Chapter 51

Poppy followed behind Matt as they staggered through the endless sand past rock formations and cacti, the wind, which had started to pick up, whistling and gusting. Poppy had brought along a neck scarf which she used to mask her face from the grit and dust. Her mouth was dry, she felt light-headed, no doubt from dehydration, and as far as the eye could see, there was nothing ahead of them but cracked land, crumbling rock, and mountains in the far distance that never seemed to get any closer. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could go on, and began contemplating a scenario where she would find some cover behind a rock where she could find respite from the harsh sunlight and rest awhile, allowing Matt to continue on ahead to seek help unencumbered by her. She had not reached that desperate point yet, but she was getting awfully close.

Her impractical shoes were not designed for desert trekking and her ankles throbbed with pain, but taking them off and walking barefoot was not an option because the dry baked earth would sear the soles of her feet.

The cutting wind suddenly picked up speed, battering them relentlessly. Poppy stumbled and fell to the ground, covered in dust, and licked her cracked lips to try to moisten them, even a little bit. Through the blinding sandstorm, she could see Matt running back to get her, grabbing her hand, hauling her to her feet, then leading her forward until they reached a large rock near what looked like a dry creek, circling around it and ducking down together.

Matt huddled with Poppy, grabbing ahold of her scarf, which looked like it might loosen and fly away from her face, holding it in place to protect her. They crouched next to each other, clinging to each other for what felt like hours, but was only a few minutes until the sandstorm subsided and there was a heavy silence.

“Sit tight, I’ll be right back,” Matt said, standing up and circling back around the rock.

Poppy closed her eyes and her head drooped forward. She pretended she was back in her brand-new house cooking Sam dinner. She was grateful that the shadow of the rock was at least offering some shelter from the unrelenting rays of the sun. She was sitting quietly, meditating, trying hard to focus on the task at hand, surviving this journey, when she heard a strange sound.

A rattling.

Poppy froze, holding her breath.

She opened her eyes and found herself face-to-face with a long, thick rattlesnake, only inches from her feet. Its triangular head raised, its catlike pupils locked on Poppy, the brown-, gray-, and rust-colored scales curled up, the end of the tail vibrating with a stark warning. Poppy stifled a scream, trying not to move a muscle, hoping the snake might just slither around her and go on its merry way. But the rattler had already identified Poppy as a threat and was rearing back to strike. She knew if the snake bit her with its poisonous fangs all the way out in the middle of nowhere, she would be a goner.

The snake sprang forward and Poppy cried out in shock, shutting her eyes, fearing the worst. But then, in a split second, she heard a loud pop. And all was quiet again. The rattling sound had stopped. She opened her eyes to see the snake’s carcass splayed in front of her, mere inches from her right foot. Matt was a few feet away, gripping Timothy’s Glock pistol.

“When I went back into the trailer to find us some water, I figured it would be a good idea to bring the kid’s gun along just in case,” Matt said.

Poppy could barely speak her mouth was so dry, but she managed to get out a sincere “Thank you.”

“The sandstorm pretty much erased the tire tracks so we no longer know which way is the main road,” Matt said, frowning. “But our best bet is to follow the sun in the west and hope it takes us to some kind of road where we can flag down a car.”

Poppy nodded and climbed to her feet as Matt gently took her by the elbow to steady her, and they continued walking. Another hour passed as they slogged through the dirt and sand. Several times Poppy resisted the urge to ask Matt if they could stop and rest, maybe wait until the sun set and the high temperatures began to drop. But stuck out in the desert in the middle of night with all kinds of wild animals was not exactly a preferred option.

The only choice was to plow ahead.

Poppy’s ears perked up at a faint sound.

Was it another snake?

She scanned the ground around her fearfully, but there was nothing.

“Do you hear that?” Matt asked.

“Yes, what is it?”

Matt shook his head. “I don’t know.”

The sound grew in volume.

It wasn’t a rattling, but more like a chopping.

Whup. Whup. Whup.

Matt pointed at something in the sky.

It was dark and blurry, but Poppy thought it might be a bird of some kind. Or a desert illusion. After all, she was feeling faint from lack of water and might just be hallucinating. But Matt saw it, too, and then he frantically began waving his arms, trying to catch its attention.

Poppy rubbed her eyes and the image finally came into focus. It was a helicopter. For a moment, Poppy thought the chopper was going to fly overhead, oblivious to them, but then after passing them, it descended from the sky and landed on the flat desert surface a few hundred feet away from them.

Matt bolted forward, still flapping his arms as if he couldn’t believe the pilot had spotted them. Poppy followed as fast as she could in her weakened state.

She saw Roy Heller jump out of the helicopter followed by Iris and Violet. Matt gratefully pumped Roy’s hand as Iris and Violet joyfully raced over to Poppy, pulling her into a group hug as Poppy sobbed, so grateful to have made it out of this ordeal alive.

Finally, they broke apart.

“We were out for a joyride and saw your dressing-room trailer on its side from way up in the air, and thought you had been killed in a terrible accident. We were so panicked. Roy landed the helicopter, and that’s when we found Timothy barely conscious, and surmised what had happened,” Iris explained.

“Oh, Poppy, we were so worried!” Violet cried. “But Roy was confident all along that we would find you.”

Roy pushed past them and enveloped Poppy in an unexpected hug. “Actually I had my brave face on. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little concerned. I’m happy to see you alive, gorgeous.” He reached in to kiss her. Poppy instinctively turned her head and his lips landed squarely on her cheek.

Iris’s face blanched, but she remained uncharacteristically quiet.

Roy stepped back. “Sorry, too forward?”

Poppy nodded with an apologetic smile.

“She’s got a fella waiting for her at home,” Matt said.

“I see,” Roy said. “Well, let’s not keep him waiting.”

He gently put an arm around Poppy and escorted her back toward the helicopter with Matt leading the way and Iris and Violet falling in behind them.

“Is he better-looking than me?” Roy joked.

“I’m not answering that,” Poppy sighed.

Then Roy got serious. “Do you love him?”

Poppy thought about it.

“Yes, yes I do.”

It was the first time she had admitted it out loud to anyone, and it felt good.

It felt right.