Landslide

By Hemel Lass(ie)

Chapter Five: Taking Directions

I wanted to get some of this up today. It hasn't been beta'd. SMB

The moments passed too slowly for Don's peace of mind, but finally, his brother's voice reached his waiting ears again. "Okay, Don. Thanks for waiting for me to get back to you."

"How you doing, buddy?"

"Well, let's not go there. I'm hanging in, okay? Look. How about you? How are you? Injuries? An honest assessment, Don – no macho crap."

"No macho crap, huh? Okay. You pushed me clear of the worst of it, but I got bonked on the head a few times."

"How long were you unconscious?"

"I am not really sure, but I don't think too long. I mean, I remember most of the slide going by, just getting hit by some debris, but the dirt and the dust cloud was such, I completely unable to keep track of you. My back is a little sore and my one ankle is a little banged up, but I don't think it is even sprained really, just bruised."

"That's good. You should be able to handle the short cut to the highest point."

"Highest point? How far am I going? Charlie, I don't like the idea of me leaving you."

"Do you have your cell phone, Don? Is it still working?"

Don took out his cell phone and checked. "It's working, but I am not getting a signal."

"I didn't think you would get a signal. This part of the trail is a switchback and I'm afraid it is a dead zone as far as cellular service is concerned. Fortunately, this isn't a large dead zone, but, if you take the easy trail up, it would take you a couple of hours post day break to get to a clear signal that was strong enough for them to lock on to and send rescue up."

"So that way is out." Don said firmly. "The trail we were walking is easy to find. How hard is it going to be for me to find this 'short cut'?"

"It isn't hard. Now listen carefully. You go up the trail from here…is the trail still visible?"

"Before it got dark, yeah, the trail is still visible and pretty much clear. The slide mostly slid over it…it didn't stay on it. There's loose dirt and it's messy, but still plainly visible."

"About 500 yards up, the trail hangs a right by this huge redwood. Instead of following the obvious trail on up from that point. At that right hand turn, you will see a narrower path leading off at a somewhat left angle. That is the trail you want. It is narrow and a little steep, but still a hiking trail, not a climbing one. It should take you maybe 20 minutes to make it to the summit. Don't push yourself too hard, Don. It will pretty much take those twenty minutes no matter how you pace yourself. You'll see why once you are on it. You will know right away when you have reached the highest point. It's a clearing. You can see …well, it is a great view. Anyway, once you get there, you should have a good strong signal on your cell phone. Turn it off now, to save the battery power."

"Already done, Charlie. Look, why don't I try for it now?"

"NO!" His brother gasped, as it was obvious he had physically overreacted to the suggestion of his brother trying to leave in the dark. "Don, please. Trust me. That would NOT be a good thing. It has to be done after daybreak. Promise me…please." The last part almost came out as a sob.

"Hey, easy, brother." Don hadn't meant to make things worse. "Excuse me if I just wish I could do something for you now."

"Talk to me, for a while."

"Talk?"

"Yeah. You know…talk to me. Distract me. I'm a little chilly. What was the coldest assignment you ever worked on?"

"You are cold, so you want me to talk to you about the coldest assignment I ever worked?"

"Yeah. All the gory details, bro." His voice sounded steadier.

"Let's see. Me and Coop were trailing this fugitive who led us into the wilds of Minnesota."

"Minnesota. Yeah, I've heard that's really cold." Charlie responded. "Was this in the winter time?"

"Damn straight, it was winter. The guy was hiding out on a farm for a while. Than he takes off. He was really making like Daniel Boone or something, going through all these woods and stuff, but we didn't have that much trouble with that. It was the fact he wound up hiding out in one of those ice fishing houses. I mean it's just a shack on a damn frozen lake, but that was one cold detail. Not the easiest place to sneak up on either."

"You got him though, right?"

"We did, but not before we damn near froze our asses off. I can't believe any body actually lives in that state, Charlie. I NEVER want to go there again. And the people from around there…they thought WE talked weird. That is the strangest accent…you know anybody from Minnesota?"

"Professor Bundersnoden teaches Applied Liquid Dynamics at Cal Sci. He's from Minnesota. You're right. The accent takes some getting used to. He is very glad to be FROM Minnesota, so he proclaims, very loudly, every fall. He goes back to see the leaves change, but hightails it back here as fast as he can. He doesn't miss snow at all. He used to be really into cross country skiing back home, but no one can persuade him to even visit snow, now that he lives in California."

"Sounds like a man with good sense to me. Look, you didn't hurt yourself when I mentioned leaving earlier, did you?"

"Don't worry, Don. No additional damage done. Just can't really jump the way I am pinned in here. You know?"

"No, I don't' know, damn it and it is driving me crazy. What aren't you telling me? How bad are you, Charlie? Talk to me, now. And tell me the truth. Please…"

There was too long of a hesitation, but slowly his brother responded. "Okay. I'll give you the straight deal. I'm pretty sure I have a partially collapsed lung on the left side. The good news is it doesn't seem to be getting any worse. No harder breathing, now than earlier. I am not sure if this good or bad, but I can't feel much below my waist. Don't panic, over that, big brother. I think it's numb because I hit this rock so hard and it's just bruised the heck out of my back. I mean, at first I could feel! Frankly, I'll take this numbness I have now over that, because I am pretty sure I have a bad break of my right leg below the knee. That hurt like heck at first. So, I welcome the numbness. I really just think it's bruised."

"What else?"

"My pack got knocked sort of funny when I was tumbling, so I can't get to my jacket or supplies at all. I've sort of pulled the looser debris around me. Acts like a kind of blanket, you know? It's not much, but it helps."

"Other injuries."

"I'm bruised and scraped pretty much all over. Looks like one very bad case of road rash, I imagine. Do you have your supplies?"

"Yeah. Look, isn't there some way I can get a blanket down to you or something?"

"No. Look, Don. I am being totally practical here. I'm not trying to be noble. The way the load came down this mountainside, even in full light and with the right gear, for you to get anything to me safely…it wouldn't happen. They are going to have to do some rigging to get to me, Don. The kind of thing best left to the experts. I wouldn't be in on a rescue like this myself. I mean that."

Don punched the ground in frustration. He could hear the truth in Charlie's voice. He knew his brother wasn't misleading him, but it was so damned frustrating. He needed to do something.

"Guess you'll never want to come on a trip like this again, huh?" The regret in Charlie's voice motivated a quick response.

"Well, leave out the slide and I'm your man."

"Really?"

"Come on, Charlie. This isn't your fault and I was really enjoying it until the world went crazy. I didn't think I would, but I really was. You were right about it being beautiful up here and all. So, we get you home, get you better and we'll do this again. We will. Okay?"

"Deal."