Eden's Legacy (Eden Rising Trilogy Book 3) Page 8

  "Hey," he said feebly. "I think I might need some help."

  "Hi Simon. Are you okay? I don't know if you remember me, but I'm Cat."

  "I do. I'm glad you showed up. I think my arm might be broken."

  "What happened?"

  "My horse slipped and went down, throwing me into this hole. There are a few handholds, but because of my arm, I can't do anything about them. I'm stuck down here."

  "I'll throw you down a rope and tie it to my horse. He can pull you up."

  "I won't be able to tie it around me. My arm is in bad shape."

  "I'll come down." Cat went back to Scooby, put the rifle back in its scabbard and unfastened her rope from the saddle. She didn’t want to tie it to Scooby until she could guide the horse while he pulled Simon up, so instead, she tied it securely to a rock and threw the free end down into the hole. Holding onto the rope, she walked down the side of the hole with ease, ending up next to Simon.

  "You did that so easily," he said in awe. Cat could hear the pain in the quaver of his voice.

  "Your arm really hurts." She said it more as a statement than a question.

  "Excruciating."

  "How long have you been here?" As she talked, she wrapped the rope around his middle and tied it in a secure knot.

  "I don't know. Three or four hours, I guess. If it wasn't for my arm, I wouldn't have minded it so much. Kind of peaceful."

  Cat smiled to herself. It was something she might have said herself.

  She heard a rumble and looked up. The sky had turned black. In the gloom of the hole, she didn't notice the clouds come in. Another rumble, closer this time. Now she saw lightning. She counted. She only got to two when the thunder crashed above them.

  And then the rain came in sheets, soaking them in seconds.

  Simon looked scared, but he tried to maintain a confident air.

  "If it rains hard enough," he joked, "We can float to the top of the hole."

  With the next flash of lightning and the immediate thunder, Cat was suddenly terrified.

  "We have to get out of here fast!"

  "I was kidding about the rain filling the hole."

  "You don't understand," said Cat. "This hole will fill up, and if we don't get out of here, we're both going to drown."

  Simon gave her a puzzled look.

  "We might only have minutes. A flash flood is going to come down this gorge. And when it does, we won't stand a chance!"

  Chapter 11

  A look of comprehension came to Simon's face.

  "You go up first," he said, "and tie it to your horse."

  "If my horse is still there and hasn't been scared off by the lightning." She scrambled up the rope as easily as she had come down. When she got to the top, as she suspected, the two horses were nowhere to be seen. Scooby was loyal, but Cat knew that even the most loyal of horses could scare in a storm of this intensity.

  The rain was coming down so hard now she was having trouble seeing the edge of the hole. How quickly the weather had turned. But she was used to it. Her mom and dad had told her that when the event happened almost a year before she was born, it changed all the weather patterns. Ever since then, violent storms were commonplace.

  She yelled down to Simon, barely hearing her own voice in the downpour. "I'm going to pull you up. Try to step in the notches on your way up. It will help relieve some of the weight."

  Simon nodded and grabbed hold of the rope with his good arm. As Cat pulled, Simon tried to use the uneven cliff face to work his way up. Despite Simon's light body weight and his use of the notches, he was still heavy for Cat. The rain made it particularly difficult. He made it halfway, then slipped on a notch and fell to the ground, the sudden shift in weight being too much for Cat. She fell down, losing hold of the rope. She heard Simon let out a cry from below.

  Cat yelled down to him. "Are you okay?"

  "I'll live."

  "Then let's try it again."

  Simon struggled to his feet and grabbed hold of the rope again, pulling it close to his body. Cat held on with all her might, trying desperately to avoid being pulled into the hole. It took a few tense minutes, but finally, Simon's good arm appeared over the lip and he pulled himself up. Cat abandoned the rope and grabbed Simon by the collar to help him up over the edge. They collapsed in a heap, trying to catch their breath.

  However, the rest was short-lived. Already, water was rushing down the gorge. Six inches deep at the moment, Cat knew it would only be a matter of minutes before they faced the full force of the flood. The horses were nowhere to be seen and Cat could only hope that Scooby had made it back into the forest, well above the gorge.

  Unfortunately, she and Simon would never reach the forest in time. With the speed the gorge was filling with water, the forest was too far away to attempt escape in that direction. Their only hope was the rocky cliff next to the hole. If there were enough handholds and cracks, they could make it safely above the rushing water. Cat wasn't sure how high they'd have to climb, not knowing how high the water would get, but they had to try. Simon's broken arm was going to give them a problem, but they had no choice.

  "Simon," she yelled. "We have to get up this cliff. Do you think you can do it?"

  "I'll do it."

  "Then let's go."

  Already, the powerfully rushing water was knee deep. It was hard for them to keep their balance. They reached the side of the cliff and Cat searched for a way up. Nothing jumped out at her. The rock wall was smoother than it first appeared. She climbed onto a boulder and frantically looked for something—anything—that would get them above the rapidly rising flood waters. She looked down at Simon. The water was to his waist. He was white as a ghost and looked to be ready to pass out from the pain of the broken arm.

  "Grab my hand," she yelled. She knelt down on the boulder and reached out to him. He nodded absently and grabbed her hand. His broken arm now dangled helplessly by his side. Cat pulled and Simon used a smaller rock to help him onto the boulder. For a moment they were safe, but Cat knew it wouldn't last. She didn't know how deep the water would get, but knew they weren't high enough. She looked up and immediately saw what she was searching for—a ledge!

  It was about twenty feet up. It would be high enough, but getting there would be a problem. Or not. Deep within the recesses of the cliff, she saw the way up. It was in the shadows, which is why she hadn’t seen it before. It was a natural staircase that led to the ledge. It would still require much care, but if they took it slowly, they might just make it before the water—which was already to the top of the boulder—overtook them.

  "Take my hand and follow me," she said to Simon. She could see that he was in serious danger of passing out. She just needed him to stay awake long enough to make it to the ledge. There was no way she could get him up there without his help. Simon seemed to sense the importance of staying conscious and shook his head, as if to wake himself up.

  It worked. He looked at her, clear-eyed, and said, "I'm ready. I can do this."

  The water level kept pace with every upward step they took, so they constantly fought the power of the water. It took them five minutes before they were above the water level, and another five to reach the ledge. Simon passed out as soon as they were safe. Cat admired his self-control. The climb wasn't easy for him in his condition, yet somehow he had willed himself to stay conscious.

  The water level was about five feet below the ledge and seemed to have peaked. Cat looked around. Through the pelting rain, she could make out the two horses in the forest on the other side of the gorge, well above the water level. They were safe.

  Cat was freezing. She was soaked to the skin. She moved over to the unconscious Simon and snuggled close to him, being careful of his arm. She knew about hypothermia. The closer they could get, the better chance they had of staying warm.

  She fell asleep by his side.

  *****

  She awoke to sunshine. The water was still flowing steadily, although the level had dropped consi
derably, but she was now being treated to the warm rays of the sun. She was shivering from the cold and wet, but knew the sun would soon take the chill away. The ledge was sheltered from the breeze, maximizing the full effects of the sun.

  Simon was still unconscious, but he was breathing. Cat took another look at him. He didn't seem close to waking. He probably needed the sleep, but she was worried about his wet clothes. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything she could do about Simon. She could get dry herself, though. She just had to take off her clothes and lay them out in the sun. It would also give the sun the chance to get warmth directly into her chilled body. She glanced again at the sleeping Simon. He needed his wet clothes taken off. Cat tried to wake him up, but when he didn't respond, she gave up. She wasn't sure what else she could do to help him. Simon was facing away from her. Cat peeled off her jacket, shirt, and t-shirt and laid them out in the sun. Then she took off her boots, socks, pants, and—hesitating at first—her underwear.

  Suddenly, all of the feelings of desire she had been having bubbled to the surface. It was exciting! Exciting and a little dangerous. What if Simon woke up and saw her? A year ago, she could have stripped without giving it a second thought. You do what you have to do, and if that was what she had to do to avoid hypothermia, she wouldn't have hesitated. It wouldn't have mattered who was around. It was the logical thing to do. Her mother would have disapproved though. She would have said it was inappropriate to take off her clothes in front of others—especially boys. Cat had never understood that thinking. You do what you have to do to survive. Animals understood that.

  But it was different now. She pulled her knees up to her body and hugged them—embarrassed by her feelings. After a few moments though, it was clear that Simon wasn't going to wake up any time soon, so she slowly relaxed and laid flat to let the sun's rays catch her. Already, she could feel the sun at work warming her body. She fell asleep again.

  She awoke with a start. Simon was stirring. Cat quickly scooped up her underwear, pants and t-shirt and put them on, leaving the rest of her clothes on the ledge to continue drying. The clothes she put on were damp, but better than they had been earlier.

  Simon sat up, still facing away. When he turned toward her, he looked first in her face before looking around at the surroundings. It was almost as if … and it hit her. He wasn't just now waking up. He had already woken up and had seen her there naked! He was just being polite, making the "waking up noise" to warn her. How long had he been awake? How long had he been looking at her? Another wave of excitement shot through her, then a sense of appreciation for the way he had handled it.

  "You might want to take your shirt off to dry," she said. She stumbled badly trying to get the sentence out. She almost said "shirt and pants." While it was logical that he should take off his pants to dry, she couldn't come out and say it.

  Simon tried to take off his jacket, but cried out when he moved his bad arm. Cat scrambled to her feet to help him. Together, they took off his jacket, then unbuttoned his shirt and slipped it off. She laid them out next to her own clothes. Simon sat down in obvious pain. Cat looked at his arm. His forearm had a bump in it and had turned black and blue. There was nothing she could do until the waters receded and she could get to Scooby. She had a first-aid kit in her saddlebags. Using some string from the kit and a piece of wood from the forest, she could splint the arm.

  Cat sat across from Simon and couldn't help but to stare at his upper body. He was skinny … so skinny. His arms were thin and his chest was almost sunken. He caught her looking at him and quickly picked up his shirt with his good arm and covered himself.

  Cat recovered and gave him a smile. "I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to stare."

  He slowly put his shirt back on the rock, but was clearly self-conscious now.

  "Why are you so skinny?"

  Cat's mom and dad had often warned her about being so direct, that sometimes it made people uncomfortable. But she didn't understand that. If you had a question, what was wrong with asking it?

  But this time she had hit a nerve and she regretted her directness. Simon was looking away. When he turned back toward her, she saw tears in his eyes.

  "Are you going to laugh too?"

  She cocked her head. "Why would I laugh?"

  "It's okay. I'm used to it."

  And then she understood. She had seen some of the kids at school making fun of other kids for stupid reasons—reasons that didn't make sense to her. A skinny boy would probably get teased a lot. Maybe he was teased where he lived before.

  "I'm sorry. Sometimes I ask questions I shouldn't ask. But I'm really just curious. I don't mean anything by it."

  "Are you serious?"

  "I'm always serious. My mom says I'm too serious. I can't help it. You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

  "No, that's okay. I don't mind."

  Before starting his story he adjusted his position against the rock to make himself more comfortable—a losing effort.

  "I was sick. I was born sick. My mom and dad say I almost died. Where I lived before, we didn't have a doctor, so nobody knows what made me sick or what I had. My parents just did the best they could. We lived in a place that got really cold in the winter, with a lot of snow. It wasn't good for my health and my parents wanted to move further south, but I was just wasn’t well enough. I know it was really hard on my parents."

  "Did you have to stay in the house? Did you go to school?"

  "My mom taught me at home. In the warm weather I could go outside, but I couldn't really do anything. I could walk, but not much else. I just didn't have the strength. I couldn't play with the other kids, so I had no friends."

  "What did you do?"

  "I spent a lot of time in the woods. I read. I watched the birds, squirrels, foxes, and other animals."

  Cat could relate, and told him so.

  "I love nature," he said. "It's so quiet and peaceful." He lowered his voice. "I like animals better than people."

  Cat nodded in response, waiting for him to finish his story.

  "Three years ago I started to get better. I wasn't as healthy as other kids, but my parents thought it was time for me to go to school. I know they meant well, but I hated it. I still couldn't do everything the other kids could do, and they knew it. They made fun of me." He tailed off.

  "Why do they do that?" asked Cat. "My mom and dad told me that in the old world people were often mean to each other. They don't understand it when people are mean now. They say that in the new world, there should be no place for it."

  "I wish."

  "I know. Some of the kids here can be bullies. I stay away from them."

  Simon chuckled. "I bet they stay away from you. I wouldn't want to mess with you." He got serious. "So I can expect the same thing from the kids here." It was said as a statement.

  Cat stared at him, deep in thought. Simon, not sure of the meaning behind the stare, finally looked away.

  "Can you shoot?" Cat asked.

  "Why? You want me to shoot someone?"

  But Cat's serious side had kicked in and she didn't get the joke. She waited for the answer.

  "A little bit. My dad tried to teach me. Early on, I was just too weak, but as I got stronger, my dad admitted that he wasn't very good himself. He did his best. He's a big guy and can do a lot of things, but he's not very good with guns. He's trying to help me build my strength, but he says it's going to take a while. He says that because of my illness, I'm just behind others. Of course, my broken arm will slow that down."

  "We have a month before school starts," Cat said. "I can't help you with your strength, but I can teach you to shoot. By the time school starts, you'll be better than any of them when it comes to shooting a pistol. I'll teach you shoot it one-handed. And when your arm is better, I'll teach you the rifle. I'll even teach you the crossbow, if you want."

  "How do you know I'll be better than the others?"

  "Because I'm better than any of them."

  Simon w
atched her eyes and her face. She wasn't kidding. But she also wasn't bragging. In the very short time he had known her, he realized that she was very simple in her approach to life. She told it like it was. He doubted she was capable of bragging or of lying. Her outlook on life had been heavily influenced by the animal kingdom.

  "Okay," he said. "You've got a deal."

  And the friendship between Cat and Simon was born.

  Chapter 12

  From that point on, Cat and Simon were inseparable. Their shared love of nature had them exploring areas of Yellowstone Cat hadn't found on her own. Since Cat and Simon had both grown up as loners, both sets of parents were relieved that their children had each found a close friend in the other.

  The first couple of months of their friendship were spent impatiently waiting for Simon's broken arm to heal. The town's doctor had set it and made a cast for it, so extra care had to be taken in most areas, such as horseback riding. Simon's father gave him a pistol to practice with, once Ben and Lila assured him that Cat knew what she was doing and would make an excellent teacher. Simon spent hours practicing shooting one-handed, and by the time school started, he was quite proficient.

  Maybe it was spending time with Cat, or maybe Simon was naturally developing his own sense of confidence. Whatever the reason, their fears of Simon being bullied by the other kids were unfounded. He was well-liked from the start and was seen as Cat's counterpart. It became obvious to the other teens that Cat and Simon, although liked and respected, were both a bit different. They all knew that Cat was unusual in her loner preference, and now to find someone almost just like her was viewed by the others with amusement.

  But Cat and Simon weren't exactly alike, which might have been why they connected so easily. They liked the same things, but were different in approach. Cat, having spent her early years with animals as her only friends, saw herself as not much different than the animals she observed and interacted with on a daily basis. As such, she was direct in her speech and saw little need for tact, despite being kind and thoughtful in her own way. Simon, on the other hand, had always observed nature from afar, either from his bedroom or from his perch in the yard. His friends were books—novels, animal guidebooks, books of history, self-help books—anything that struck a chord with him. As such, Simon related more to people—despite spending little time around them due to his physical condition.