The Road Home by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 68

The switchbacks were, in fact, the most difficult part of their hike, despite the trail being a broad dirt road. Near the top, they found the beginning of the ridge, as well as something unexpected. “Hey,” Maya said. “What’s a house doing up here?”

She was already tired and struggling for breath, left bent down with her hands on her knees, and asking herself why she agreed to this in the first place. Aurora wasn’t in much better shape but was able to remain upright.

“I have no idea,” she replied. “But I think these are all ski trails.”

Walking within closer sight of the house, they stopped to study its windows, looking for the usual things – the movement of curtains, the haunting shape of the faces of those infected. It seemed strange that life would choose only a handful of unfortunate souls, letting them harbor an affliction that twisted them into something unrecognizable while, at the same time, allowing them to live and suffer. But apparently, there was no one home, and the girls, being satisfied with their observations, turned and continued on.

Walking through a narrow stand of Pines, Maya and Aurora arrived at a spacious clearing that sloped down to the left. The hard part was over. Now, they could enjoy the hike they set out for. However, they had forgotten one thing – water. Aurora expected this to be a short hike, but chastised herself for forgetting the one thing that no hiker should be without. She began to wonder if it might be reasonable to cut their hike short at some point. But for now, they would continue along the ridge, planning to stop roughly halfway. Hiking to the ridge, both could see down both sides – one into the trees with Route 90 at the bottom and the other across the mild slope. This was when Maya began to complain. She didn’t care to be within inches of falling to her death. Looking out at the slight clearing was fine, even beautiful, but the drop towards the highway left her on the edge of panic. Her only concern now was how far they were going and when they were leaving.

“Maya,” Aurora said. “Why can’t you just enjoy the outdoors? I mean, look where you are. Isn’t this beautiful?”

Maya’s voice reflected both frustration and fear as she let Aurora take the lead.

“I know,” she replied. “But…”

At that moment, her left foot slipped off the trail and, unable to catch herself, began careening down the sharpest side of the ridge. Aurora, having heard her slide off the ridge, turned and tried to grab her, but Maya had fallen too far. “Maya!” she yelled. “Remember what I told you! Spread Eagle, remember?! Just get yourself to stop. I’ll be right there!”

Maya had slid roughly fifteen feet, and seeing how far she had to go to rescue her, Aurora gathered her courage, but in the back of her mind, something told her that she might be joining her on the way down. Before launching a rescue, Aurora quickly examined her surroundings, looking for any place from which to make an approach without getting both of them killed. What she discovered was nearly laughable, as Maya had slid into a ravine and was in no immediate danger.

“Aurora!” she screamed. “What the fuck are you doing? Don’t you dare leave me to die, you fucking bitch!”

Having circled around, Aurora stood beneath her, watching her struggle, knowing that Maya would never want to go on another hike again. In short, she was not only scared but incredibly pissed. “Hey!” Aurora yelled. “You dumb bitch. I’m right down here!”

Despite having fallen some fifteen feet, Maya was only a few feet from the ground, but too panicked to realize it.

“Where are you?” Maya yelled. “I can’t see you! Fuck!”

Almost laughing, Aurora again made her presence known, trying harder to guide Maya down towards her.

“I’m right here!” she said. “Just slide down!” Maya, still terrified of falling to the highway, responded with panic in her voice. “Slide down?” she began. “Are you out of your fucking mind? Where the hell are you?” Now, Aurora thought that the best way to let her know that safety was only a few steps away was to climb up a few feet and grab her by the leg. The ravine was covered with Pine trees, and Aurora wondered why she didn’t grab one of those to keep from falling further. Feeling Aurora’s grip on her ankle, Maya turned to look down and, seeing her there ready to assist her, shook her head in embarrassment. “Come on,” Aurora said. “Just slide down. It’s just a few, four or five feet.”

Seeing the pine trees around her, Maya’s face reddened as she grabbed one and, with Aurora’s help, used them to lower herself, planting her feet on the ground.

As Aurora pulled her up to the top of the ravine, she could barely keep from laughing. This angered Maya even more, having believed that her life had been in imminent danger. “Are you laughing?!” Maya began. “What’s so fucking funny? I could’ve died down there, and you’re laughing. You’re an asshole!” Aurora needed to break the tension and, at the same time, get Maya to see that she was, in fact, never in any real danger.

“Come here,” she said. “I want to show you something.”

Turning back, she tried to lead Maya back to where she had fallen. The only thing this accomplished was Maya’s resistance. “Oh,” she said. “I don’t fucking think so. You go down there.”

Aurora was resolute in her compulsion to show her what she had been so worked up about and, taking Maya by the hand, led her to the place of her rescue. Maya was still resistant and pulled back, fighting against what she still believed was certain death.

“God damn it!” she yelled. “Aurora, knock it off!” Having pulled her hand away, Maya stood back to a safe distance while continuing to chastise her. Aurora, of course, continued to the ravine. “What the fuck are you doing?” Maya said. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?” Stopping exactly where Maya fell, Aurora called out to her.

“You were right here,” she said.

Now, Maya’s fear gave way to curiosity as she carefully stepped to the edge and, looking down, saw Aurora standing where she had placed her feet, arms crossed.

“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” she said. “That’s it? That’s how far I fell? Jesus Christ, I feel so fucking stupid.”

With little effort, Aurora climbed out and, walking up to Maya, wrapped her arms around her as emotions came to the surface. Pulling her in, Maya began crying on her shoulder. “I’m never doing this again,” she said. “Why did fuck did you bring me out here?” Now, Aurora felt a tinge of guilt begin to set in as she did her best to comfort Maya. “I’m sorry, sweetie,” she said. “I honestly thought you’d enjoy this.”

Taking a deep breath, Maya was beginning to relax.

“Can we just go back now?” she asked. One thought rose into Aurora’s mind. ‘I feel like a piece of shit’.

The guilt she felt would pass eventually, but right away. Putting an arm around Maya’s waist, she began walking her off the ridge when they were both stopped by a violent spell of coughing. Maya had bent down to cough up a small amount of phlegm as her color lightened considerably. “Hon,” Aurora inquired. “What’s wrong?” Continuing what now became a coughing fit, Maya tried to answer.

“I don’t know,” she said. “Maybe I’m still freaking out, I don’t know. Can we just get going?”

Maya was now sitting on the ground with her hands over her mouth. Aurora surmised it could be the flu, but the only people they had been in contact with were each other. It didn’t make sense until Maya took her hands from her mouth, exposing a few spots of blood.

“Oh, my God,” she thought.

She had never seen it before, but she knew the symptoms. Maya had altitude sickness. Yet, according to the map, the elevation of the ridge was about 2857 feet – certainly not enough to cause this. Maybe Maya was just sensitive to elevation. Regardless of the cause, the symptoms were consistent, Maya needed to get back down off the ridge immediately, and as small as she was, Aurora did not have the strength to carry her.

Between coughing fits, Maya put her hands over her chest and complained of soreness. “Oh, fuck,” she said. “I think my titties got scraped up.”

Not being certain if Maya was physically injured or if it was an additional symptom of what she saw as a sudden, life-threatening illness. She needed to look for herself.

“Come on,” she began. “Sit up. I need to take a look.”

Following her instructions, Maya sat up as Aurora raised her shirt. Getting a complete view, Aurora confirmed that Maya had been injured from her slide down into the ravine, and as Maya looked down at the abrasions that went down to just below her breasts, she voiced a more humorous complaint.

“That’s what I get for going braless,” she said. This was not a priority. It was getting Maya back to the RV that Aurora was focused on. “I think we have something back at the RV for that,” she said.

Reaching under her arm, Aurora strained to get Maya to her feet.

“Come on,” she continued. “We’ve got to get you back to the RV.”

Standing up, Maya weaved from side to side as she tried to regain her balance.

“Oh, shit,” she said. “What’s wrong with me? I feel like shit.”

Together, they started the walk back down the ridge. Aurora wasn’t sure how much to tell her. In fact, she didn’t know exactly what the problem was.

“I think it’s altitude sickness,” she replied. Maya was confused. For as long as she had lived in the Northwest, Maya had never been affected by such an illness. Then again, Tacoma was near the coast and not much above sea level.

“Am I going to die?” she asked. “I really don’t want to die today. You’re not going to let me die, are you?”

She almost sounded drunk, leading Aurora to believe that Maya was becoming confused.

After falling several times, they finally reached the road beyond the switchbacks and, stumbling across Route 90, saw the RV – now a beacon of safety. They had been on the ridge long enough that daylight was fast disappearing, and without flashlights, the darkness had become more troublesome.

“Come on,” Aurora said. “We’re almost there.” Approaching the RV, Aurora searched her pockets and, failing to recover the keys, turned to Maya.

“Do you have the keys?” she asked. As someone who had always taken charge, Maya was usually in possession of the keys to the RV, but right now she wasn’t saying much, so Aurora began fishing through her pockets. “Seriously?” Maya asked. “You want to do this out here?”

Although her condition left her confused, she was apparently not confused enough to be without a sense of humor. Opening the door, Aurora carried her inside, but not before falling to the floor, one atop the other. As tough as Aurora was becoming, landing on the floor with Maya falling on top of her still hurt, and with Maya significantly taller she had some difficulty shoving her off. “Oh, fuck,” she said. “Maya, get the fuck off me.” Maya still being the person she had always been rolled off with a teasing remark.

“Are you sure?” she asked. “I thought we were going to have some fun. You promised, remember?”

Aurora got up slowly, feeling every bump and bruise acquired by their less-than-graceful return from the ridge, focusing on a rather large spot on her hip.

“Shit,” she said. “That’s going to leave a mark.” Bending down, she coaxed Maya to get off the floor, and while pulling her up by the waist walked her to a sleeping mat off to the side. Remembering a first aid course, she turned Maya on her side, bringing her knee up and her arm under the side of her head. This position would keep her from inhaling any vomit she might bring up and stabilize her spine. She didn’t believe that there were any injuries of that nature, but it was a standard position.

It was time to figure out not only what was wrong but what to do about it, and so far everything seemed consistent with altitude sickness. But if she waited for Maya to develop a headache, it would be too late. From what Aurora understood, the coughing and blood looked like pulmonary edema. However, head pain might indicate cerebral edema – a fatal condition. Aurora was not a doctor but was determined not to let the love of her life die. She needed a solution. What was used to treat Altitude sickness? After a few moments, it came to her. Maya needed an injection of Dexamethasone and quickly. A pharmacy wouldn’t carry such a drug, but in a mountainous area, the local hospital was certain to have it and possibly a hyperbaric chamber. But what she needed most was the injection. If things got worse, she would find a way to get Maya to the hospital. It was getting her there that would be difficult.