Lost Hope

Chapter 1

Diego regretted that he had decided to accompany Victoria to the Indian settlement as himself instead of as his alter ego. He had wanted to spend some time with her without having to ride off in a hurry if they encountered some soldiers, but now he was stuck on this cart instead of riding beside her on Toronado and stealing a few kisses during the ride.

After they had delivered the wagonload of supplies from the mission to help the Indians through the winter, they headed back toward the pueblo. Diego's mood deteriorated the entire time as he had to listen to Victoria's hurtful remarks as she compared him to Zorro again. His patience with her was running low. Didn't she realize she was hurting him? How could she be so insensible and not see him at all when he wasn't dressed in black? Even after all the hints he had given her? Did she really have no feelings for him? The man behind the mask? Was she only in love with the legend?

Diego forced his mind to stop following these unpleasant thoughts and concentrated in the surroundings again. Critically, he eyed the dark clouds in the sky.

"We need to hurry," he warned her. "I'm afraid there's another rain shower coming and we need to get home before it hits us."

"It has been raining constantly these last few days," Victoria complained. "All the roads are muddy and I had hoped it would stay dry today. I'll take the other route that is shorter." Determined, she steered the cart in the other direction, urging the horse to go faster.

"I don't think this is a good idea," Diego said. "We'll have to take the other crossing of the river and I'm afraid it will be more difficult to navigate than the other one."

Victoria ignored his objections and continued to drive at a fast pace, intend on returning home before the rain. Half an hour later, they arrived at the river.

"Look, Diego, it's not so bad," she exclaimed. "The river has even less water than normal. It should be easy to get to the other side." She steered the wagon into the river, but when they were halfway across the wagon slowed to a complete stop.

"The right front wheel is stuck in the mud of the riverbed," Diego stated, who had dismounted to check the problem. Victoria urged the horse to pull and move forward, but to no avail.

"It's strange that the river has so little water," he noticed, looking around and trying to find the cause. "It appears as if the water is blocked farther upstream. We should try to get away from here, before the water returns."

Victoria had dismounted from the wagon as well and together they tried to push the stuck wheel forward, hoping it would move when they weren't sitting on the cart.

"It has to work," she said, pushing at the wheel. "It can't be that we're stuck here. It will soon start to rain and we're can't move forward," she said, frustrated. "Please, try again, Diego!"

"I don't think it will move. We may need some kind of lever," he said, but he was willing to give it another try. Both were standing at the side of the wagon, trying to get it free. Suddenly, there was a noise and when Diego looked for the source, he saw an unexpected surge of water coming towards them. The water that had been blocked had suddenly freed itself and together with the debris it was rushing towards them.

"Victoria!" Diego grabbed for her and tried to get her to safety, but it was already too late. The was no escape from the water that was overwhelming them. Together with the wagon and the horse they were swept along. Diego did his best to hold onto Victoria and keep their heads over water, trying stay alive without drowning. They were lucky that they had been standing at the side of the wagon before they were caught by the water, otherwise the wagon would have hit them. As they were dragged along in their desperate struggle to stay alive, Diego managed to get hold onto some branches that helped him to keep their heads above water.

It appeared to be an endless struggle, until finally the water slowed down enough for Diego to get a hold on a rock on the side and pull them out of the water. Exhausted and cold, they lay down without moving for some moments, recovering from the rough trip in the river. Except for some minor bruises from floating debris, they were unharmed.

"Thank you, Diego. You saved my life." Victoria crouched on the river bank, coughing out the water that she had swallowed.

"Are you all right, Victoria?" Diego asked, concerned.

"Yes, except that I'm cold and wet. I tried to stay out of the water, but it was running so fast. I never expected that. Where are we?" Victoria got up and looked around.

"I think the river carried us quite a distance," Diego stated. "We were lucky that we weren't hit by any large pieces of debris in the water. Now we need to get back home."

"How do we do that? My cart was swept away with us and we don't have a horse either."

"The cart was smashed at a rock after it was carried along. The horse got free and escaped the river," Diego said. "I tried to catch the reigns, so the horse would pull us to safety, but I couldn't reach them. It looks like we have to walk back."

"Walk back?" Victoria asked. "Even if we knew where we are, it will take us a long time. Can we get out the rain first? It's cold and I want to get dry again," Victoria said miserably, trying to wring out water from her skirt, but it was in vain while it was still raining. "I wish we could change clothes or had at least a blanket. I don't think my clothes will dry anytime soon."

Diego had turned his back, so she wouldn't see him stare at her. The water had made her white shirt nearly transparent and it revealed more than it hid. Fortunately, Victoria hadn't noticed it and he wouldn't tell her either. It would be the best if they could take off their clothes and dry them, but there was nowhere to hide. He sighed. It was the choice between propriety and a cold. With no blankets to cover them, they had to take the cold. At least he could take off his jacket and shirt and wring out the water, before putting on his shirt loosely again without buttoning up.

"Can't we go there?" She pointed at a nearby opening in the tall rocks that lined the river in this area. "It looks like a cave."

"Let me check first!" After emptying his boots of water, Diego put them back on, going over to inspect the narrow opening. It was more a hole in the rock than a real cave and he couldn't see any animals that might be a danger. "It appears to be empty," he declared.

"That's great! Let's get out of this rain!" Victoria scrambled into the small hole, keeping her head low.

As her eyes adjusted to the less light in the opening, she found a few pieces of wood in the back and picked it up. "There's even wood here. Too bad it's not dry and we can't use it for a fire."

"Did you get the wood from the back of the cave or from the outside?" Diego inquired.

"I found it at the very back. Why do you ask, Diego?"

"We have to get out of the cave," Diego declared after he had inspected the wet piece of wood.

"Why?" Victoria questioned him. "The cave offers shelter from the rain. I think it's the best if we stay here and wait until the morning."

"This cave is a trap. The wood is wet because when the river overflows, it's flooding the cave too. There's a good possibility we'd drown if we stayed here and were surprised by the water in the night," Diego explained.

"But you can't be sure that it will happen in the night. There might not be another flooding like the one that carried us here," Victoria objected.

"There's enough debris in the river that it may happen any time," Diego turned and picked up his wet jacket again. When he noticed her inactivity, he addressed her again. "Victoria, I don't want to go back into the rain again either, but we have no choice. It's either stay here and drown or get wet in the rain."

Realizing, that Diego wouldn't change his mind, Victoria followed him out of the cave where he was examining the surroundings.

"We have to get out of this gorge and get up there!" Diego pointed up the slope where a narrow path was leading uphill. "I'll go first and you can follow my lead."

Victoria had no choice, but to follow Diego, who showed her where she could put her feet and hands to get a hold when the path turned out to be a climb up the slope rather than a walk.