Billie
Billie felt something cool and damp pressed against her cheeks and forehead. She opened her eyelids slowly and saw that she was in the wooded area from her childhood, lying on soft dirt and leaves. Carter was crouched over her, naked from the waist up. He was using his wet t-shirt to gently dab at her face, which felt badly sunburned. Above him, the boughs of the trees waved and rustled in the faint breeze. Somewhere nearby, she could hear the sound of flowing water.
Even though she was groggy, she still couldn't help but admire his well-defined pecs and abs as the last few rays of sunlight played across them. She almost reached up to run her hands over them reflexively, until she remembered that it would be inappropriate given the nature of their relationship so far.
“Hey, you're awake,” Carter said, smiling. “Good. I was doing my best to cool you down, but I don't know a lot about how to treat heatstroke. The helmet usually does a decent job of that when I'm riding, you know?”
“Water,” Billie gasped.
“Yeah, there's a little stream over there,” Carter said, tilting his head in the direction of the water sounds. “I didn't really have anything to put it in so I could bring it over and give it to you, plus I didn't want to risk pouring it down you while you were unconscious in case you choked. Do you think you can move over to it? If so, you can cup your hands and drink that way, like I did.”
Billie nodded and tried to sit up. Carter carefully put his arms around her and lifted, half-carrying her. Together, they made their way over to a narrow stream running between some rocks and patches of wildflowers. The horses were bowing their heads over it and lapping up the water.
“Here, let's get you upstream so you won't be slurping down any horse spit,” Carter suggested. “I guess fish still fuck in it, but it's better than nothing, right?”
He carried her a few more feet and lowered her again until she was perched next to the stream. She put her trembling hands together and dipped them under the water, pulling out enough to gulp a mouthful of it before the rest slipped through her fingers. She repeated this process again and again.
“That horse you picked for yourself is a tough one,” Carter said. “Mine barely made it, but yours stayed strong right up to the end, even with you slung across its back. Still, it's a good thing this stream was close to the edge of the woods, or I'm not sure we would have survived more than a few more steps.”
Billie nodded, taking one last handful of water. Her head was finally starting to clear, and her mouth no longer felt like there was cement hardening in it.
“Thank you,” she said. Her voice was still a little raspy. “You saved my life.”
Carter's eyes shifted downward, and he looked slightly embarrassed. “Well, a dead hostage isn't worth much, as far as I can tell. Anyway, I'm glad you're okay.”
“How are you?” she asked. Even in the shadows of the woods, she could see that Carter's face was beet red. It looked painful, and she wondered whether her own sunburn looked worse.
“I'm fine,” he said. “I'm damn near starving to death, though, since I haven't had anything to eat since yesterday. Everyone always says breakfast's the most important meal of the day. Guess I should have listened to them, huh?”
“I didn't have breakfast either,” Billie said. Her stomach rumbled, and she realized that with all of the action earlier that day, she hadn't had time to feel particularly hungry. Now, though, she discovered that she was ravenous.
“Well, if you can find this shack you were telling me about, I can try to find us something to eat,” said Carter. “I'm not sure how much luck I'll have, though. I haven't seen many animals around, and I have no idea which plants are edible and which ones are poisonous. I'm not in that big a hurry to find out, either.”
“We could always eat the horses,” Billie joked.
Carter snickered. “What are you, French or something?”
There was a brief silence, and then suddenly they were both on the ground, rolling around and laughing hysterically. The joke wasn't that funny, and Billie didn't know whether one or both of them were still suffering the effects of heatstroke, but in that moment it was somehow the most hilarious fucking thing Billie had ever heard in her life. She cackled helplessly until tears streamed down her cheeks.
“So, where is this shack supposed to be, anyway?” Carter asked, trying to compose himself as chuckles bubbled out of his mouth uncontrollably.
“It's about a quarter of a mile from here,” Billie said as her giggles finally started to die down. “Here, help me up again and I'll show you.”
Carter helped her to her feet and they led the horses deeper into the woods, still snorting and snuffling with laughter.