They were coming, I explained to Aaron and Sierra. The bad men were preparing to converge on our little sanctuary. The cave was no longer safe.
I knew it was now or never.
“Okay. We can do this,” said Aaron.
“Me, too,” said Sierra.
Within minutes I’d gathered up my two ambassadors to begin the hobble. We each drank from the canteen. Getting Aaron to his feet was more about courage than muscle. He seemed about ten terrifying pounds lighter than when I last saw him. He barely stood upright, even with my support. Sierra could topple him just by tugging on his sleeve.
“We have only one shot at this,” I began my speech. “We have to get their car.”
He didn’t respond.
I continued. “Clay Hobson. We have to get the SUV he was in. I’m guessing they parked somewhere on the stretch of road above our wreck. If it’s still there, it’s our one chance.”
I glanced at his face. I had already composed the rebuttal to his upcoming rebuttal.
“Believe me, I looked,” I said. “I looked for a random car, for a cop, a hiker, pay phone, a wad of promising trash. Anything. Any hope. I tried the roads. I tried to get to 89, but Clay blocked the way.”
Aaron’s face was unmoved. I don’t know if it was stoicism or loss of blood, but his reaction was as calm as could be expected.
“You’ve gotta get to the SUV. If you follow the river upstream past where we crashed, there’s a steep grade leading up to where we went off the highway. It’s going to be a tough climb, but it’s our only chance.”
“If my wife wants me to climb…” he said with a smile, “then, ladies and gentlemen, I’m climbing.”
Sierra was walking alongside us. She would normally get carried by him across terrain like this. But Aaron wouldn’t have enough strength. So I crouched down to be eye level with my new lieutenant.
“Hey little koala, how are you and your cute paws?”
“Okay,” said Sierra.
“Thank you for being a good nurse. Now I’m going to promote you to Minister of Security and Transportation. Can you handle that job?”
“Okay.”
I looked up at Aaron and smiled at him.
His voice was undeniably grim. “You’re not coming with us, are you?” I could hear him trying to hide his concern.
I felt so sorry for them.
“I’ve mulled it over a thousand ways,” I replied. “This is the only one that has a chance.”
“Your Transport Minister doesn’t approve,” he joked. Half joking.
Sierra looked up at him and then over at me. She’s the world’s feistiest four-year-old, but you’d never guess it here. She seemed to sense the intensity of the situation even through our veiled updates.
I kissed her and stood up. As much as I hated to part ways, I turned around and started my journey.
“Wait,” said Aaron. “Why head to the SUV if we can’t even unlock the door?”
I knew my answer would lead to more questions and none of us had the time, nor the blood sugar for it, so I replied without turning back. “Because I’m gonna go get the keys.”