Copyright 2013 misscowgirlup22
Chapter 22
Brent was freezing his ass off—quite literally too, he’d looked, it was now a mighty fine shade of blue. And there was also the fact that his arm felt like it was going to kill him from the amount of pain that it elicited. And he had to admit lying next to that dead mountain lion was a bit creepy. Safe to say he kept his distance from the damn thing.
Having only a dead mountain lion for companionship made him miss Anna even more than he already did, and the comfort that always came with her. Lying next to her the night before he left for his hunting trip was the closest he’d come to Heaven, not to mention the best night of sleep he’d ever had.
It’d been about a day since his little incident, it sounded better that way. He couldn’t help but glare over at the damn mountain lion. If hadn’t been for that stupid thing he’d have his elk, and he’d be heading home on time. Not to mention that he wouldn’t have multiple broken or fractured bones, and probably a couple more dislocated.
As much as he wanted lay the brunt of the blame on the mountain lion he knew that he had to leave quite a bit of it for himself. He knew that he was the main person to blame for his stupidity. He never should have gone back for the elk.
By now that had to be searching for him, or at least he hoped that they were. He wasn’t quite sure if they’d be able to get to him though. It had snowed at least two more feet since his incident, and he was sure that maneuvering through Middle Fork with all the snow was just about impossible with your basic search and rescue team. Maybe they’d called in one of the severe weather teams.
God, he hoped they had. He didn’t know if he would be able to survive out her with only a little water, a couple protein bars, and one of those survival blankets for too long. He’d been lucky enough to have fallen onto a ledge that had a small area that was hallow enough for him to take cover under.
“Holy shit! Damn! F*ck!” Brent groaned when he shifted to grab his pack. The cold weather did nothing but intensify the ache and pain he felt radiating from his body.
He gritted his teeth as he dug around in search of his small bag filled with personal items.
Call him a sap, or whatever. But Brent always carried pictures of his family with him. You never knew when you’d get homesick, and miss the people you loved the most. Especially the girl that carried your heart with her all day long, and she probably didn’t even know it…
That was unless she’d heard him when he’d told her while she was asleep…
Well, shit…! That wasn’t how he had wanted to tell her. What if she had heard him!
He’d just have to hope that she hadn’t heard him. He had to tell her when the time was right. And right now it was not. He wanted to tell her when this whole thing was done, when he was recovered or at least mostly recovered.
He looked at the picture she had sent him at the beginning of this crazy journey. She was just breath taking he knew that he’d never get tired of looking at her face. His eyes roamed down the picture and then they fell on his lips. Oh, how he’d love to be able to kiss them right now…
That was the moment when he knew that he’d be okay. He’d be okay because hopefully he’d have Anna waiting for him. He knew that their life wouldn’t always be pretty, but he’d work through their future and current rough patches because he knew that if he always had her love then he would be a man with a lot to be thankful and happy for.
He looked up at the sky and saw more snow starting to fall down it was going to be a long while till they found him yet. Brent closed his eyes and let sleep take him. He had to have just a few minutes of sleep… just a few he told himself….
*****
“I’m going to tell you right now. I will be taking whatever risks that are needed to get Brent back safe and sound, or at least mostly safe.” Anna gave Luke a take no shit look that almost had him shaking in his boots.
He just nodded his head at her. “Don’t worrying, I will be taking the risks needed to,” he paused. “Well that is unless you almost get yourself killed. Then the terms will change.”
Anna stayed silent while she led their search and rescue K-9, Kenai through the brush that was covered in thick, heavy snow. The dog just clomped along happily as if he had never had more fun in his life. It seemed like the search was a game for him, one that he wanted to conquer and then be rewarded for when he found the missing human.
“He's quite the dog isn’t he?” Luke asked her as they covered more ground.
“He is. Aren’t you Kenai?” She asked the dog and he stopped sniffing the ground, and looked up long enough to wag his tail at her. Anna grabbed a treat out of the pouch on her waist and fed it to him before they continued on.
“Do you think he’ll be okay, Luke? I keep hoping that he will, but what if something happened to him”—she chocked on a sob and had to keep a tight hold on her emotions, as to not start crying—“I mean he was out her with a gun what something happened and it miss fired…”
Her eyes were misted with tears, and Luke could see that they were teetering close to spilling over. He grabbed Kenai’s leash from her, and then turned to face her. “Don’t think like that. You’re just going to get yourself all worked up, and then you won’t be of any help to Brent.” He warned her.
Anna took a couple deep breaths, feeling a little more in control of herself now. “Okay…” she breathed out and then continued, “how much ground have we covered?”
“Only about a mile and a half, I don’t suspect to find him until were about three or four miles in.”
Anna sighed. It felt like they were so close to him, but yet so far away.
“I just want to find him,” she whined. “I can’t stand being away from him.”
Luke looked over at her and studied her face. She was most definitely in love with Brent. He could see it in her eyes. He honestly felt bad for her, not because she loved Brent, but because they couldn’t find him. That must have be hell on the heart for her. He honestly didn’t know what he would do if he loved someone and couldn’t find them. He’d probably go bat shit crazy.
Static and then a voice came through the walkie talkie bringing Luke back from his wandering thoughts. “Team Kenai, we need you to come back to search and rescue headquarter. The other team has arrived, and is ready to begin.”
Luke held the device up to his mouth and then pressed the call button. “This is team Kenai. We hear you loud and clear. We will begin to make our way back. Expect us in a about a half an hour or so.”
“Looks like we’re heading back, we should probably be able to begin searching again in about an hour or two.” Luke informed Anna.
She huffed and puffed a little not wanting to leave the path they were searching cold, but then she kicked it into high gear and they made it back in a sufficient amount of time.
*****
Brent heard a rustling noise, and the sound of people’s voices, bringing him out of his slumber. He was barely able to look around his eye sight was foggy, and his mind was all jumbled up making him not be able to think coherently.
He heard the sweet melodic voice of someone so dear to him. Could it be? Was his mind just playing a trick on him?
It was Anna. The woman he loved more than life itself. This wasn’t fake and his brain was certainly not at all trying to play a trick on him. It felt so good know in that she was there to help him. That he was going to make it out alive with her help.
Brent blinked a few times rapidly and his eye sight got a little bit better.
“Brent. Brent are you okay!” He heard Anna yelling. Although he loved the sound of her voice it was making his head pound.
“Anna,” he croaked out the sound barely audible that he was surprised that she had heard it.
He could faintly see her turning to the two other people that she was with. He didn’t know who they were, and he really honestly didn’t care just as long as she didn’t go away.
“Someone is going to repel down to you Brent,” she told him in her sweet voice. “The rescue helicopter is on its way. You’re going to be okay.” He heard her choke out as if she was beginning to cry from relief.
“Anna… Stay with me…” His mind began to fade on him and then everything was black. His body had finally given up from sheer mental and physical exhaustion.
*****
It took them longer back at the search and rescue headquarters than Anna would have liked, but now they had another person to assist them in looking for Brent.
“It looks like I will be on your team for the remainder of the search.” A man in his mid-thirties with a muscular build told them as he approached.
“Sounds good,” Luke told the guy. “My name’s Luke Andrews and this is Anna Douglas,” Luke told him pointing at Anna.
The man held out his hands to both of them, while he kept his dark green eyes on them. “Nice to meet both of you, I’m Derek Wellington.” They shook hands, and pulled on their packs.
“Let’s get going.” Anna advised them and then she let Derek take the lead along with Kenai.
The hike was even more daunting now. It was starting to get colder, and there was some more snow falling, but not enough to make the search too dangerous to continue on with.
Luke started a conversation with Derek after they’d been hiking for about an hour, and a half. “How long have you been doing this kind of search and rescue?” Luke asked him as they trudged on.
“A little over ten years, I like it though it adds a little extra something to my day to day life. I actually know Brent, we went to high school together, but I moved away shortly after graduation.”
Anna and Luke’s eyes both shot to Derek in surprise.
“You knew him?” Anna gasped. Derek just nodded his head his dark brown hair slightly falling into his eyes.
“Wait…” Luke looked at Derek deep in thought. “I remember you, everyone used to call you…”
“Derek the Brace Face.” Derek finished Luke’s sentence for him.
“Yeah, man I’m sorry about that,” Luke apologized. High school had been awful for all of them. “But you’ve obviously gotten past those awkward teenage years.”
“Thanks, but I’m over it. I have straight teeth and I’m no longer chubby so I’m fine.” Derek told them.
Anna had trouble imagining Derek as chubby. He looked like he’d been in shape his whole life.
A few minutes later Kenai, who’d been happy to just follow the scent he’d been given to look for, went crazy. He was barking and running around in circles towards a destination. Derek was having hell of a time trying to control the dog.
“Look around you guys,” Derek yelled to them, “I think Kenai’s found something.”
Anna’s heart was beating a mile a minute.
They were close. They were so close to finding Brent!
Anna looked around, and then took off. There was a ledge about four hundred feet away from her, and for some reason she felt like she needed to be over there, so she hauled her ass.
Anna fell to her knees at the edge of the ledge, breathing hard, and sweating like no other under her winter gear.
When she looked down her breath fled from her body, and her heart stopped beating for a moment.
Brent…
She’d found Brent…
“I found him…” Anna turned and yelled toward Luke and Derek.
“What?!” They both yelled, and then the realization hit them, they’d found Brent. And then they both started to haul as towards Anna.
“Brent!” Anna yelled down to him, not sure if he could hear her. “Brent, are you okay?!”
Anna wasn’t quite sure if her mind was playing a trick on her, but she could have sworn that he he’d said, “Anna.” It sounded like he was tired, and the sound was barely audible.
She looked down and she could see him laying down with his eyes open. His face was scrunched up as if he was in pain.
“He said my name… I heard him…” She turned toward Luke and Derek, and informed them, since they were now next to her.
Derek immediately took control of the situation, and began giving out orders. This is what he’d been trained to do. “Anna I need you to talk to him, and keep him calm while I call for the rescue helicopter, and Luke gets out the repelling equipment.”
Anna nodded ‘okay’ at him. She didn’t know how alert Brent was.
“Someone is going to repel down to you Brent.” She told him, all of the sudden getting a giant lump in her throat and having to try not to cry. “The rescue helicopter is on its way. You’re going to be okay.”
It all became too much for Anna and she began to cry from the stress she’d felt for that last week, and because she was so relieved and happy that they’d found him.
She could hear the guys behind her getting all the stuff ready a radio a bunch of different people, but she also looked down at Brent and heard him say something to her. “Anna… stay with me…”
It sounded like he was too weak to speak, and then she looked down at him again. To find that he was laying there with his eyes closed, and his stomach was barely rising from his breathing.
“Brent!!!” she screamed over, and over again. It wasn’t fair! She’d just found him, and now he wasn’t responding… Tears flowed in trails down her cheeks from her despair.
Derek and Luke realized what had happened at were at her side almost immediately. Luke bent down and hauled her into his arms, and let her cry on his shoulder.
Luke used his walkie talkie to radio in a message. “Brent is not responding. I repeat he is not responding. We need that helicopter now. Derek is going to repel down to him now. I repeat we need the helicopter, a man’s life depends on it.”
Derek looked at the repelling gear and then at Luke. “Let me get the harness on and then I’ll go down to him. Luke I’m going to need you up here holding the rope, and guiding me down. You’re going to have to let go of Anna.”
Luke nodded and let go of Anna, but he handed her his walkie talkie. “Use this to call Cassie, and let her know what’s going on. I have to help Derek, maybe she can help comfort you.”
Anna took the walkie talkie from him and nodded.
Luke approached Derek and put on the other harness, and then helped him get all the set up. As Derek got ready to repel down to Brent Luke began to whisper to him. “I need you to go down there to help him because if he is not okay. Anna is going to be a wreck. Whatever you find out about Brent’s condition I want you to radio it in because I don’t want Anna knowing if he dies, or at least right now. She can’t handle any more stress at the moment. She’s at her breaking point already as it is.”
Derek nodded, and then eased himself over the edge of the ledge, beginning to repel his way down to Brent.
*****
I'm sorry about the wait for this chapter. I just started school again, and I have been working out like crazy. I've been at a plateau so I've been having to overcome that. :(
Sorry about the ending... Another cliffhanger... Sorry, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. The song on the side is Bless The Broken Road by the Rascal Flatts. It's a great song.
Please vote and comment!!! Thanks for reading!!!