THE PASSAGE

A New World

Chapter 19

I slowly open my eyes, realizing that I dozed off, and curse myself for being so careless. I quickly stand up and go to check on Toby.

"Toby ... Toby, wake up for me."

I shake him several times before persuading him to wake up. God, his eyes look so glassy. He appears confused. I notice that he now has a fever. As I inspect the bandages, I see that the bleeding seems to have ceased around the wound.

"Toby, do you recognize me? Do you know who I am?"

He nods, yes.

"Okay, good. You should drink some more water."

As I grab the ice chest, the light from the setting sun tells me it is late afternoon. Dear God, how long have I been asleep? It felt like I might have dozed for five minutes at the most, but it must have been more like an hour or so. Oh, Jamie, that was so careless of you. Thank God that the boat didn't come back and see us. It will be dark soon, and Toby's condition is worsening.

"Toby, don't go back to sleep. Please open your eyes for me. You need to drink some water." I pick his head up and put the water bottle to his mouth. Slowly, a few sips at a time, he manages to drink about a fourth from the bottle.

"Okay, you hang in there, you hear me. We're going to make it somehow. Don't you give up, do you understand?"

Through glassy eyes barely open, Toby stares up at me momentarily before going back to sleep. He doesn't look right. How much longer can he hold on? I need to come up with a plan. I can't let him die. I drink the rest of the water while staring down at him and stroking his forehead, trying to be of some comfort to him. I'm dying of thirst and also starving.

Then, it occurs to me, something's odd. I quickly glance up, becoming aware of my surroundings now. We are no longer in the little inlet. Somehow, we must have drifted back into the bayou. As I continue observing my surroundings, I notice that none of this looks familiar. The water, the trees, and the shoreline are all different. What's happened here? Where are the cypress trees?

I locate the binoculars and look up and down this strange waterway. I can't understand what's happened. It looks like we are in a large creek, with nothing resembling the bayous around the swamp. The boat is slowly drifting, sideways now, because of a small current. The trees look strange. I don't recognize this place.

I scan the bank, looking for clues about where we are and how we got here. Up ahead, I see a flat, sandy looking area. Past that, there appears to be a bend in the creek.

I sit in the driver's seat and turn the key to try the engine again. It's cranking but doesn't start. I'm not sure what time it is, but it appears that we only have a couple of hours of daylight left, at the most. As much as I hate to, I should probably give up on finding help today and concentrate on making camp for the night. I need to clean and change the bandages on Toby's wounds. If we are lucky, a boat may come by to help us.

Holding the binoculars up to my eyes, I inspect that flat, sandy area once more to make sure it's safe before moving any farther. On a wooded hill up above the flat area, I catch a glimpse of movement. I quickly point the binoculars in that direction. Whatever it is, it's making its way down to the creek. I'll see it soon enough.

I wait patiently to see what it is that is coming down. When it gets into the clearing, I see that it is a small deer coming down to the creek. And behind it, there's another—and two more. They're all the same size. Here comes another.

I take the time to watch them descend to the creek. They approach cautiously at first, scanning the area around them. It appears one of them has spotted me. He's staring in my direction. Now they are all looking over here.