11. Water

Starving, dehydrated and near exhaustion, Chrissy and Emily are in dire straits. Perhaps their luck is about to change?

Chrissy drove the motorcycle deep into the woods and didn't stop until they reached a small clearing near the center. It was overgrown with weeds and scrub and had a small pond in the middle of it. She turned off the motorcycle, climbed off and threw her helmet on the ground in anger and frustration.

“Son of a b***h!!” she snarled, “We almost made it! If it hadn't been for that goddamn deputy we'd probably be free and clear now.” She looked over at Emily. The child was sitting on a log with her chin resting on her hands looking forlorn. She had barely said anything all day. Chrissy took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. She walked over to the log and sat down next to her.

“Hey, cheer up, Squirt,” she said in a reassuring voice, “I've got a few more tricks up my sleeve. We'll get out of this. You'll see.”

Emily nodded silently. Chrissy put her arm around her in an effort to comfort her. Emily suddenly burst into tears.

“You must hate me!” she sobbed.

“Hate you?! Why would I hate you?”

“This is all my fault!” She buried her face in Chrissy's shoulder and cried. “I'm so sorry, Chrissy!”

“What?! No! Is that what you're thinking?” She gently stroked her back. “Emily! It's not your fault. If we're going to lay the blame on somebody it should be those drug dealers. They're the cause of all our troubles.”

“You're not mad at me?” sniffled Emily.

“For crying out loud - no!” As Chrissy held her she thought about how ironic it was that she had been thinking that she had let Emily down by not protecting her from harm. “Now stop crying. We're already dehydrated enough.” She suddenly tensed. “Look over there!” she pointed, “Are those black raspberries?!”

They both got up and walked over for a closer look. Sure enough, there was a patch of wild black raspberries on the edge of the clearing. They managed to pick about two handfuls each and gobbled them down. The berries did little to curb their hunger or thirst but they did provide calories along with some precious moisture.

After they finished eating Chrissy looked at Emily's tear streaked face and purple stained lips. “Geez, Kid. You're a fright. And I probably don't look much better.” She went to their bag and took out a package of facial wipes. They spent the next several minutes cleaning the dirt off of themselves and combing the twigs and leaves out of their hair. Then they changed out of their filthy clothes into some cleaner ones. “Phew! We could both use a shower,” remarked Chrissy, “But I'm not going in that pond. We'd come out dirtier than we went in. That water looks unhealthy.”

Once they were clean they decided to take a rest. They had spent the better part of the day making the punji pit and they were beat. The clearing was overgrown with weeds and brush, but it felt good to sit in the sun for a change and watch the clouds.

“Come on,” Chrissy said to Emily after awhile, “We'd better keep moving.”

She grabbed the motorcycle and started pushing it with Emily's help. She gave Emily a sidelong look and smiled. “I'll bet those clowns think twice before they come into the woods looking for us again.”

Emily smiled back. “If they do, we'll leave another pair of panties on our trail. That'll stop them dead in their tracks.”

Chrissy actually laughed out loud.

It was late in the evening when the woods came to an end at a corn field. There was a farm house on the other side of the field about one hundred yards away. Chrissy was exhausted. “We'll rest here for the night,” she said as she leaned the motorcycle against a tree and practically collapsed next to it. She tried in vain to come up with some sort of a plan for the next day, but she was just too tired to think straight. Maybe in the morning, she thought to herself.

“I'm thirsty,” said Emily in a plaintive voice.

“I know,” Chrissy answered, “Me, too. I'll find us some water in the morning.” But she was worried. They could go for a couple of days without food, but not without water. She would have to find them some soon.

Between the chilly night air, the hard ground and the biting mosquitoes, they barely got any sleep that night. Every time Chrissy would finally start to doze off Emily would move and wake her up. After being awakened for the fifth time Chrissy snapped, “Quit squirming for Christ's sake, will you?!” She immediately regretted it. “Aw... I'm sorry, Squirt. I didn't mean to yell. We're both having a rough time.”

Emily turned and buried her face in Chrissy's shoulder and started crying again. “I just want to go home!” she sobbed.

“I know, Kid,” Chrissy replied as she awkwardly stroked Emily's hair, “Me, too... me, too.” It was times like these that she really felt inadequate as a mother. She just wasn't the warm, affectionate type of person that a child sometimes needed.

They both finally drifted off to sleep in each others arms. When Chrissy awoke it was still dark out. She had no idea how long they had slept or what time it was. Her mouth was absolutely parched. She had to find water! She tried to get up without waking Emily and failed.

“What time is it?” Emily asked sleepily.

“I have no idea, but it must be getting close to dawn.”

“I'm so thirsty!”

“Yeah, me, too. I'm going to sneak over to that farm house and try to find some water. They must have an outdoor spigot.” She dug the empty water bottles out of their bag.

“I'm coming with you.”

“No! It's too dangerous. You stay here.”

“Please, Chrissy! Don't leave me in the woods all alone,” she said on the verge of tears, “Let me come.”

“Well...” Chrissy responded, “Okay. You can come as far as the edge of the corn field. But no farther!”

They quietly crept through the corn toward the house. There was a partial moon to give them a little light to see by. “Be absolutely quiet,” ordered Chrissy, “These farm houses usually have a dog. Hopefully they keep theirs inside at night.” There was a heavy dew on the corn and it wasn't long before they were both soaked from the leaves of the stalks rubbing against them as they crept along. Emily was so thirsty she wanted to lick the dew off of the corn leaves, but Chrissy stopped her. “They might be sprayed with bug killer or something.” she warned. The night air was chilly and Emily was shivering with cold when they reached the end of the field. Chrissy took off her hoodie and draped it over Emily's shoulders.

“No,” whispered Emily, “Now you'll get cold.”

Chrissy was touched by Emily's concern but insisted that she keep the hoodie. Emily nodded. Chrissy's biggest worry was what would happen to Emily if she got caught. She tried not to think about it. She crept quietly across the farmyard, hiding behind the out-buildings and in bushes. She saw a long, low building with a fence along it and decided it was a chicken coop. She gave it a wide berth. Even though she was a city girl she new better than to disturb the chickens and bring the farmer out with a shotgun looking for a fox. She gave a start when a rooster crowed. She looked toward the east and saw that the sky was beginning to turn pink. She hoped it was just a myth that farmers got up at sunrise.

Along the way she came to a small vegetable garden with a low picket fence around it. She reached over the fence and grabbed two plump tomatoes off of a vine. The tomatoes would be their breakfast.

She finally reached the house and crept along each wall looking for a spigot. She searched all four walls without any luck. Damn! She had to find them some water. She had never been so thirsty in her life and could only imagine how bad it was for Emily. Then she saw a hand pump on top of a well near the back door of the house. She figured it was probably just a decoration, but she had to try it.

She approached the well and set the tomatoes and the empty water bottles down on it. It was beginning to grow light and she knew she had to hurry. She very hesitantly pulled on the pump handle fearing that it might squeak loudly, but it seemed to be well oiled and in good repair and didn't make a sound. She gave it several pumps but nothing happened. S**t! It was a decoration after all. Then she saw a mason jar filled with water on the well next to the pump. A phrase that she had heard from time to time during her life suddenly came up from the depths of her brain. Priming the pump. She looked at the jar of water and grew thoughtful for a moment. Priming the pump. What did that mean? She picked up the jar of water and unscrewed the lid. Then she poured some of the water into the pump from an opening at the top. She tried pumping the handle again and immediately felt the pull of suction as it began to draw water up from the depths of the well. Within five pumps water started gushing from the spout. Success! Chrissy put her mouth against the stream and drank deeply. She never thought simple water could taste so good. Then she unscrewed the caps from the water bottles and hurriedly filled them.

As she was screwing the lids back on she suddenly had the uncanny feeling that she was being watched. She looked up and saw a girl about Emily's age watching her from about fifteen yards away. She carried a bucket and was dressed in traditional Amish clothing. Amish! That explained why there was no spigot on the house. An Amish house wouldn't have running water. The girl stared at Chrissy wide eyed and seemed frozen in fear. Chrissy worried she might run to the house screaming in fright.

“I... uh... was just getting some water,” Chrissy explained, holding up the water bottles as evidence, “I'm leaving now, okay?” She backed away from the well a few steps, then turned and almost walked into a man that was standing behind her. The man was in his thirties, had a long beard and was also dressed in traditional Amish garb.

Chrissy nearly dropped the water bottles in surprise. “Gah!” she exclaimed as she jumped back two paces. “I was just getting some water, that's all,” she said, “I'm leaving!”

What happened next took Chrissy completely by surprise. The man nodded toward the well and said, “Don't forget your tomatoes.”

“Huh?... oh... um... those are yours,” she said sheepishly, “I stole them from your garden.”

He stepped past her to the well and picked them up. “Well,” he said, “If my tomatoes are good enough to steal, then I'll take that as a compliment.” He held them out to her with a smile.

She regarded him suspiciously. Was it a trap? If she reached for the tomatoes would he wrestle her to the ground and hold her while his daughter ran inside and called the cops? She quickly dismissed the thought. She always understood the Amish to be non-violent people and she was sure they wouldn't have a phone. She hesitantly reached out and took the tomatoes from him. As she turned to leave she heard him ask, “Would you like to join us for breakfast?”

She turned and looked at him incredulously. He was smiling, but she could tell he was hoping she would decline. It was probably part of their culture to offer meals to strangers.

“No... no thanks,” she answered. She turned and started toward the corn field and then stopped. She thought of Emily hiding in the corn, shivering in the cool morning air and starving. She turned back to the farmer. “Do you mean that?... about breakfast?” she asked.

He nodded, still smiling. His smile looked a little more sincere than before.

“Well...” she replied, “Not for me. But for my daughter.” He glanced around and then gave her a puzzled look. “She's hiding,” Chrissy said with a nod toward the corn, “Out there.”

He smiled again and made a beckoning gesture. “Well, tell her to come on in.”

Chrissy turned toward the corn field and waved for Emily to come.

Author's Note

Suggestions and constructive criticisms are always welcome.

Reviews

[Nienor Niniel]

I feel so bad for Chrissy and Emily; things are really starting to wear on them. I hope this Amish family isn't planning on turning them in; they seem so nice.

(This page is covered with ads involving water. Water Cooler, Pond Water Pump, Water Jugs, House Water.)

[Craig2591]

Ha! You're right about all the water ads.

Yes, it's about time they got a break. I don't want to reveal anything, though. Thanks for the review.

[Tina Kline]

Maybe they'll get a little peace, food and rest now. Good chapter!

I was wondering why Chrissy was afraid to go to this farm and ask at least to use a phone
when they first came upon it. Maybe I missed that part.

[Craig2591]

Emily had suggested that earlier, but Chrissy figured country folk were wary of strangers and would just run them off. Or it might be the house of one of the bad guys.

[Tina Kline]

Yes, I do recall that now. And I can see how they'd be afraid of the bad guys now that I read the chapter that I missed.