All The Way
Chapter 27
Julia kneeled by Eliot in the dim glow of the lantern. Just when she thought she could go no further she had managed to continue. In the back corner of the cave the two horses calmly stood nuzzling each other. Along the far edge of the cave Hallie peacefully slept in a drug induced state. The young woman's vitals and metabolism had dropped to a minimum. Julia had read of drug induced "trips" in her research on the tribes of the southwest. Her biggest concern was how long she would remain in this state. Until then, Hallie would rest like a sleeping beauty tucked neatly in her warm blanket cocoon.
A fire had been constructed near the cave opening as Eliot had instructed. The fire glowed cheerfully at a distance, the smoke rising along the ceiling of the cave and flowing out the fissure at the rear. Eliot explained the horses smelled the aroma of the caves previous inhabitants, a family of peccaries or javalina, a type of desert hog. She was thankful he had taken the time to sketch the mother and her piglets, and watched them as they disappeared into the cave retreating from the midday heat.
Before leaning on the western saddle, Eliot had unfastened the leather sheath containing the Swiss army knife, the one Marjorie Stone had given him. Julia stared at it in wonder, realizing it was the only knife remaining in the camp. The professor had instructed her to open the largest blade and locate a firm, straight stick from the cave debris. She was then to notch the tip of the stick and lace the knife to the end using the leather straps from the saddle. Julia completed the task and stood with a makeshift spear. Eliot inspected her work with drowsy eyes.
Julia felt her legs grow weak contemplating what she might do with this newly constructed weapon.
"Eliot," she began softly, "what am I to do with this?"
She watched in amazement as his mouth pulled into a slight smile.
"There's a price to be paid for our hiding place."
Julia's eyebrows furrowed in thought. "What are you saying?"
Eliot's voice was kind as he continued. "As I said earlier, we are in the home of the javalina. We are taking their place here in the cave."
Julia still frowned and turned the newly constructed spear in her fingers feeling its weight in her hands.
"Eliot, you're speaking in riddles." Julia watched as Eliot's smile grew weary from the medication.
"We must be prepared. The odor and footprints will lead the hunter to this cave. For you see the mountain lion will come looking for our javalina. Instead, the lion will find us, and that is the price we pay for staying in their home."
Julia's eyes widened and stopped breathing. Gasping, she sat down next to him and pleaded. "A mountain lion! Oh, Eliot, I can't do this."
Calmly, his eyes searched her face, smiled, and gently touched her cheek with his swollen fingers.
"I am not afraid, Julia. I have confidence in you. You are my brave and beautiful lioness. I have no fear."
Julia looked at him with awe as she rose to her feet and stood with the spear in her hand. Was she really brave?
"I am not afraid. I have confidence. You are my brave and beautiful lioness. I have no fear," He repeated again.
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Moments later….
Julia looked down on the sterile area she had constructed around the torn scalp. The surgical instruments were in neat rows across the sterile gauze cover. She was thankful while in New York she had imagined the unimaginable. What could possibly go wrong in the middle of nowhere? As Eliot lay prone across the saddle, she began irrigating the wound with sterile saline, then betadine, carefully sterilizing the scalp area along the suture line. Skillfully, she began the process of cutting and fitting the scalp together. The injury was an extensive L-shaped avulsion on the back of his head. She was thankful Eliot could not see the extent of the wound.
The professor flexed his swollen knuckles and remained still while she began her suturing. Staring off at the glowing ambers of the fire he heard the snip, felt the tug on his scalp and the sharp sting as she worked. Pausing, Julia stared at the opening of the cave and heard the wind blowing outside. The branches hiding the entrance swayed and bent with each gust. Air flowed through the fissure and to the mesa above. A cold front was moving through, driving the warm air up and away. The temperature inside the cave was dropping.
Would Richard find them? Was he lurking just outside the cave, waiting?
Eliot sensed her apprehension and asked from beneath the sterile cover. "Are you worried that Carter will come looking for us tonight?"
Julia bit her lip as she resumed the suturing. "Yes," She replied simply, not wanting to think about all the possibilities.
"He won't be out tonight," Eliot replied confidently, flexing his swollen knuckles before him. Julia paused and watched him moved the injured hands. Just hours earlier she had admired how gracefully his fingers caressed the strings of the violin. Would he be able to use his fingers again with such dexterity?
"How can you be so sure?" She asked, resuming her work. Eliot's chuckle emanated deep from within.
"As gentleman, I couldn't tolerate Dr. Carter's rudeness. He spoke disrespectfully of the ladies in my life. I'm confident he has two black eyes and a possible broken nose. Tonight, I believe he will be nursing his physical and egotistical wounds."
The physician smiled knowingly. He was right; she had seen Richard in the tent nursing his wounds while laboring to breathe through his mouth. They would be safe from Richard Carter for the moment. Studying the makeshift spear leaning against the cave wall Julia worried about a different predator.
"Are you related to Marquis Donatien Alphonse Francois de Sade?" Eliot asked from beneath the sterile area. Julia's eyes narrowed in thought. Digesting his words, she gave a husky laugh along with a gentle tug on the thread before snipping off the end.
"You have such a dry wit, only you could crack jokes at a time like this?"
"So you find my sense of humor appealing?"
The physician continued and smiled. "Yes….. I suppose I do."
Her nimble fingers cut and fitted together the tissue, moving and smoothing the long strands of hair as she worked along the wound. Eliot's words looped through her mind like a Mobius strip.
"I am not afraid, Julia. I have confidence in you. You are my brave and beautiful lioness. I have no fear."
The professor remained quiet, the pain medication causing him to move in and out of consciousness. After bandaging his head she carefully gathered her tools and wrapped them in the sterile gauze. She had taken the time to carefully exam his skull and noted the extent of the bruising. The back of his shirt had been stained with blood. Slipping out to the stream she washed it and covered her tracks on the return. The shirt stretched across a ledge near the fire in the hopes it would dry.
Julia's fingers gently moved across the smooth bare skin of his shoulders, gently massaging the muscles. Eliot groaned and turned his head.
"That's wonderful."
"You should feel wonderful, Eliot. I've given you some of my best drugs."
Her fingers moved from his shoulders down the length of his spine, examining as her fingers moved. She felt his body shiver as the cool air moved through the cave.
"Let's make you comfortable." She offered. Slowly, he pushed against the saddle with all his strength, moved to his knees as Julia repositioned the saddle and prepared a soft blanket for a pillow. He moved around and reclined on the blanket spread across the sandy floor. Another blanket was unfolded and spread across his chest and legs. Fighting the chill, Eliot pulled the blanket close, his eyelids growing heavy.
Julia pulled the last blanket around her shoulders, turned the lantern down to conserve fuel and tended the fire. They had enough wood for one more night before she would need to search outside the cave. While constructing the fire she had wondered how the cave had so much wood. The drops on the leaves outside the cave revealed the answer, it was raining. Looking at the shape of the cave she realized the wood was pushed into the cave by a flash flood. The soft sand beneath their feet had washed through the crack from the mesa above and mixed with the debris the currents had pushed in from the stream outside. From the amount of wood in the cave, the stream must have been a raging torrent filling the canyon. Julia's fingers nervously tugged on the blanket while thinking of floods, mountain lions, warmth and a cigarette.
Leaning back against the other saddle she wrapped her arms around her legs to conserve body heat. Her eyes moved over Eliot and remembered the warmth of his skin when she removed his shirt. A small black tip poked from the pocket of his khaki pants. The physician moistened her lips, and recognized the shape of his pipe stem. Slowly, she kneeled beside him and easily pulled the stem from his pocket. The pipe was broken, the bowl was missing. Julia frowned with annoyance and watched his breathing remain deep and regular. Sitting next to him she reclined on her side and let the fingers of her left hand slip inside his pants pocket. Cautiously, her fingers glided between the layers of fabric, feeling the warm muscles of his leg as her fingers traveled. How sensuous it was to reach inside. Leaning against him, feeling the warmth of his body, only encouraged her hand to travel deeper into his pocket. Eliot stirred slightly feeling the gentle touch on the inside of his leg. Her fingertips found the round bowl of the pipe and brushed against the small leather pouch. Turning her head, she leaned against him, and studied his peaceful face.
"I am not afraid, Julia. I have confidence in you. You are my brave and beautiful lioness. I have no fear."
The professor's face didn't register her own fear. Strangely, her hand lingered in his pocket, not taking the bowl or tobacco but simply enjoying the closeness, the intimacy. She smiled, feeling self-conscious. Why was the simple act of her hand in his pocket so comforting?
Sighing gently, she finally removed her hand from his pocket. Slipped the blanket from around her shoulders and spread it over Eliot's blanket. Without warning his arm moved out from beneath the blanket, the other raising the blankets, beckoning her. Wordlessly, she slipped beneath the cover, curling in the crook of his arm and felt his arm pull her against him. Julia felt the warmth and softness of his chest against her cheek while his fingers tenderly caressed the soft skin of her arm. Moving beneath the blanket her fingers explored the warm skin, enjoying the closeness, the intimacy, finding the craving for the pipe and tobacco no longer important.
~~~tbc~~~