Chapter Ten
“I can't believe you two girls earned a living doing this day in and day out for nine months out of the year. How in the hell do you do it?” Dennis gasped as he slogged forward.
“It was a job,” Sadie said quietly. “We rarely had this kind of mud, and it didn't rain every day. I guess my best answer is you get used to it. And we didn't do it in the winter. For the most part the people were nice. I'm not saying you aren't nice. This is a whole different ball game, Dennis. Don't talk, just keep moving. Talking saps your energy if you're walking.”
Lily stopped and turned around. “I don't know why but I have this feeling I should let Gracie loose. We need to rest a few moments so we can go after her because she's going to take off like a bullet. Actually, we'll have to run. This mud will slow us down so be prepared. Five minutes,” she said breathlessly.
“Okay, on the count of three, I'm going to take off her leash.”
The shepherd lunged forward the moment she was free of the leash and sprinted away, the others behind her. Her bark was so loud, Lily cringed at the sound. To her ear it sounded like a joyful bark.
Please God, let Gracie find Matt. And please let him be alive and well. I promise, I will never ask You for anything, ever again. Just let Matt be alive and well.
It wasn't the rain that woke him. Maybe it was the dream. The best one ever since he'd been abducted. The tremendous weight on his chest and lower body made his eyes snap open. Or maybe it was the loving licks to his face. “Gracie! Oh, God, Gracie, is it really you? I found you. This is the best dream. I swore I'd find you. I was prepared to go to the ends of the earth. Oh, God, I love you as much as I love Lily. How come there are so many of you? You brought the whole army, didn't you. Six, seven, they all look like you. C'mere, baby, let me hug you.”
Out of breath, the others skidded to a stop to watch Gracie lathering Matt with her own brand of love. “Matt! You're alive!” Lily screamed, running over to where he lay with Gracie.
“God, Lily, this is the best dream. What the hell took you so long?”
Tears dripped down Lily's cheeks. “I had to tree this bear, fight off a couple of alligators, ford Old Muddy, that kind of thing.”
“That's it!”
“I stopped in town to buy a push-up bra before starting out. God, I can't believe we found you. We have to get you out of here.”
“I didn't stand you up, Lily.”
“I know that, Matt. Sadie, shoot off two flares. That should bring somebody. In case no one shows up, we have to make a litter and get him out of here as soon as we can. Dennis, help Sadie.”
“Dennis. Old buddy, are you here? I knew you'd come looking for me. You brought a double, huh? There are three of you, Lily. Which one should I kiss first?”
Lily laughed. “Gracie would rip out my throat if I tried to take her place right now. That's the way it should be. Later, we'll have all the time in the world.”
“I don't know if I have that much time, Lily,” Matt said, struggling for each breath he took. “I think I have pneumonia, and I know I have blood poisoning. The streak going up my leg is moving pretty fast. I keep seeing my mother. She's waiting for me.”
“Shut up, Matt. I don't want to hear that kind of talk. Don't say that again. If you did see her, that just means she's watching over you. We're here now. We're going to get you to a hospital as soon as we can. I'm going to peel off your socks and look at your foot. I'll do what I can with what I have to work with. We each have a thermal blanket so we're going to strip you down and wrap you up before we put you on a litter.”
“Where are you getting a litter?” Matt gasped.
“We're making it, buddy. Just hang on,” Dennis shouted as he stripped a young sapling to match the one Sadie had cut. He watched as she wove the climbing rope around and through the three saplings that would carry Matt's weight. It took all of six minutes. His face reflected the awe he felt.
“Okay, help me here. We need to get him out of these wet clothes and wrapped in the thermal blankets as soon as possible. C'mon, people, hustle. Time is crucial here. Move, move, move!”
“I did it, Lily. I kept moving. I did everything you said that I could remember.” A violent fit of coughing overtook him before he could say anything else. “I licked the dew off the plants, I chewed the bark. Can you bake bread?”
“You did good, Matt. I'm very proud of you. Don't talk now. We're stripping you down. You'll be nice and warm in a minute. These are some duds you're wearing. I never made bread, but I can learn if it's important to you.”
“Push-up bra, huh? How sick am I, Lily?”
“Pretty damn sick. You already know that. Stop talking, Matt. Trust me, okay?”
“With my life, Lily. I love you, Gracie. I really love you. How'd you get here with the army?”
“I found her, Matt. Actually, Buzz found her. She was looking for you. She's fine now, so shut up. I don't want you talking. Talking triggers your coughing spells.”
“Okay, buddy, you're snug as a bug now,” Dennis said the moment they peeled off Matt's clothes and wrapped him in the thermal blankets. “Do you feel warmer? Of course you do. Don't answer that. Okay, we're going to lift you onto the litter and get you out of here. Did you check that GPS thingamajig, Lily?”
Lily looked down at her Global Positioning System and prayed the batteries wouldn't run out. If they did, she had her compass and her map. With a GPS, even a rat could find its way out of a maze of navigational challenges. “I'm doing that right now. We're on the money.”
“Tell me where to buy those things. That's what I'm going to give everyone for Christmas this year,” Dennis said.
“Don't give me one!” Matt mumbled.
“Buddy, you are
Numero Uno
on my list.”
“Okay, let's go, we're outta here!” Lily said, taking one end of the bottom half of the litter while Sadie took the other half. Dennis carried both ends from the top.
“Move, move!” Lily said jogging forward.
“That's all you ever say, move, move, move!” Matt mimicked Lily. “Been there, done that.” In spite of herself, Lily smiled.
“How long before we make civilization?” Dennis queried an hour later. “I'm exhausted. You two must be tired.”
Lily could have been dropping in her tracks but she wouldn't admit it, and neither would Sadie. “You talk too much. Keep moving. We have another hour to go. Where the hell are those people who live around here? Someone should have seen the flares.”
“They're probably following their daily routine. The chances of someone actually looking out of their window and seeing the flares had to be about zip. Nor are people with brains clomping around out here at this time of year.”
“I heard that,” Matt mumbled.
“Can you really trust that gizmo, that GPS thing?” Dennis demanded.
“Sometimes you get crappy reception if it's a bad satellite afternoon. Sometimes you run out of batteries. I carry spares. It's called a low-tech backup for a high-tech solution. Sadie and I both took clinic courses in Arizona before we bought them. We're okay, Dennis.”
“She's okay, Dennis. Stop bothering her,” Matt mumbled again between bouts of coughing.
“He doesn't sound good, Lily,” Sadie whispered.
“No, he doesn't. The blood poisoning has really taken hold, too. That guy of mine is pretty tough, Sadie.”
“Yeah. Yeah, he is. I didn't mean . . .”
“I know. We'll get him to the hospital in time. Modern medicine . . .”
“Is wonderful. You wanna bet someone shows up just when we make it to the car? If they do, I'll give them what for,” Sadie snarled.
“I'll help you,” Dennis chirped.
“Dennis, sign me into the hospital with your I.D.,” Matt said.
Sadie looked questioningly at Lily.
“If the press gets wind of this, the stock will nose-dive. That's the main reason I didn't want to broadcast Matt's disappearance,” Dennis said.
They continued to trudge their way to open ground. When they finally reached the Rover, Gracie leaped in first, Buzz second. With coaxing and a stern voice, Lily was able to convince the dogs to lie on each side of Matt for warmth. All the heaters in the world wouldn't be able to do what the dogs' warmth would do for him.
“Where's the fucking people?” Dennis shouted.
Sadie swung around and eyeballed the software expert. “When you want something done, always call a woman. She'll make sure the job gets done and done properly. We'll get Matt to the hospital on our own. As for all those people who live around here, they're probably watching television or sleeping. Maybe they're reading the paper or eating. In case you haven't noticed, we did the job and don't need them.”
“We're all in, Lily,” Dennis said. “Matt's totally out of it now, so burn rubber. Don't worry about red lights, just go.”
“I hear you. Don't you die on me, Matt Starr,” Lily bellowed.
Gracie howled. A mournful sound.
Buzz whimpered but didn't move, his big head on Matt's chest opposite Gracie's head.
Dennis leaned over the backseat, his hand on Matt's forehead. “He's burning up.”
“I know,” Lily said tightly. “I know.”
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At the hospital, it was all Lily and Sadie could do to hold down the big shepherd while the emergency-room attendants wheeled Matt into the hospital. “There's nothing Sadie and I can do now, Dennis,” Lily said. “You do what Matt wants you to do. We'll take the dogs home, shower and change, and come back. Then it will be your turn. Is that okay with you?”
“Yeah,” Dennis called over his shoulder as he ran behind the gurney.
Lily held it together until she got into the truck. Sobs ripped from her throat as she fell against Sadie. “What if he doesn't make it, Sadie. My God, you saw him. I'm a far cry from a doctor, but I know he doesn't just have pneumonia, he has
double
pneumonia. What if he doesn't make it?”
“I don't want to hear talk like that, Lily. He will make it. He's led a strong, healthy life, and he's a fighter. You heard him, he was thinking of the company by saying to sign him in as Dennis. He said he loves you, he loves Gracie. He's not going to give that up, he'll fight for it.”
“He saw his mother. That's not good,” Lily wailed.
“Don't give me that bullshit, Lily,” Sadie said.
“You've been seeing all kinds of weird things lately. That doesn't mean you're going to die. Not another word. Do you hear me? Now, blow your nose and let's go home. I can't wait to get out of these wet clothes. I want a cup of hot coffee, and I plan to mainline that bag of double Oreo cookies we bought the other day. I'm going to eat the whole bag. Every single one. You can have the Fig Newtons. I'm driving, you're a wreck.”
“Okay, okay. I'll sit in the back with the dogs. She found him. Isn't it amazing, Sadie? Oh, wait till Matt sees that we found his sneakers. He's going to be so happy. Did I ever tell you how much he loves those shoes?”
“Only five hundred times or so. Do you think it will be all right to leave Gracie in the apartment? Now that she found Matt, will she do something wild, like going through the window?”
“No. Gracie knows something's wrong. For some reason, dogs always seem to know before people know. Animals really do understand, and, believe it or not, they know when a crisis is under way and react accordingly. She has Matt's sneakers to keep her company and, of course, Buzz. Let's go home, Sadie.”
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“Why do I feel like one of the three stooges?” Dennis demanded.
“Because we
look
like the three stooges,” Lily said wearily. “We've been here night and day for five days, and Matt is still on the critical list. I feel like death warmed over myself. There should have been a change in his condition by now.”
“We have the best of the best taking care of him. It's Matt, he isn't fighting. This is probably going to sound crazy, but is there a way to possibly bring Gracie here? I know hospitals frown on animals, but if a blind person came in and needed their Seeing Eye dog, wouldn't it be allowed? Just maybe hearing Gracie bark, knowing she's here, might be just the spark he needs.”
“I thought I was the spark,” Lily said glumly.
“I didn't mean that the way it sounded. Maybe what I should have said was Gracie is the match to light the spark. I say it's worth a shot. It sure as hell can't hurt to ask. Worst-case scenario, we smuggle her in.”