Lily led the way to the edge of the forest and waited for the others. Gracie sat patiently, the sock firmly between her teeth, Buzz at her side.
“We have to decide which way he went. The only thing we know for certain is, he slept out here, but we don't really know if it was just last night or the night before. The pine boughs are very fresh. He could have slept here as many as three days. This is just a guess on my part, but I think he set out, went round in circles, and ended up back here. This looks like the brush has been trampled, and that would be south. But it's trampled coming in, not going out. So we don't want to go that way. If he took another direction to leave the first time, the heavy dew made everything spring upward. Or else he was extremely careful, which isn't like Matt. He can be like a bull in a china shop. We've got north, east, and west left. I say we split up. Divvy up the flares, Sadie.” She spread the map open on the ground. She marked off the areas the three of them would cover. We'll search till two o'clock and meet here,” she said, putting a large red X on the three maps Dennis had photocopied the night before. It will take us roughly an hour from all three directions to get to the X, and that will give us enough daylight time to make camp. The forest is pretty thick but the rain is still going to come down, and that's going to slow us down. If anything goes awry, shoot off your flare. Any questions? Okay, Dennis, you take Buzz. He's very good in the woods. Buzz will always know how to find me. Sadie, are you okay with this?”
“Sure. See you at three o'clock.”
“Okay, Gracie, let's go find Matt.”
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Matt woke and struggled to curl into a ball. He tried to bring his knees up to his chest, but his right leg was too stiff. He knew he had a problem the moment he pulled up his pant leg. An angry red streak was crawling up the inside of his leg. Blood poisoning. He tried to remember the last time he'd had a tetanus shot. Years and years ago. He knew he needed some very strong antibiotics. He wished he was part-Indian so he would know which leaves would work to draw out the poison. For all he knew the ones he'd wrapped around his foot could be making the condition worse. He couldn't ever remember feeling as bad as he felt at that moment. He knew he had a fever, and every time he took a breath he coughed. His chest felt like it was on fire.
It was still light out. He had to move, and he had to move now. Lily's words echoed inside his head.
The worst thing you can do is stay put
. Move, always move, don't wait. Waiting for someone or something can get you dead. Move. Crawl if you have to, but keep moving. He moved, on his hands and knees. His stomach rumbled, and he needed water. He noticed then that it was raining. Thank you, God. Rain meant he could stand still with his mouth open. He would also get chilled and develop pneumonia. Like there was really something he could do about that. He was sick. He knew it and also knew there was nothing he could do to help himself except to pray and keep moving. He wished he wasn't so hungry. He wished so many things. He wished he was a little boy playing outside with Dennis just waiting for his mother to call him in to supper. On Thursday nights she always made chicken with stuffing. Dennis liked the stuffing better than the chicken. His mother always made cherry cobbler on Thursdays, too. His mouth watered. Bread-baking day was Wednesdays. The house always smelled so good, especially in the winter. A late-afternoon snack for Dennis and himself on bread-baking day was a thick slice of bread with a scoop of yellow butter and his mother's strawberry preserves. His mother would always keep track of which one got the heel of the loaf since it was the favorite slice for both Dennis and Matt. On rare occasions, she would slice off both ends and present them with a huge smile and a big hug. He wondered if Lily would ever make bread and jam. He made a mental note to ask her. Lily.
Please, God, let me see her again. I'll do whatever You want me to do,
he thought.
Get off your ass and
move. Charming Lily, my ass. Tough-as-nails Lily was more like it. But only when she had to be tough. Most times she was soft and warm. Her smile could light a room and his heart at the same time.
Just because a bird can eat berries doesn't mean a person can eat them. Remember that
. There weren't any berries at this time of year anyway. His stomach continued to growl. He looked around for the stick he'd been chewing on. He bit down on it. A far cry from fresh homemade bread and strawberry jam.
Matt felt the rain trickling down inside the quilted jacket. For a brief moment it felt cool and wonderful. Then he started to shake.
Move. Keep moving
. Look for cover
. What did that mean? Move and look for cover. Should he find a spot to get out of the rain or should he keep moving? How could he do both? Just the thought of breaking off more pine boughs and making a new bed made him dizzy. He knew he didn't have the strength to jump up and pull down a branch, much less try to break it off.
It was raining harder, and before long it would be dark. His feet were cold and wet, time to put the Wellingtons on. He struggled to get them on over his soaking wet wool socks. If he lived through this, he was never going to wear shoes or socks again. Never. He felt his forehead. It was hot. Not warm but hot. He checked the red streak going up his leg. “Mom,” he said in a choked voice, “I need some help. I should be able to do this myself, but I can't. Are you watching me? Am I disappointing you? I'm trying, Mom. I'm really trying. I'm going to go on until it gets totally dark. Lily said you have to keep moving. Remember that time I had my tonsils out and you rocked me on that big old rocker in the hallway. My throat hurt so bad. You kept putting those little chips of ice in my mouth and singing to me. That's one of my best memories. You made ice cream that day in the ice-cube trays, and that night you let me suck on them. It was vanilla. I love vanilla, Mom. Listen, Mom, I don't want you to worry about me. I'm just talking to you to make myself feel better. If you can ... you know . . . do stuff . . . that we can't do down here, will you look out for Gracie?
“I made a will, Mom. Did I tell you that? I did. I left everything to Lily. I never told her. I guess I should have. I wonder why I didn't. You'd like her, Mom.”
The terrain was really different now. The ground was wet and soggy. He started to shake and couldn't stop. He thought he heard water, but he wasn't sure. Was he near one of the bayous? If so, what did it mean? Would he be closer to civilization, closer to ... what?
He was soaked through to the skin. He had a high fever. He had blood poisoning and was shaking from head to toe. If he didn't have pneumonia, it was only a matter of time before he got it. He did the one thing he hadn't done before.
He prayed.
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“This sucks!” Dennis muttered. “I'm soaking wet down to my underwear. My ass is as cold as my feet. I'd kill for some hot soup. I wasn't cut out for this. I wish there was something I could do, something I could contribute. I feel like a slug. How can the two of you sit there eating that beef jerky?”
“It's dark, Dennis. There's nothing else we can do unless you want to continue searching in the dark. I don't recommend it, but we do have flashlights. If you want, we can start out again. We're pretty close to the bayous now. It's unfamiliar terrain to Sadie and me. The forest is one thing, we know how to track and take care of ourselves out there. The bayou is something else. It's your call, if you want to keep going, Sadie and I are game.”
“Sitting gets us nowhere. Let's keep on going. Isn't Gracie picking up on anything?”
“Yes, she is, but I can't let her loose. I'm basically following her. She has Matt's scent. If he's out here, she'll find him. Okay, Sadie, let's go. I'll lead. Keep Buzz close to you, Dennis.”
A long time later, Dennis grumbled as he ground to a halt. “I haven't heard a peep out of either one of you for the past five hours. Aren't you soaking wet? Aren't you miserable? Where the hell are we going?”
Lily turned to look at Matt's best friend. A sharp retort was on her lips, but she bit down on her tongue. She had to remember that Dennis was out of shape, he knew nothing about outdoor life, and while he was concerned about Matt, he was also worried about his own endurance. “We're following Gracie. It's three in the morning, Dennis. We're all tired and yes, we're all wet. Getting excited and angry only uses up energy. I suggest we stop, sleep until it gets light, then head out again. The rain isn't going to let up, that's a given. The ground is exceptionally wet, so that has to mean we're near the bayou. I can see cypress all over. By daylight, we'll have a better idea of where we are and which way to go. Gracie will find him if he's out here. Let's find some shelter and call it a night.”
“I'm sorry, Lily. I wish I was better equipped physically and mentally for this search. If I'm slowing you down, just say so,” Dennis said.
“You're doing fine, Dennis. No one said this was going to be easy. I'm pretty miserable myself right now. So is Lily,” Sadie smiled.
“I guess what you're saying is, suck it up, right?”
“That pretty much covers it,” Sadie grinned. “Try and get some sleep.”
Dennis closed his eyes. How the hell was he supposed to sleep when he was so cold and wet he expected icicles to form on his nose any minute? He knew he had blisters on his feet, and his back felt like it was sprained with the heavy load he'd been carrying. They were girls for God's sake. Neither of them weighed more than 105 pounds, and he hadn't heard a peep out of them all day long. Talk about sucking up. Maybe if he thought about something pleasant, he might nod off for a little bit. He smiled to himself when he wondered what Sadie looked like in a bikini.
Lily hunkered down between the dogs with Sadie on the other side of her. Buzz stretched out, but Gracie remained on her haunches, her ears straight up, ever alert. “We're going to find him, girl. I feel it in my bones. I think he knows we're out here. Easy, now, we'll set off again when it gets light out.”
Her hand closed over the Wish Keeper, her other hand secure on Gracie's leash. She waited for something to happen. She sighed, and then tugged at it again.
She was here but she was there. It was a place she didn't recognize. A large field or perhaps a large garden area. She watched as a man on a tractor tilled the soil. From off in the distance she watched an elderly lady shield her eyes from the sun to stare at the kind, generous man who helped her from time to time and who never wanted or expected anything in return. Just a loving man who did for others. And then he was gone, the small tractor overturning. The elderly lady ran as fast as she could. The tractor, the kind man, the elderly lady disappeared and a little girl walked over to the spot in the field and looked about. She dropped to her knees and ran her hands over the wet ground. So much blood. She looked at her hands, then at the dirt. Her daddy's blood. Such sorrow in her big, dark eyes. She didn't understand. The elderly lady returned to lead her away, washed her hands and told her to go home to her mama. Such tragic, dark eyes. Such grief for one so small.
Lily jerked to wakefulness and stared out at the darkness all around her. What had she just seen? Was it a dream or one of her spells? Did she just experience one of the secrets entrusted to her? If that was the case, then she couldn't talk about it to Sadie and Dennis. If she was the new Wish Keeper, even temporarily, she had to keep her own counsel. Who was the little girl with the big, dark eyes? Surely there was no secret to the kind man's death. Perhaps the little girl was wishing for her father to return. How was she supposed to know what was a wish and what was a secret? Would knowledge come in time? She felt like the young man in the television show who got tomorrow's newspaper today and then had to act on it. What was she supposed to do in the future? She sighed. Time would undoubtedly give her the answer. She sighed again as she closed her eyes and prayed for sleep to come.
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Matt woke to rain splashing on his face. It must be raining harder than it was when he first lay down to sleep. How many hours ago was that? He felt disoriented. It was almost light, so at least eleven or twelve hours had gone by since he'd lain down in his pine bed. He struggled to move, to stretch out his hands to catch the precious rain. He gulped at it from his cupped hands. Nothing in the world had ever tasted as good as the fresh rainwater. He tried to move his injured foot that was swollen to twice its size. A hard cough erupted from his chest that left him gasping for breath. He felt his foot, and it was fiery hot to his touch. There was no way he was going to be able to get the Wellington back on. He was also burning up and shivering inside his wet clothes. He coughed again, his head rocking on his shoulders with the force of the strain.
Lily's words thundered in his ears.
Move
.
Crawl if you have to but move
. How was he to crawl on one leg? His wet clothes now weighed more and he would be dragging deadweight. He wondered if it was possible to roll along, but where would he get the momentum from? Scratch that idea.
He waited for full light. Twenty minutes later he pulled his trouser leg up to stare down at the red streak going up his leg. It was almost to his knee now. A flurry of panic washed over him.