Chapter 8: Mauston

I had fallen asleep right about the same time I'd laid my head down, and slept right on through until a low humming noise pulled me out of it. Even in the throes of sleep, it seemed my subconscious knew well enough to alert me to that noise: a plane!

I sat up quickly, forgetting about my injured ribs. The pain was enormous. "F**k!" I snarled, kicking out of the sleeping bag before the pain had even begun to abate. I needed to get some green leaves on the fire as quick as possible...the more smoke I could get billowing, the better chance we had at getting spotted.

"Mauston?" Kelsey's sleepy voice caused me to glance over my shoulder. Her curls hung in a tousled mess around her face.

"A plane! Don't you hear it?" I didn't stop to explain further, ripping as many leaves off the nearby bushes as I could. The fire had died down to embers over the night since I hadn't woke to stoke it. I snatched a handful of the dried stuff I'd used to make a bed for Kels when she'd been knocked out, throwing them onto the dying embers. A few flames ignited, and I fed it with the living green of the leaves I'd pulled from the bushes,  blowing on it in encouragement.

"Where's the flares?" Kesley was trying to scoot closer, but from the looks of it, she was feeling pretty stiff. I didn't doubt it...her lower leg had looked pretty sick before I'd gotten the splint on. Hell, it still did, but at least it was immobilized.

"The fire's our best bet." I grunted as I rose to collect more leaves. I glanced up to scan the sky...and that's when I realized just how thick the fog was. It stopped me dead in my tracks. "Oh, s**t."

"What is it?" Kelsey asked cautiously.

I pulled some leaves loose of their branches roughly, thoroughly pissed at the luck of it all. "There's fog cover. Thick fog at that." I threw the leaves on the fire, not willing to give up even if I knew damn well we weren't about to get spotted. The ravine was nothing more than a thin valley, really. I should have expected the early morning hours to bring fog. "They're going to have a hard time seeing us. If at all." I didn't see the point in lying to the woman.

"They have to!" She all but shrieked, her hazel eyes pointed towards the covered sky. "They're getting closer!" She was right...the drone of the engine sounded no more than a couple miles off.

I moved towards the plane as quick as I could manage, intent on pulling anything burnable off the wreckage. What we really needed was oil...it would put off a thick, dark smoke that would give us the best chance. The front end of the plane was mangled, though, and I decided that I couldn't afford the time to see if any had survived. Instead, I grabbed what was left one of the vinyl-covered seats, yanking it free with a few determined pulls.

"Hurry! It's fading!" Kelsey's voice was panic ridden.

I limped back as fast as I could, throwing the seat into the flames. They sputtered, not quite yet strong enough to take on such heavy fuel. "Don't you dare." I grumbled, grabbing what precious little we had left of the gas from the plane. I dumped a little on the fire, and it blazed to life, sending a thick trail of black smoke skyward.

Kelsey was looking towards the sky helplessly, her arms hugging her slim frame though I knew there was no way she could be feeling the morning chill with the flames raging so close. Her cheeks were flushed a rosy color beneath the smudges of dirt on her skin, and her chest rose and fell quickly as her anticipation mounted. Her doe-like eyes were wide, and I detected a bit of moisture on their surface. I didn't think I had ever seen someone want for something so desperately in my life. It was almost hard to watch, because I already knew the truth. We hadn't been spotted. The plane was headed south from the sound of it, the drone of it's engine fading slowly.

Somehow, I couldn't quite bring myself to tell Kelsey right away...the hope in her eyes was just burning too brightly. I didn't want to have to be the one to extinguish it. So I sat with her, looking up at the sky, until finally the truth became too glaring for her to ignore. I half expected her to burst into tears, but she surprised me by simply looking at the ground. "They didn't see us." Her voice was was flat, and though I could see the glitter of unshed tears, her words were steady.

"No, they didn't." I answered carefully, doing my best to keep the disappointment out of my own voice. I didn't want to risk upsetting her further. Emotionally charged situations have never been my strong point.

She simply nodded, staring into the fire for a long time. I sat by her in amiable silence. I think we both needed a little time to process our disappointment, to come to terms with facing yet another day lost in the wilderness. I knew that with each passing day, the chances of our being rescued grew slimmer. When winter came, I knew they would stop looking until spring. We would be faced with two options: trying to survive the winter, or hiking our way out. Neither option held a whole lot of promise.

After a while, I rose to get a few pieces of wood to throw on the fire. "Are you hungry?" I was ravenous.

Kelsey stirred as if I had woke her from a dream. I didn't like the vacant look in her eyes. I didn't need her giving up. Things were bad, but the game wasn't over yet."Yeah. And really thirsty."

I rummaged in the suitcase until I found one of the cans of chili. Returning to my spot beside her, I opened my army knife and opened the can, leaving the lid partially attached to keep the ashes from the fire out as I settled it on the embers. "Chili's not exactly breakfast food...but we'll need the can for water."

"Anything's fine." She said softly, hugging herself a little tighter.

"Are you cold? I can get your jacket." I offered.

She shook her head. "No, I'm fine." She looked self conscious, unwrapping herself and wringing her hands together. "Mauston?"

I pulled my sleeve over my hand to keep from burning myself as I rotated the can. "Yeah?"

"Do you have people that are missing you back home?"

Odd question. I shrugged. "A few I guess. My dad, if he realizes I'm missing yet."

"I'm sure he does. The authorities would have alerted him, right?" Her voice was soft. I glanced at her, noticing she was watching me curiously.

"They might have tried. My dad's got Alzheimer's, though. He doesn't have a lot of good days, so they might have decided not to upset him." I didn't want to think about Pops. I didn't get by to see him as often as I liked these days, and was kind of regretting skipping my last visit.

She frowned. "I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine. He's been sick awhile. I just wish I'd gotten in a visit before this happened." I rotated the can of chili again, estimating another couple of minutes before we'd be able to eat. "I guess work is probably missing me pretty bad right about now, though. I was supposed to taxi in a pretty big group yesterday." A few congressmen and their buddies, in fact. The job would have paid well and I was sorry to have lost it...but I guess in hindsight, that was the least of my worries.

"Is that what you do? You fly people around?" Kelsey asked as I plucked the can out of the fire, setting it on the ground to cool.

"I work for Ben's dad." Ben's father owned a large resort so secluded that the only way to reach it was by air taxi. It was my job to fly his patrons in and out, as well as lend my hunting knowledge should anyone request a guided hunt. While I thoroughly hated the clientele of the resort, the job itself had saved my life.

Kelsey arched a brow, tilting her head slightly. "Robert? You fly for Robert?" She sounded genuinely surprised.

"Yeah. Didn't Ben mention it?" I tested the can, finding it cool enough to handle, and gave it to her. "Here. Eat your fill. I'll eat the rest. You'll have to use your hands, though...we're fresh out of silverware."

"No, I guess he didn't." She took the can reluctantly. "Are you sure?" When I nodded, she lifted the can to her lips and tipped it back, opting to drink it instead. Leave it to a woman to be dainty even in  a situation like this.

"You've got to have a whole slew of people worrying over you. I'm surprised they didn't call in some military forces." I offered her a little grin, watching as she wiped some of the red sauce from her plush lips.

"I'm not as famous as you seem to think." Judging by the look on her face, I was walking on thin ice with that subject. "My sister and Ben. My dad's girlfriend... and my dad, if he's still alive. My neighbor. Sullivan." She shrugged. "Hardly enough to form an army, I'd say."

"Sullivan?" I glanced at her hand, but it was bare. Even so, I asked anyway. "Is that your husband?" I didn't even know what prompted me to ask, but hell, I guess I was curious.

"He's my agent." She hesitated, looking a little uncomfortable before she thrusted the chili at me. "Here. I'm finished."

Silence lapsed between us as I ate, both of us watching the fire. When the chili was gone, I rose. "I need to go get water. Do you need help getting...umm..to the bathroom or anything before I go?"

She looked down, embarrassed. "Can you just get me to the trees? I can take it from there, I think."

I helped her into the brush, moving several yards away to give her some privacy. I would have to find a way to fashion some crutches for her, but my first mission was to work on a better splint for her leg. I'd feel better about her moving around if her leg was more secure. When she was done, I helped her back to the fire. "Alright. I'm going to get water."

She nodded, and I scooped up the can and the piece of the fuel tank I'd collected the day before. I didn't like the idea of leaving her unprotected, so I handed her my army knife. "Just in case." I still didn't like it, but it was better than nothing. Besides, I wouldn't be that far away.

It took me a while, but I managed to get the two containers of water back to camp without spilling too much. I headed the rinsed-out chili can to Kelsey. "Here. I'm not worried about boiling it." She drank thirstily, and when she handed it back, I refilled it with water from the fuel tank. I had already drank my fill and washed up at the steam's edge.

"I don't think water has ever tasted so good in my life." She murmured, clutching the can as if it I'd handed her diamonds instead.

"Well, save some if you want to wash up. I've got to get a lean to set up before dark, so I won't be making another trip for water until this evening." My ribs were already singing painfully. I wasn't looking forward to the work ahead. I had contemplated simply using the plane as shelter, but with the plane's sudden appearance this morning, I didn't want to chance not hearing it, or being too slow to get to get to the fire.

The day passed quickly as I worked to collect fallen logs. I knew it was hard for Kelsey to have to sit idly and watch me work, so I gave her the task of cleaning herself up. I could tell it wasn't what she wanted, but she seemed grateful for even that small exercise in independence. I'd given her the tiny bottle of shampoo and the last scrap of fabric from the the shirt I'd used to bind our injuries, then set about the task of constructing the lean to.

It took me twice the time it normally would have, which was frustrating. Even worse, the end result of my work was nothing to be proud of. The lean-to was rickety at best, and I knew it would never stand up to a windstorm of any significance. I could only hope that it would serve us until I healed enough to consider other options. As I laid our sleeping bag on the pine bough's I'd lined the inside of the shelter with, I felt Kelsey's gaze on me.

"It looks good." When I turned to look at her, I noticed she sort of looked like the woman who'd boarded my plane a couple of day ago. She'd managed to wipe away the dirt and dried blood from her skin, and had somehow worked the tangles free from her curls. She still looked tired, and the bruises on her creamy skin stood out more now that it was clean, but I still thought she looked miles better than she had earlier.

"It could be a lot better. My damn ribs just won't quit." I rubbed them absently as I took a seat next to her again. When I felt the fabric of my shirt lift, I pushed away in surprise.

"I'm just trying to check your bindings. Relax." She shot me an irritated look. I looked away, resigning myself to allowing her to look at the dressing. I didn't know what it was about her, but Kelsey seemed to get my nerves all haywire, even when she wasn't trying. She seemed satisfied with what she saw because she didn't insist on redressing it.

"I'm going to make you a new splint tomorrow." The cold was beginning to set in again, more severe than the night before. I wished like hell I would have had my winter gear on the plane. The meager items we had would never be enough if the temperatures started plummeting too much at night.

"Why? This one seems fine." I could hear a hint of alarm in her voice, and I figured she was reminiscing about the pain involved with the splinting process. I was pretty sure she'd been out cold when I'd done it the first time, but hell, maybe a part of her subconscious was recalling it.

"It's fine if you just want to sit there until it heals...but with how cold it's getting, I'm thinking that won't be an option." I motioned to the splint. "I know a better method. I just wasn't well enough to get it done right at the time." I barely remembered splinting it, actually. I had been damn near out of my mind with pain and worry over the amount of blood coming from her forehead.

After awhile, I went off to get us some more water before dark fell. My stomach was growling like some kind of provoked animal, and I mentally assessed the food supply we had. There sure wasn't much. I knew if we were ever going to make it out of this ravine, I would have to find us a decent food source so that our bodies had as much energy as possible. I didn't know how the hell I was going to manage that. The 12 gauge I kept in the plane had been no where to be found.

When I returned, I found Kelsey had managed to scoot herself into the lean to. Apparently, she'd been on the same wavelength as me about food, because she had divided the protein bar in half, then divided the half into two. I set the water down, checked the fire one last time, then entered the lean to. "There's Tylenol next your piece." She warned me. I shot her a grateful glance, downing the pills immediately. They wouldn't do much more than dent my pain, but I'd be grateful for even that much.

We ate our meager supper in silence, watching as the woods grew dark around us. There was rustling in the brush as the nighttime creatures started becoming active, likely preparing themselves for the long and grueling winter ahead. My mouth watered as I though of the mean some of those creatures would provide. I'd have to find a way to catch something. Even a rabbit would seem like a feast.

The haunting call of wolves echoed in the distance, and Kelsey shuddered. "Will they hurt us?"

"No. They're far away. They're pretty shy animals, anyway." It was the grizzlies I was more worried about...but I decided against adding that little tidbit.