It wasn't long before we heard the faint rush of water in the distance. Liz wanted to just run and jump in, but I wouldn't let her.
"We need to be cautious, we don't know if there are people or even roads around." I said
"Ok fine" she said, a little upset.
So we picked up our pace a little, being careful not to make any noise. As we got closer we hid the bags by a tree in case we needed to make a break for it. I grabbed the binoculars and we continued toward the creek, it was maybe 50 yards away now.
"When we get to the edge of the trees, you two scan the other bank for any sign of movement." I said. "I'll move into the open and check to see if anyone has been here once we're sure it's clear."
"Aye, aye captain." Liz said saluting me.
So we moved to the treeline, inching along not saying a word. Once there, we found ourselves looking at a stream about 10 yards across, deep enough to swim in. The current was a little too fast to safely use at this point, we'd have to go up stream and find a calm point.
"I don't see anything," I said handing the rifle to Liz "I'm going to go check for debris, cover me."
I moved cautiously out from under the safety of the trees. Listening for any slight noise that would alert me to a foreign presence. As i got close to the water I scoured the rocks nearby for trash or anything else that might indicate people were around.
Nothing, not even a footprint. It was probably safe to assume we were too far out for anyone to be camping or hiking nearby. Once I was satisfied that we were clear, I signaled for Jesse and Liz to come over.
"Ok guys, there's nothing around." I said
"Awesome, let's go swimming!" Jesse said excitedly
"Not quite yet, bud" I told him.
"Why not?"
"Look at the current, it'd slam you into a rock." Liz told him. He looked pretty upset, he was definitely tired and needed to relax a little, he deserved that much.
"It's ok Jes, we're going to grab the gear and go upstream until we find a calm spot." I told him
"Yeah, it's only about 2:30, we've got all day." Liz said reassuring him.
It didn't take long to find a calm spot. The water was clear and cool, deep enough to swim in, but safe enough to not pull you downstream.
"We ought to refill the canteens." I said as we set our bags down by the water. The stream was almost twice as wide here as it had been when we first saw it. "Which bag is that water purifier in?"
“The one with stuff in it.” she said
"Oh really?" I asked, "I thought it was the one with the zipper."
"Well why don't you buy a label-maker and we wont have this problem next time, ok?" She retorted.
"You're a label-maker." I said while digging through bags. "We really ought to organize these better later on."
"Oh shut up and take your clothes off." She said getting ready to get into the water.
"Cold, cold, cold!" Jesse yelped as he ran in wearing just a pair of boxers.
"Ok, fine." I said getting up and taking my clothes off.
"Hun," Liz said sheepishly, "I don't have any shorts. I'll have to go in my underwear."
"Well, I’m skinny dipping."
"What about Jesse?"
"He's old enough, he'll be fine. Besides it'd be funny."
"I don't want to be naked in front of him, it's kind of weird."
"So go take your underwear off underwater."
"Ok that's fine" She said, stripping down to her bra and panties. "you go in front of me" she said embarrassed.
"Hun, it's fine." I reassured her, "Besides I’m positive that you are hands down the hottest woman the kid has ever seen in her underwear."
So we got in the creek, Liz walking behind me as if I were a human shield. It took a few minutes to get used to, but it was so nice to be able to wash my face.
"What are you doing?" Jesse asked shocked as I threw my boxers on the shore.
"Trying to get clean," I said laughing as he turned away when Liz threw her bra as well. "Come on, like you've never seen a naked woman before? Well you can't really see anything but still."
"Well, umm, I.." Jesse stammered.
"You haven't have you?" I said, it was obvious by his reaction.
"So?" he said, his face turning bright red.
"We need to get you a girlfriend." I told him, " There's nothing to be embarrassed about. I didn't have a serious girlfriend until i was a senior in high school."
"Tiffany gave me her number." Jesse said, his face returning to it's normal color.
"Who's that?" I asked
"It's Ralphie's daughter," Liz said, "You know the waitress he was talking to?"
"Oh ok," I said. Honestly I didn't remember what she looked like.
"I wish we had some soap." Jesse said.
"Yeah, that would be nice." I said swimming around a bit.
"OW!" Jesse yelped running toward the shore. "A fish bit me!"
"Bite it back." I yelled after him.
"I oughta pop a cap in it!" he said sitting in the shallows.
"You'd probably miss," I said "either that or the bullet would lose velocity and tickle it."
"I wish we had some fishing poles" Liz said. "Fish would be great for dinner."
"We could try and catch some in a little bit," I told her "See how the banks rise a bit up there?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Well we could probably set up camp in a nook tonight and relax for the rest of the day." I said.
"Oh, god that would be nice." She said smiling.
"Hey Jes, can you grab me one of those short sleeve, button up shirts out of the bag?"
"Sure, what do you need it for?"
"I'm gonna try and catch that fish that was picking on you." I said
"You've got to show me how to do this." He said eagerly as he came back with two shirts in his hand.
"Alright, but keep in mind I’ve never done this before. Tie the sleeves into knots first, make sure they're tight." I said, showing him how to set the shirt up.
"Like this?" he said
"Yeah, that's perfect." I said "Ok so you need to hold it at each end, like you're going to carry something in it."
"I got it"
"No the other way around," I said "Like a bowl almost."
"But how is this going to catch fish?"
"Well you need to stand perfectly still with the shirt under water. When one comes by you need to swoop it forward and around, trapping it in the shirt as you pull it out of the water."
"That doesn't sound like it'll work."
"Well it might not," I told him, "You go upstream about 15 feet and if you miss I can try and catch it on the way down. Maybe we'll get lucky."
"Ok" he said swimming forward. After only a few minutes he saw his first fish. "I've got one coming!"
"Ok, remember don't move until it's right there."
"Fuck, I missed."
Sure enough the fish was almost to me, I missed as well.
"Sneaky little bastards." Liz said laughing at us back on the shore. She had taken a pair of my boxers to wear and was laying down in the sun.
I wasn't so sure my fishing method was going to work. After nearly two hours Jesse was visibly frustrated and ready to give up. I convinced him to give it a few more tries and we'd call it a day.
"Conner!" he said after a few more minutes, "There's a bunch of them, like a school or something."
"Good, you can do it."
"Hell Yea!" he yelled yanking the shirt above water.
"You're losing fish!" I said laughing as two fell out of his makeshift net.
"Crap, crap" He said running to shore.
The fish were headed my way now. I waited patiently, slowly pulling the shirt backward. It was fully opened when I ripped it forward as hard as I could, yanking it and the fish out of the water. The shirt was bulging as I tried to tight it up.
"What do I do with them?" Jesse asked frantically
. We had forgot to get a spot ready to put them.
"Just tie it up and set it down by the bags." I said as I tried to tie my own shirt full of fish.
"Nice birthday suit" Liz said as I got out of the water. I had forgotten to put my boxers back on.
"Nice boxers" I said noticing that was the pair she had put on.
"Aww man, put some clothes on." Jesse said throwing me my pants.
"But I don't want him to" Liz said, "I like him better all naked."
"That's gross."
"Wasn't gross when it was her." I said teasing Jesse, his face getting red again.
"Your boobs are pretty big though."
"I like 'em." Liz said grabbing my chest.
"Ok let's head up stream and set up camp so we can cook some fishies."
We found a great spot probably about a quarter mile up stream. The banks were getting step on each side, some places more than twenty feet. The stream had just turned a corner and snaked again about thirty yards ahead of us. It was as secluded as anyone could hope for. We were able to find a nice dry enclave that was about ten feet back, so we could make our fire out in the open. As Liz and Jesse gathered fire wood, I set up the tarp running it from over hanging roots along the bank's wall.
"Well this is cozy," Liz said when they got back.
"Yeah, soon it'll have the ambiance of fish guts."
"Want me to clean some of these fish while you make the fire?" Jesse asked.
"Yeah, go for it" I said tossing him the fish.
"Do you do that a lot hun?" Liz asked Jesse, who was flaying fish like a chef.
"My Grandparents used to have a sushi restaurant. They taught me how to cut the fish when they let me help out one summer."
“Aren't you Mexican?” She asked
“Only half,” he said “My mom is Japanese.”
"Ok, fire is going." I said walking over to Jesse with a handful of strong sticks. "run these through them and we'll set them across the fire to cook."
"How many did we get?" Liz asked.
"Nine altogether." I replied
"Plus the three of four that got away." Jesse added laughing
"Oh, I checked the GPS while you guys were busy and it's still down." Liz said
"Oh well, at least we found the creek." I said, feeling relieved after finally catching a break.
Dinner was good that night, we only lost one fish in the fire. It was a beautiful night, Liz was cuddled up next to me looking at the stars until we all fell asleep. I woke up around two in the morning wanting to kick myself, because we hadn't set up anyone on guard duty.
I got up and grabbed the goggles, I would watch out since it was already close to morning. Sitting beside the creek on a night like this was very peaceful. It gave one a sense of tranquility, even when in doubt of your own safety.
I was happy to have woken up calmly for once. No nightmares at all, just random meaningless dreams like a normal person has. I sat there enjoying the stars on such a clear night.
As dawn began to break, the sky was streaked blue and red. Birds were singing amidst the towering Cedars and Douglas Firs. I lay looking up as the sun fought to rise against the mammoth tree tops. Trees so large that snow rarely touched the ground in their thick undergrowth. These trees were here before Americans even knew this land existed and were still standing as our country fell into ruin. They would probably be here long after we were gone.
Soon after dawn, Jesse and Liz woke up. We ate the left over fish for breakfast and cleared the campsite. I let Jesse do it this time, he had figured it out pretty well. We then washed down the area where he had gutted the fish and headed up stream. We found our way out of the creek bed at the first opportunity, the terrain was too rugged to walk right next to the stream.
We had been walking for a little over three hours when we started hearing rushing water, much louder than the creek itself. We couldn't see where it was coming from due to the fact that the creek was snaking and turning so often.
"What do you think that is?" Jesse asked
"Could be another larger creek that this one branched off of." Liz said
"That or the water is getting very rough ahead." I replied, "If that's the case we'd have to double back and cross."
"I hope not" Jesse said glumly.
"This whole morning would be a waste, if it is." Liz replied.
As we continued on, the rush was getting louder and louder. The terrain began to incline sharply the closer we got. Soon we turned another corner and saw what the noise was.
"Fuck me running," I said staring at a waterfall that was at least sixty feet high.
"It's going to take all day to find a spot up" Liz said.
"Hand me the GPS." I said
"Oh hey, it's working now." Jesse said as he handed it to me.
As I studied the terrain I realized we had a very big problem.
"Guys, there isn't a way up for about twenty miles either way it looks like."
"What? So we're going to have to head back toward the roads?" Liz asked "Someone will see us for sure."
"Let's sit down and eat while we figure this out" I said, feeling defeated.
As we ate, I examined the rock wall on either side of the waterfall. It looked sturdy enough, even if it didn't have as good of grips as I would have liked.
"I think we're going to have to climb this."
"There's no way" Jesse said, "Look how high it is. How would we get everything up?"
"I'll have to go up first," I said "I'll take all of the rope with me, then once I’m at the top you can tie the bags and I'll pull them up."
"I can't do it, I’ve never climbed anything. I'll fall and break my neck!" he said
"Jesse, you'll be fine." I assured him, "I'll have the rope tied around you to help you up. I'm the only one who needs to worry about falling."
After resting for a while and eating an extra powerbar for energy, I began my climb. It was slow going, having to stop and search for a grip every few feet. I was straining by the time I found a small ledge about half way up. Soaked in sweat and my muscles screaming, I take a short break.
"This is a lot tougher than it looks" I called down.
"Take your time hun, just be careful" Liz called back.
"Don't worry, I will." I said, unsure how safe I could actually be. I knew I needed to mentally pump myself up to make it the remainder. Close to the top would the rock would give way more easily because of the soil. However, it also afforded me more grips because of the roots that broke through here and there.
I would just power through. I needed to fling myself upward or I would be too tired to keep going. There was little possibility I could survive a fall that far. So I found my first grip and began moving up the wall again. Another ten feet up, there were no grips within my reach. I had to move to the side, closer to the waterfall to find more. The climb was becoming much more dangerous, I was now only about fifteen yards from the water. Moss was all over the rocks, making potential handles slippery. I kept moving up, trying to move back away from the waterfall as I went.
Grabbing onto a rock jutting out of the wall, I pulled myself up more. Only another ten feet to go. The rock broke loose, sending me plummeting down. I was clawing frantically trying to grab something, anything. I felt my face scraping as I fell, grabbing wildly like a mad man. Trying to get a hold on the wall before I fell to my death. Finally I gripped something, my left hand slipped again. I was dangling by one hand, nothing below but the forest floor some forty feet away. The pain in my hand and arm was enough to make me want to pass out. My shoulder couldn't have been separated, I would not have been able to hold on. I finally found a grip for my left hand, ready to begin pulling myself up. Liz was yelling something, but I couldn't make it out. My head was throbbing, I could taste blood running into my mouth. I looked at my right arm, it too was covered in blood.
I had to keep moving or I would die.
I had to force myself up, fight through the pain. My right arm was throbbing. I was bleeding from somewhere near my hand and I could feel that the bullet wound had opened back up near my shoulder. I pressed on, trying to get a good look at my hand but I was disoriented. It didn't matter, whatever was bleeding would have to wait until i was safely up top. Another few minutes and I finally reached the top. I took hold of a long root that was weaving in and out of the cliff side and used it to lob myself onto solid ground.
I moved away from the cliff and sat down for a minute. I needed to recuperate before I could pull the bags up. I was finally able to get a good look at my hand. The middle finger was gushing blood, it looked as if not only the finger nail but most of the skin to the middle knuckle had been ripped open. I didn't have anything to stop the bleeding with me, so I took off my shoe and used the sock to wrap my finger.
My face was too tender to tell where the blood was coming from, so I walked over to the edge of the water,to clean off so I could see. The water stung like alcohol on my raw flesh. I was reeling and didn't know if I wanted to vomit or pass out.
Chapter 11