“Got it,” one of them yelled with a thumbs up. They kept jogging forward on the far side of the street with equipment bags in their hands.
Gabriel figured they knew what they were doing. “Sommer, Whiskey and I are going to take off.”
“Okay, nice meeting you. Thanks for coming out looking for me. And thank you for keeping me company. It really helped.”
“No. Sorry,” Gabriel said. “My plan is to hike or hitch a ride up to the store. It’s a lot closer to stay on the road than to take the path. You were brave and correct to take the turn off. I found your signals. They were perfect.”
She nodded.
“While these guys are working. I’m going to get supplies for your friends. I’m thinking plenty of bottled water, baby wipes, electrolyte powder, anti-diarrheal, and anything else I think might help. I figure between us, we can figure something out and get your friends down. If not, I’ll keep in touch with emergency services via satellite. We’ll see how this unfolds. I’m not abandoning the mission.”You, he thought,I won’t abandon you.
“Amazing. Gabriel, you are so appreciated. But you have a car at the ranger’s station?”
“I do.”
“Would you mind coming back here to get me? I could use some food, please. And I’d love a soda to clear my throat.”
“I’ll tell you what.” He pulled his pack straps over his shoulders. “I’ll come back here to find out what the paramedics say about you. You were just in a car accident. You may need transport to the hospital to get checked out.”
Chapter Thirty
Sommer
Friday, Noon
Gabriel had hitched a ride with an elderly farmer so he could leave his car at the ranger station.
He and Whiskey sat on the hill waiting for Sommer to pass her medical checks with the paramedic and give her statement to the police officer.
And afterward, Sommer and Gabriel walked up the road, out of view of the accident scene.
There, Sommer wandered into the forest to find some privacy and bladder relief; she used hand sanitizer as she made her way over to Whiskey and Gabriel, stopping six feet away.
“I was exposed to whooping cough,” she said. “I should keep my distance.”
“You were exposed to norovirus, too. We should be down before either one kicks in. I’m not worried about it.” He lifted the bag with its grease-stained bottom. “Come sit. Food and hydration.” Gabriel used the kind of commanding voice she’d imagined he’d used as an Army Ranger.
She didn’t think she’d ever met an Army Ranger before. They were kind of like unicorns in her mind, possibly mythical.
“How do you feel stamina-wise?” he asked. “You’ve been going non-stop.”
“I sat in a car for hours.” She countered.
“Was that restful?”
“No,” Sommer admitted as she gobbled the first of the three burgers and fries he’d brought her.
He’d also brought salty, carb-heavy, walking snacks and protein bars. They seemed to have been purposefully chosen for body-systems support, and when Sommer asked about it, Gabriel said he did adventure racing, and while these weren’t the exact thing he took for those multi-day runs, they were as close as he could get at a country market.
Sommer’s shoes and socks were off, her toes spread wide. The breeze felt blissfully restorative.
Gabriel focused on her duct tape. “You need to wrap your feet again. That’s stopped doing you any favors.”
“I left all my extra weight on the trail.”
Gabriel pulled his bag around and took out an old gift card that had been wrapped in tape, around and around.
“Clever,” Sommer accepted it. “This takes up less space.”
