3.11 – Weird
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They had been in the cretaceous for six days now.
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On the morning of the second day, Abby awoke cradled in Connor's arms.
In the aerie, she opened her eyes to see tree branches, leaves and a bright blue sky. She was leaning against his chest, his arms wrapped around her tightly. The smile in his face, shining in his eyes, as he said morning suddenly left Abby feeling uncomfortable. She quickly wriggled loose of his embrace. As his smile faltered, then disappeared from his face, she wondered if she should she have told him about the nightmare the previous night that left her trembling. That lame excuse she had made about it being chilly and her comment that maybe we should huddle together for warmth sounded far too suggestive in the bright light of day. But, Abby didn't say a word.
They managed to get safely down from the huge old tree without any incidents, then began to track Danny's trail. Sometime later, the trail just seemed to vanish. Connor said Danny must have gone through an anomaly after Helen. Abby didn't say anything, but she hoped so. Otherwise Danny had been plucked off the earth in midstep. Abby knew there were creatures here big enough, fast enough, to take a person all in one bite. She just hoped that Connor was right and Danny had made it safely through the anomaly.
With no trail to follow, they decided to search for water and food. Finding water was easy, there was a river full of the stuff. Finding food was not so easy. They shared an embarrassed chuckle as they inventoried the contents of the backpacks. A half dozen awful energy bars, a few tins of beans, an assortment of tools and weapons, hundreds of condoms. Not much to survive on.
As the afternoon began to wane, they decided to settle into a secluded space between the base of three huge conifers and the wall of a cliff. Abby hadn't heard Connor say a word about his ankle, nor any of his other hurts, all day. His silence was beginning to worry her.
The flint in the backpacks Becker had provided made it almost easy for Connor to start a fire. Abby gathered wood and pinecones. Connor had situated the fire on the side of their camp not sheltered by trees and rocks, in the hope that flames would keep away creatures. Watching the flames flicker, while roasting pinecones and trying to dig out the pine nuts to eat was almost like watching telly and eating popcorn. Or at least that's what they told each other.
That night, they had decided to take turns keeping watch, one awake while the other slept. Abby insisted on taking the first watch. Privately she wasn't sure he had slept any the night before. When she could stay awake no longer, she woke Connor to take his turn at watch. Abby lay down on the thin silvery wrapper she called a blanket and shut her eyes. Moments later, or so it seemed, she awoke crying his name. He was there, beside her, holding her close worriedly asking her what was wrong. Abby couldn't bring herself to tell him about the nightmare of him falling again. So, Abby snapped at him, reminding him, we're stuck in the cretaceous Connor. That's what's wrong! The hurt look in his eyes made her feel ashamed. He was apologizing then, for things that could never have been his fault. Abby shushed him, then leaned her head on his chest; let him hold her as he had the night before. Listening to the steady beat of his heart, she was soon asleep.
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On the morning of the third day, Abby awoke alone on the hard dirt of their encampment.
She called his name anxiously as she quickly sat up. The silvery blanket rustled beneath her as she moved, turned, looked around.
Connor responded reassuringly. He was sitting at the fire, stirring something in the collapsible camp pot. He mumbled words about making a proper breakfast, then he handed her an energy bar covered with heated beans. She took the offering carefully, hoped the beans would make the energy bar taste better… or if not better, at least less awful. She asked him what he was doing, after all hadn't they agreed to ration their supplies.
He had replied excitedly, telling her about his new idea. He was going to make something, they could find a way home, he just needed a can. A few hours later, the world's first anomaly detection device was hanging from a nearby tree branch.
Low tech, a can, keys and string, but Connor was sure it would work.
That night, Abby took first watch again. She didn't sleep at all that night.
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On the morning of the fourth day, Abby and Connor were both awake.
They were crouched closely together, holding sharpened sticks, watching fearfully as the moon and the stars faded in the dawn light. Something in the darkness had been howling during the night. Connor had awoken, he joined Abby on watch.
With the morning light creeping across the ground, the horrible sounds faded. Abby felt Connor's body shift beside her, he arose from his position and moved towards the fire. Picking up a branch he added it carefully to the fire. Looking at her with concern, Connor suggested she should have a lie in. Abby had commented about needing a pillow, the ground was hard. He returned to sit beside her. Gently pulling her shoulders down, he rested her head on his lap. She smiled as she blinked once or twice, then she fell into a restful sleep.
In the afternoon, the pair went back to the river. They were going to try spear fishing, maybe, if they were lucky, they would have a decent dinner tonight.
That night, Abby took first watch yet again. Her taking the first watch of the evening was getting to be a pattern. Her first full belly in days had left her sated and made her tired, so she woke Connor a little earlier than normal for his watch.
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On the morning of the fifth day, she woke with Connor at her side.
Connor had fallen asleep sometime during the long lonely night. He was sprawled beside her, his arms wrapped loosely around her. She watched his face for a moment feeling warm and contented. Then she heard the chirp.
Abby quickly elbowed herself free of Connor's arms, and rolled to a crouching position. Her back to Connor, the stone cliff to her left, conifers to the right, she was prepared to take on whatever made that noise.
The tiny creature before her quivered with fear. Its short whiskers twitched, and then it scampered off into the forest. Abby started to give a sigh of relief, but then she heard Connor groaning. Turning to face him, she saw that he was doubled up, arms across his midsection. His arms were across the place she had elbowed him. She'd hurt him.
She knelt down beside him, and with much coaxing finally got his jacket and shirt off of him. His abdomen looked pretty good she thought, but his side and back where he had landed in the fall were bruised and tender. She ripped the sleeves out of his jacket and cut them into narrow strips with their only knife. Then she used them to wrap his ribs. Internally, Abby berated herself for not having checked him out sooner, while every word she spoke was to fuss at Connor for not telling her how much pain he'd been in.
As she knelt down beside him tightening his wrappings she jarred his leg. He hissed in pain. She bit her lower lip, regretting that she had hurt him yet again. Thinking of his ribs, and bruised back, she wondered what his ankle looked like.
She suggested that he take his boots off, so she could check his ankle. Connor had objected, worried that if he took his boot off, he might not be able to get it on again. Abby had blinked in surprise at his words, wondering just how bad his ankle was. She then insisted he get his boots off. When he finally removed the boot, she gasped at what she saw. The ankle looked awful. It was far worse than his ribs and back. Violet and chartreuse bruising discolored the skin. With the boot no longer holding the ankle in place, the flesh swelled. Abby had insisted on seeing his legs next.
The bruises on his legs were not quite as bad, but the cuts and scrapes worried her. Connor seemed a little embarrassed to be sitting around in just his boxers, but she told him the cuts and scrapes on his legs would heal better in fresh air. She joked that it reminded her of when he first moved in to her flat to see him in his boxers again. The small smile Connor gave in response to her jest didn't quite reach his eyes.
Abby dug through every pocket in both backpacks. Then she went through the pockets in their clothes. An odd assortment of pens, coins, a flash drive from Connor, lip gloss from her, and finally she found a stray packet of Midol. She held the medication out towards Connor. He flushed and said he didn't need it. Abby at first didn't understand his reaction, but then she realized what was bothering him and hurriedly began trying to explain; telling him Midol was just painkiller. He looked miserable, but he kept refusing to take the pills. He kept saying that he'd managed this long without meds and stating that his ankle was better now than when he first fell out of the tree. She wished she had other painkillers and some disinfectant. If Abby ever saw Becker again, she was definitely going to tell him a thing or two about how to pack a survival backpack. An emergency medical kit ought to be the first thing inside.
That night, Abby took first watch once again. She had Connor's head on her lap, her fingers lightly stroking his forehead. She planned to stay up all night, make sure he had a good night's sleep.
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On the morning of the sixth day, Abby woke to find herself in Connor's embrace again.
She was cuddled with her back against Connor, his arm thrown across her body. Somehow, she had fallen asleep and wound up in this position. She smiled, as she wriggled back against Connor's warm body. She froze as she realized what part of his anatomy she was rubbing against.
But it was too late, she had woken him. Connor rolled away from her quickly with a groan.
"Are you alright," she asked him anxiously. He was curled up, facing away from her in a fetal position. She could see his skin flushing with embarrassment. He didn't say anything.
"Connor, are you all right," Abby repeated worriedly.
He mumbled in a choked voice, "Sorry."
"What are you sorry for?"
"You said you didn't want anything weird between us…"
"Connor," she whispered gently as she leaned towards him, reaching a hand out to stroke his shoulder "we're stuck in the cretaceous, years from home; nothing is ever going to be weirder."