Four hours earlier, Samantha was making her way through the chokecherry bushes. The berries were bitter but still contained vitamins she needed. Beside her stood her dog, Kita, her nose twitching. The closer they went to the river, the more attentive the husky became.

"What's up?" Samantha asked, looking down at her companion. The dog was her only friend. Her father had given Kita to her as a puppy for her thirteenth birthday. Now, at three years of age, the dog was her protector.

Kita whined. Glancing up at her master, the husky trotted over to a small eddy on their side of the river. Within seconds she was barking.

"What did you find, Kita?" Samantha asked as she went over to where her dog was pawing at a lump. She had to physically move the large animal before she could actually see what had gotten her worked up.

Her breath caught in her throat. In the shallow pool of water a man lay. He was on his back, which was the only reason why he was still alive. He would have drowned otherwise. Tentatively she moved close enough to check his neck for a pulse. His skin was cool under her fingers but he was breathing. Always a good sign. He was soaked through, his face pale. He was a good six inches taller than her and fifty pounds heavier.

"What am I to do with you?" Samantha wondered under her breath. He was alive but injured. Despite the dark color of his wet clothing, she could see the blood stain on his side. That and the awkward angle of his right arm really made her nervous. Looking around, she tried to come up with options.

They were three miles from her home. There was no one around to help her move the man. All she had with her was in the backpack on her back. Shrugging it off, she placed it on the river bank, far enough away that it wouldn't accidently fall in. She set her feet and carefully pulled the man out of the shallow water.

He was heavy. It took nearly everything she had to roll him onto his back so she could take a closer look at him. She was going to have to figure something else out to get him home. If one of the ranger stations were closer, she would take him there to be found. Unfortunately, there weren't any within a five mile distance and most of that was up hill.

Quickly, she tore a piece off of her shirt and used it as a compress. It took her a moment to build up the nerve to lift the man's shirt. She wasn't used to seeing people undressed. It set her nerves on edge. Gritting her teeth, Samantha lifted the wet fabric away from his torso. The wound was ugly. Gulping back bile, she forced the cloth over the ravaged hole. She put another piece of cloth over the smaller hole in his back and then struggled to wrap two lengths of her shirt around him to hold the compresses in place.

Satisfied that the man wasn't going to fall back into the water or bleed to death, Samantha went over to the nearest saplings. She was going to have to build a travois of some kind to move him. There 

was no way she was going to be able to put him over her shoulder. Finding three suitable saplings, she used a folding knife out of her pocket to cut them and strip them of branches.

Once she came back to where the man lay, she checked to make sure he was still alive and unconscious. He would be harder to deal with when he was awake, all men were.

Using vines that grew under the trees, she tied the top of the longest branches together. Then she secured the smaller branch a foot up from the bottom of the branches. Since she didn't have a blanket or anything else to string across the branches, Samantha used more vines to create a support for the man.

"This isn't going to be fun, Kita," she said to her dog when the travois was finished. Laying the contraption beside the man, Sam tried to carefully roll him into it. He was heavier than she'd anticipated. The only way she was going to be able to do this was in stages. Starting with his feet, she gradually got him into the carrier.

"I wish you could pull this for me. It would make things a whole lot easier," Sam said to her dog. Kita cocked her head at her from her position sitting beside the travois. Sam knew she couldn't understand her but it helped to talk.

Sam picked up her back pack and threw it over her shoulders. She used the stomach strap to make sure it was going to stay in place. Steeling herself, she stepped into the top of the triangle she'd made and pulled the branches up. It was all she could do to move the man a few yards. With a sigh, she pulled again and kept pulling as long as she possibly could.

Frantically, Johnny searched the immediate area. Roy was bleeding. He wasn't sure what had happened. It didn't make any sense. After several fruitless minutes of tramping through the undergrowth, Johnny had to admit defeat. The sun was nearly gone. It was all ready getting hard to see.

His heart in his throat, Johnny made his way back to camp. Mechanically, he started the fire and sat staring at it for several minutes as he ran through the possibilities in his mind. He could try to make it back to the Jeep and head for the nearest Ranger Station. From there he could radio for help. But that would take time. He wasn't sure Roy had time.

Searching in the dark wouldn't help. He didn't really have a lantern and walking around with a torch was a fire looking to happen. Cursing under his breath, Johnny set about making himself a cold supper. As frustrated as he was, he had to make sure he took care of himself.

In a few moments he had the meal wolfed down. Standing up, he began to pace. Roy was out there somewhere, he had to find him. The decision made, he pulled a backpack out of his tent and quickly packed it. Desperately he hoped he could remember the way back to the Jeep in the dark. Putting his back to the river, he set out.