Rescue

Part 10: How Much Longer?

My eyes flutter open and I scrunch my nose. My neck cranes to the right and I jump.

Please tell me I'm hallucinating.

I reach my finger over and poke whatever I'm seeing, a horrible decision really, and it moves at lightning speed.

...

Ray POV

...

I wake up to a shriek and sit up, ready to fight off whatever the hell was threatening us.

Adora's standing up and quivering. I follow her eyes and see a snake, slithering where Adora was sleeping.

It takes a minute to process, but I realize that it has a triangular-shaped head. It's venomous.

Adora is already grabbing her hoodie and I scramble to get away from the thing, which is now around five feet away from me.

...

Five minutes later, Adora POV

...

"What a lovely start to the morning," I grumble while dragging my feet across the forest floor. My words are acknowledged by a deep sigh from Ray straight behind me.

"I've never been in California before, please tell me the snakes are the worst of it," he mutters. I turn and give him a sheepish smile, and he rolls his eyes. "Oh god, what else is there?"

"Black bears, coyotes, cougars, foxes, wasps, the Black Widow spider, mountain lions-"

"Okay, okay, I get it!" he half-yells. I laugh and continue walking. "...Mountain lions?" he asks.

"Yeah. If we ever see one, don't make noise, run, crouch, bend over, or approach it. Just back away slowly and pray it spares you."

"I don't like this conversation."

I smile and we approach a rather steep rock formation. There doesn't seem to be a way around it in either direction. A groan escapes my mouth and I tie my hoodie around my waist.

My hands intertwine with each other and I get on one knee, signaling Ray to use my hands as a boost.

He takes the hint and grabs a part of the wall firmly, placing his left foot into my hands. I get onto my feet as he reaches the top and he crawls over.

"Hop up, m'lady," he says in a formal tone and reaches a hand down.

I make a face and grab his hand, allowing him to pull me up and over the cliff alongside him. We stand up and brush off any dirt that got on our clothes and once again continue forward.

The hot Californian sun is beating down on us, but the lack of humidity makes it easier to endure.

...

Two hours later

...

Ray and I have interlocked our elbows once again to hold ourselves up and balance through the long walk. Like I said, the walk from the entrance of the woods to the cabin is around sixteen miles. Yesterday we managed around seven or so, and so far today we've walked maybe around three.

"Hey, do you wanna try to get to the cabin tonight or save some energy for a bit?" I ask.

"I don't know, how much longer?" he responds.

"If I had to guess, we're around five or six miles away."

"That's not too bad, I'm down."

I nod in response and wipe sweat from my forehead while Ray swats a mosquito off of his right arm.

...

Four hours later

...

We're both fighting against the numb feeling rising up our legs. Nightfall is upon us and we have about a mile to go.

If it hadn't been for all those hills and cliffs and whatnot, we would already be there by now.

A small sound alerts my ears and I stop, freezing immediately. Ray turns around to question me and freezes when he sees the fear in my eyes.

His eyes flicker around, wondering why I stopped, and a growl comes from a collection of bushes around one hundred feet away. A coyote.

"Ray, listen to me," I whisper. He nods and locks his eyes on the coyote emerging from the bush, obviously looking to defend its territory. "On the count of three, run to that tree and climb it, as high as you can go. Coyotes can't climb trees."

He nods and I count to three. Once I reach three, we both bolt towards the tree I pointed out and vicious barking lingers close behind my feet. Ray reaches the tree first and starts climbing.

I jump and grab a hold of the tree trunks, hoisting myself upwards as fast as I can. The branch I'm using to hold my body weight suddenly snaps and I let out a yelp as I feel myself beginning to fall.

A hand grabs my wrist and pulls me up. I'm immediately pulled into a bone-crushing embrace and my eyes squeeze shut as the barks and growls of the coyote fill my ears.

An arm wraps around my waist while a hand is placed on my head, pulling me closer.

I open my eyes for a split second to see Ray's chest. A bark from below us makes my eyes close just as quickly as they opened.

I wrap my hands around Ray's torso and we sit there near the top of the tree, praying for the damn thing to walk away.