'You're kidding.'
'No.'
He laughed. 'You do know you sound insane, don't you?'
She wasn't joking when she answered. 'It runs in the family.'
She clasped her hands behind her back and twisted her torso, then shook her arms and legs to loosen them and started running again, her pace slower this time, but just as determined. Once again, he fell in right behind her and stayed there until she was panting for breath. They'd been climbing steadily since they'd left the river, and so far they hadn't seen a single sign of civilization. Where in thunder were they? Were they even still in Colorado?
She suddenly stopped, doubled over, and took a couple of deep, gulping breaths. Then she put her hands on her hips and slowly straightened.
'You okay?' he asked.
Why wasn't he winded? He was human, wasn't he? She made up her mind that, no matter what, she wouldn't utter one word of complaint. Not one frickin' word.
'Can't see the forest for the trees.' She tried to sound flip. Cheerful was simply too much to ask for.
John Paul was sympathetic. 'Do you want to rest?'
Is the Pope Catholic? Does it always rain on picnics? Hell, yes, she wanted to rest.
'No,' she said weakly. Then, more forcefully, 'I'm good to go… unless you want to…'
'No,' he said. 'Let's keep moving.'
'Are we still heading north?' she asked, stalling for another minute to catch her breath. The air was so thin, she felt light-headed. 'I can't seem to get my bearings. If the sun were out…'
'We're going northeast.'
One foot in front of the other, she told herself. Steady as you go. Come on, Delaney, pick up the pace. Time's a-wasting. Suck it up.
She kept up the steady barrage of psychological nagging as she ran through the forest. She tried not to think about her soggy underwear sticking to her skin or the fact that she was lugging around at least a pound of mud on each of her hiking boots.
She didn't quite clear the dead branch she tried to jump over, tripped, and would have gone headfirst into a tree trunk if John Paul hadn't grabbed her. The terrain was getting steeper, more treacherous. As she raced along, the muscles of her calves began to burn, and she was finally forced to slow down when they broke through the trees.
She suddenly stopped. They had reached a shelf of rock that hung out over the side of the mountain. Spread out before them
was a panoramic view of the lower hills. Lush green meadows were tucked in between towering peaks with hundreds and hundreds of trees, their branches stretching toward heaven. Everything was so green, so alive. And not a soul was around.
People surely flocked to this paradise, didn't they? So where were they all hiding?
'Isn't it picturesque?'
'Yeah, yeah, it's picturesque,' he mumbled.
Desperately trying to stay positive, she said, 'Is your cup always half empty? Can't you appreciate-'
He cut her off. 'Have you noticed where we are? It's going to take us a couple of days to get back to civilization.' He studied
the lay of the land below looking for roads, but he wasn't having any luck. He had, at least, gotten his bearings back.
'We don't have that much time,' she said. Her shoulders slumped, and as she looked around her, the beauty suddenly turned menacing, and the realization of their predicament sank in. Could it get any more bleak? She wanted to cry, but she didn't give
in to the urge. Suck it up, she told herself. 'It'll be okay,' she asserted.
'Yeah? What makes you think so?'
She had to think about it for a minute before she could come up with anything. 'Because we're due for a break.'
And that was when it started raining again.
Chapter 21
Anne was one of the most uptight, rigid women Carrie had ever met. She was certain the woman wouldn't be at all helpful, but she was proven wrong. Anne more than held her own. After she finished tying together the sheets, she helped them with the wall. She was a hard worker, with surprising stamina. She didn't have any sense of humor, but then, there really wasn't anything
to laugh about, was there? As long as Anne's sacred marriage wasn't discussed, she was almost pleasant to be around.
She was also the woman in charge, giving them orders as they worked side by side. Punching a large hole through the
Sheetrock with a fireplace poker didn't take any time at all. The insulation was messy but not difficult to remove. They filled a
leaf bag with the stuffing. Luckily, there weren't any wires or pipes in the area they uncovered. Next, they sliced through the sheathing with kitchen knives.
Then they got to work on the boards. That was a bitch. Carrie had to take a break when her thumb started bleeding. While
Anne removed the splinter with her tweezers and bandaged the cut, Sara took over.
By three o'clock in the morning, they were all worn-out.
Sara and Carrie had Band-Aids on every finger. Anne still looked like a fashion plate. Her nails weren't even chipped.
'How's the sheet rope coming?' Sara asked. She pushed the sleeves of her striped blouse up to her elbows and fell into the chair.
'It's ready to use,' Anne said. She placed a bowl of tomato soup in front of Sara and then went back to the stove to fill Carrie's bowl.
'I'm too tired to eat,' Carrie said.
'You'll need to keep up your strength,' Anne told her as she placed her bowl on the table.
Sara noticed Anne take two pills out of her pocket. She turned her back on them when she put them in her mouth and drank a glass of water.
'What did you just take?' Sara asked.
'Oh, nothing,' Anne answered as she took her seat across from Carrie.
'Aspirin?' Carrie asked.
'Yes,' Anne said just as Sara shook her head.
'Not aspirin. They were pink capsules.'
'You're very observant,' Anne remarked. 'They're prescription medication for nausea. I'm just getting over a bout of illness.'
Carrie was barely listening. She had one eibow propped on the table, resting her head in her hand. She was too beat to care
about table etiquette.
'What kind of illness?' Sara asked. She was swirling the soup with her spoon.
'Nothing much,' Anne said. 'I found this tiny little bump about eighteen months ago, and I told Eric about it. He went with me
to the doctor,' she explained. 'As it turned out, it was no big deal.'
'Thank goodness,' Carrie said.
Sara was watching Anne's eyes. 'Where did you find this little bump?'
'In my right breast,' she said. 'I had the biopsy and then got on with my life. Like I said, it was no big
