Verita (26 page)

Despite my discomfort, I intentionally keep my voice light. “I’ll probably be bruised head-to-toe tomorrow, but I think my head and rib are the only real injuries. You?”

“Just bumps and bruises. Where is the rib? I need to look at it.” He starts feeling my ribs before I can answer.

“You’ll have to let me up then; it’s on my back.” I try to raise myself, but he still has me pinned down.

“Okay, I’ll help you sit up, but slowly,” he warns, placing his hand behind my shoulder to guide me.

“Yes, mother,” I tease, and I reluctantly allow him to sit me up.

“Is this where it is?” He gently feels my ribs as I direct him toward the injured one.

I flinch under his touch. “Ouch, yeah. You found it.”

“We’re lucky. I think it’s just a crack. I’ll have to tape it up for you.”

“We’re lucky? Is my rib now attached to you?” I joke, but intentionally refrain from laughing.

“No, but it will affect how fast we can travel back home.” His face falls. He now had a decidedly somber look. Our elation of surviving quickly disappears, and is replaced by the seriousness of our situation.

“How far away are we?” I wonder.

“I’m not sure, but judging by the amount of time we were caught in the flood we could be weeks away from the base.”

“Well let’s get me taped up, so we can get going.” I try to sound upbeat, though I’m anything but.

“Hey: no acting. We both know how bad the situation is. But thanks to you, we’re at least alive to face it.” He grins at me, obviously trying to act upbeat too. What a sweet hypocrite he is.

“Actually, thanks to
Andi
and her igloo. I hope it’s still usable?” I look around for signs of damage.

“We won’t know until we try collapsing it. We’ll do a lot better if we have portable shelter and protection.”

“We should stay close to the river, so we don’t miss the search party,” I suggest. “So do you think it’s safe to cross to the east side of the river from here, or should we wait until we’re further upstream?” I peek out of the igloo and have my answer. The river has overflowed its banks where the cliffs end. The entire area is a muddy mess of dirt and debris, and in the very center, the river continues to rage past. “Oh, never mind.” I sigh.

“I agree we should stay near the river, at least to have a reliable source of water. For now, we should stay on the west side. The ground around the riverbed can’t be very stable right now, and even if we wait for the current to subside, it still wouldn’t be safe. We’ll have to look later for a safe place to cross. I want to stay out of the flood zone, for obvious reasons, but we can always climb down if we get desperate enough for water.” He stops talking, but I have the feeling that he is leaving something unsaid. He smiles at me, but I can still see worry peeking out from behind his eyes.

“But…?” I prompt him.

He groans and reluctantly continues. “Brett, do you remember how badly we were tumbling at first? The others probably think we’re dead. We don’t have any airplanes built on this planet yet, because of the lack of fuel for them, and there’s no way any vehicle could make it through this terrain. We have to consider the very real possibility that there may not be any rescue party.” Just like his answer, Ryan’s face is grim.

“So it’s just us.” My face crinkles in distress. “Oh, Ryan, I’m so sorry. It’s my fault we’re in this mess. If I had just looked at the walls of the canyon, I would have known to get us out of there before it was too late. I don’t know, maybe I should have just climbed the rope with you. We might have gotten high enough before the water hit.”

Ryan grabs the sides of my face and stares intently into my eyes. “Now let’s get this straight: we are not going to play the blame game here. I have eyes just like you. I could have noticed the canyon walls too, but neither of us did. None of that matters now.
Your
crazy instincts were, once again, right. We would never have cleared the flood area in time. You were right to use the igloo. As insane as it seemed at the time, it was the right choice, and it’s the reason we’re both here now.”

I slowly nod, and he releases me, but his intense stare never breaks. He’s not going to allow me to second-guess or guilt myself.

“So, is being stuck with me your worst nightmare come true or what?” I playfully punch him in the arm in an attempt to liven the mood, but I forget about my rib and end up wincing in pain.

“You may make me crazy at times, but there’s not a more capable person I could choose to be stuck with,” he chuckles back at me. “Let’s tape you up.”

He grabs the first-aid kit from my pack. I try lifting my shirt up, but the motion causes too much pain. In the end, he has to take my shirt completely off and do all the taping by himself. I’m so embarrassed to have him help me this way. Despite the fact that my black sports bra covers more than a bikini, I feel naked and exposed. He seems to understand, and goes about the job without saying a word.

In my current state, I certainly don’t feel capable. I can’t do much more than walk right now. Ryan actually has to lift me out of the igloo, because I can’t even climb out on my own. I sit uselessly as he collapses it and packs everything up.

He finds
Andi’s
jerky in my bag and asks what it is.

“I forgot about that invention of
Andi’s
. It’s doesn’t taste very good, but one piece contains as many nutrients as a full meal, she says.” I make a face, remembering just how horrid the taste and the aftertaste are.

“Remind me to thank
Andi
profusely when we get back.” He opens the container and takes a sniff, but decides against tasting it.

“So do you want to tease me now about over-packing?” I ask, cocking my head to the side and making a goofy face.

“I swear I will never accuse you of over-packing again, even if you do pack the kitchen sink.” Ryan crosses his heart.

“Stop making me laugh; it hurts,” I beg.

“Oops. I’ll try not to.” He places my pack on his back and curls his under his arm. Apparently, he also thinks I can’t do much more than walk.

There’s plenty of daylight still, so we began our journey upstream. We’re careful to give the river a wide berth in case there are more flash floods. As we walk, Ryan empties out our sample containers to make room for water and any edibles we may find along the way. At least our canteens are already full.

It isn’t long before we find a patch of opal berries growing along a little side stream. The skin on them is strange. It reflects a rainbow of colors depending how you turn it in the light. The flesh and the juice inside are clear. Ryan insists that he should be the one to test them. He thinks I’m too weak from my injuries and won’t listen to my protests. I watch him rub the berry juice on his lips. When there’s no reaction he tastes a small amount of the juice. “It doesn’t taste bitter; it’s actually really sweet,” he comments before eating a small amount of the berries. “Let’s pick what we can and head out. If I don’t have a reaction, we can have them for breakfast.”

“
Mmm
, it’s jerky for me tonight,” I say, rubbing my stomach theatrically. Pain stabs in my back, and I instantly regret the motion.

“Better one of us is in a little discomfort than both of us dead from being rash.” He looks at me, scolding me with his eyes.

“You’re always the worry wart. I was just making light of things. There’s not much else to do in a situation like this but cry or laugh. I choose to laugh.” I hold my hands up to represent a scale and remember my rib, too late. This time I manage not to grimace in front of Ryan; he’s already looking worried enough for the both of us.

We collect enough berries to last us through the next two or three days.

We walk until sunset. Then Ryan sets up the igloo in an area we judge to be safe from flooding. We hold our noses and dine on the jerky. Then we try not to waste too much of the water in our canteens as we attempt to wash the taste down.

“What happened to cause that flash flood?” I wonder. “We haven’t had rain for weeks, and we haven’t built any dams to worry about bursting.”

“I know. You’d expect a flood in that kind of canyon if there had been a lot of torrential rain.” He pauses and looks thoughtful for a moment. “Of course, we really don’t know what was happening upriver. There could have been a natural dam that burst or some other natural disaster that led to it.” His lips purse as if deep in thought again. “If you think about it, we rarely saw large scale flash floods on Earth because anywhere that had the potential for a large flash flood had a dam or something to prevent it.”

“Good point. When we get back, we can suggest building a few dams.” I yawn. “I’m ready for some sleep.”

We never planned on camping, so Ryan is without a sleeping bag. I’m fortunate enough to have one courtesy of
Andi
. It looks like it was made out of a foil paper, but it can be inflated to make a comfortable bedding and even comes with an inflatable pillow . We decide to lay the sleeping bag open and flat. That way we both have something to cushion us. Ryan insists that I keep the pillow, claiming his pack is just as comfortable. Fortunately it doesn’t get cold at night yet, so we easily choose the safety of the zippered igloo over the warmth of a fire.

Without the pods, my sleep is fitful at best. I keep tossing and turning and waking myself up with the pain in my rib. When I do finally sleep, Ryan wakes me with his tossing and turning. By morning, I’m exhausted.

Chapter 19

The good news is that Ryan is alive and has no strange welts or rashes, so that means I am able to have opal berries for breakfast. The bad news is he looks just as tired as I am. Ryan counts out our berries and hands me a container. Hungrily, I pop some in my mouth. They aren’t anything like what I expected. Ryan said they were sweet, but that can’t begin to describe the blend of delicate flavors that assault my tongue. It’s sweet and tangy and fruity all at the same time. The taste is so intense that my tongue tingles. Breakfast is so much more enjoyable than dinner had been. By the end of it, we are both smiling.

After breakfast, we continue walking. I notice the landscape surrounding us is slightly different from back at the base. There are more red-barked trees here, and they’re wider and taller than at base camp. The canopy is also less dense, so more sunlight makes its way down to the ground. It’s easiest for us to travel between the river and the woods. While there aren’t any cliffs yet, there’s a very wide area on either side of the river that is just rock, so very little grows there.

The following day we wake up to the sound of rain drumming on the igloo. The rain that probably caused our flash flood has found us. We are both tired from another fitful night of sleep, but we know we can’t afford to sit still and wait out the rain. So instead, we travel through it. We both have thin waterproof parkas, but traveling is still miserable. Our boots are quickly waterlogged, and our faces are peppered by hard pellets of windblown rain. The rain makes the rock under our feet slippery, so we have to travel through the woods. The undergrowth in the woods brushes against our pants and soaks them. We fall asleep at night, cold and utterly exhausted. The exhaustion only seems to fuel Ryan’s nightmares.

My sleep is torn violently away as he screams, “No!” But when I look at him, he’s still asleep.

His tossing and turning worsen, and I can hear him whimpering. I’m scared he’s going to hurt himself. He starts flailing around and screaming, “I’m in here! Please, somebody! Anybody! Get me out!” When he starts banging against the walls, I try to wake him, but I’m rewarded with an elbow in my eye. After my vision steadies, I wrap myself around him, pinning his legs with mine and hugging his arms to his side. The restraint wakes him up.

Knowing that neither of us will get any sleep now, and that I need an explanation, Ryan drops his head and quietly says, “I had just got my learners permit, so as a surprise, after school my dad and two brothers picked me up and announced I was driving to hockey practice. It wasn’t my first time driving, but it was pouring with rain. Dad insisted it would be good practice for me. I should have hopped on the turnpike, but he insisted I take the back roads, even though it meant taking the old highway. I should have refused.” He swallows hard as if clearing his throat.

“Hey, it’s okay. You don’t need to explain anything,” I offer, seeing the pain on his face.

Ryan just shakes his head and continues. “The old highway was cement with two lanes on each side, a grass-median in the middle. For as long as I can remember, there had been talk about repaving it, but it never happened. When it rained, huge lakes of puddles would form all along the highway. Only locals ever drove it, but they never drove it slow. I had just entered a large lake of a puddle, when I noticed the brake lights of the car in front of me slam on. I was already in the puddle, so all I could do was take my foot off the accelerator and watch in horror as the car in front of me spun around. Somehow, by the time I reached it, it had zipped across the grass median into the oncoming traffic. I thought we were safe, until I heard my dad swear. The car to the right of us must have reacted to the spinning car, because all of a sudden he slammed into us and caused us to spin across the median.” I gasp, causing Ryan to pause. “Somehow I straightened the car out and came to a stop right on the shoulder of oncoming traffic. I was still shaking when my dad laughed and threw his phone at me, and told me to get some experience reporting an accident. Of course, I dropped the phone on the floor, so I unbuckled—” A heart-wrenching sob chokes Ryan off, and I instinctively wrap my arms around him. It’s hard to see him in so much pain. It’s a while before he’s finally able to continue.