It was dawn.

Caleb found a small plastic cooler, filled it with cold water from the creek, then put in four of the fish he and Bill had caught the day before inside. He sealed it up tight and managed to fit it in Poe's backpack. "You're gonna need more than just pretzels and almonds," he told them.

Poe had shaken the man's hand, then he had focused on the rest of the survivors. Everyone had risen early to see them off, and more than a few tears were being shed. "Take care of each other," Poe had demanded. He looked at Finn and Rose. "Finn, the bridge is yours."

Finn laughed at Treye Sulvan's iconic phrase and gave Poe a perfect military salute. "Aye, aye, Captain!"

Rey gave Rose and Finn one last hug, then she and Poe turned toward the rising sun and started walking.

Though stiff and sore from these past days of long hikes and sleeping on the ground, Rey found that the hot meal full of protein from the night before seemed to have given her more energy. Poe also seemed to have gotten his second wind, and for the first two hours of the hike they moved much more quickly than normal. Rey knew he was just as anxious as she was to get back to the trail they had found the day before. Rey scanned her surroundings often, making sure they were going in the right direction. It would be so easy to get lost in this vast wilderness, where steep and slippery rock formations competed with hillsides full of evergreen trees.

It was mid-morning when Rey recognized the rock formations she had memorized that were in the vicinity of the trail, and within thirty minutes they were there, stepping onto the narrow but very obvious path. Though most likely man-made, it was probably used frequently by wildlife, too, which kept it looking well-used. In reality, they had no idea how often hikers actually used it.

They stopped to drink and eat some of the salty snacks they had brought; the sun was hot and though the temperature was probably only in the low 70s, it felt much warmer thanks to the exercise. After several minutes of quiet conversation, Poe stood up and stretched, looking up and down the trail.

"Which way?" he asked.

Rey, who was trying not to be distracted by the sliver of skin on his waist that had appeared when Poe had reached upward with his arms, cleared her throat. "Well, we've been heading east this entire time, so I think we should keep going in that general direction."

"Any reason why?"

She shrugged. "I'm trying to envision a map of this area in my head. I'm not sure I know where Atlantic City is, but you thought we might be in the Wind River Range, right?"

He nodded. "The plane turned east to get to Atlantic City, so we must have been over… maybe Popo Agie. It's a wilderness area, which would explain why we're in the proverbial 'middle of nowhere'."

"So, if we keep going east, we're more likely to find a visitor's center or base camp for backpackers, right? They would be located just outside the wilderness area, closer to a town. Like Atlantic City."

"Or Lander," he added. "That's the larger town in that area." He nodded and looked down the trail to their right. "It looks like we've got north or south options here, though." He looked back at Rey. "South?"

She nodded. "Let's go," Rey said, and together they headed down the trail, Poe in the lead.

The going was moderately easier thanks to the path they followed, but there was still plenty of rough ground and steep terrain to navigate. When they weren't trying to pick over and around boulders or huffing and puffing up arduous hillsides, they talked, and Rey found herself musing about how amazing it was that he talked to her so freely. He told stories about funny or scary incidents he had had on sets. He mentioned actors he had worked with by their first name only, as if they weren't all well-known around the world. He spoke of his job as if it was just a regular, though mostly fun, career. He was open and honest and spoke to her as a friend.

It's because he thinks you're not a fan, Rey reminded herself. He's like this because he trusts you to not spout off about any of it once you get home, telling the press all the juicy facts he was detailing about other famous people. He trusts you.

And Rey knew she would never betray that trust. If anything, she was extremely honored that he was confiding in her with his stories, but it made her feel guilty at the same time. She needed to tell him. She needed to let him know just how much of a fan she really was. A few of the stories he was telling her she already knew, as he had told them in interviews on late night television. She had tried saying something yesterday, but now she was scared to. Would he really want to continue to see her after they got home safe? If so, would telling him she was one of those 'rabid fans' change his mind?

She tried to keep her thoughts away from the future by telling him stories about her own life. The struggles she had faced living in a group children's home, how she had mostly fended for herself because she had a hard time making friends. How Finn had become her first real friend and Rose, her first real 'girlie' friend. She briefly mentioned Ben, a fellow vet student who she had dated for a short time last year, and he seemed to tense up. But when she made sure to add that Ben was 'just a friend' now, he relaxed. Or maybe it was her imagination.

Her stupid, hopeful, why-can't-it-be-real-love imagination.

The trail turned toward the west, but they agreed that it was too late to turn back now, and kept on going. It was late afternoon when a small thunderstorm grumbled at them, but it passed on without doing anything more than that. They were pushing themselves up a steep slope, griping about the rise in humidity the storm had caused, when they started taking notice of a change in their surroundings. Quietly, they reached the top of the rise and stared out in awe.

They had seen a lot of beautiful scenery since this adventure had begun, but this went far beyond beautiful.

Huge granite peaks stood before them, with rocky bluffs spread out at their base and thick spruce, fir, and lodgepole pine trees adding contrast to the almost silver rock. In between Rey and Poe and the ridge of mountains lay a beautifully still lake. A meadow of green grass with colorful wildflowers dotting it lay between them and the lake. It was almost as awesome as the Tetons, Rey thought.

"I've seen this place before," Poe said softly.

"In a dream?" Rey responded, only joking a little.

He shook his head. "In pictures." She could see his dark, expressive brows furrow as he concentrated, and he reached up to scratch the beard that was quickly growing; he could have kept up with shaving, she knew, but he hadn't bothered. His eyes suddenly widened and his head came up. "Cirque of the Towers," he said. He looked at her. "We are in Popo Agie. And this is a pretty famous spot. I'm surprised we haven't run into other hikers."

"So, we're close to civilization?" Rey asked.

"I think it's at least a day's hike to get here," he told her. "But I'd be really shocked if we don't run into someone before then." He pulled out his phone, checking to see if there was a signal. "Nothing, yet," he frowned.

Rey looked around her, the momentary excitement of Poe's recognizing their location fizzling as exhaustion took over. "It's late enough. Should we just make camp here for the night?"

Poe nodded, staring off at the towers of granite before them. "Yeah. Let's."

Withing minutes, they had a small fire going and the fish Caleb had given them were getting roasted over the top of it. Rey had never been a huge seafood fan, but she would forever think trout cooked over an open fire as one of the best meals ever. As the sun set and the night moved in, the temps dropped. They slipped on their jackets and sat shoulder to shoulder, watching as the fire slowly died out. They had brought blankets, so there was no reason to keep the fire going now that they had eaten.

Poe had just slipped his arm around Rey's shoulders as if it was the most natural thing in the world when the yipping started. At first, Rey thought it was coyotes, but then the yipping leveled off and full-blown howling began. Several different voices were raised, the sound echoing all around them.

"There are your wolves," Poe said softly.

Rey smiled, then closed her eyes, listening intently to the wild chorus around them. The sound sent chills up her spine, but not of fear. It was a good feeling, a feeling of euphoria and welcome. The literal call of the wild.

She heard Poe utter a strange noise and she opened her eyes, turning to look at him. He was staring at her, his eyes wide, the waning firelight flickering in them.

"What's wrong?" she whispered.

He shook his head slightly, blinking rapidly. "Nothing," he whispered back. "You are just so beautiful."

Rey felt her heart thump hard, and her breath caught. As she stared into his eyes, he moved closer, and her heart seemed to stop for a moment. Was he really going to kiss her?

Then he did just that.

XXXXXX