Tom
He watched as Liz emerged from the woods. She looked up at him briefly but then returned her gaze to the ground. He could see how careful she was being with her footing and he was less than pleased with her color. But he had done what he could for her and the rest was up to her. She came to a stop before looking at him again.
"Ready?" she asked.
"Just about. Do you think you can stomach some water and some saltines with peanut butter?"
Liz took stock of her stomach and didn't feel as nauseated now that the pain had become more bearable.
"I think so."
Tom stood and handed her a small sandwich he had made by spreading peanut butter between two saltines. He hoped the protein in the peanut butter would nourish her while the saltines would keep her stomach steady. Plus it would have the added benefit of assuring she drank more water. She completed the first sandwich, drank half a bottle of water, and ate a second sandwich before finishing the bottle. He started handing her a third but wasn't surprised when she shook her head.
"Okay, now that you finished that gourmet breakfast, are you ready to get this show on the road?"
"Ready might be too strong a word but I can do a lot for a bed and lots and lots of blankets."
"You'll get that and more. We just need to make it to the extraction point. I've built in plenty of time for rest breaks so don't push yourself so hard that you exhaust yourself or fall, okay?"
"Okay."
Tom started out in the lead and she returned her gaze to the ground as she began to follow. He listened to her footsteps as they began to cover ground. They started out strong, better than he had hoped actually, but about three hours later they started to slow. He stopped and turned around to watch her as he had been doing sporadically since they had started. He could tell her total concentration was on putting one foot in front of the other. There was no other thought in her head besides making it to the rendezvous point. When she came even with him he touched her chin to tip up her face and said their first words since starting out,
"Shall we take a break?"
"No, I'm afraid if we stop I won't make it. Let's keep going."
He took in her pale skin and that look of determination which had the ability to make grown men quake in their boots. She could be stubborn.
"Okay, another hour and then we'll make a brief stop for water and some more pain medication for you. If you can keep going we'll do a brief stop every four hours."
