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| THE HEART HAS WINGS I BY MARY CATHERINE |
CHAPTER 7 |
Taking up a flashlight, she clicked it on and aimed it at the thrashing figure next to her. Todd was covered with a sheen of sweat, although the early morning air was still very chilly. He was shaking his head back and forth, moaning and muttering as his limbs involuntarily jerked. Téa gritted her teeth as she looked at him, determined to refrain from the tears that had threatened to overwhelm her so many times during the interminable night. Lifting one of Todd’s eyelids, she saw only the white of his eye. She tried speaking to him and lightly tapping his face, but had no success in rousing him out of unconsciousness.
When the tiny scorpion had first stung him the night before, Téa had been shocked by the extent of Todd’s panic. He was convinced from the first that the tiny arachnid had dealt him a deathblow. His travels in Mexico had made him aware of the dangerous sting of certain scorpions, with the smaller ones being the most venomous. Fatalities were rare, he had told her in the brief moments before he succumbed to the convulsions that had wracked his body mercilessly. But that was only because of the development of antivenins—something they were pitifully lacking in their desert isolation.
As Téa begged him to fight the poison he felt creeping through his veins, Todd had quickly informed her where to find his latest will, and had instructed her on the use of the GPS so she could find her own way out of the desert. She had been horrified at the speed the venom had overtaken him. Within minutes he went into anaphylactic shock, and began having trouble breathing. As he lay wheezing in the sand, the convulsions had started. Wracking her brain to remember basic first aide, Téa had put a stick between his teeth to prevent him from swallowing his tongue. She held him down by the shoulders during the worst of the tremors in an attempt to keep him from hurting himself as he thrashed around in the throes of a convulsion. After several hours, the spasms had become less frequent, but every breath from his body seemed like it took enormous effort. Téa couldn’t help wondering how much more Todd could withstand before he started to give out.
Although she was deeply fearful that Todd was correct about his chances for survival, Téa refused to give up hope. During the dark hours of the night she had stayed at his side, alternating between tearful supplications to the almighty and angry curses at the fates. Above all, she had spoken soothing words to the sick man, telling him stories about his daughter Starr, his sister Viki, and anyone else she felt might inspire him to keep body and soul together. In the cold hours of the early morning, Todd’s condition had seemed to at least stabilize a bit as he subsided into unconscious whimpering and involuntary muscle spasms. His pulse was weak, but it didn’t seem to be getting any worse, and his breathing seemed somewhat easier. Only then had Téa allowed herself a few minutes of sleep. Todd kept waking her with his thrashing and moaning, leaving her utterly exhausted.
As she watched the dawn breaking over the mountains, she was filled with new fears. Obviously, Todd was in no condition to travel. They had only a small amount of water left—only a day’s worth, he had said. If she didn’t ration the water carefully, there wouldn’t be enough left to see them out of the desert. She thought about trying to get out on her own and coming back with help, but she instinctively knew that Todd wouldn’t survive more than an hour without her constant ministrations. But he might already be beyond help. By staying, she could be signing her own death warrant.
Reaching out a shaky hand, she smoothed his tangled hair away from his face, cooing softly to him, begging him to heal. She smiled as his face became slowly visible in the morning light, although she was blinking back tears as she saw how pale and drawn he looked. “I won’t leave you, Querido,” she said softly. Deep within her soul, she knew it was true. Live or die, they were going to do it together.
Determined to fight for both of them to survive, Téa forced herself to eat a piece of the dried iguana meat they had preserved the night before. Although it still tasted foul, she knew she would need her strength to get through the ordeal ahead. While it was still cool, she cut some long branches of mesquite and drove them into the sand near Todd. Then she carefully draped the old sleeping bag over the sticks, forming a crude sun shelter. She smoothed out the serape under Todd, pulling up enough slack to create a space for her to recline at his side. She partially buried their precious stores of water in a shady spot under the shelter, hoping to keep it as cool as possible during the blazing heat of the day. After trying to rouse Todd once more with no success, she stretched out next to him and again attempted to get a little rest.
She woke up a couple of hours later, drenched in sweat. It was so hot, she was having trouble breathing. She quickly checked Todd’s condition, noting that he was also perspiring profusely. He continued to jerk involuntarily, but the muttering seemed to have subsided. She hoped that it meant the power of the venom was waning, instead of proving to be a sign that Todd’s strength was giving out. He again failed to respond to her attempts to awaken him. Sitting up carefully to avoid disturbing the shelter, Téa rubbed her temples, clenching her forehead in pain. It was a dehydration headache, she knew. Pulling out one of the remaining bottles of water, she took a few swallows of the tepid liquid, savoring it. Todd would need water too, she thought as she looked at his sweating body. But you weren’t supposed to give liquids to an unconscious person. Knowing that dehydration was probably a bigger problem than choking at the moment, she propped his head up with one hand, and held the water bottle to his lips. She got a few mouthfuls into him, but spilled some too.
As she looked at Todd, she realized she could keep him cooler if she removed his clothes, since he was protected from sunburn. She knew he would hate to be exposed, but she had to try everything in her power to keep him alive. Supporting his dead weight, she lifted him to a sitting position and pulled his T-shirt over his head. Laying him back down, she unfastened his jeans and pulled them over his hips. After getting him stripped to his briefs, she couldn’t help taking a long moment to examine his body. She had never seen him without his clothes and she indulged her curiosity, noting his many scars and his tattoo, which she had never seen before. Using the T-shirt, she fanned him for a while. She knew a sponge bath would help, but she didn’t dare use any of the precious water. After a while, she stretched out again. Eventually, she dozed off.
She awoke in the heat of the afternoon, feeling so hot she didn’t think it would be possible to survive. Groggy, she fumbled for the water bottle, allowing herself a tiny sip to soothe her parched throat. Glancing over at Todd, she suddenly sat bolt upright. Something was terribly wrong. He lay deathly still, the jerking having stopped. There wasn’t the slightest sound coming from him, not even the whisper of a breath. And his face, which had been clenched in pain for so long, seemed peaceful and relaxed.
“No!” shouted Téa with a cry torn from her soul. “No! You can’t leave me, Todd!” She collapsed on his chest, sobbing her heart out. “Don’t be dead, Todd,” she begged. “It can’t end this way!” At the end of her rope emotionally, she continued to sob, saying, “I love you,” over and over. After a long time, she didn’t have any more tears to cry. “I want to die,” she said out loud. Distraught, she didn’t feel the barely perceptible touch of a hand weakly stroking her hair.
“Don’t die, Delgado,” Todd’s voice croaked out. “I love you.” Startled, Téa pushed to her knees. Todd hadn’t moved. Maybe she was dreaming. Very slowly, his tongue emerged from his mouth and licked along his parched lips.
A scream of joy ripped from Téa. “You’re alive! Oh Todd, you’re alive!” She flung herself along side of him, covering his face with kisses.
“I’m thirsty,” he managed to croak out. Téa couldn’t get to the water bottle fast enough as she fumbled with the top, lifting his weak body so he could take a few sips of liquid. He settled back on the blanket, and Téa used his T-shirt to wipe away his sweat. Weakly, he reached for her hand, holding it as he dropped off to sleep again. This time, Téa could see his chest rising and falling shallowly. She propped her head on her elbow, taking immense joy in just watching him sleep.
It was almost nightfall before he awoke again. Téa had gathered some wood and was attempting to light a fire when she heard him call for her. Immediately, she crawled into the shelter, beaming with pleasure when she saw his gorgeous hazel eyes staring up at her. “Where are my clothes?” he asked with a hint of anger. Téa couldn’t help laughing.
“They’re right here, Todd. We’ll get you dressed as soon as it gets a little cooler, OK?”
“Just make sure to shake the scorpions out first,” he said in a groggy voice, causing Téa to chuckle.
“Are you hungry? We have dried iguana and…more dried iguana,” she said playfully. He made a face.
“If the scorpion didn’t kill me, that iguana meat will,” he said, barely moving. She helped him take a drink. He wanted to try sitting up, and she managed to get him up by sitting behind him and supporting the weight of his body. “How long have I been out?” he asked, sounding tired.
“Almost 24 hours,” she said. She heard him draw his breath in sharply.
“How much water do we have?” he asked, his voice catching in his throat.
“About a liter,” she said, stretching the truth.
“Damn! You should have left me here, Delgado! There’s no way we’ll both make it now, especially with my foot like this.” He pointed to his injured appendage, which was swollen to twice its usual size by the scorpion venom.
“We’ll make it, Todd, both of us. We haven’t survived all these trials only to lose the battle now. So shut up, because I’m not going to leave you.”
“I wish I could fight you, but I don’t have the strength,” he said with a sigh. After helping him dress, Téa laid him gently back down on the blanket. Since the sun had now set, she took down the shelter and shook out the blanket carefully. They both managed to nibble a little more iguana jerky before settling down to sleep.
Téa snuggled against Todd, taking pleasure in feeling his heart beat beneath her ear. “Todd?” she asked quietly, waiting to hear if he was still awake. She knew he needed his rest, but she wanted to talk. A grunt told her he might not be too responsive. Undaunted, she continued. “Do you remember what you said to me when you woke up this afternoon?” She felt his breath catch.
“Yeah,” he said quietly. “I said I love you.”
“Did you mean it?”
“Yeah.”
Realizing that she wasn’t going to get anything more out of him, she held him close. They were lost in the middle of the desert and about to run out of water, but she had never been happier in her life.
