipped him, and developed an unnatural and obsessive craving for his attention.  Her enthusiasm, devotion to the company, and hard work made her one of Joshua’s favorite employees, and he allowed a personal friendship to develop.  Andrea’s next step to deepen emotional ties with Joshua was to endear herself to his family, starting with his wife, Lucinda.  Then Andrea and Lucy became friendly and that friendship bloomed when Lucy joined Zeemercise on her twenty-first birthday.  Andrea went to painstaking lengths to educate Lucy on the business and aid her through her first months on the job.  It wasn’t long before Andrea’s family was included in every Zeem holiday celebration.

Joshua prided himself on running his business based on family values as opposed to corporate standards, so he did not have a Human Resources expert to handle the rumblings from other employees regarding Andrea’s behavior towards her peers.  She had frightening explosive episodes, and she also used her relationship with the Zeems to threaten and intimidate her coworkers.  Joshua wanted no part of emotional employee disputes and he ignored the complaints about Andrea’s behavior, just as he ignored the fighting between Brenda and Lucy.  Then he got a call from Marlon Carlton, who was a dear friend and a valued business associate.  Within a minute of answering Marlon’s call, Joshua summoned Andrea into his office, shut the door, and put Marlon on speaker phone.  Andrea, it turned out, had been abusive to one of Marlon’s employees, and when Marlon called her to talk about it, she told him to ‘kiss her ass’ before she hung up on him.  Joshua fired her on the spot.

Andrea went straight to Lucinda and Lucy Zeem, begging for her job back.  Joshua finally relented under pressure from his family, but only on the condition that Andrea agreed to accept psychiatric counseling.  Andrea tearfully obeyed and was promptly rehired.  Her relationship with Joshua cooled, despite her desperate attempts to win back his affection.  He remained aloof from her both at work and during his family’s holiday celebrations.