The night passed slowly. Bret had stayed awake too much over the past couple of days and couldn't keep himself from falling asleep. He constantly woke up though, checking on Bart to make sure that he was still alive.
Bart's body was finally feeling a little warmer; especially since the outside temperature seemed to be rising overnight and there was no wind. The fire was having more of an effect, and by morning, there were finally no more blocks of ice in the canteens.
Bret woke up hearing the cry of birds. It was a confusing sound, until he opened his eyes and looked towards the mouth of the cave to see that the sky was bright blue and sunlight was streaming in. It was a sight for sore eyes; Bret felt like it had been an eternity since he'd last seen the sky.
Bart was motionless against him, and Bret shifted slightly, raising his hand to put his fingers against the pulse in his brother's neck. The beat that he found felt stronger, and Bret closed his eyes and sighed with utter relief. "Looks like we're gonna make it, Brother Bart," he whispered.
Bret had forced the horses to sleep on either side of them again overnight, and his suddenly stood up, as if the sound of his owner's voice was permission to do so.
I didn't say you could get up, he said to himself. He shifted slightly where he lay, wishing that he could get up too, but not wanting Bart to lose his body heat. His brother was still sandwiched between him and his own horse, and Bret decided that his objective for today was getting his brother fully coherent again, and in order for that to happen, his body had to warm up some more.
Bret sighed. He really wanted to stand up…his body was so cramped! Just for a minute, he told himself. To see what it looks like outside, and if we can get out of here…if I can get up. His decision made, he gently shifted Bart out of his arms and covered him with both blankets, before getting to his knees and laboriously standing. 'Cramped' was definitely the word…he had to straighten up slowly. Looking at Bart's horse, he found that she was awake, but hadn't moved. "You stay right there," Bret told her. "Bart needs you."
The horse gave no reaction—not that Bret expected one.
Slowly, Bret stumbled over to the mouth of the cave and blinked against the brightness of the sun bouncing off the snow. It was definitely a lot warmer, the temperature consistent with the early spring that it really was. He smiled ear to ear and closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of the sun on his face. There was no question of their survival now; they'd made it…now if they could only get out of there and to a town before they starved to death!
Sighing with relief, he headed back to his brother, who was still asleep, lying against his horse. Bret picked up one of the canteens and poured some water into a cup, not worried about running out with all the snow that was outside. He warmed it up and drank it while watching his brother, debating with himself on whether he should wake him up or not.
Bret didn't have to keep wondering what to do, for his horse suddenly whinnied where he stood, and Bart moved his head and made a noise.
"Hey, Bart," Bret said. "You awake?"
Bart's eyebrows furrowed and he made a little noise again, before his eyes opened halfway.
Bret smiled. "Mornin'," he said.
Bart squinted at him. "Bret?" He sounded confused.
"That's me," Bret answered. "We managed to survive!"
"We did? Are you sure?" Bart asked. "I'm not dreaming?"
"Nope, you're not dreaming," came his brother's reply. "How you feeling this morning? Are you thirsty?"
Bart reached up a hand and placed it over his eyes with a wince. "I have a headache, and yes."
Bret frowned, though after seeing how close his brother had come to freezing to death, he figured he shouldn't be surprised that his body had found a way to protest nature's abuse. He poured water from a canteen into their cup and held it over the flames.
Bart shivered and pulled his arm back under the blanket. Even though the outside temperature was much higher today, it couldn't really be defined as 'warm'. "I don't suppose there's anything to eat?" he mumbled from under the semi-warm covers. He suddenly noticed that he had both of the blankets. "Aren't you cold?"
"Not as much as you," Bret said. "The blizzard worked on you worse than it did to me."
Bart sighed, but said nothing as he shifted his position, wincing while he got himself reclined upright against his horse.
"And no, no food," Bret said, removing the cup from the fire. "But we almost had roast coyote." Now that things were looking up, Bret didn't mind talking about their visitor.
Bart made a face, not sure if he was supposed to laugh about that or not! "How long have we been here?" he asked.
"Two and a half days," said Bret, bringing the cup to him.
Bart started to pull an arm out from the blankets, but Bret shook his head. "Stay there," he said, holding the cup to his brother's lips.
Bart submitted and drank it. It was odd to drink warm water, but he knew that it would do him a world of good.
Bret made sure he drank every drop before pulling the cup away.
"How long?" Bart asked. "Before we can get out of here?" He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against his horse.
Bret sighed. "I'm not sure...the snow is deep. I think you need some rest before we even consider going back outside," he said. "Just because it's warmer today doesn't mean that it'll stay this way."
"I think I need some food," was Bart's reply.
Bret sighed. "You and me both, brother Bart. I just don't want you to end up half-frozen again."
"Can we leave if I promise I won't?" Bart asked, only half-joking. Just then Bret's horse whinnied. "We're not the only ones that need to be fed. They've got to be starving."
"I know, Bart," Bret said, suddenly frustrated. "But I don't see how we can walk through so much snow to find a town; especially you, right now. We can't ride the horses through it, especially while they're starving too." He ran a hand through his hair.
Bart sighed, having no reply.
Suddenly, it appeared as if God had decided to snap his fingers and provide the Mavericks with the solution; the sound of laughter suddenly echoed through the air, and Bret and Bart both looked at each other in shock, as if doubting what they'd both heard.
"Uh, Bret," said Bart. "Did you just hear—?"
"Yes," said Bret. He scrambled to his feet and headed to the cave opening.
What Bret saw shocked him so much that he just stared: a wagon trail was slowly making its way through the snow; four big, huge, warm wagons...with food.
"What is it?" Bart pleaded. "What do you see?"
"A wagon train!" Bret exclaimed. He started waving to get their attention. "HEY!" he shouted. "OVER HERE!"
The wagon train continued to trudge along. The laughing had come from children who were playing in the snow, and they stopped and looked up when they heard the yell.
Bret left the cave and headed towards them, walking through the snow. "Hey!" he shouted again.
After that, Bart didn't hear anything else from him for a short while. His heart was pounding with anticipation; could Bret get the people to let them come along? After a few minutes, he started to doze off, his weakened body still needing rest. He never heard when Bret came back into the cave with three other men, two of which started to collect their things while one other came over to him with Bret.
"Bart?" Bret said, grabbing his brother's shoulder. "We've been rescued!"
Bart opened his eyes, a little startled to see them hovering over him. Bret's words got through and he smiled. "Another great Maverick adventure comes to an end," he mumbled, half-jokingly.
Bret chuckled.
A minute later, Bart was being helped outside with Bret on one side and the stranger on the other. The sun hurt Bart's eyes and he had to close them, but they came upon a wagon quickly and he was lifted inside. Bret climbed in after him and helped him get settled, and the wagon train stayed put while the women fed them and their horses.
Once the wagons started moving again, Bart stared at the ceiling for a minute, amazed how the two of them had been hopeless one minute and saved the next. The strangers had fed them, heaped piles of blankets on them, and filled the wagon with heated bricks. For the first time in three days, Bart wasn't freezing.
TBC
