Ryker Read online

  By the time he came to a slow stop, he figured he’d put a good two and a half miles between them and their latest guerrilla incident. He turned to wait for the others to catch up. When they did, he raised an eyebrow at Miles.

  Miles just nodded and said, “Looks like we’re clear.”

  “How can we be clear?” Andy asked. “The guerrillas are everywhere here. This is their turf. This is their terrain. Once they find their fallen friends, they’ll be all over us.”

  “Yes,” Ryker said, “which is why we have to keep going.”

  “Won’t they have a base or something on the water?”

  “There are towns,” he said. “Yes. And they’ll have eyes and ears everywhere. Spies and those with and those against them. We’ll have to be cautious of all civilization while we set up a meet.”

  “Great,” Manila said. “And here I was thinking we could have food and maybe a shower.”

  He shook his head. “Don’t bet on it.” Just then he checked his compass and smiled. “We’re less than two miles out. You should smell the sea air pretty soon.” He experimentally lifted his nose and thought he caught a faint tang. “Let’s try to get as close to the coast as we can. We’ll find a place to set up for the night and see if we can round up something to eat. Then we’ll organize a pickup.”

  Everybody was now more energized, knowing that they were so close. As they stepped out again, this time Miles led the way. Manila fell into step just in front of Ryker and asked, “Do you think we can get help for Pablo in one of the towns?”

  “I hope so,” he said. “He won’t survive the trip out of the jungle to his home, and all of us need rest too.”

  She sighed. “If we stumble across a town, there should be a medical center of some kind.”

  “That’s the hope,” he said. “Keep strong.”

  She shot him a smile and said, “Right.” Just then came a noise up ahead. They raced to catch up to see they were at the top of a cliff, and the open shoreline sprawled in front of them. She gasped and said, “So beautiful.”

  “And so damn deadly,” Ryker reminded her. “Now you really have to be on guard.”

  She shot him a look, and he nodded. “This scenario is more dangerous than ever.”

  Chapter 8

  She stared at the signs of civilization down below. She wasn’t even sure what town it was. It was a fairly good size and sprawled about, but they had to make their way down that cliff’s edge, and they weren’t even sure they could descend from here. She glanced over an exhausted Ryker. “Can we go down for the night?”

  He studied the cliff. “I don’t think we should chance it,” he said quietly. “People are tired, and that’s when accidents will happen. Plus, I don’t see any place here to make our way down easily. Better we camp for the night up at the top and then try and find a way down tomorrow morning.”

  “What about Pablo?”

  He nodded with a grim face. “I know,” he said. “I want you to stay here with Miles, while I go check out a new location.” Then he walked farther off the edge, where a lot of greenery could shield them from sight of anybody looking upward. But, at the same time, if the guerrillas were accustomed to this walkway path along the topmost edge, then their group would be in danger. He slowly lowered Pablo off his back until he rested on the ground. Pablo was mostly unconscious at this point.

  Manila gently poured a bit of water on his head and tried to cool him. “He’s burning up,” she murmured.

  “I know,” Ryker said as he did stretches to ease his back and shoulders. “I’ve got to see if I can find a way down.” He walked over to speak with Miles for a few moments, and the two men talked as they stood at the top, looking down at the valley below. They weren’t super high up, but it would be a hard jog down. Manila figured it may be a hundred and fifty yards straight down. The men pulled ropes from their packs, tying them together, while deciding where the best place to descend was. Then Ryker came back, and they hooked the rope’s end onto a tree, and very quickly, he threw himself off the edge. She cried out softly.

  Miles looked at her and said, “He’ll be fine.”

  “Dear God,” she said. “Surely there’s another way to get down.” She hated to feel the fear already sneaking through her at the idea of throwing herself off that cliff.

  “Yes,” Miles said. He came over and squatted beside Pablo to check his temperature. “Pablo needs a doctor.”

  “Well then, shouldn’t he have taken him down with him?”

  “He’s got to see what the lay of the land is first,” he said. “I might take Pablo down myself later, if Ryker locates a medical center or a hospital or something down there.”

  She nodded. “Right. I wonder if Ryker can casually do some grocery shopping while he’s down there too,” she said with a half a smile.

  “Nobody can know we’re here yet,” Miles reminded her. “At least not until we know what the mood is regarding guerrillas down there.”

  “I know,” she said, “but I could hope. I was looking forward to more of that fruit we had earlier, but I haven’t seen any since then.”

  He nodded. “I know. I was looking for something to eat as well.” He held out a bottle of water for her and said, “Have a sip yourself, and then try to get a little bit down Pablo.”

  “He’ll just choke,” she murmured.

  “He’s not unconscious though,” Miles said. He reached down and picked Pablo up a bit, so that he sat more upright. “Pablo, I want you to drink.”

  Pablo’s eyes fluttered slightly and then closed again.

  In a firm voice, Miles repeated, “Pablo, I want you to drink.” He motioned to Manila to hold the bottle to his lips.

  She gently held it to his lips and poured a little bit in his mouth. And, sure enough, Pablo swallowed. She managed to get what she would estimate was about a cup down his throat, and then Pablo refused more. She smiled and said, “Well, at least he got something down.” She carefully wiped the edge of the bottle and then drank.

  “It’s not enough by any means,” Miles said. “He needs medicine for the fever.”

  “I know,” she said starkly. “So I guess it’s down to whatever Ryker can find below.”

  “Exactly,” he said. “It’s not just about seeking medical help. We also have to set up a meet to get you guys out of here.”

  “I’d be totally okay to just go in town,” Andy said. “Surely they’re not against us.”

  “No,” Miles said. “They’re not. But they’re also most likely for the guerrillas. What if somebody sees you and reports it to the guerrillas?”

  “Why do they care?” Benjamin grumbled, as he came to a life a little more as he lay on the ground beside them. “My legs are like rubber. I couldn’t possibly move if I tried.”

  Manila nodded with a soft smile. “Mine are too. But I can understand not wanting us going down that cliff in the shape we’re in right now.”

  “But even in an hour,” Benjamin said, “we’ll have recovered enough to handle it. Food is down there. Beds are down there. We’re part of a scientific trip. It’s not like we wouldn’t have considered arriving in a town like this any other time. Why do we have to worry now?”

  “Maybe we don’t,” Andy said hopefully. “Once we’re down there, we’ll mingle in with whatever tourists there are.”

  “And you’re assuming there are some,” Miles said. “And maybe for you guys, it’s all good. But I’m not sure that we’re ready to take that chance.”

  “But you’re acting like there’s secrecy involved,” Benjamin said. “We escaped the guerrillas. They won’t come after us. They don’t give a shit. We were in their space, and now we’re not, and that’s all they cared about.”

  “Yes, and no,” Miles said. “You also escaped, and now several of their men are dead.”

  “Well, that wasn’t us though,” he said. “That was Ryker. We’re not responsible for that.”

  “None of us are responsible,” she said as she turned to face Benjamin. “It’s not a case of being responsible but of defending ourselves. They were trying to kill us or take us captive again.”

  “Well, Ryker didn’t have to kill them,” he said.

  “That’s really not the point right now,” she said, defending Ryker. “They were armed, going to shoot or kill Miles, trying to take us captive. We’d already been captive once. The last thing I want to do is be taken again. Besides, you’ve been more than happy to accept Ryker’s and Miles’s help all the way along the line. You can hardly just throw them to the wolves now.”

  “Stop being melodramatic,” Benjamin said. “All I want to do is go down to that town and get myself settled in for the night, where I can have a shower, a real bed and some food. We can arrange for Global to get us out of here in the morning.”

  “Do you think that’s possible?” Andy asked. “Or is that foolish?”

  “It’s foolish,” Miles said, sitting down and staring out at the coast in front of them. “Not only do we know nothing about what’s down there, but do you guys have any of your personal gear?”

  “No,” Manila said, “but surely we could make phone calls somewhere in town.”

  “True,” he said. “And maybe it’s fine. Maybe the guerrillas and this town don’t get along. Maybe they’ll all see you as heroes because you survived.”

  “That’s what I’m talking about,” Benjamin said. He got up and walked over to the rope. “It can’t be that hard to go down this rope. Obviously, our hands will get a bit chewed up, but we can bind them. I can go down there easy enough.”

  Miles looked at him steadily and said, “When you get down there, then what?”

  “Then I’ll find a hotel,” he said stoutly. “I’ll make a phone call, get a credit card that we can use—actually I already know my credit card number. I just don’t have it with me—and I can get booked into the hotel. As soon as that happens, we’re safe.”

  “What is it about a hotel and a night’s lodging that you confirm as being safe?” Miles asked.

  “What I don’t want,” Benjamin said, “is to consider this as some conspiracy theory. There’s absolutely no need for secrecy now. You were supposed to get us back to safety.” At that, he looked around and pulled off his T-shirt, ripping it and tying it around his hands. “I’ll go down that rope. I don’t want to even listen to you guys trying to stop me.”

  “Oh, but—” and he just glared at her.

  “No buts,” he said. “Nobody gives a shit about the guerrillas in the jungle. They live here all the time. This is a year-round situation for them. We ran into them, and that’s it. I’ll go and get a night’s room and board.” And he headed down the rope.

  Manila winced as he managed to drop down the rope. “Do you think he’s okay?” she asked Miles. “I can’t imagine going over that edge.”

  Miles looked at her and frowned. “Are you scared of heights?”

  “You don’t have to be scared of heights to be scared about dropping yourself off that edge. I can’t even imagine stopping myself.”

  “You wrap the rope around your leg,” Andy said. “Most of us learned how to do that in the gym.”

  “I didn’t,” she said. “That terrifies me.”

  “We can still get you down,” he said.

  “Are you sure there isn’t a walkway?”

  “There will be,” he said. “But we won’t find anything like that until tomorrow morning.”

  By now, darkness had settled in. Andy got up and walked over to see what he could, and then he came back and said, “He’s done very well. He’s made his way to the bottom of the rope, and now he’s walking to town.”

  Instantly, she stared up at him. “Damn. Now I want to go too.”

  “What about throwing yourself off that cliff?”

  “Do you remember that part about how I can’t imagine that edge?”

  “Of course not,” Miles said. “But we can get you down. Don’t worry about it.”

  “You don’t think we should follow Benjamin?”

  Miles shook his head. “No, I don’t. At least not until Ryker returns.”

  She frowned and settled beside Pablo. “Regardless of what you and I think about us,” she said, “Pablo needs attention.”

  He nodded. “And, as soon as we can, we’ll get him there.”

  She didn’t know how much time had passed. She collapsed under the cooler night air, watching the darkness blanket the village below as it lit up with some lights. It wasn’t as big as any cities or towns, and she definitely saw no sign of Benjamin. She knew Andy desperately wanted to follow him down and have a decent meal himself, whereas she was much more concerned about Pablo. An odd whistle came in the darkness. Miles sat up and called out with a weird cry himself. She looked at him. “What was that?”

  “That’s Ryker coming back,” he said.

  She bolted to her feet. “Where?” She walked over to the rope to see Miles making his way along the edge and holding on to the rope. She glanced around, but Ryker came off the far side, and soon enough a male figure walked toward her. “Ryker?”

  “Yes,” he said. “I found the pathway once I got to the bottom.”

  She ran forward and threw herself into his arms. He held her close. She burrowed even deeper. “God, I was so terrified when you threw yourself off that edge,” she whispered.

  He held her even closer and whispered, “I’ve done it many times.”

  Her arms clenched convulsively. “Maybe you have,” she said, “but I haven’t. That looked terrifying.”

  “Well, the good news is, there is a pathway. It’s a bit of a hike and a climb, but it’s doable.”

  “Tonight?”

  “Only if you want to go over the rope first,” he said. “If you don’t, then we have to take the pathway, and that’s not something to take in the darkness.”

  She thought about it and shrugged. “If I spend another night up here,” she said, “whatever. Did you see Benjamin?”

  He tilted her head up and frowned down at her. “Did he go down?”

  “Yes, once he realized that you got down and that you were okay,” she said. “He was adamant about going to the village and getting a hotel for the night.”

  “Interesting,” he said. “Well, it’s certainly possible he’s fine. I found a medical center and several small hotels, so I’m sure he’s in a room with a shower and a hot meal.”

  “Damn,” she said. “In that case, I really, really, really want to throw myself off the edge.”

  “Most of the people appear to be fairly quiet down there,” he said. “I didn’t come across anybody aggressive, and certainly any guerrilla sympathizers won’t be very widely public about their viewpoints. Whether the entire village is part of the guerrillas though, we don’t know, but I doubt it.” He walked over to Miles, and she joined him. But then he bent down and looked at Pablo and said, “We don’t really have any choice. He’s got to go down.”

  “That’s the problem,” she said.

  He nodded and looked at Miles. “What do you think?”

  “I’ll take him,” Miles said. “Tell me where we’re going, and I’ll see if I can get some help for him.” They quickly discussed it by diving in the map to see where the medical center was. Then they harnessed Pablo on Miles’s back, and Ryker assisted him on the rope. She had no clue how they managed it so quickly, but he was quickly slung up and safe for the descent. “Interesting way to travel.”

  “It’s easier this way when you’re carrying a heavy weight,” he said. And very quickly, Miles was off and down the rope.

  Andy stood here and said, “As soon as he hits bottom, any chance I could go?”

  “Absolutely,” Ryker said. “Go.” The rope suddenly relaxed as they realized that Miles had reached the bottom. Ryker leaned over the side, hanging onto the rope. He nodded and said, “Your turn.” They used up the rest of Benjamin’s shirt on Andy’s hands, and he slowly went down hand over hand, carefully fitting the rope around his leg each time.

  When he got to the bottom, he called out, “It’s not that bad. Come on.”

  Ryker looked at her. She stared at the rope and swallowed hard and said, “I don’t think I’m physically capable of going down like that, even before trekking twenty-two miles across a dense jungle.”

  He smiled. “You’d be surprised.”

  She nodded. “Well, I don’t know how to stop myself from falling.”

  “You’ll go after me, so I’m below you,” he said. “And I’ll take the weight if you slip, and we’ll tether ourselves together.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Seriously,” he said. “If everybody else is down, we might as well make the trip too. But only if you’re comfortable with it.”

  She swallowed. “I’m surely not comfortable with it, but I really would like to be down there.”

  He quickly showed her how to work the rope around her leg and then lowered himself so that he hung there and said, “Now I want you to do exactly what I tell you.”

  And, following his instructions, she found herself suspended over the edge of the cliff. She took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself down. His voice was a steady guide as he said, “Now loosen it around your leg and come down one step again and again.” And with him just barely below her, almost knowing that she needed that security of having him right there, she slowly lowered herself along the rope.

  Halfway down, she could feel her arms fatiguing. “I’m slipping,” she cried out, hugging the rope tightly and hating the fact that she was only halfway there. All of a sudden, he was there with her, his hands wrapped around her, holding the rope in front of her.

  “We’ll go together,” he said. And slowly, with her arms resting on his, the two of them climbed down the rope the rest of the way. When she sagged onto the ground, finally at the end of the rope, she burst into tears. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. “I’ve never seen anybody do anything braver,” he said.