MissTaken: Ch10

      If you haven't read the previous chapters, I recommend you go to this page which has links to all the chapters as I post them. 

Chapter 10

A howl rang out, startling Jessica. She looked around. She recognized her surroundings as a small slot canyon, a few miles southwest of her home.  At her feet were four tiny newborn lambs, shivering in the cold night air. The moon was less than a week from a new moon, and the milky way galaxy cut a bright strip of white across the starry sky.

Another howl echoed through the canyon.

“Those wolves sound hungry.” Grandma Dalton sat next to the glowing remains of a campfire. She glanced toward the lambs at Jess’s feet then gazed into the darkness, “persistent devils, aren’t they?”

“I can’t move all these lambs by myself—not fast enough. They’re too tiny. They shouldn’t even be away from their mama yet.”

“Well, the wolves have the scent, so you really only have two options. Chase them away or lead them away.”

Jessica’s eyes snapped open as she was jolted awake by a groan. She sat bolt upright, gazing around the cave for the source. It was Sarah; she didn’t look good. Her skin looked ashen, and her cheeks were sunken. Meredith was awake too, anxiously hovering over Sarah.

Jessica rose and moved to the mouth of the cave. She stared out into the predawn darkness, looking for any sign of people moving—any lights or fires. She listened intently for any out of the ordinary sounds. There was nothing other than the occasional slap or gurgle of water from the river.

She stood, lost in thought. Her recent dreams had been too spot-on to ignore. But what did it mean? What should she do? What could she do?

She could start getting more water. She grabbed her dirty water container, climbed down to the stream to fill it, and returned to the cave. She started a fire, being careful to make sure it was a clean, hot fire with no visible smoke. Once the fire was satisfactory, she made another trip to the river to collect more water.

She stopped to check her fish trap after filling the water container, and she was delighted to see two decent-sized fish. They weren’t a species she recognized, but they resembled some sort of catfish. They wouldn’t provide much meat, yet not much was better than none.

She extracted them from the trap, killed them, cleaned them, then took them and her second haul of water back to the cave. She placed the fish on a flat rock next to the fire and set to work sterilizing water. Leticia was awake and watching intently.

“Diez minutos,” Jessica said, pointing to the boiling water “mantenerlo hirviendo. Keep it boiling.”

Leticia nodded. After a moment, she stood up, and reached out, as if to take the wooden utensils Jessica had fashioned for moving the hot rocks back and forth.

“You want to try?” Jessica asked. Leticia nodded. Jessica handed her the tools and watched for a while. Leticia was an excellent study and mimicked Jessica’s actions and timing precisely. When it was clear Leticia had a firm handle on the process, Jessica decided she would take some of the venison from the submerged basket and cook it to supplement the fish.

“What you want me to do?” Alyona followed her out of the cave.

“I could use a dozen or so sticks. Sturdy, a little thicker than your finger, and about as long as your forearm.” She pulled the SOG from its sheath, grabbed the back of the blade and offered the hilt to Alyona. “Pointy sticks.”

Alyona’s brow furrowed as she cocked her head to one side, but she obediently took the knife and went in search of the desired sticks. Jessica continued to her baskets and collected a chunk of venison before returning to the cave. She instructed Leticia how to cook the meat, in between stuffing a couple bites of the cooked fish into her mouth.

Leaving Letecia to tend the fire and food, and Merideth to tend Sarah, Jessica grabbed the axe and started up the game trail in the narrow gulley that ran away from the river, under the cave and up into the mountains to the northwest of the river. About fifty yards up, she came over a crest. The trail flattened briefly as the gulley widened out, then it dropped slightly, following the contour and winding through a cluster of trees. Beyond the trees, the trail climbed up again and disappeared over another crest fifty or so yards away.

Jessica selected a spot on the trail in the trees and began digging, using the axe blade to speed up the work.  Jess worked late into the night enlarging and deepening the hole.  When the hole was about four feet long, two feet wide, and a foot deep, she stood up, stretched, and retraced her steps.

Jessica arrived back at the cave and was greeted by four worried faces.

“Where were you?” Meredith’s tone was anxious and accusatory. “We were afraid you were hurt, or you had been found, or …”

“I’m sorry,” Jessica said, “I got busy working, and lost track of time.”

Alyona stepped forward, holding a bundle out in front of her. “Your pointy sticks,” she said offering the bundle.

The girls stared at Jessica expectantly, waiting for an explanation.

“They’re coming,” Jessica said after a long pause. “They are going to come this way before long—probably in the next couple days. We can’t fight them off, and Sarah is still in no shape to run, so we need to lead them away.”

“Okay, so what is plan?” Alyona asked.

“You girls will hunker down, stay quiet and out of site, and I will lead them off.”

“By yourself?” Alyona asked arching one eyebrow.

“I’ll leave a false trail and stay ahead of them.”

“I don’t think you will convince them you are five girls.” Alyona, paused. “I will go with you. It will be more believable that way.”

“It’s going to be dangerous,” Jessica protested. “There’s a lot that will be improvised.”

“If I am slowing you down, then you leave me to the wolves.”

Jessica winced, recalling the sound of the howling in her dream.

Alyona continued, “One set of footprints will never convince them of the herd, but two sets of footprints might.”

Jessica chewed on her lower lip. She turned to gaze out into the darkness. “Okay, that makes sense,” she conceded.

“What do we need? What are we taking with us? What are we leaving here? Do we need to prepare anything? When are we leaving?”

“Slow down!”  Jessica raised a hand to ward of the barrage of questions. We’ll take the pack and the gear in it. If we have time, we’ll make another water bottle like these, that will give us three to share. The canteen we’ll leave here—the lid leaks, and we don’t have a holder to carry it anyway. We’ll take the knife, but leave the axe, I think. We’ll take some of the dried meat, but we’ll leave some behind too, in case the others have to hole up in here for a while.”

Jessica turned to Leticia, “You might have to stay hidden in the cave for a few days without going out at all. No fire. Nothing to call attention to you. Ration the water and the dried meat.”

Leticia nodded.

“We’ll clear tracks around the area below, so it doesn’t look like anyone camped here—nothing that will draw their eyes to this hollow. Maybe make a fake, short-term campsite near the water, then we’ll make a few trips up this game trail I walked today, to give them a nice easy-to-find track to follow. Not so much it looks like we’re trying to be found; just enough to look like we got a little sloppy.”

Alyona chuckled, “You think of so many little details, are you American commando? American spy? Or Maybe American ninja?”

Jessica smirked, “I think command-ette is the term you are looking for.”

“As you wish, Polkovnik!” Alyona saluted, grinning.

“At ease, soldier!” Jessica grinned back.

* * *

The next day was a flurry of activity. Jessica and Alyona returned to the hole she dug. They set the sharpened stakes in the hole, standing vertically, the points a few inches below the level of the rim.

Alyona watched curiously as Jess constructed a delicate cover over the hole using thin branches and leaves, and then extended the pattern of branches and leaves several yards in front of the hole and a few yards beyond.

“You’re thinking of leading them into this trap?” Alyona asked. I don’t think it is big enough for them to fall into. And not enough sticks.”

 “It’s mostly meant as a deterrent,” Jessica said. “Most likely they will see it, or one of them will stumble through it. But once they have discovered one trap, they will likely be more cautious—move more slowly. At least for a while. It will buy us some time to get farther ahead of them.”

“How come you’re so sure they will come back this way and that we need to lead them away?”

Jessica inhaled, then exhaled deeply. “I guess I don’t know for certain. Let’s call it a premonition.”

“Premonition?” Alyona asked, her voice laced with doubt.

“I rescued you because of one. Got us away from the van just in time to keep from getting caught again, too.” Jessica shrugged, “They’ve been right too many times to ignore.”

Once Jessica was satisfied with the trap, she and Alyona continued up the trail until it dropped down over the other side of the mountain and into a valley. As the trail reached the bottom of the valley, it crossed a small stream with muddy banks. The girls crossed through the mud to an open grassy area on the other side, cleaned their boots on the grass, then walked thirty paces out into the grassy meadow, until the grasses covered their passage.

Jessica removed the pack, opened the top and pulled out another pair of shoes.

“Sarah’s shoes?” Alyona asked.

“I borrowed them,” Jessica replied. “Since she’s not going anywhere today, I figured I’d put them to good use.” She took her shoes off, tied the laces together and hung them about her neck. Slipping Sarah’s shoes on, she grinned at Alyona.

“Now we walk backward.” Jessica instructed, stepping backward through the grass and into the mud.

“Aaaah!” Alyona beamed, “It looks like lots of tracks. And Sarah’s shoes are so it’s more than two shoes?”

“Yes mam.” Jessica smiled, then scowled, “Hopefully that will be enough to convince them we’re all together.”

“Very clever.” Alyona complimented Jessica.

It was late in the afternoon when they returned to the cave. Leticia had been busy collecting and boiling water; the various containers and the cistern were all topped off. She had also collected the strips of venison which had been hung on a makeshift rack to sun dry and placed them in a neat pile on a clean flat rock. The sticks which were used for the drying rack she had also brought in and stacked in a corner out of the way.

Meredith was tending to Sarah, who still looked like death warmed over. Meredith had torn a strip of fabric from her shirt waist and was using it to coax drops of water onto Sarah’s cracked lips, and into her mouth.

Jessica nodded to the girls, who returned the silent, somber greeting. She dropped the rucksack on the cave floor, removed Sarah’s shoes, and put her own boots back on. She grabbed a handful of the dried venison and stuffed it in the small bag given to her by the boy from the village. As she stored the bag of dried meat and the water containers in the rucksack, her hand brushed the cool metal of the gun. She circled the handle with her fingers and withdrew it, along with the ammo, offering them to Meredith. “You should keep these here,” she said, “Just in case.”

“But you’re making them chase you,” Meredith shook her head vigorously, “shouldn’t you have it?”

“We’ll have a lead on them,” Jessica smiled, “and we plan to stay ahead of them. I’m not planning on there being any last-stand, guns-blazing, battle-to-the-death. The gun is just in case they don’t follow us. It isn’t very likely, this spot is fairly well concealed and uninteresting, but … you know. Be prepared, and all.”

Meredith looked at Jess, then at the gun, biting her lip. She nodded and took the weapon. “You know I’m not very good with these,” She said. “You remember that time we went with those guys to the gun range?”

“You only had two shots that didn’t hit paper.  And you quickly picked up all the rules for properly handling a firearm,” Jessica said. “Plus, you didn’t flinch, and you had good control. You do just fine.”

Jessica hunched over to close the rucksack. “Seriously, I don’t think you will need to use it. If you do. It is because something has gone horribly wrong, and… well…”

Meredith nodded, staring into the distance with haunted eyes. “If it comes to it, it beats going back to … that.”

Jessica reached out, touching Meredith’s shoulder. Meredith looked at her through tear-laced eyes. Suddenly she reached out, grabbing Jess in a fierce hug. “Be careful.”

Jessica hugged her back. “It’s gonna be okay, Mer.”

“They’re coming!” Alyona burst into the cave panting, her eyes wide and her arms scratched up from an incautious ascent. “I hear a dog barking. We have little time.”

Jessica stuffed her arrows into the side pouch of the rucksack. She snugged the compression strap around the arrows, tight enough to hold them in place, but not so tight that she couldn’t slip them out—not as good as a quiver, but it would do. She slipped the pack into place on her back, clicking the sternum strap into place, then grabbed the bow.

“Stay inside and quiet,” she ordered. “And smother that fire quickly and thoroughly, so it doesn’t smoke.”

She bolted out of the cave; Alyona was already sliding down the steep face. As soon as she was clear, Jessica started running down the face. She pushed of hard at the bottom and landed heavily, but she remained upright. The two girls sprinted up the ravine, following the path.

Jessica looked back to make a quick survey of the area. At a quick glance, it looked as if the girls had camped near the river, then made a hasty effort to break up the camp and move into the ravine. Their mad scramble added to that narrative.

Hopefully their pursuers would interpret it that way as well.

Looking forward again, Alyona was several paces ahead of her, thanks to her long legs and impressive stride. Jessica could tell Alyona was holding back somewhat to keep from leaving Jessica behind.

Jessica was about thirty yards from the first rise when she heard the dog’s excited barking and snarling. It was starting up the ravine. She didn’t hear people yet. The dog must have been released to run them down. It was closing the gap fast.

Fifty yards away. Forty yards, thirty, twenty.

In one fluid motion, Jessica brought an arrow to the bow. She turned, planted her feet, drew to her cheek, exhaled and released. The dog emitted a horrible yelp of anguish as the arrow sunk deep into its chest, just inside the right shoulder. It dropped, flailing as its yelps of pain filled the air.

Dirt exploded several feet to the left and downhill from Jessica and was followed by an ominous crack. Jessica looked at the man with a pistol, firing in her direction. She turned and bolted, racing up the remaining ten yards of hill and over the crest.

Once she was certain she was out of site, she stopped and nocked another arrow.

“What are you doing?” Alyona hissed, sliding to a stop.

“Keep going.” Jessica motioned her away, then, in a crouch, she crept back to where she could see over the crest. Four men sprinted up the Ravine, their heads down, so they didn’t see her. She drew and fired toward them. The wild shot hit one of the men in the arm. She couldn’t tell if the man cried out—the dog was making so much noise—but he grabbed at his arm, and the men scattered for cover. She turned and ran out of site again, as gunfire erupted behind her.

Ahead of her, Alyona neared the grouping of trees.

“Stop, stop, stop!” Jess yelled, bringing Alyona skidding to a halt just before the strewn sticks and leaves on the trail. “Go around!” Jess hissed, gesturing with her hand as she continued to run.

Alyona looked at her, back at the trail, then she took off running again to the left side of the debris. Jessica followed her, sprinting through the trees. Once past the trap, the girls returned to the trail and continued to the second rise.

They were fifteen yards from the crest when a rock shattered near Alyona.

“Bleen!” She hissed, ducking as the crack of the gunshot reached them.

“Run!” Jessica yelled, “They’re lousy shots; they are no more likely to hit you running straight than zig-zagging, and you’ll get to cover faster!”

Alyona straightened her path, heading directly to the rise. Jessica glanced back as she cleared the rise. The first man approached the cluster of trees, and moments later the girls heard a scream.

Alyona looked at Jessica. “Your trap worked?”

“Sounds like,” Jess panted. They had been running hard, and mostly uphill. “Hopefully, it will slow them down.”

The girls slowed their own pace to catch their breath. Jessica strained her ears and frequently looked over her shoulder, checking for their pursuers. None came into view as they continued following the ravine’s upward path.

The shadows were lengthening.  Jessica looked for the sun and took a quick measurement of its height above the horizon.

“We have about fifteen minutes of daylight left,” she said as she scanned the path ahead. “We’ll break out of the ravine there, in those trees.” She pointed a finger. “We can use them for cover and go up toward the peak. We’ll have good cover there and a good view.”

Alyona nodded, panting, “Good plan.”

The forest was a mix of oak and pine trees. They weren’t quite as dense as they had first seemed, yet Jessica was confident they would provide enough cover. The ground was thick with green, springy grass and shrubbery, which covered all trace of their passage, even with their faster, less cautious pace. As the incline became steeper, there were places they were nearly crawling rather than walking. They slipped and stumbled, struggling upward, as the thick ground cover also hid the uneven places in the terrain.

As the sun began to slip from sight, the path became more difficult. The ground seemed more treacherous, and details washed to grey in the growing darkness.

“It is going to get cold at this altitude when the sun is gone.” Alyona said, “We can’t keep walking in the dark. There are too many little drop-offs. There isn’t much chance of finding good shelter.” She squinted looking around. “Chopping branches will be too noisy so close.”

“Yup.” Jessica confirmed, “Fire’s out of the question too.”

“What are we going to do?”

Jessica reached back and patted the rucksack on her back. “We have the netting, and we have each other. Hope you like to cuddle.” She smirked. Alyona regarded her curiously.

“Up there.” Jessica pointed to a small grouping of old trees beyond a thick cluster of bushes.

“Won’t those bushes hide us better?”

“Yes,” Jess agreed, ”but, they are also a better hiding place for bugs and spiders and the things that eat the bugs and spiders. And that will probably also attract whatever eats them. I’m thinking those couple of big trees will strike a happy medium. Somewhere in between getting caught and getting bit.”

Alyona considered Jessica’s plan for a moment, scowling, her gaze flicking from the trees to the bushes. “Okay.”

They selected a spot under one of the trees that, as best they could tell in the darkness was reasonably smooth, free of rocks, and bore no obvious signs of animal or insect traffic.

Jess pulled the netting out of the pack and spread it out over the chosen spot. “This’ll be a moderately crumby blanket. Won’t do much to trap heat.”

“Better than sleeping in a freezer though, yes?”

“Why yes. Kudos to you for the positive attitude.”

Alyona snorted. “You must be rubbing off on me. Your attitude is contagious, hopefully is not terminal.”

 “Not terminal, but maybe chronic.”

“Ugh, you mean I might spend the rest of my life surrounded by rainbows and unicorns? Dreadful.”

 “All right, come here,” she chuckled as she sat down on the netting. The ground was firm, but not rock hard, and the grass provided a small amount of cushion. “We’ll use this half for a mattress and fold the other half over us for a blanket.”

Alyona lay down next to her. “Just like happy couple, eh?”

“Something like that.”

“You don’t snore, do you? I’m a light sleeper.”

“Not to my knowledge, no.”

Neither of them snored. Neither of them slept well either. Both were on edge; every click, chirp, and snap had them listening for men’s voices. As the night wore on, the temperature dropped. Not to freezing, yet enough to be uncomfortable. The girls huddled together, shivering as the hours passed.

Then it began raining. The raindrops pattered lightly on the trees and the ground around them, masking many of the other night sounds. The thick foliage overhead served as an umbrella, keeping them dry. The hypnotic sound of the rain soon overcame the girls’ wariness, and they reluctantly surrendered to slumber.

MissTaken: Ch9

     If you haven't read the previous chapters, I recommend you go to this page which has links to all the chapters as I post them. 

Chapter 9

It was quiet as they continued following the river. The going was slow, and the girls were miserable. They all took turns helping Sarah, but they were struggling and needed frequent breaks. Their energy was depleted because of the lack of food, water, and sleep. Apart from Jessica, their shoes and clothes were inappropriate for hiking. Their shoes hindered their steps and their feet and ankles ached. Their clothes exposed their skin to burning sun.  Even Jessica struggled to remain calm and optimistic as the day wore on. They desperately needed to make it to the cave. They needed clean water and food.

After a few hours of walking in silence, Alyona started singing, to pass the time.

“What language is that?” Jessica asked.

“Russian,” Alyona said. “It is an old folk song.”

“It’s pretty. Do you speak Russian?”

“Yes, it’s pretty common in Ukraine. Maybe half the population can speak it.”

“What does the song mean?”

“It’s about a clumsy little bear walking through the forest. He’s picking up pinecones, and one hits him on the head, so he gets angry and stamps his foot.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Sarah, said.

“It’s for little children,” Alyona replied, “like ‘This little piggy went to market, this little piggy stayed home?’”

“Oh,” Sarah flushed, “sorry.”

Alyona smirked and waved it off. “Eh. Lots of things don’t make sense in this world.”

“That’s the truth.” Sarah muttered.

Leticia pointed to a tall peak in the distance. “Are we… are we going, all the way to there?”

“No, not that far, about half that distance.”

Leticia sighed in relief.

“Why do you ask?” Jessica asked.

“So far!” Leticia exclaimed, casting Sarah a concerned glance. She slumped her shoulders and fanned her face. “So hot. So tired.”

“Does this river go there?” Alyona asked.

“No,” Leticia pointed to the right of the peak. “There.”

Alyona looked puzzled. “Why then you think we’re going there?”

Leticia squinted, trying to think of the right word. “Mine.”

“Your what? The mountain? You own the mountain?”

Leticia shook her head vigorously, then turned to Jessica again, “Is…mine? Mina?”

Jessica chuckled, “Yes, ‘mine’ is correct. The word has more than one meaning. Mine can mean something that belongs to me, so mia in Spanish, or it can also mean a place where you look for gold, or diamonds or other valuable minerals—mina.”

Leticia smiled and nodded,.

“What are the words in Russian?” Jessica asked Alyona.

Alyona pointed at herself. “Moy,” then she pointed toward the mountain peak, “shakhta.”  She chuckled and shook her head. “English is very tricky.”

“Oh right.” Jessica smirked. “You don’t have any Russian words with two meanings?”

“Many,” Alyona conceded, “For instance kosa, means braid, or… what’s the word. It’s farm tool for cutting grain. Grim reaper carries it.”

“Scythe,” Jessica said.

“Yes, scythe.”

Jessica chuckled. “The Grim reaper carrying a braid.”

“And in Spanish, papa is potato and also pope!” Leticia offered, giggling.

“I had a friend,” Jessica began, “He was learning Spanish—his whole family was. His dad was a leader of a congregation for his church, and there was this Spanish family—they invited them over for dinner.”

“So, they are getting ready to eat and the dad turns to one of the daughters, and he decides to try out his Spanish. He goes to ask her if she is hungry but instead of saying ‘tu tenga hambre?’—do you have hunger—he says ‘tu tenga hombre?’—do you have a man!”

Leticia gasped, then giggled, covering her mouth and blushing. The other girls laughed as well. For the next hour everyone seemed in much better spirits, and they managed to cover almost as much distance as the previous two hours.

The sun was brushing the tops of the mountains when the girls reached the bottom of the hill leading to Jessica’s cave. Sarah had all but collapsed in the last hour, so Merideth, Alyona and Jessica took turns carrying her piggyback. Leticia repeatedly apologized to the others for being too small to take a turn. Jessica let her carry the backpack, which seemed to make her feel better.

It took all four girls working together to hoist Sarah up the steep face and into the cave. They collapsed, sweaty, dusty, and exhausted on the cave floor, moments before the last sliver of the sun dropped behind the mountains.

* * *

The sound of retching woke Jessica early the next morning. Sarah was curled in a ball at the cave entrance, dry heaving.

“Is there any clean water?” Meredith asked groggily. “She’s dehydrated, we need to get fluids in her.”

“I will get some boiling in a few minutes,” Jessica said. She grabbed her dirty water container and started to the entrance. As she looked out, she froze.  

“What is it?” Meredith asked, eyes wide with fear.

Jess whipped her head around and raised a finger to her lips. Dropping the water container, she grabbed the bow and a couple arrows which were leaning against the wall near the cave entrance and slipped stealthily out.

What a stroke of luck! There, right at the base of her hideout near the river was a lone deer.

“Settle down Jess,” she muttered under her breath. “Now is not the time to get buck fever.” She moved to the drop and crouched for stability. She nocked an arrow on the string and placed it against the bow, using her left hand as the shelf. She inhaled deeply and drew the string back with her right hand, anchoring the arrow gently to her cheekbone. Exhaling, she sighted in on her target—an area just above and slightly behind the visible front leg.  She held her breath near the end of the exhale and released the string.

The deer raised up and looked toward her, startled by the slap of the bow string. By the time it registered danger, the arrow had found its mark, cutting through the side and sinking into the animal’s heart and lungs. The deer sprang into the river, leaping towards the other side. One jump. Two. Three. It collapsed, motionless on the other side of the water.

Elated, Jessica scrambled down the hill, nocking another arrow. She approached the downed animal, feeling the exhilarating shakes from the adrenaline surge, and fired into the heart again at point blank range to ensure the animal was dead. It would be a terrible day for her if it jumped up and started thrashing around while she was in the middle of slitting its throat.

Satisfied it was dead, she reached to her belt feeling for the sheath containing the SOG. Her hand found the hilt, and she flicked the release on the sheath with her thumb. Gripping the handle of the SOG firmly, she withdrew it, dropped to one knee, and set to work field dressing the carcass. Using the tip of the blade, she cut the anus loose. Then she cut open the abdomen from the hole she had created around the anus up to the middle of the front legs. Reaching into the opened cavity, she pulled the gut sack loose and out of the body. She reached deep into the cavity with the knife and severed the esophagus, separating the innards from the body.

Jessica froze, regarding the gut pile with chagrin. “Maybe I should have hauled this deer somewhere I could easily bury and dispose of the guts, instead of just dumping them out on the rocks …”

She shrugged. Too late now. She pulled the backstraps out of the cavity and set them aside, then she set herself to the task of skinning the deer.  The hide would be useful. She had made a pair of moccasins from the hide of her first deer. She and her dad had tanned the hide. She tried to recall the items they’d used in the process. She could use the deer’s brain to tan it.  She’d need lye as well. She could make some with wood ash. She’d need an acid too—urine would probably be the easy option—but that would have to wait. The current goal was to get the hide off and get the meat chilled. She’d break it down and put it in the baskets she’d made to sink it in the river. The girls would at least have a few good meals now. And maybe Leticia could help identify some edible vegetation. Jessica felt the corners of her mouth rising in a genuine smile. She began to hum to herself as she worked.

“How can I help?” Alyona came up beside her, walking barefoot on the rough ground.

 “Oh, rats, I totally forgot about the water.” Jessica looked at Alyona and grimaced, “Poor Sarah. Did you see that container I had? I think I dropped it on the cave floor.”

“This one?” Alyona held up the container Jessica had failed to notice in her hand.

Jessica nodded sheepishly, “Would you please fill that with water from the creek and dump it into log with the hollow in it? Do that two or three times, until the cistern is …two-thirds or three-quarters full.”

“Okay,” Alyona set to work gathering water while Jessica finished butchering the deer.

Jessica loaded the basket with the skinned meat and was just getting ready to sink it in the river when she paused. The backstraps she had set aside were going to make a nice meal this morning, and she’d pull some more out in the evening to cook, but it would be nice to have something to snack on between meals. Was there anything could she do for that? Maybe if she dried some out, she could create a rough form of Jerky. That would serve well if they needed to leave the camp as well.

She pulled one hind quarter back out, setting it with the back straps. The rest she sunk in the river. It was worth a try.

Jessica hauled skin, hindquarter and backstraps to the cave. She placed the backstraps on a rock near the fire to cook. Then she began cutting the hindquarter into thin strips, which she hung over the fire to dry. She added a bit of green material to the fire to create some smoke. That would help keep flies off until the outside was dry enough. She could sun dry it the rest of the way. Not jerky exactly, but it would keep well enough.

All the girls were awake and staring hungrily at the sizzling meat.

“Patience, ladies. Let it finish cooking.” She left them staring at the venison while she went out to rinse her hands and the knife in the river.

When she returned, she sterilized the water in the cistern using her collection of hot rocks, then she cut the back straps into equal portions and divided them among the girls.

“There’s no seasoning,” she apologized, “and it is likely to be pretty gamey, but it’s protein.” The girls ignored her as they devoured the chunks of charred flesh. Had they been fed by their captors, or was starving them also a part of the ‘breaking in’ process?

“How do people get to that point?” She pondered aloud.

“To what point?” Alyona asked, her mouth full of meat.

“Sorry. Didn’t realize I said that out loud. I was just wondering how people get to the point that they are okay with treating other human beings so terribly. Something to be used, abused, exploited, and discarded.”

Alyona shrugged, “It’s just business, no?”

“It’s people. Their own kind!”

“Most people are like wolves.”

“Wolves?” Jessica frowned.

“How you say … predators. Survival of fittest. If a wolf is hungry enough it will eat its own pups. For these men, we are their food, nothing more. They catch us and sell us. Other men pay them so they can use us to satisfy … another kind of hunger. Is all about hunger, yes? Hunger for food, hunger for breeding, hunger for hunting. You enjoy hunting, yes? It excites you?”

“I don’t hunt people!” Jessica scowled.

Alyona shrugged, “Your parents taught you not to. Some parents don’t teach. Some learn life has higher meaning, and for others, life is survival of strongest. You protect yourself; you protect your pack. Everything else is food or enemy.”

“People are different,” Meredith disagreed, “They can choose, they don’t have to be driven by instinct.”

“Bah!” Alyona snorted, “People are different in that they can belong to more than one pack at a time.”

An uncomfortable silence fell, and the girls turned their attention back to satisfying their hunger, consuming the last bites of meat with subdued eagerness.

Jessica distracted herself from the uncomfortable conversation by grabbing several of the thicker pieces of cordage she had made and began coiling them in a flat oval. She used thread-thin pieces of cordage to bind the structure. Holding it to the bottom of her foot, she shaped it and used more thread to fix the shape. Once satisfied, she started another one, using the first one as a template.

Leticia watched her curiously, “What is it?”

“It’s a sole for a shoe.” Jessica held it to the bottom of her foot again to demonstrate. “I’ll make some straps, probably from the rabbit pelt I have back there. So, I guess they’ll be sandals, not shoes.”

Leticia nodded and continued to watch as Jessica worked.

“You want to try?” Jess offered, pointing to the small pile of cordage. Leticia looked at the pile, then back to Jessica, Jessica nodded and pointed again. “Go ahead. You try. Intentas.”

Leticia took some pieces of the cordage and began shaping them the way she had watched Jessica do. It took a few tries, and a little coaching from Jessica, but soon Letica had a pair of soles fit to her feet.

The rest of the day passed quietly, Meredith nursed Sarah, who looked on the verge of death, too weak to move. While working on the sandals for the girls with Leticia, Jessica had taken a break to roughly carve a small, crude bowl, which Sarah could vomit into. Alyona assigned herself the job of shuttling it down to the river to empty it. She would also occasionally make short trips to a vantage point where she could see downriver, looking for any sign the men might be following them.

In spite of the relatively lazy way the girls spent the day, sleep came easily when night fell.

Reasoning

I'm creating this page to serve as an index for the series of posts I have been working on under the title of

The Art of Reasoning.

1. Language, Truth, Perspective, Paradigm

2. The Invictus Illusion

3. The Authenticity Fallacy

4. The Liar Within

5. The Art of Reasoning

6. Reasoning: A Math Parable

7. Reasoning: Narratives, Models and Constructs

8. Reasoning: The Human Machine

9. Reasoning: Your Greatest Enemy

10. Reasoning: Our Greatest Enemy.

11. Reasoning: The Solution.

 

(To be continued...)

MissTaken: Ch8

    If you haven't read the previous chapters, I recommend you go to this page which has links to all the chapters as I post them. 

Chapter 8

One girl after the other, crouching or crawling to stay below the level of the various scrub and brush, they made their way around the bend. Jessica checked the position of the sun. They weren’t going to make it to her camp. She’d been sleeping in the shelter of a cave, with a fire. Nighttime without a fire or cover was likely to be miserable.

Finally, Jessica began her journey. She searched and smoothed out any shoe prints left by the girls, and she redistributed leaves and debris where crawling girls had cleared spots. As she disappeared around the bend, she made one final check for any obvious signs of human passage. Satisfied, she turned and hurried to catch up with the girls walking together in a group ahead of her.

“My parents died in automobile crash when I was fifteen.” Alyona said as Jessica joined the group. “I was sent to live with my aunt and her husband. They were very poor. She was always very sad and quiet. He was always very drunk and vyrodzhennya.

“One day, about two years after the accident, he came home after midnight, and came into my bedroom. I woke up to him groping me and trying to kiss me.” She narrowed her eyes, and the corners of her mouth turned up in a vicious grin, “I clawed his eyes with my fingers, and I bit the tip of his tongue off.”

The girls gasped.

“What did he do then?” Meredith asked.

“He screamed and bled.” Alyona shrugged. “Not long after, he sold me to the son of a mobster, who was trying to make his reputation in the crime business. I found this out from him after two of his thugs kidnapped me and brought me to his mansion.” She snorted.

“I really think he believed I would just go along with his plans once he told me he had purchased me.”

“What did you do?”

“I bit the first thing he tried to put in my mouth too.” She paused and looked at the other’s, her eyes gleaming wickedly as she gave them time to consider the implications of what she said, “He also bled and screamed. Then he passed out, I think. I’m not quite certain, because one of his minions came into the room when he started screaming. I don’t really remember much after that until I woke up in the hospital with a broken jaw and a few cracked ribs.”

Alyona rubber her jaw, as if in memory. “His father heard the screaming too, apparently, and he came and saved me from being beaten to death. From, him I learned he didn’t care for his son—he thought he was a spoiled, selfish idiot. I also learned he wasn’t fond of the slave trade. He felt it was demeaning. He stuck to drugs, guns, the occasional extortion.”

Jessica gaped at Alyona as they kept walking. Alyona spoke so casually about her experiences.

“He was actually very polite to me. But he couldn’t just let me go. ‘Bad for business’, he said. Although, he actually sounded like he regretted it when he explained it to me,” She snorted disdainfully, “So he sold me to a group who worked out of Amsterdam.”

“I thought prostitution was legal there,” Meredith interjected.

“It is.” Alyona shrugged. “But that doesn’t mean the… willing supply… is enough to satisfy the demand. I was too unwilling though. A few cuts and bruises later, and I was sold to these Templarios. They said it was my last chance. I would either work for them, or they would kill me. So far, they are not making good on that promise.” Alyona smiled a small, grim smile.

“I’m so sorry,” Jess said.

Alyona waved her hand, as if chasing away an annoying fly. “And what about you? How did you come to be here?”

“I came here for spring break, with them,” She nodded toward Sarah and Meredith, “They slipped us some drugs and kidnapped us.”

Alyona look puzzled, “How then were you not with them? With us?”

Jess shook her head, “Don’t quite know for sure. When they took us out of the car, they took me to the house instead, and put me in a room alone. I managed to get loose and made a break for it.” She looked back to the others, apologetically. “I wanted to get y’all loose but…”

“But,” Alyona continued,” If you had tried, you would have most likely been caught again, and would be with us now recovering from our first day… on the job… Or you would be dead.”

They all walked in silence for a while, considering Alyona’s prediction.  She knew Alyona was right, but every glance at Sarah struggling along sent a stab of guilt through her gut. But trying and failing wouldn’t have changed that. The important thing was they were with her now, and she could keep them safe.

“You’re virgin?” Alyona queried, snapping Jess from her thoughts.

“Why do you ask?” Jessica asked cautiously.

“They took you to house, away from others. So, I’m guessing you’re special—more valuable. Virgin, yes?”

“Yes, but I don’t see how they would have known. They didn’t ask, and I didn’t offer. I guess I can’t be a hundred percent certain, but… I really don’t think they… Checked …”

Alyona stared at the ground, lost in thought. “The drugs, how did they give them to you?”

“They bought us all drinks.” Meredith offered, “They almost didn’t get Jess.”

“Oh?” Alyona looked at Meredith, eyebrow raised.

“Jess doesn’t drink,” Meredith explained, “They tried for a long time and finally persuaded her to accept some orange juice,”

“I should have been suspicious of that,” Jessica said, mostly to herself, “given how hard they were trying.”

Alyona pointed at Jessica, “Maybe they assumed you were virgin. If you don’t drink, you probably don’t party.”

“Oh my gosh!” Meredith looked horrified, the color draining from her face. “It’s my fault. Jess, I’m so sorry.”

“What, Mer?” Jessica stared blankly at Meredith, puzzled.

“I was a little buzzed, but I remember them asking why you wouldn’t accept a drink. I told them you didn’t ever drink, and they made some jokes about you being a prude. They said, ‘she’s probably a virgin, too, isn’t she?’ I said you were. Oh Jess, I’m so sorry—”

“Don’t be.” Jess placed a hand on Meredith’s shoulder and squeezed. “Them separating me is what allowed me to escape. It’s why I was able to rescue you guys.”

“If I hadn’t said anything, maybe they wouldn’t have thought to give you orange juice, though. Maybe they would have given up.”

“Maybe. Or maybe they would have taken you anyway, and I wouldn’t have known where to find you. Or maybe they would have found another way to get me, and there wouldn’t have been a way for me to escape, or maybe…” Jess looked skyward, “Maybe an asteroid would have crashed into the ocean causing a tidal wave that sunk Australia, and a lawyer would have come and informed you that you were adopted and that your real parents were the King and Queen of Siam, and they were visiting Australia when it sunk, so now you are the heir to the throne.”

Meredith furrowed her brow and opened her mouth to speak, but Jess cut her off.

“You can play the maybe game all day Mer,” Jess explained, “You’re just guessing at what might have happened. You can’t know for sure because it didn’t happen. And since it didn’t happen, it doesn’t matter.”

“If it makes you feel any better,” Alyona said, smirking, “Leticia and I are very grateful to you for throwing your friend under the bus.”

Leticia looked confused but smiled and nodded at the mention of her name.

Jessica chuckled, then grew serious as she looked at the sky again.

“How much farther?” Leticia asked.

“Too far,” Jessica said. “We’ve covered, maybe two-thirds the total distance today.”

 “What’ll we do?” Meredith asked, her voice tinged with fear.

“See that big boulder up ahead? We’ll shelter under it. Everybody pick up a few dry pieces of wood and carry them with you.”

“Fire?” Alyona raised an eyebrow skeptically, then looked downstream.

“Small and concealed,” Jess replied reassuringly. Alyona’s gaze maintained its skepticism, but she veered off toward a cluster of trees and collected several dry branches from the ground.

The boulder was about four feet high, with a flat face on the downhill side. Jessica directed the girls to move the dirt at the base of the boulder outward, to create a flat area where they could huddle together.

“Why don’t you take a break Sarah,” Jessica suggested when the work was finished. She then set the rest of the girls to gathering more wood, and some medium-sized rocks, while she pulled the netting out of the pack. She anchored one side on and over the boulder with some heavy stones, then she stretched the corners of the other side out over the flattened area, creating a makeshift lean-to shelter.

Under the shelter, she quickly set about digging a fire hole right at the base of the boulder.

The sky was starting to darken as she struck a spark into a handful of tinder with the fire steel. Using gentle breaths, she nursed the spark into a small flame, then dropped the burning mass into the hole, along with several small twigs. She added fuel to the fire until it was a big as she dared make it. She dropped several of the rocks into the pit next to the fire.

Jess pointed to the flat area. “Let’s use a couple of these heavier sticks to dig out a couple trenches.”

“Where we just smoothed?” Leticia questioned.

Jessica nodded, “We’re going to get some of these rocks hot, then well push them into the trench, bury them. and smooth it all out again. That way we’ll have a cozy spot to sleep on.”

The girls set to work, digging down until Jessica was satisfied the holes were deep enough to cover the hot rocks. She used a couple of heavier sticks to push the hot rocks into the trenches, spacing them evenly, then the girls then filled in the trenches and smoothed everything out again.

They huddled together on the warm ground, most of them exhausted from exertion and from the effects of withdrawal. Alyona seemed mostly unaffected; she was intimidatingly stoic. Sarah was hit the worst. She was shivering violently, and the vomiting began before the night was fully black. She would make it no more than a couple of feet clear of the shelter before she would drop to her hands and knees, retching.

Before long the air in the shelter began to carry the faint aroma of stomach acid. Nobody complained though.

Then the diarrhea started. The vomiting was definitely preferable under current circumstances. Leaves just aren’t as gentle or effective as toilet paper.

Jessica wished there was something she could do to help. She knew Blackberry root tea could help with diarrhea. Witch-hazel could help with the inevitable rash. Did either of those grow in Mexico? She hadn’t seen any in her travels so far. Maybe Leticia would know of something. Nothing could be done now though. They couldn’t forage in the dark.

* * *

As the darkness began to recede in the early morning, Jessica helped Sarah down to the river’s edge to clean up as best she could. Sarah was weak and unstable, and she leaned heavily on Jessica for support.

 “Rough night, eh?” Jessica cast her a sympathetic glance.

Sarah was quiet as she crouched in the river and sluggishly splashed water on her face, washing away dried bits of vomitus from her face.

“I was a virgin too.” Sarah said. It was barely more than a whisper.

“What?” Jessica asked.

“I was a virgin too,” Sarah stopped washing and stared at the water directly in front of her. Jess stared at the ground and shifted uncomfortably, uncertain how to respond.

“I mean, I’ve made out with guys before,” Sarah continued, “but, most normal girls do.” Jessica detected an almost accusatory tone in the way Sarah emphasized the word ’normal’. She decided it would be best to ignore it.

“Why didn’t they take me with you?” Sarah fixed her gaze on Jessica, her eyes a storm of emotions; grief, anger, pain.

“They probably didn’t know …” Jess started. “They were probably about the same age as us, and they were guys. They only knew I was ‘cause Merideth said so.”

“They asked,” Sarah corrected a tear escaping from the corner of her eye.

“Well … yeah ...” Jessica slid a hand under her hair to rub the back of her neck, “after they were making jokes about me being strait-laced and all. Maybe it’s like Alyona said. Because I didn’t drink, which was strange to them, they thought to ask.”

“They just assumed because I was drinking, I was loose,” Sarah spat.

Jess felt a twinge of guilt, vowing to herself to never again make those assumptions about anyone. “I’m so sorry Sarah.”

“And now I’m worthless.”

“What? No! Why would you say that?”

Sarah rolled her eyes, “I’ve read the bible. People who drink do that too you know. It says something like ‘a virtuous woman is worth more than rubies’ she paraphrased in a sarcastic, sing-song voice. It says something about some guys stealing ‘their most precious possession; their virtue.’” A fit of coughing interrupted her train of thought.

“I don’t think it means that.” Jess said.

Sarah shot Jessica a hard look and snorted. “Really.”

“Do you remember my Uncle Daxon? He visited our apartment just before thanksgiving.”

Sarah thought for a minute, “Yeah, he was really quiet.”

“Yeah,” Jessica said sadly, “He wasn’t always that way. He used to be super outgoing before he joined the army. He got stationed in the middle east and wound up in an area where there was heavy fighting. Now he hides in his basement on New Year’s Eve and for a week around the fourth of July. The fireworks remind him of the gunfire and mortars and stuff. He’s a wreck a week or so before, just anticipating it. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

“PTSD.” Sarah nodded.

“I think that’s what the scripture means. It’s not what they took from your body, it’s what they took from your mind.” Jessica placed a hand on Sarah’s shoulder. “I imagine it would be hard to be trusting and open after something like that. Seems to me that everything and everyone would seem a bit more … sinister.”

“I suppose that makes sense.” Sarah acknowledged.

“Makes more sense than God kicking you to the curb because of something that wasn’t in your control,” Jess checked the sky. The sun was well above the horizon “C’mon, we need to get moving.”

As she helped Sarah back up to the shelter, Alyona and Meredith’s voice carried through the air, the conversation becoming heated.

“We need to rest for a while,” Meredith said firmly. “At least for a day or two until we get over the worst of the withdrawal symptoms. We need to rest, and we need to hydrate.”

“We can’t stay here,” Alyona replied through gritted teeth, “We are still too close to where they are searching for us. This is not a good place to hide.”

“Jess,” Meredith asked as she approached, “What do you think?”

“Sorry, Mer,” Jessica responded, “we have to keep going.  Another half-day to a day, depending on how fast we can move. There’s a place in the rock where can hunker down for a while. There’s some food there, and a way to get safe water. There’s shelter from the sun too.” She added, noting the bright red skin on exposed arms, shoulders and backs.

Meridith looked around desperately. “What about Sarah? She’s completely trashed.”

Jessica glanced to Sarah. She was struggling to keep her eyes open, let alone stand. Could she make it?

“We carry her,” Alyona said.

Meredith furrowed her brow. “How far are we going?”

“We carry her, or we drag her.” Alyona responded without the faintest hint of humor. There was an awkward pause as the others stared blankly, trying to decide if she was serious.

“Let’s clean up the campsite,” Jessica sighed, as she started taking down the netting. “We need to cover up the campfire and the piles of sick, and we need to re-landscape the sleeping area. Leave no trace.  Nothing that will give them a clue we were ever here.”

MissTaken: Ch7

    If you haven't read the previous chapters, I recommend you go to this page which has links to all the chapters as I post them. 

Chapter 7

Jessica was awake before the first faint hint of dawn began to lighten the sky. She peered out of the window; the coal-black cat was still there. A panther? She couldn’t remember if they were just in Africa, or if they were a South American creature too. Maybe it was a black jaguar, or maybe panther was another name for a black jaguar.

Oh, well, it wasn’t all that important just now. Quietly, to avoid disturbing the cat, Jessica grabbed the pack and slipped between the seats into the back of the VW Bus.

“Mer,” She whispered, shaking her, “Sarah, time to wake up.”

Both girls groaned.

“Hey,” Jessica said as she gently shook the other two girls, “time to wake up, we need to go.”

It took several minutes and a considerable amount of shaking and urging to get the four girls to a semi-awake state. Merideth looked out of the van windows with glassy eyes. The second her gaze fell on the large cat, she sat up, her spine ramrod straight and her mouth agape. Her eyes now wide and clear, she gasped and pointed. “We can’t leave the van! There’s a lion out there!”

“Perhaps not fully sober,” Jessica said to herself, reconsidering her evaluation of her friend’s state.

“Don’t be silly Mer,” Jessica said, without looking up from her examination of the pack “This is Mexico, not Africa.”

The dark-skinned girl gasped, fully awake as well. “Pantera,” she hissed. All four girls were awake and panicking.

“Aah, so a panther then?” Jessica asked in a barely interested tone.

“The four girls ignored her, all talking at once, to everyone and no one.”

“It’s. Just. A cat!” Jessica said, raising her voice and cutting off their gibbering. They all stopped and stared at her, as if unsure they had heard her correctly. “It’s just a cat,” she repeated, softer this time. “They chase mice, play with string, lay around a lot…”

“Uhh, Jess,” Meridith said, “pretty sure that is a deer. It’s definitely not a mouse.”

“Yeah, it’s a deer.’ Jessica glanced out the window. “A bit bigger than a mouse, but not that much different. A rodent really. They sneak around at night, get into your garden, damage your trees. They’re a bigger, more destructive …tastier rodent.”

All four girls stared at her, brows furrowed, trying to decide if she was teasing them, or if she had lost her mind.

“Look,” Jessica continued, “It was out hunting last night, it has a nice, big, tasty snack, so it’s probably ready for a nap. It has no reason to chase after us. We are going to get out of the van on the opposite side, and we are going to walk slowly toward the river over there while staying close together. We aren’t going to go near the big cat, we aren’t going to stare at the cat, and we aren’t going to run. It may be big, but it is still a cat, if we aren’t threatening it or it’s meal, and we don’t look like we might be fun to chase, it won’t have any reason to take any interest in us, okay?”

Jessica opened the side door and stepped out. She paused for a moment, then turned, addressing the two strangers. “Oh, by the way, hi. My Name’s Jessica, Jessica Hansen. My friends call me Jess. She extended a hand to the blonde, who was the closer of the two.

The blonde girl stared at her hand for a moment, then up to her face. Her eyes hardened and she lifted her chin proudly as she stepped from the van. “My name is Alyona Kostenko”, she said. She stared challengingly at Jessica as though inviting a confrontation.

“Alyona,” Jess repeated, grabbing Alyona’s hand and shaking it vigorously, “pleasure to make your acquaintance! Love your accent! Where are you from?”

“Ukraine,” Alyona responded tersely, maintaining her posture of challenge. She was a full head taller than Jessica, and by her grip and her stance, this fashion model of a girl could hold her own, if it came to a fight.

“Ukraine? You’re a long way from home! How’d you end up here?”

“Long story,” she quipped, “After introductions, perhaps.” Alyona then stepped confidently past Jessica, walking in the direction of the river.

Jessica turned her attention to the dark-skinned girl as she exited the bus. “Hi,” she said with a smile, extending her hand again.

“Leticia Mora,” The girl said, shaking hands with Jessica.

“Habla Ingles?” Jess queried.

“I hear some,” The girl nodded, then smiled timidly, “I speak… no so good.”

“Jessica nodded. You understand we are going?” Jess pointed toward Alyona.

“Si,” Leticia nodded. Then she looked back at Sarah and Meredith, still huddled together in the van. Timidly, they climbed out to join the others.

Jessica smiled reassuringly. “Let’s go.” She said, gesturing with her head. She started forward, and the other three followed.

Jessica could feel a palpable rise in collective anxiety as they moved to where the van was no longer between them and the panther.  She slowed her pace slightly and moved to the side to place herself between the cat and the three girls.

“Just keep your eyes on the river and keep walking,” she said. “Let me worry about the kitty cat.” The three girls quickened their pace, closing the gap between them and Alyona. Jess glanced over her shoulder. The cat lay with its front paws wrapped around the small deer carcass. It eyed her with a look of half-interest, its tongue lolling out, almost like a panting dog.

Alyona stopped at the edge of the river and turned to watch the progress of the others. “Where to from here?”

“About twenty feet farther down,” Jessica pointed, “where that slide of rock runs right into the river. We’ll cross the river there.

Alyona looked at her dubiously, then at the river. “The other side is rock, maybe taller than me.”

“Yup,”

“Ten feet farther down is sand. We can just walk out.”

“We could,” Jessica agreed, “but we’d leave a trail.”

“You think they will try to find us?”

“Yup. Probably find the van later today.” Jess stepped gently on the loose rock, so as not to disturb it, and made her way down to the water’s edge. She took off her shoes and socks. The water was relatively clear, and the bottom seemed smooth and free of sharp objects. “Doesn’t look like we’ll get more than knee deep. I’d recommend you keep your shoes and socks dry. Less likely to get blisters that way.”

Alyona arched an eyebrow. Then, shrugging, she pulled off her heels and stepped gingerly into the water.

Jess took note of her other companions’ footwear. Their shoes were all of the semi-provocative variety. Unlike Sara and Meredith, the shoes Alyona and Letecia were wearing must have been supplied by their captors, judging from the poor condition and fit. Still, even the best fitting heels were no good for back-country hiking.

Although the slow-moving section of water was no more than 20 feet wide and got only slightly deeper than mid-calf it took a long time to cross. The other girls moved slowly, halting often to probe the smooth rocks and occasional squishy spot of mud. Up ahead, Meredith froze, every muscle in her body tensed as she stared at Jessica over her shoulder with petrified eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Jessica asked.

“Something touched my leg.” She clenched and unclenched her fists at her sides.

“Oh my gosh, what if it’s a leech, or a piranha, or… or a crocodile?” Sarah whimpered, searching the river.

“It’s none of those things.” Jessica pinched the bridge of her nose. “It was more than likely a leaf.”

Meredith didn’t look convinced. “But—”

“Meredith, keep moving. You’re fine, I promise.”

Meredith grimaced, but she lifted her foot and continued across the river.

Jessica sighed. One crisis averted, how many more would she have to face? Hopefully they’d all be as minor and easy to solve.

 They stopped under the small cliff face on the other side as Jessica assessed it. It wasn’t really that daunting—maybe one foot higher than she could reach with her feet flat.  She turned and appraised Alyona. Then, she turned to Leticia, “You know how to tie a good knot in a rope?”

Leticia nodded affirmatively.

“Okay,” Jessica pulled a length of rope from the pack, “I have a rope here. If Alyona and I boost you up, do you think you could tie it off to a sturdy tree and throw the end down to us?”

Another nod.

“Give your shoes to Meredith. She’ll toss them to you once you are up.”

Jessica looked at Alyona as she positioned herself at the base of the rock. Alyona moved forward beside her and bent her leg slightly creating a stepping point. With help from Alyona and Jessica, Leticia climbed from knees to hips to shoulders. The two then used their hands under Leticia’s feet to push her up onto the top of the rock. She disappeared from view for a minute, then they heard a grunt, and a rustling of leaves. A bundle of rope appeared, uncoiling as it dropped, the end coming to a stop about three feet above the water.

Meredith tossed Letecia’s shoes up to her, then one by one, they each tossed their own shoes up to Leticia.

“Sarah, how about you go up next?” She glanced at her friend and performed a double take, frowning. Beads of sweat dripped down Sarah’s forehead, and her face was pale with dark circles beneath her eyes.

“Sarah, are you okay?”

“I think so,” Sarah responded feebly.

“Withdrawal.” Meredith eyed her with compassion. “They’ve been drugging us for the past several days. Heroin, probably. We are all likely to be a mess in the next day or so. Hope you have a good hiding place in mind, not too much farther from here.”

“I’m okay,” Sarah insisted unconvincingly, her voice weak and her legs unsteady. She took the rope, preparing to climb.

Alyona stepped next to her and braced her knee again.  “I’m easier to climb than rock wall, save your strength.”

Jessica braced herself on Sarah’s other side, smiling encouragingly. “Nice and easy.”

Sarah struggled, but, with the help of Jessica and Alyona from below, and Leticia from above, she managed to get onto the Rock. Meredith followed her.

Jessica bent, extending her arms down and interlacing her fingers to form a step, “Your turn, Alyona.”

Alyona Placed one foot on Jess’s hands. She reached as high as she could and grabbed the rope. Then, kicking off Jessica’s hand and pulling at the same time, she launched herself up. She released with one hand and placed it on the top of the rock. Her knees connected with the flat of the rock and she smoothly shifted forward and up to her feet, all in one smooth graceful motion, like an Olympic gymnast.

Jessica removed the rucksack from her back and tide it to the rope. She instructed the girls to raise it. They quickly did so, then the end of the rope returned.

Jessica took a deep breath, exhaled, wiped her hand on her hips, then reached up and grabbed the rope. Jumping would be less effective, as she would have to launch directly out of the water. Instead, she placed one foot against the rock, leaned back, then placed the other foot.

“No, no!” Alyona shouted down, “too much effort! Just hold the rope, and we’ll pull.”

“Okay.” Jess wrapped her arm in the rope and let it relax. She heard Alyona bark an order, then was pulled upward, she walked up the rock wall, then shifted forward at the top placing her palms on the top, Alyona grabbed her shoulder and helped pull her the final distance.

“Thanks.” Jessica said.

Alyona waved her hand. “Which way?”

“Upstream. We’ll stay close to the water, so we can use the trees and bushes for cover.” Jessica gestured with her eyes toward the strip of green. As the forest area they were in thinned, giving way to the rock and scrub of the desert, the greenery marked the river’s path through the otherwise barren hills ahead. She estimated they were a better than a half day’s hike from her base camp at a fast pace. She knew that was out of the question, yet she hoped they could make it before nightfall.

Feet were dried as best they could against clothes and shoes were collected.

“I think we have problem,” Alyona said, holding her shoes in front of her.

“She’s right,” Meredith said, “These shoes can be tricky to walk in on flat ground. They are likely to be lethal out here. Somebody will wind up with a broken ankle.”

“Pass me your shoes,” Jess said, holding her hand out to Sarah.

Sarah passed them to Jessica, who snapped the heel off before handing them back.

“It’s not perfect, but it’s better than walking barefoot.”

The other girls did likewise and slipped the now flat shoes back on their feet.

It was slow going.  The route was rough, with heavy vegetation as they followed the winding, upward path of the river. Sarah needed frequent stops to catch her breath; she was sweating, shaking and feverish. The other girls started to struggle as well as the day progressed.

“How long does withdrawal last?” Jessica asked Meredith later in the day, as they walked side by side through the scrub.

“Several days to a few months,” Meredith said. “Worst of it will be over in a couple days.”

 Jessica looked back at Sarah, who had stopped again and was leaning against a tree.

“I’m worried about her,” Meridith looked back as well. “I don’t know if she will be able to go much farther.”

“Let’s stop here for a few minutes,” Jessica said, “and rest our feet.”

Leticia smiled gratefully as she sat down, her back against a tree, peeled off her shoes and began massaging her feet.

“You were right,” Alyona whispered to Jess, pointing through the small cluster of trees they were presently using for shade. From their current position they could see down to where they had crossed the river from the Volkswagen. Five men stood right about where they had entered the water.

“Everyone get down and stay still and quiet,” Jessica hissed, and the girls obediently crouched beside her. It was noon, and they had come quite a way from their starting point, but it was better not to take chances. An accidental reflection, or a flash of bright color might catch an eye; a careless conversation might carry farther than expected. The men might have binoculars, or a gun with a scope.

She watched the men through the foliage. The men stood close to one spot for a minute, looking around. One of them pointed across the river. The men conversed for a while, and another man pointed downstream. Then, two of the men began to make their way across the river while the other three fanned out into the trees. One of the two in the water waved his arm and then pointed into the water. The second man joined him as the others walked back to the water’s edge.

Jessica’s heart sank. Had he found a patch of disturbed mud? She thought of her climb up the rock face. Her feet had been clean of mud before she started the climb, and surely by now the wet footprints would have dried, leaving no trace. Still, she found herself holding her breath as the men continued across the river, eyes intently searching the water in front of them. They were below the rock face now, searching the bank, and then the water farther downstream.

They turned back to the three on the far bank, and one raised his arms in a gesture of frustration before exiting the river and moving downstream.

So far so good, Jess thought. Although she felt only slight less worried. The smallest thing—a broken branch, a shoe print—could give them away. She had been careful to lead them where the ground was hard, or where there was enough random clutter on the ground that any disturbances they made while crossing would blend in with the rest of the noise.

“I’m thinkin’ maybe we shouldn’t stay here,” Jess whispered, “in case they start searching back this way. Better to get moving now, while we have some distance. If we stay right near the water, and stay low, until we get around that bend, we should be okay. We’ll have the hills for cover after that. We’ll go one at a time, and I’ll go last and try to cover our tracks.”