Can't Run (Danger and Desire Book 1) (11 page)

For the night -- tho' clear -- shall frown --

And the stars shall look not down,

From their high thrones in the Heaven,

With light like Hope to mortals given --

But their red orbs, without beam,

To thy weariness shall seem

As a burning and a fever

Which would cling to thee forever... –
Edgar Allan Poe

Sara woke up being cradled by Eric. His face was corrupted with concern as he looked upon Sara’s groggy eyes. She reached up and ran her fingers over the stress lines around his eyes and the creases of his frown.

“Eric,” her voice was full of concern as she looked into his eyes, “Eric, tell me what’s wrong.”

“I promised to protect you,” he said, his voice breaking, “How is this protecting you?”

“I would have been raped if it weren’t for you,” Sara breathed, “maybe… probably even dead.”

“If I had done my job properly, none of this would have happened.”

Sara looked up at him, so small, so full of shame.

“No,” Sara said, “You should know me by now, I’m strong headed and you would have never been able to stop me from doing any of this.”

He looked around, “We need to find water and get going before they find us.”

Sara nodded, “Okay, I’m ready when you are.”

He nodded quietly.

“Enough of this,” Sara demanded, sitting up, “No more sulking, you need to stop! You mean too much to me, and it’s hurting me to see you like this. Please, stop blaming yourself none of this is your fault.”

Eric rested his forehead against hers, “I’d die before letting anything happen to you,” he breathed, “You’re everything to me, Sara.”

Tears rested in her eyes threatening to stream down her face, she was touched. Her heart pounded heavily in her chest as he lifted her to her feet and kissed her deeply. She pulled back and stared at him for a moment, the worry hadn’t left his eyes but he had a new expression in the mix. Adoration.

~

They moved at a quick pace, still covered in dried mud, Sara hoped that they had somehow confused the hounds scent by wading in the water and using the mud over, they certainly had not heard them since the previous day. She was too afraid to hope, but, she felt more confident about avoiding them.

Eric, however, seemed less confident, more fearful, and significantly more protective. He appeared to be in a constant state of worry, forcing Sara to have extra water breaks, and continuously checking on her. His concern for her was causing Sara to worry, she was afraid that he wasn’t concentrating on their surroundings. He wasn’t paying attention to his own safety and that was no good.  

All they had eaten since they had fled the village was fruit including pineapple, passion fruit and lots and lots of Cajá. They also resorted to getting their protein through eating creepy crawlies since Eric didn’t want to attract attention by lighting a fire which would be essential to cook any meat they found.

The bugs she ate weren’t all terrible, especially when considering just how absolutely starving she was. It had only been days since they had escaped the men with the dogs and her stomach was already starting to look concaved and she was sure, after feeling her face, that she was looking completely emaciated.

She wasn’t sure how they would survive much longer unless they made camp and began hunting and cooking food. She knew that she couldn’t survive without him. It was already hard enough and he was carrying her through.

Eric had realized that Sara’s survival chances would greatly decrease without him and he focused on trying to teach her things to avoid in the environment. She picked up on his rules for survival pretty quickly. She learned to avoid plants with white or yellow berries, most of these are extremely poisonous. Avoid mushrooms, while some are safe to eat, many are highly toxic and may be deadly, so it's not worth the risk. Plants with thorns, soapy or bitter tasting plants, those with leaves in groups of three, plants with umbrella-shaped flowers, or shiny leaves are all too risky to try to eat and can result in death. She learned to avoid anything that smelled almond… she could have probably written a book on what not to eat in the rainforest.

She had also felt that she was becoming a bug connoisseur, she had eaten her fair share of worms, grubs and termites. These bugs were absolutely everywhere were a great protein source, definitely providing more energy. Beetles were filling but had a taste and texture that made Sara gag when trying to chew and swallow. The first night on after running out of the village, Eric put together a feast of beetles. Sara spent the night squatting against a tree. She was so absolutely ill. However, she had also learned to stay clear of insects that are extremely pungent, brightly colored insects, hairy critters or bugs that bite or sting. Eric had explained that these were all trouble and one slip up could be life or death.

Even with their steady diet of fruit and bugs they were easily burning far more calories than they were consuming. Although Eric was still extremely muscular, he was looking significantly thinner than he had been when they had met. It definitely worried her.

Their sleeping routine had developed into one of tenderness. Not only had their way of holding each other closely in their sleep kept them warm throughout the surprisingly cold night, it had also brought them closer.

Sara knew that it was too soon to be feeling exactly what she was, but she couldn’t help but realize that she was falling in love with him… she couldn’t help but realize that she was certain with every fiber of her being that she loved him. She knew, even if he didn’t say it, that he loved her back. They had been forced to know each other in ways that most couples would take months or years even to get to know. She feared that they wouldn’t make it out of the jungle, but in spite of it all she was with the only person that she could imagine herself surviving with. The only person she wanted to be with. And in the end, a small part of her was so absolutely happy.

              ~

Although she absolutely loved waking up in the mornings wrapped in Eric’s arms Sara was becoming sick and tired of being in the the tree labyrinth. Once a total nature lover, she had definitely grown exhausted of the tree after tree, tripping on roots, and the endless variety of bugs and spiders that buzzed and bit. She had vowed to herself that she would personally wage war against mosquitos once she got home. She would buy a lifetime supply of citronella candles, electric bug zappers, and invest in mosquito torture devices.

Her skin was covered in itchy and painful bumps, every last itch of her body was swollen from being bitten. She knew she would have to get bloodwork done when she reached civilization, she was terrified at the prospect of malaria or even worse Dengue or Yellow Fever. She wondered if there was any spot on her body that was left unbitten, she was pretty sure there wasn’t.

Fortunately, as they pushed forward the brush looked like the dense brush was thinning out up ahead, they faintly make out the light coming from some sort of gap a short distance ahead of them.

“What do you think is up there?” Sara asked through heavy breaths, winded from the constant exertion, “Do you think it’s a river? Or a road?”

Eric narrowed his eyes to try to focus his vision on what the light ahead was, “It could be anything.”

Sara couldn’t help but feel the pang of joy in her stomach, she dared to hope that they had found some way out of the never-ending forest. She could tell that despite his calm demeanor Eric was curious and excited even about the seeming light at the end of the tunnel. 

They pushed themselves to walk faster, to see what was there, if there was anything at all. The excitement encouraged them, enthused them to push over the roots, and fallen logs. To trudge through the mud, and thorny branches that all blocked their path. Anytime something called for extra exertion, such as a log or a hill, Eric would give his hand and help Sara, sometimes even lifting her over objects. His main care was obviously her wellbeing.

They had only about 100 meters left to go, when Eric fell back with a cry, landing on his butt and scrambling backwards, his eyes were wide open in a state of shock and panic. Sara ran to help him and saw why he had screamed. There was a large and extremely long snake coiled and ready to strike. It had a distinct color patter of brown, beige, and grey, in triangles connecting on the back resembling the letter “A”. It had huge white eyes with dark grey slit like pupils, yellow- white jaw that was still pointing at them. It was watching them closely, ready to strike again.

“It bit me,” Eric breathed, not knowing what to do, “stay away from it.”

Sara looked about herself desperately, trying to find something, anything to act as a weapon. She knew that Eric’s gun would be no use to her, she had never even shot a paintball gun, never the less a real one.

She wrapped her hands around a thick long stick that was to the right of her and put her body between Eric’s and the snake.

“It’s a fer-de-lance,” Sara breathed, watching it closely.

“So you’re a snake expert after a week in the jungle?” Eric tried to joke, his voice shaking from fear and pain.

“I’m a little paranoid about some things, snakes for example, I read up on all of the venomous snakes found in Brazil, this Lancehead or fer-de-lance came up a lot…”

“Oh?”

“You can tell by its coloring and pattern” she said still watching it, “pass me your knife.”

“Sara, stay away from it.”

“I said give me your knife Eric!”

“Sara, it’s going to strike before you even have a chance to hit it.”

“Either you give me your knife, or I turn my back to it and take the knife myself. Which do you think is more dangerous?”

Eric sighed, unclasped his knife and reluctantly handed it to her. She clamped it between her teeth, and angled herself carefully, ready to jump away. With the large stick she speared it, narrowly missing it.

“Oh hell”, she cussed under her breath as she jumped way and pulled back, it was coiled and she could tell it was ready to strike at her.

She moved again, this time striking it just below the head. The body curled around the stick as it fought to release itself. Venom was absolutely everywhere around its head as she pushed the stick to try to secure it.

“Sara, don’t be stupid.” Eric pleaded.

Sara ignored him as she pushed down on the stick with one hand, and with the other took the long blade from her teeth. In one calculated swoop the body of the snake loosened around the stick, no longer fighting.

Sara, now comfortable that the headless snake was no longer a threat went to Eric who was still sitting, shivering on the dirt floor.

“How does it feel?”
 

“Delightful.”

Sara frowned, “I mean describe what your feeling, Eric.”

“The pain in my ankle, it’s… I’ve never…”

Sara ripped her sweatshirt with the knife, creating a long bandage, and bent next to his ankle where there were two small puncture wounds and a great deal of accompanied swelling.  She took the long bandage and tightly wrapped it 4 inches above the wound to slow the venom’s spread.

“Any other symptoms, Eric?” she kept her voice calm, trying not to panic.

“My heart, it’s so fast… and I feel weak… the pain…”

“Breathe slowly”, Sara soothed, “try not to spread the venom. Try to be calm.”

He nodded in agreement.

“I need you to get with me to the clearing, it’s not far… just put your weight on me.” She helped him up, her weight was nothing compared to his, his bulk was crushing as they moved slowly towards the light coming through the trees.

In what seemed like forever they reached the clearing, and Sara’s heart jumped to see that it was a road. Not only was it a road, but up and to the side of the road, about half a mile away, there appeared to be a parked Landover and three people sitting in camping chairs in a discussion.

“Eric, sit.” She commanded, “I’m going to see if they can help.”

“No,” he breathed weakly, “No, it could be a trap.”

“If it’s a trap, so what Eric. If I lose you I’m as good as dead out here anyway.” She rationalized.

His eyes were glossy as he weakly passed her his gun.

“I don’t know how to use this, Eric!” She sighed, but he didn’t respond. He just stared out through hazy eyes that seemed to not be seeing the same world they were both in.

Sara tucked the gun into the back of her shorts and pulled her shirt over it to cover the butt. She ran in a sprint down the road, her heart pounding quickly.

“Hello?” one of the men called out. His accent sounded British, “Miss, how I can help you?”

“Please, please my friend was bit by a fer-de-lance” she cried, her breathing uneven from the sprint.

The three men drove Sara back up the road to where they found Eric laying on the side of the dirt road, unresponsive.

Every man's life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another
. -Ernest Hemingway

It all happened so fast and so slow at once, a strange sensation it was; life was like dancing in strobe lights, flashes of each moment happening in a sequence that rendered time useless. The group, the car, the helicopter… it just seemed to happen.

The group that had come to Sara’s aid was made up of a biology professor, his assistant, and their tour guide were just breaking for lunch, and thank god they were there.

They found Eric unconscious and unresponsive with a pallet so pale that it made Sara’s blood run cold. They loaded him into the vehicle, his head on Sara’s lap, while she whispered, begging him to hold on.

Within an hour they had reached a helipad, one that was used for forestry executives and researchers trying to get deep into the rainforest. The trip by chopper to Manuas was efficient, though a minute seemed like an hour to Sara so the trip seemed to take forever.

Upon landing Eric was rushed to the hospital where he was treated with anti-venom and anti-biotics. Sara was also looked after by the doctors, but was deemed fit to be released. She, however, refused to leave Eric who wasn’t out of danger.

Carrie was still in Manaus with Sara’s parents who had arrived the day after Carrie reached the city and reported the attack and kidnapping. The three met Sara in the hospital, arriving just as she was yelling at a nurse for not telling her what was going on with him.

They looked at Sara, every inch of her covered in dried mud and dirt, looking and behaving like a wild woman.

“Sara,” Carrie screamed, running and throwing her arms around the disheveled woman. Her parents too paid no heed to the mess that was Sara and embraced her in a teary reunion of sobs and cathartic laughter. 

“They won’t tell me anything about Eric,” Sara said crying, “He was bit by a fer-de-lance, I don’t think he’s going to make it.”

Carrie held Sara, comforting her friend to the best of her ability. The sobbing girl looked to her parents who wore concerned expressions on her face. “Daddy, you have to do something… if it weren’t for him I’d… I’d…” she couldn’t even get the words out before he pulled her close and stroked his daughter’s hair.

“I’ll do what I can,” he whispered before releasing her and marching to the nurse’s station.

Sara proceeded to tell her mother and Carrie about the events after that transpired being taken kidnapped by Gabriel and his comrades, effectively leaving out the parts she didn’t want her parents to hear. After her mother retold the story to Sara’s father, he offered to stay at the hospital while Sara went back to the hotel to freshen up, after hearing Sara’s protests that he shouldn’t be left alone in case he woke up.

Back at the hotel Sara’s mother drew Sara a bath before she took on the job of making phone calls to friends, family, and the connections to tell them about Sara’s recovery. Carrie washed Sara’s hair and back, sitting on the side of the tub.

“You know I can bathe myself, Carrie” Sara said sardonically.

“I know, but I wanted to talk,” Carrie’s voice cracked, “I never thought I would see you again.”

Looked up at her sobbing friend, Carrie’s nose was red and eyes swollen, “Sara, I’m so sorry. I am so sorry that I forced Gabriel on you and Amanda. This is all my fault, it’s all my fault that Amanda’s gone! I am so sorry.”

Sara too was crying, she had forced herself not to think about Amanda, but now that she had reached safety the realization that she would never see Amanda’s fiery red hair or hear her spirited laugh again an ache assailed her heart.

“It’s not your fault Carrie, it’s not. You know that Amanda wouldn’t want you to think that!”

They both had a moment of tearful silence before Sara took in a deep breath, hoping to change the topic. She wasn’t ready to deal with everything that had happened, she needed time to absorb.

“So, I left out some parts of the story back in the hospital.” Sara whispered, trying to change the topic, “About Eric…”

Carrie listed absorbedly, gasping and laughing, until Sara froze.

“I think I love him, Carrie… and I might lose him.”

~

Sara didn’t mean to, but she fell asleep in the soft warm chair in the hotel room. Not feeling Eric’s body beside her, she woke up screaming and sobbing. Her parents ran to her, “It’s okay baby, you’re safe,” her father said bending over and grabbing her hand. Her mother held her to her and brushed her hair.

“Eric?” Sara asked, still gasping. She realized her parents were both there, he was alone in the hospital. He would wake up alone, not knowing where was or what happened to her. Sara tried to jump out of the chair to get to the door, but her mother held her back.

“He’s okay, hun, Carrie is sitting with him. I sat with him to give your dad a break, and she offered to stay with him.”  Her mother reassured.

“He woke last night,” her father explained, adjusting his glasses, “he asked about you, concerned about your safety. I told him you were safe, I thanked him for going after you and bringing you home… we would have lost you if it weren’t for him.”

Sara saw the tears in her father’s eyes.

“He did save me papa,” she agreed, “Is he going to be okay?”

He nodded, “It’s going to be a long recovery, and he will need time and medical care when we get home. Of course we’re going to cover it and reward him handsomely for saving you.”

“Dad, if you want me to have security I want it to be him. I want him and only him to be in charge of my security. I trust him… I don’t think I could trust anyone else like that… especially after what we’ve been through…”

Her father didn’t need any convincing, Eric had the job.

~

Eric was resting when Sara got to the hospital. She was wearing clean clothes for the first time in weeks, Eric had also been cleaned up and was napping in a fresh white hospital gown.

She sat next to him and ran her hand over his cheek. He slept so silently, hooked up to IV fluids… his pale pallet, and his still so swollen ankle… it broke her heart to see him that way. She sniffled back tears and looked up to see his eyes had opened.

“Why are you crying?” he asked softly.

“I thought I was going to lose you,” she whispered.

He reached out to take her hand and slowly brought it to his lips. His gazed was fixed upon her with insurmountable intensity. “It would take more than a venomous serpent to keep me from you…” he said with a weak grin, “you had better remember that.”

She chuckled as she wiped her stinging eyes, and looked back into his eyes leaning over the bed and brushing her lips against his.

“That had better be a promise.” She breathed, her lips resting by his ear.

He struggled, using all of his energy to hold her back so that she had to look him square in the face, “It’s a vow.” He whispered, before pulling her back to him, his lips against hers binding them together. 

~

Sara’s father had kept his word and took care of Eric’s medical bills, he had also hired Eric on a permanent contract to be Sara’s security detail.

Back at school, Sara and Carrie had to adjust to life without Amanda. They realized they would never get over her death and they would have to learn to live with it, and there were so many people asking about what had happened. The official story was that they had been in a vehicle accident in Brazil, Amanda’s family didn’t want the true details of her death getting out. It was just too painful for them.

Sara’s routine went back to normal, with some changes for the better. Eric had become her protector and the equilibrium she needed in her life.

About three months after their return from Brazil, Carrie brought in the mail.

“You got something,” Carrie said with a smile putting the envelope on the table. It had no stamp or return address, “Must be an invite that was dropped off here.”

Sara picked up the envelope with her pile of bills and carried them into her bedroom. She dropped the mail on her bed as she got dressed for a date with Eric. Dinner and a concert, it would be the first normal thing they would do as a couple and Sara needed to look perfect.

After curling her hair into long beach waves and putting on some final makeup touched she flopped on the bed, looking through her mail.

When she reached the envelope she couldn’t help but smile, she loved weddings so an invite would be happily welcomed. Excitingly, Sara teared open the curious envelope.

Inside was a single piece of paper, written in in a red marker was one sentence that made her blood run cold. “You can’t run forever.”

As Sara breathed in a shaky breath, she realized that it wasn’t over.