She was strong. The years of working in the fields around the compound must have done it. She was like a true slave, a field hand, with no rights but plenty of lean muscle. She supported Steve with one arm as they made their way up the hillside.
Mercifully, the highway was only about fifty yards away. It felt like a couple of football fields to Steve. But they made it, finally standing on the shoulder of the mountain road.
It was getting dark. “Now what?” Steve asked.
“Quickly,” Bethany said. “We have to get across.”
“And then what?”
“Come along.”
His left leg almost totally useless now, Steve managed to limp halfway across the road with her left arm around his waist. He paused in the middle. “How far do we have to go?”
“A little way.”
“Are you sure?”
“Come on.”
“Wait. Just a sec — ” He heard the sound of an oncoming car.
“Quickly!” Bethany pulled him forward. He almost fell. They were on a curve, so the noise came from around a bend. Which one he didn’t know. How far away he had no idea. He hopped along to keep up with his improbable protector.
“We have to get down,” Bethany said.
Down in what?
The car was louder now. His brain calculated thirty, maybe twenty seconds until it came to where they stood on a small shoulder before more mountain.
“Here!” Bethany pulled at him, and he fell forward on top of her, as she sat like a human pillow on the ground. She rolled and he went with her, so they to were face-to-face on their sides.
“Keep still,” Bethany whispered.
He wasn’t exactly going anywhere.
The car came around from the direction behind Bethany. A good thing, as the curve of the road extended away from them in a horseshoe.
Hopefully the driver would keep his eyes on the road.
The car slowed, almost cutting the engine.
They’ve seen us.
Bethany had her hand on the side of his head and pressed down.
The car slowed even more.
The car gunned and moved on.
It had only slowed for a treacherous turn.
“Come on.” Bethany helped him to his feet. “It’s not far.”
“What’s not far?”
“It.”
It was not much more than a glorified lean-to some two hundred yards into the woods, just big enough for them both. If Bethany hadn’t told him what it was he would have missed it. It was camouflaged by brush.
“I have some water,” Bethany said. “I can wash your leg.”
“Not exactly the Mayo Clinic,” Steve said. “But I’ll take it. How did you happen — ”
“Inside. Quickly.”
He was able to stretch out completely on top of an old sleeping bag. Bethany took up a flashlight and illumined the inside. Steve saw another rolled-up bag and a couple of plastic gallon jugs of water. Three brown shopping bags hugged the lean-to wall.
Bethany set the flashlight on the ground, reached into one of the bags. “Can you rip your pant leg?” she said.
“I’ll give it a shot.”
“Here.” Her hand reached to him. In it was a knife. With a six-inch blade.
“My my,” Steve said.
“Go on.”
Steve didn’t give it a second thought. She was his rescuer, his nurse. And she had a knife. He’d do what she said.
He cut the pant leg open. Cold air hit the wound. He couldn’t see it clearly but felt that some blood still flowed.
Bethany reached into one of the paper bags and came out with something, looked like a wadded shirt. She opened one of the jugs of water and doused the material. She began washing the leg.
It was scraping work, but Steve took it gratefully. If nothing else this would buy him some time. Now the only little task was getting to a real doctor.
And after that, getting stitched up and figuring out how to bring the LaSalles into flaming death.
“Does it hurt?” Bethany asked as she swiped the leg some more.
“It’s numbing up,” Steve said.
“We just need to make it through the night.”
“Sounds like a country song.”
“Huh?”
“Country song. You like country songs?”
“We don’t have those.”
“Ah. Eldon doesn’t like ’em, I suppose.”
Bethany said nothing.
“They have the best titles,” Steve said. “Like, ‘You Stole My Wife, You Dirty Horse Thief.’ ”
In the dimness Bethany smiled.
“And, ‘If Your Phone Ain’t Ringin’, It’s Me.’ ”
Bethany laughed.
“That’s the ticket,” Steve said.
She grew silent. Then began to cry, softly at first.
Steve made himself sit up. She was kneeling at his side. He put his arms around her and pulled her to him, held her against his chest.
“I’m scared,” she said.
“I know.”