Chapter 10

Lee watched Amanda disappear between the trees and sighed. After the warm treatment he'd received yesterday and earlier this morning, her neutrality seemed very icy now. He shook his head. Being noble wasn't all it was cracked up to be but, if he had let their love-making progress, what would have happened when she finally regained her memory? No matter what he might feel, he couldn't take advantage of her. The fleeting pleasure of the moment would in no way compensate for the loss of her friendship in the long run.

He willed his tense jaws to relax and spent a few moments trying to center himself again, but after several minutes of trying to push his physical discomfort to the edge of his awareness, gave up in frustration. For some reason it wasn't working. Maybe it was the fever. Maybe he was too confused about Amanda. Whatever the reason, he'd have to find something to distract himself. Sitting here, doing nothing would only make matters worse.

Looking around, Lee decided to give the wreck a closer inspection. He circled the mangled metal, reflecting that they were fortunate to only have some bumps and bruises. Peering inside, he surveyed the instrument panel. Marcus had been right — the radio was beyond repair. Lee carefully slid his body inside and began to search for anything useful that Marcus might have overlooked.

There was another duffel bag in the back— just clothing but....Lee's hand felt something hard. He carefully withdrew a bottle of whiskey. A grin briefly crossed his face. Just minutes ago he'd been thinking that his leg and shoulder were killing him and here was a 'pain killer!' He had to keep his wits about him, but a swig or two couldn't hurt! Lee took a quick sample, concluded it was 'good stuff' and carefully recapped the bottle, setting it to the side.

Nothing else of significance was found in the back and he manoeuvred himself into the pilot's seat. The instrument panel was torn up but...his agile mind noted the sharpness of the metal and thought he could use it to produce a makeshift knife. Looking at the dangling sleeve of his shirt, he ripped it off and wrapped it around the sharp edges. Gently wiggling the piece of metal back and forth, he eventually worked it free. Pleased with his efforts, Lee slid out of the wreck and took his prizes back to the fire pit area.

He sat in front of the now burnt out fire and contemplated another belt of whiskey but then thought better of it. Instead he grabbed a bottle of water to drink. Man, he was thirsty. Lee realized he was sweating more than he should be. The weather wasn't that warm and it hadn't been that big of an effort to free the chunk of metal. Once again, he cursed the guard and his filthy knife, knowing he had a fever caused by the infected wound. He guzzled the rest of the bottle of water, pushed thoughts of his health aside and busied himself with making a handle for his 'knife.'

Lee searched through the fire wood they had gathered until he found a piece that would serve as a handle. Securing the wood between his feet, he used the piece of metal as a saw, cutting a groove in the top of the wooden stick. When it was deep enough, Lee wedged the metal into the freshly formed groove. Using his good hand and his teeth, he ripped the shirt sleeve into strips and lashed the chunk of metal in place. It wasn't as strong or as stable as he would like it to be, but at least they now had something to cut with, should there be the need.

More tired from his exertions than he'd like to admit, Lee leaned back against a tree. He took a small swig of whiskey to help dull the pain, shifted around into a more comfortable position and then closed his eyes. He'd just relax and listen to the sounds of nature for a while until Amanda returned.

*****

Amanda had been slowly exploring the area around their camp, walking in ever widening circles. They had crashed in a grassy clearing on the side of a gently sloping mountain, surrounded by trees on all sides. The small stream was slightly to the East and downhill from their camp. Uphill to the West was the lookout Lee had mentioned. To the South there was evidence of an old landslide: a tumble of tree roots, logs and small boulders. It was mostly overgrown with various plants and seedlings but, as Amanda skirted around it, she noted that there was an opening to the side which appeared to lead into a cave- like den. She didn't think there were bears or cougars in the area, but she hurried on by, just in case.

Beyond her discovery of the mini-cave, Amanda's investigation of the area was disappointing. No bushes with berries. No fish in the stream. The only good news was that there was still no sign of the men that Lee had warned her about. She tried to force her mind to recall anything at all about their mission. There was something teasing her from the edge of her mind but the harder she tried to grasp onto the memory, the more quickly it slipped away. Frustrated, she abandoned the attempt.

She was still uncomfortable from the morning's revelations but knew she could delay her return no longer. It was probably over an hour since she left. In fact, she was somewhat surprised that Lee hadn't come looking for her. Even if he was mad at her, she knew he'd still be watching her back. She hoped he was all right. What if his fever had suddenly worsened? Amanda hurried her pace and arrived back at the crash site out of breath. There was no sign of movement and her eyes quickly scanned the area, searching for her partner. After a brief moment of panic she saw him apparently sleeping, propped up against a tree. A wave of relief washed over her and she slowly walked across the clearing to where he was.

Amanda paused a few feet away from him. He didn't seem to be aware of her presence and she used the time to study him carefully. The stubble on his chin was more pronounced now and in sleep, his lips were slightly pouting. His hair had fallen over his forehead and the lines on his face had relaxed making him appear younger, more vulnerable. Her heart ached with the knowledge that he wasn't hers. Despite the fact that he said they were just good friends, she knew she felt more. She still loved him, but he obviously didn't feel the same way. Oh, he desired her — she'd felt the evidence in his kiss and the way his body had moved against hers but he didn't love her.

Maybe her present feelings were just a figment of her imagination, but she strongly doubted it. More likely, in 'real life' she loved him as well, but either he wasn't aware of the fact or didn't reciprocate her feelings. The amnesia seemed to have given her permission to act on secret desires that would otherwise have never seen the light of day.

Irregardless, her new found knowledge about their relationship—or lack of one—had erased the peaceful, carefree feeling that had been with her since gaining consciousness after the crash. Her interlude from reality was over and now Amanda just wanted to be rescued, regain her memory and return to her life, whatever that might be. Somewhere out there, she had two boys who needed her. She decided to ask Lee to fill her in with more details about her family. It would hopefully be a neutral topic and it would be better than sitting in strained silence.

Amanda walked over to the tree he was leaning against. His head had fallen forward as he slept and she winced, thinking of how stiff his neck would be.

"Lee," she called out softly. "Lee, wake up, you're going to be stiff sleeping in that position."

She reached out and shook him gently.

Without warning, she felt herself being knocked to the ground, Lee's arm pressing against her throat. "What are you doing!" She cried out.

"Oh....Amanda." Lee blinked and quickly lifted his arm. "I'm sorry. I didn't hear you and just reacted... Are you all right?"

Amanda sat up and looked at him warily, "I'm okay but geez - you scared me! Why did you do that?"

"Habit," he gave a one shouldered shrug. "Too many years of people trying to kill me. I'm usually a light sleeper and it's not that often that anyone sneaks up on me. I sorry," he apologized again. "I'm surprised I fell asleep like that—I guess I'm a bit more tired than I realized or something."

"Or something." Amanda repeated, watching his hand unconsciously rub his injured leg and noting the glassy look of his eyes. "Lee, I think that infection is getting serious. You have a fever..."

"Yeah, I know." Lee acknowledged. "I don't feel that great but there's nothing else we can do. Marcus should be back soon, and then I'll be fine. So," dismissively he changed topics, "find anything interesting around here?"

"Not really." She accepted his change of subject, not willing to push the topic of his health when there was really nothing she could do about it anyway. She had no right to pressure him about anything, she reminded herself sternly. They just worked together.

Amanda settled herself on the ground beside him, their little encounter having eased some of the discomfort between them. "There was no sign of anyone approaching when I checked but I did find a small cave over there. Actually it's more or less a large animal den made of some boulders, logs and tree roots – it's hard to see and mostly overgrown but thankfully empty, I think. Other than that, I just saw trees, birds and a few squirrels." Amanda scuffed the dirt with her toe.

"I checked out the wreck and found some pain killer." He gestured at the bottle of whiskey and Amanda rolled her eyes, giving a small chuckle. "I also managed to make a bit of a knife in case we need one." Lee displayed his handiwork. "But my morning was otherwise uneventful, too."

Lee's stomach rumbled then and they both laughed, the tension easing slightly. Amanda brought out their food supplies and Lee broke down and ate some of the cheese and crackers, followed by granola and more water.

Both tired, they decided to rest after the meagre meal. Amanda quickly dozed off but Lee, though tired, couldn't get comfortable. Something was bothering him and he'd learned over the years to trust his instincts. He got up and looked around — everything seemed fine. The sky was starting to cloud over and it seemed likely that there would be rain by nightfall. Their lean-to wouldn't provide much shelter and he decided that once Amanda was up, they'd have to try to find a way to reinforce the roof.

Lee used his cane to help him wearily climb the bluff. He was really pushing himself now to keep going, but didn't want to worry Amanda. His leg was burning and he was starting to alternate between chills and feeling fevered. Marcus couldn't get here soon enough.

Pausing at the top of the bluff, Lee stood, scanning the horizon, squinting against the brightness. The fever was making his eyes sensitive to light. All appeared calm. The feeling that something was wrong must be due to being ill, he decided.

Turning to go back to camp, Lee cast a final glance over the scene in front of him and then paused. Did he just see a flash of light? He stepped back behind a tree and then carefully peeked out again. He narrowed his eyes and concentrated, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Yes, there it was again. Light reflecting off of metal. Someone was coming.