Cold Spell
Chapter 21
Joe woke up shivering. Damn, it was cold….It seemed that every night it was getting just a bit colder, and the blond teen knew that was an indication of the rapidly approaching autumn; if the tundra even had an autumn, that is. He wasn't sure; maybe it just went from being cold to being unbearably cold with no in-between.
Glancing down at his watch he saw it was 3:45 in the morning and stifled a groan, trying to find a more comfortable sleeping position than the one he was in. Although, with a stuffed nose, and a dull ache in his shoulder, he was doubtful that he'd be getting any more sleep tonight!
Next to him, he could hear Frank's soft snores and knew his brother wasn't finding it as difficult to sleep, right now, as he was. But that was probably due in part, to the fact that he didn't have a cold or a pesky shoulder to try and compensate for, either!
Joe was glad, though, that Frank was finally getting some good sleep and didn't begrudge him his rest. His brother had been pushing himself even harder than usual after Joe got injured, and he felt guilty about that, having seen exhaustion shadowing the older boy too often in the past few days.
Shivering again, Joe reached down to pull up some of the clothing he was using for 'blankets'. A jumble of sweaters and pants had collected around his knees, leaving his torso warmed by only his jacket.
He actually had the majority of coverings as Frank slept in his parka, with the hood pulled up. But the older boy still had a couple of shirts draped across his legs and feet.
Not all messed up like mine, Joe noticed before realizing there might have been another reason why he woke up.
Oh man, he groaned to himself. Now he'd have no choice but to get up!
Slowly, he pushed the coverings off and sat up. Carefully, so as not to jar his arm, the boy crawled towards the burrow entrance and then outside. It was easier for him to crawl than crouch, as the bound arm threw him off balance. He moved slowly to keep from waking up his brother, knowing that Frank was a much lighter sleeper than he was.
Once outside, he straightened up and then moved to the area behind the plane they'd designated for its own 'special' purpose.
When he finished, Joe stood there for a while, looking around and not relishing the return trip back to his 'bed' yet.
It was odd for it to be so early in the morning, and yet look as it did in the afternoon, and the blond youth wasn't sure it was something he could ever get used to. Not that he wanted to be here long enough to do so.
And then he noticed something else – the fog was gone! It was a beautiful, bright morning!
Maybe Dad'll find us today, Joe thought hopefully. It had been thirteen days now since they crashed, but his optimism hadn't waned. Maybe it was because he'd been in enough situations in the past to have an unwavering belief in his search party; they had always found him before, and he had no reason to believe this time would be any different.
Joe thought about his brother and wished he could do something to pass on this conviction, but he didn't know what.
He figured Frank didn't have this unfaltering faith probably because he was usually a searcher…not a searchee - if that was even a word!
And then there was also that irrefutable logic.
But sometimes you just had to go by your gut, and Joe's gut was telling him they'd be found…soon.
The boy stood there for another ten minutes, quiet and thoughtful as he watched the world around him. He was just deciding to go back inside when he heard a soft snort.
Startled he whipped around and then froze. Walking about a hundred feet behind him was a small group of caribou, and he was amazed by how quietly they moved.
The large elk-like animals were slowly moving across the tundra and if they noticed him, they didn't seem very worried about him.
Probably 'cause they know they could trample me without much fuss, he thought. But even so, he remained still, awed by these large northern creatures.
The animals grazed as they moved, and Joe found himself transfixed watching them. His thoughts turned absently to Pup and the small starving pack, and he wondered how they were doing.
Without even realizing it, Joe started to follow the small herd, curious as to where they were going. A couple of the large herbivores cast a glance at him but didn't do anything else.
Joe followed them for a while and then stopped. He didn't really want to go very far from the burrow, not caring to get lectured if Frank found out or something happened.
He was just headed back when he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye and he turned around, curiosity mingling with fear.
It was the old alpha wolf!
Frank awoke with a start but had no idea what had awakened him.
After he sat up, it took his eyes a moment to adjust to the semi-gloom of the burrow and then he glanced over and saw Joe's empty 'bed.'
"Joe?" he called out, even as he glanced at the time. Not hearing any response, and with a growing sense of unease, he quickly moved across the burrow and out of the door, calling out again as he did.
"Joe!"
And then he relaxed as he saw his brother standing with his back to the burrow a couple hundred feet away.
Unconsciously Joe's good hand reached towards the bite and he felt his heart start to pound as he remembered the attack…but the wolf didn't seem interested in him at all, this time.
The canid was trailing the caribou herd with apparently grand ambitions, since it was a task for a pack of wolves to bring one of the larger animals down, let alone a single wolf dealing with a seemingly healthy herd.
Wolves preferred to target the young or weak caribou.
As he watched, the wolf paused to get a quick drink at a nearby pool of water, and then continued to slink after the herd. Joe started as he watched the wolf, and then a small smile played across his lips and he let out a sigh of relief.
"Joe?" The sound of his brother's voice made him jump. He'd been so engrossed in watching the caribou and then the wolf, that he hadn't heard Frank calling him or coming up behind him!
"You ok—oomph!" Frank had started to ask, concern etched on his face, when without warning, Joe turned around and grabbed him in a tight hug with his good arm.
"It's okay, Frank!" Joe was saying, his voice muffled against the older boy's shoulder. "It's really okay!"
A bit shaken by this unexpected outburst, Frank pulled away enough to look at his brother. "Joe? What's wrong?"
Joe was smiling, as his eyes shone brightly. Letting go of Frank, he turned and pointed towards the caribou herd.
"Look Frank!" he said, clearly very excited, "Look!"
Frank squinted his eyes and then looked at his brother, growing more worried with each passing moment – what the heck was going on with Joe?
"Okay…" he said slowly, wondering why a herd of caribou had stirred his brother up like this. He looked back at the younger boy. "I see caribou—"
"Not the caribou!" Joe admonished him, his tone impatient now as he was worried the wolf would disappear before Frank saw it. "The wolf, Frank! The wolf! Look!"
Startled, Frank whipped his head back toward the herd; saw the wolf and recognized it immediately as the one which had bitten Joe!
For a moment he thought the wolves were back, but then relaxed once he saw the single wolf was not interested in them at all!
Turning back to his brother again, and taking in his beaming face, Frank knew he was missing something.
"Little brother, you're going to have to clue me in on this…" he admitted, stifling a yawn, "it's kind of early, you know."
"I don't have rabies," Joe put it simply.
The older teen shook his head, confused. "I thought we'd already had this conversation, a couple of times now—"
Joe cut him off. "But now I have proof! Good old logical, irrefutable proof! Just the kind you love!" he continued, not giving Frank a chance to say anything and counting his points off on his fingers as he did so…Which didn't take long, as he only had two points to make!
"First, did you know that rabies is also called hydrophobia because any animal infected with it becomes deathly afraid of water? Well that old wolf was drinking, Frank – he wasn't afraid. Not in the slightest! And secondly…" he caught his brother's eye, his own so vibrant blue Frank was sure they were glowing, "it's been ten days since I was bitten and he's still alive…" his voice trailed off as he waited for his brother to make the connection…
And he did!
Frank's face transformed as the words sunk in and then it was his turn to grab his brother and give him a tight hug; quickly releasing him and apologizing when Joe gasped in pain, his injured shoulder having been forgotten for a moment.
He turned back to look at the wolf again, all the while keeping one arm around the younger boy. His relief was limitless and as if to punctuate the realization, the wolf stopped for another drink of water as Frank watched.
That wolf didn't have rabies which meant Joe didn't have rabies!
For Frank knew as well as Joe did, that any animal that was infected, died within ten days of showing the first symptom….And Joe had been bitten ten days ago!
The older boy was lightheaded with relief. He hadn't realized the weight of carrying even the slight worry until it had been completely removed.
And although he had no idea what his brother was doing up and around at this forsaken hour, whatever it was, Frank was truly grateful for it.
Now… if only they could get rescued…