Chapter 11
"Vivien, wake up." Sam whispered near her ear.
She didn't respond, and suddenly Sam worried. He found her hand hanging over the edge of the cot and felt for her pulse, and he sighed in relief when he felt it beat strong. He laid her hand on her torso, touched her shoulder gently, and tried again.
"Vivien...wake up!"
"Mmmm, Alex," she mumbled as she rolled toward him, planted her hand behind his head and pulled him down into a passionate kiss.
Sam was astounded. He'd never had a woman take possession of his mouth like this. He was used to doing the possessing. He pushed against her, mumbling her name until she took in a deep breath through her nose, pulled away and whispered, "Oh my...Sam. What did I just..."
"No time to discuss it. We need to move now." He kept his voice low. "There's only one guard out there, and he's been snoring for a while. I unlocked the door using my handy dandy little lock picker, so all we have to do is leave. Come on, let's go."
He gave her little time to be embarrassed over her mistake. She got off the cot and tiptoed to the door with him, wondering what he must have thought of her and trying to push that thought out of her head at the same time. It was so dark, only a few waning fires dotted the promenade near the tents, and their light didn't make it as far as the cell. They would have plenty of cover.
The door squeaked a little when Sam pushed it forward. He stopped, gauging if it was wide enough for them to sneak out. Just a few more inches and they would have room to slip away. Unfortunately, this required stepping sideways past the sleeping guard. Sam went first and Vivien followed. Her heel brushed the side of his britches, and the guard struck out to slap away whatever it was that tried to disturb him. Fortunately, Vivien had good reflexes. She jumped out of the way before he made contact. In the faint light, she saw Sam give her the thumbs up, and then he took her hand and ran with her around to the back of the building. He felt along the fence until he found the branches hanging overhead.
It was even darker behind the jail, so there was no way to communicate other than by voice or touch. Sam tapped her shoulder, crouched down to lift her leg by the knee, and made a motion as if he were going to give her a boost up. She tapped him twice on the shoulder, settled her hands on his back for balance, and gave him her foot. With one movement he launched her up to the branch. She snagged it and the leaves rustled. Sam grabbed the end and stabilized it so she could hang by her knees and hands and make her way over to the top of the fence. When she was there, he heard a soft 'oof' as she landed on her feet on the other side. Now it was his turn.
Sam took a different tactic in getting over the fence. Since he was taller and more able to grasp the branch at a higher point, he got closer to the fence, crouched to build up some energy in the branch, and jumped up. The branch swung high enough to allow him to reach out and grab the top of the fence. With one leg over the top, he threw himself over and down to the ground. Without a moment to lose, he found Vivien, placed his hands around her waist, and pushed her forward toward the acreage behind the fort.
"Sam, where are we going?" She whispered to him as she fought back against the brush and small branches that snapped in her way.
"We're going away from the road, because that's where they'll expect us to go, to take the easy route."
It was slow going through the forest, not being able to see anything. Sam gained a new appreciation for what blind people went through, because not being able to see any hazards was frustrating, to say the least. It seemed as if they'd run for a mile, but when Sam looked back, he could still see the glow from the fires.
"We're not gaining much ground," he muttered. "We've got to try to move faster!"
By the time a shout went up that the prisoners had escaped, they had some good distance between them and the fort, and it was far too dark for anyone to go searching for them in the blackness that was so thick, Sam felt he could catch it and store it in a jar. Somehow, they found a dirt path, and it led to a stream.
"I hear water, Sam," Vivien whispered and grabbed one of the hands that still held her around the waist.
"Me too," he replied. "Not a moment too soon, because I could sure use a drink."
Vivien's foot splashed in the brook and she jumped back into Sam with a gasp. "I think I found it!" She laughed. "Now I've got a wet foot. Come on, it's right here." She led him by the hand until they both knelt at the edge. "Better just try a little first, to make sure it's not off tasting."
"Tastes like well water," Sam said as he sampled a little from his hand.
"Yeah, a bit of iron in it, but that's okay." They bent over and scooped handfuls of it until they were satisfied.. "That'll have to last us for awhile."
"I think we should follow the creek upstream," Sam suggested.
"Why?"
"Well, it could be that we got all twisted and turned around in here, but on the off chance we didn't, the county road and that town should be off to our right somewhere."
"If there even was a town."
"Yeah, that's true." Sam reached into his pocket to pull out his phone. "Damn, lost another one. See what I mean? They keep getting confiscated, destroyed, or traced. It's..."
"Shh, Sam,I hear something!"
Someone was moving up the trail toward them. "Let's get off this path," Sam spoke so softly, she barely heard him. With his hand around her waist, he led her into some brush, trying not to create too much noise. As they waited as still as possible, they spied a faint glow coming from a kerosene lantern. In its soft light, they saw a man getting ever closer, carrying a double barrel shotgun and the lantern. A floppy-eared coonhound trotted along beside him sniffing the ground. The dog stopped, sniffed the ground intently, and whined.
"You find something, Redbone?" The dog whined louder.
"Oh crap, he's locked onto us," Sam's voice was barely audible as he took a step back. His foot brushed against something that seemed to be hidden in the dead leaves, and he sidestepped it.
Vivien followed his movements, but she wasn't so lucky. Something clamped around her ankle, they heard bone snapping, and as she fell back onto the cushioned forest floor, she cried out loud enough to get the dog howling.
"Vivien!" Sam called out to her, but she didn't answer. He dropped to the ground and ran his hands around like a crazy man trying to find her, until the man brought his lantern and his gun up near Sam's head.
"Well, look what we found, Red. Company!"
"Please mister, don't shoot," Sam pleaded as calmly as he could. "My friend...I think she got caught in a trap."
"Yep, that'd be one 'o mine," he said as he held up the lantern and took in the sight of the woman lying on the ground. "That's a bear trap. You better watch out, 'cause I got a few more of 'em 'round here somewheres."
Sam picked up his hands and stayed on his knees. "Thanks for the warning." He turned, and now that he had light, he could see Vivien lying still on the ground, unconscious. He cautiously leaned over her, assessing her for injuries besides the one created by the trap. He found a flat rock underneath her head and when he put his hand there, it came away wet with blood. "We've got to get her out of here."
"My cabin's about a quarter mile down this path. Y'all can stay there a spell and get her doctored up." He put the lantern on the ground and pressed a few places on the bear trap. It took some muscle, but he got it off her ankle. "She's bleedin' pretty good there. Bear traps can take a man's foot clean off if you step on 'em the wrong way. She got lucky."
Sam snorted. "You have no idea!" He pulled at the buttons of his shirt and stripped it from his body. Good thing he wore a t-shirt underneath or he would be even colder than he was. Without thinking what it would do to his precious hawaiian shirt, he rolled it into a bandage and wrapped her ankle with it. "Okay, now if I pick her up and step over to that path, I'm not gonna wind up trapped myself, am I?"
"No sir, I don't keep the traps that close to the path, just for this reason. This was some kind of fluke, I swear!"
"Well, I suppose it could have happened to anybody," Sam agreed. He picked up Vivien in his arms and was surprised how light she was. "Okay, let's go."
"Alrighty, just follow me, mister. Come on, Red, let's take our guests home."
Sam really didn't want to trust this guy, considering how close they were to the fort, but with Vivien being injured, he really didn't have a choice. He seemed nice enough, and apologetic for his trap being the cause of their accident.
"Hey, what's your name," Sam asked.
"Harvey. Harvey Linden. Just like the trees." He looked over his shoulder and smiled at Sam, and he could see a few teeth missing, but there was a friendly sparkle in his eyes.
"My name's Sam. And this is Vivien."
"Nice to meet you, Sam. Sorry it had to be under such unfortunate circumstances. But we'll get Vivien back to my place, and the wife'll patch her up real good. She's got a gift for doctorin'."
"Well, thanks, but all I need are some supplies, and I can take care of her." He thought about the duffel bag that the capturing party left behind on the side of the road, along with all their other things. They were so focused on the laptop and their prisoners, they didn't care about anything else. What he wouldn't give to get his hands on those supplies right now!
Harvey led the way into the small cabin. A fancy kerosene lamp hanging over a round table lit up the main room, and a woman sat underneath it. "Harve! I was beginnin' to wonder 'bout ya. Where ya been?" She stood and approached, then stopped at the sight of Sam entering the room with Viviean draped over his arms. Her head was slung back and her blood painted his forearm scarlet.
"Is there someplace I can lay her down," Sam asked as he nodded at the woman behind Harvey.
"Sure! Put her on this cot over hear near the wood stove." She pulled back the covers. They appeared to be clean and crisp from being starched.
"Thanks." He bent over the cot and gently laid Vivien on it. He left his arm in place behind her head and asked, "Have you got something to catch this bleeding?"
She quickly returned with a clean cloth, folded it into thirds so it was thick enough to soak up the blood, and settled it in the right place on the pillow as Sam lowered Vivien's head.
"What happened to her?"
"She got caught in one of my bear traps, Liza."
"Oh, you and those darn traps, Harve! I told ya this would happen some day. Good thing it wasn't one of those damn fool rebels running around these woods!"
"Well, maybe if they wandered into one of them, they'd stay away from our property," Harvey replied haughtily.
"You know about the fort?"
"Yeah, those people are crazy," Harvey answered as he set his gun up on a couple of pegs over the door and set the lock on the door in place. "They're always playin' them war games, takin' people prisoner...they're nuts!"
"I couldn't agree with you more," Sam responded with a slight smile. "They captured us yesterday, and we got away tonight."
"What'd they want with you?"
Sam shook his head. "It's not important. But what is, is for me to take a look at Vivien's injuries, see what we can do without trying to get through these woods to a hospital."
"Ain't no hospital around here for about fifty miles," Liza said. "That's why I got good at doctorin'. People need help around here, they come to me." She smiled and moved to a cabinet. "And you're in luck, Harve just picked up a whole bunch of new supplies for me today."
Sam gaped as Liza opened a cabinet and withdrew the red duffel bag with the white cross on it. "Where'd you find that?"
"Out on the side of the road. Somebody just left it there!"
"Harvey, how far away is that road?"
"A few miles. You're not gonna get her out to that road in the dark. These woods are full of big cats and coyotes. They'll get you good before you get ten feet out the door. Only by the grace of God did I come along at the right time, or you two mighta been critter fodder."
"Thanks, Harvey. We appreciate it. The only critters we were really worried about were the ones following us from the fort."
"I don't know why they'd be holdin' a nice lookin' couple like you, but hey, as far as I'm concerned, any enemy of theirs is a friend of mine. Don't worry, Sam, we'll keep you and Miss Vivien safe!" He held out his hand.
Sam took it, grateful for the support. "Now, if you'll let me have access to that bag, I can take care of Vivien."
"Are you sure?" Liza looked at him warily.
Sam gave her one of his trademark smiles, the kind that seemed to make women turn to jelly. "Ma'am, I know what I'm doing. I was a Navy SEAL for over 20 years, and I had special field medical training. I can take care of this."
"I didn't know the Navy used animals for training," Harvey said in wonder.
Sam shook his head. "No, that's not...never mind."
He reached for the bag that Liza set on the floor beside the cot, and he quickly went to work on stopping the bleeding at the base of Vivien's skull. The ankle seemed to be under control, so he saved that for last. When he finally stabilized her with fluids from an IV and covered her with a blanket to keep her from going into shock, the sun was starting to come up over a ridge and pierce through the trees. He splinted her ankle, not liking the bluish purple bruising radiating around the area where the iron clamped onto her. It was swelling, so he wrapped it lightly, and Liza put a cold compress on it with some herbs she swore would fight off infection.
"Thanks, Liza."
"You want some coffee, Sam?" Somewhere during this encounter, Harvey introduced them, but Sam was too focused on Vivien to pay much attention.
"What I need is some sleep, but I need to stay awake, so yeah, coffee would be good. Thanks." He checked Vivien's pulse and respiration before sitting at the table in the center of the common area. The wood stove lent a warmth to the room that took out the overnight chill. In his short sleeve t-shirt, he was cold.
"Here, put this on," Harvey said and gave Sam a flannel shirt to wear. "I think it might fit ya."
"Thank you...again. You don't know how grateful Viv and I are for your kindness and hospitality." Sam shrugged into the shirt and was pleased that it fit quite nicely. He left it open and accepted the cup from Liza.
"You could get some sleep in our room," Liza said as she worked at the stove.
"No, thanks. I want to make sure Vivien's okay before I get any shut-eye."
"Suit yourself," Liza shrugged. She set a cast iron skillet onto the hot stove and let it heat up. "Where are you two from, anyway? Mister? Sam?"
"Shhhh," Harvey whispered.
She turned and discovered Sam's head lay over his crossed arms. His coffee cup sat untouched, and he was fast asleep.