Survival part 2
A tiny bit more and there probably won't be any more for a while seeing that I'm too busy. Maybe if I got some reviews I'd be inspired to write...
Lena yawned as the shadows of night fell away. She noticed her arms encircling a lean, well-toned torso. Her eyes traveled leisurely upwards to Julian's face. He looked so wonderfully peaceful. She glanced over to what was a sizable fire, but was now a few glowing embers. Then, she looked outside the cave. The sun was out with a force, the storm had passed. Sighing, she decided they'd better get moving. Unwrapping her arms from Julian, she moved to a sitting position. Her body ached from sleeping in such a strange way. The pain didn't bother her that much, what did trouble her was the fact she so easily fell asleep in the arms of someone unfamiliar. Flirting with people was one thing, but sleeping with them...it's not like it was that kind of sleep, though. That responsible part of her nagged her consciousness, but she shrugged it off. So what? She met an attractive man whose company she enjoyed and in a survival situation they fell asleep in each other's arms for warmth. She had met an attractive, intelligent man with honest eyes, beautiful skin... Oh how easily that responsible part of her mind could be silenced.
Julian breathed in deeply and yawned. He smiled to Lena, his arm still around her. "Good morning."
"Morning. Did you sleep all right?"
His hand went to the back of his head. "I'm a little sore, but that's to be expected." His gaze drifted to the cave opening. "It looks like the storm is long gone. We'd better head out."
She nodded her agreement. They disconnected their coats and gathered the dried meat and the few other things they had. Setting out with determination, they made their way up the mountain. The few paths were rocky, some very steep, some very skinny. Julian couldn't help notice the beauty of the scenery. The powder covered hills, crystal clear sky. He also couldn't help noticing that the higher they got, the quieter Lena got. Soon they'd be coming to the point where they'd actually have to climb instead of hike. Luckily, the point at which they had to start climbing had large foot and hand holds and they stayed that way until the next ledge they could rest on.
"All right, Lena. I'll go up first. You'll be fine if you can follow and use the same
hand and foot holds I do." Her only response was a clipped nod. Julian laid his hand on her shoulder. "We'll be all right, I promise." When Lena looked into his eyes, he knew that she was scared beyond thinking but she trusted him completely. Julian started off, moving very slowly. Every few seconds he glanced down at Lena to make sure she was all right. Her hand shook as she moved it to the next hold.
"You're doing fine, Lena. There's not much more." In actuality, this certain cliff was 45 meters high and they had scaled about half of it. Julian would have made up by now but Lena was terribly frightened and he couldn't leave her. He was about three meters higher than she was, but he could still see her bleeding hands. They had various cuts and scrapes from the bare rock. He knew that was she in a considerable amount of pain, but she kept her slow pace, eyes always focusing on the rock ahead of her or Julian.
At last Julian reached the edge. He easily hauled himself onto it, then looked down to see Lena a few precious feet behind him. He stretched out his hand, "Grab onto my hand and I'll pull you up."
She looked up helplessly, his hand seemingly too far away. "I can't," she said breathlessly.
"Yes you can," he replied forcefully.
That's all it took for her to carefully lift her hand towards his. As their fingertips barely grazed each others, Lena's footing gave way. She let out a yelp when she felt nothing under her feet. It only took Julian a millisecond to react. His hand successfully clamped around hers. "Gotcha!" Using all his strength, and her pushing herself up
somewhat, Julian managed to pull her over.
On her hands and knees, her rapid breathing being her only movement, she stayed there until she sensed Julian next to her.
He gently placed his hands on hers. "Let me see your hands," he murmured softly. She leaned back taking the weight of her hands. He inspected them gently and thoroughly giving each hand ample attention. "You have a few abrasions and a couple of deep cuts. I could have you fixed up nicely if I had med-kit, but since I don't, well have to make some bandages. Do you still have the knife?"
She nodded. "In my right pocket." He gingerly slipped his hand into her coat pocket and pulled out the knife. He unzipped his jacket and removed it. He sliced the lining just enough to cover her hands with a little extra. He hurriedly put his coat back on. He took some fabric and tenderly whipped the excess blood off her hands. She cringed but made no sound. When he was done, her hands were effectively wrapped leaving only her finger tips poking out.
"Are you all right?" he finally asked. He wanted to give her enough time to calm done.
She let out a shaky breath while gazing at her hands. "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you for saving me and for wrapping up my hands."
He smiled. "It was my pleasure." A frown touched his lips. "When did you get that?" He moved to touch her forehead. They both looked at the crimson blood on his fingers.
"I don't remember when. I small rock fell and hit me." He whipped the blood away with the part of cloth that was left.
"You should be OK, but you're hands and head will be sore."
She looked over to a new cave. "I guess we get to spend some more time in a cave."
"I'm really starting to hate the sight of this rock." Lena threw a rock against the cave wall.
Julian looked up from the fire and smiled. "Well, you're going to see a lot more of it. Are you sure you'll be all right when we get going?"
She shrugged. "I don't have much of a choice, do I?"
"We could wait a while longer..."
Lena smiled a sweet smile. He was being far too caring, but that was his nature, wasn't it? "If we stay too long, we may not be able to head out for a while. A storm like the one last night could come at any minute."
He had to agree with her. It would be a lot safer to keep moving than to stay in the cave. Besides, their chances of being found were greater the higher they got. He sighed. "When do you want to leave?"
"I think we should go now."
He nodded. "Right, just let me check your hands." She gave him her hands. He removed the makeshift bandages. Her hands were slightly swollen and the cuts weren't healing as fast as they should, probably due to the cold. He rewraped her hands.
"How badly do they hurt?"
"Not much. They're almost numb." Lena frowned at her injured hands. She hated the cold, she hated mountains and she didn't even want to think about having to climb more. At least the company was good.
"Let's go." They exited the cave and Julian started off first again. He got about ten meters up before what he was using as a hand hold crumbled in a few large chunks. He yelled down to Lena who was a scant few meters behind him to watch out but to no avail. The rock fell the few tiny feet and collided with her head. The force of the rock knocked her back and down to the snowy ground.
"Lena!" Julian scurried back down and knelt next to her. Her eyes fluttered, struggling to stay open. He gently touched her forehead. A sharp moan escaped her lips. Julian performed the standard checks on her, and concluded that she had a concussion. He slipped his arms underneath her and carried her back to the cave.
Laying her down softly, he tried desperately to get her to focus. "Lena, look at me." Her eyes couldn't stay open. "Lena," he commanded, "keep your eyes open. You have to stay awake."
She gradually brought Julian's face into focus. "Julian..." she rasped. He stroked her hair comfortingly only to find it wet with snow and blood.
He pulled her to a sitting position. "Come on, Lena. As long as you stay awake, you'll be fine." She leaned heavily against him. "I can't..."
"Yes you can. You have to," he urged her. After a few moments, her breathing slowed almost to normal. Julian helped Lena over to the side of the cave so she could lean against it. He started a fire in front of her so she'd be warm.
Turning back to his patient, he asked, "How are you feeling?"
She smirked, "I can't feel my hands, my back hurts and I have a throbbing headache, but other than that, I feel like I'm on Risa."
He smiled, "It seems your sense of humor is still intact." He held onto her hands which were icy cold. He blew on her hands. The bandages barely clung to her hands. Blood and dirt smeared the once clean fabric. Julian glanced at Lena who was beginning to nod off.
He took hold of her face, "Lena, stay awake, talk to me."
She opened her eyes quickly, "I'm awake," she mumbled.
Julian's mind raced. If he didn't keep her talking, he'd be climbing the rest of the way alone and that was something he just didn't feel up to. "Talk to me, Lena. You have to keep talking otherwise you'll doze off. Tell me something, anything," he pleaded with her.
A moment passed as she thought of something to tell him. "When I was six, my older brother and I were climbing this huge oak tree. The branches were thicker around than I was. I stood on the first branch which was only about two meters off the ground. My eyes were closed and I could feel the wind pressing against my body. It felt like I was flying. I let go of the other branch I was holding onto and for a few seconds, I really thought I was flying. The wind became too strong and it knocked me off the branch straight onto my back. I broke my wrist in the fall."
"And that's when you became afraid of falling," Julian concluded.
A tiny bit more and there probably won't be any more for a while seeing that I'm too busy. Maybe if I got some reviews I'd be inspired to write...
Lena yawned as the shadows of night fell away. She noticed her arms encircling a lean, well-toned torso. Her eyes traveled leisurely upwards to Julian's face. He looked so wonderfully peaceful. She glanced over to what was a sizable fire, but was now a few glowing embers. Then, she looked outside the cave. The sun was out with a force, the storm had passed. Sighing, she decided they'd better get moving. Unwrapping her arms from Julian, she moved to a sitting position. Her body ached from sleeping in such a strange way. The pain didn't bother her that much, what did trouble her was the fact she so easily fell asleep in the arms of someone unfamiliar. Flirting with people was one thing, but sleeping with them...it's not like it was that kind of sleep, though. That responsible part of her nagged her consciousness, but she shrugged it off. So what? She met an attractive man whose company she enjoyed and in a survival situation they fell asleep in each other's arms for warmth. She had met an attractive, intelligent man with honest eyes, beautiful skin... Oh how easily that responsible part of her mind could be silenced.
Julian breathed in deeply and yawned. He smiled to Lena, his arm still around her. "Good morning."
"Morning. Did you sleep all right?"
His hand went to the back of his head. "I'm a little sore, but that's to be expected." His gaze drifted to the cave opening. "It looks like the storm is long gone. We'd better head out."
She nodded her agreement. They disconnected their coats and gathered the dried meat and the few other things they had. Setting out with determination, they made their way up the mountain. The few paths were rocky, some very steep, some very skinny. Julian couldn't help notice the beauty of the scenery. The powder covered hills, crystal clear sky. He also couldn't help noticing that the higher they got, the quieter Lena got. Soon they'd be coming to the point where they'd actually have to climb instead of hike. Luckily, the point at which they had to start climbing had large foot and hand holds and they stayed that way until the next ledge they could rest on.
"All right, Lena. I'll go up first. You'll be fine if you can follow and use the same
hand and foot holds I do." Her only response was a clipped nod. Julian laid his hand on her shoulder. "We'll be all right, I promise." When Lena looked into his eyes, he knew that she was scared beyond thinking but she trusted him completely. Julian started off, moving very slowly. Every few seconds he glanced down at Lena to make sure she was all right. Her hand shook as she moved it to the next hold.
"You're doing fine, Lena. There's not much more." In actuality, this certain cliff was 45 meters high and they had scaled about half of it. Julian would have made up by now but Lena was terribly frightened and he couldn't leave her. He was about three meters higher than she was, but he could still see her bleeding hands. They had various cuts and scrapes from the bare rock. He knew that was she in a considerable amount of pain, but she kept her slow pace, eyes always focusing on the rock ahead of her or Julian.
At last Julian reached the edge. He easily hauled himself onto it, then looked down to see Lena a few precious feet behind him. He stretched out his hand, "Grab onto my hand and I'll pull you up."
She looked up helplessly, his hand seemingly too far away. "I can't," she said breathlessly.
"Yes you can," he replied forcefully.
That's all it took for her to carefully lift her hand towards his. As their fingertips barely grazed each others, Lena's footing gave way. She let out a yelp when she felt nothing under her feet. It only took Julian a millisecond to react. His hand successfully clamped around hers. "Gotcha!" Using all his strength, and her pushing herself up
somewhat, Julian managed to pull her over.
On her hands and knees, her rapid breathing being her only movement, she stayed there until she sensed Julian next to her.
He gently placed his hands on hers. "Let me see your hands," he murmured softly. She leaned back taking the weight of her hands. He inspected them gently and thoroughly giving each hand ample attention. "You have a few abrasions and a couple of deep cuts. I could have you fixed up nicely if I had med-kit, but since I don't, well have to make some bandages. Do you still have the knife?"
She nodded. "In my right pocket." He gingerly slipped his hand into her coat pocket and pulled out the knife. He unzipped his jacket and removed it. He sliced the lining just enough to cover her hands with a little extra. He hurriedly put his coat back on. He took some fabric and tenderly whipped the excess blood off her hands. She cringed but made no sound. When he was done, her hands were effectively wrapped leaving only her finger tips poking out.
"Are you all right?" he finally asked. He wanted to give her enough time to calm done.
She let out a shaky breath while gazing at her hands. "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you for saving me and for wrapping up my hands."
He smiled. "It was my pleasure." A frown touched his lips. "When did you get that?" He moved to touch her forehead. They both looked at the crimson blood on his fingers.
"I don't remember when. I small rock fell and hit me." He whipped the blood away with the part of cloth that was left.
"You should be OK, but you're hands and head will be sore."
She looked over to a new cave. "I guess we get to spend some more time in a cave."
"I'm really starting to hate the sight of this rock." Lena threw a rock against the cave wall.
Julian looked up from the fire and smiled. "Well, you're going to see a lot more of it. Are you sure you'll be all right when we get going?"
She shrugged. "I don't have much of a choice, do I?"
"We could wait a while longer..."
Lena smiled a sweet smile. He was being far too caring, but that was his nature, wasn't it? "If we stay too long, we may not be able to head out for a while. A storm like the one last night could come at any minute."
He had to agree with her. It would be a lot safer to keep moving than to stay in the cave. Besides, their chances of being found were greater the higher they got. He sighed. "When do you want to leave?"
"I think we should go now."
He nodded. "Right, just let me check your hands." She gave him her hands. He removed the makeshift bandages. Her hands were slightly swollen and the cuts weren't healing as fast as they should, probably due to the cold. He rewraped her hands.
"How badly do they hurt?"
"Not much. They're almost numb." Lena frowned at her injured hands. She hated the cold, she hated mountains and she didn't even want to think about having to climb more. At least the company was good.
"Let's go." They exited the cave and Julian started off first again. He got about ten meters up before what he was using as a hand hold crumbled in a few large chunks. He yelled down to Lena who was a scant few meters behind him to watch out but to no avail. The rock fell the few tiny feet and collided with her head. The force of the rock knocked her back and down to the snowy ground.
"Lena!" Julian scurried back down and knelt next to her. Her eyes fluttered, struggling to stay open. He gently touched her forehead. A sharp moan escaped her lips. Julian performed the standard checks on her, and concluded that she had a concussion. He slipped his arms underneath her and carried her back to the cave.
Laying her down softly, he tried desperately to get her to focus. "Lena, look at me." Her eyes couldn't stay open. "Lena," he commanded, "keep your eyes open. You have to stay awake."
She gradually brought Julian's face into focus. "Julian..." she rasped. He stroked her hair comfortingly only to find it wet with snow and blood.
He pulled her to a sitting position. "Come on, Lena. As long as you stay awake, you'll be fine." She leaned heavily against him. "I can't..."
"Yes you can. You have to," he urged her. After a few moments, her breathing slowed almost to normal. Julian helped Lena over to the side of the cave so she could lean against it. He started a fire in front of her so she'd be warm.
Turning back to his patient, he asked, "How are you feeling?"
She smirked, "I can't feel my hands, my back hurts and I have a throbbing headache, but other than that, I feel like I'm on Risa."
He smiled, "It seems your sense of humor is still intact." He held onto her hands which were icy cold. He blew on her hands. The bandages barely clung to her hands. Blood and dirt smeared the once clean fabric. Julian glanced at Lena who was beginning to nod off.
He took hold of her face, "Lena, stay awake, talk to me."
She opened her eyes quickly, "I'm awake," she mumbled.
Julian's mind raced. If he didn't keep her talking, he'd be climbing the rest of the way alone and that was something he just didn't feel up to. "Talk to me, Lena. You have to keep talking otherwise you'll doze off. Tell me something, anything," he pleaded with her.
A moment passed as she thought of something to tell him. "When I was six, my older brother and I were climbing this huge oak tree. The branches were thicker around than I was. I stood on the first branch which was only about two meters off the ground. My eyes were closed and I could feel the wind pressing against my body. It felt like I was flying. I let go of the other branch I was holding onto and for a few seconds, I really thought I was flying. The wind became too strong and it knocked me off the branch straight onto my back. I broke my wrist in the fall."
"And that's when you became afraid of falling," Julian concluded.