Chapter Twelve
We set off over the uneven ground, but I could tell we were headed down. After we’d walked half an hour, we came upon a stream. He walked on one side, and I took the other. The ground slanted down toward the stream, making it hard to keep from sliding down into the water.
I pointed to his backpack. “If we’d known about the stream, we could have filled the thermoses here.”
“But,” he countered, “we can’t be sure this water is safe to drink.”
I sighed. “You’re right.”
Now gravel lined the sides of the stream, and our shoes made crunching sounds as we walked. I had looked forward to returning to my job and my graduate courses to get my degree as well as keeping up my side career as a travel writer. But I didn’t feel ready to go back just yet. I really enjoyed being with Mario, even though he was sick. What was wrong with me? A guy, no matter how wonderful, should not sway me from my intended course.
Mario’s hand on my shoulder caught my attention. “You’re walking much slower. Are you getting tired?” His eyes seemed full of concern for me. I had to hand it to him. He must be feeling weighed down with responsibility for getting us safely back to civilization. Yet, here he was, asking how I felt.
“I’m good for maybe another mile. Do you think we can get back in time for me to make my flight tomorrow?”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t promise that.”
The valley widened and leveled out, so we didn’t have to walk on a slant anymore. The brook trickled downward, its water so clear I could see stones and gravel along the bottom. Mario bent down and fished out a piece of white quartz with a streak of pink through it. Polished and smooth, it must have tumbled down from above. “Put this in your pocket to remember me by.”
I smiled and took it. I didn’t need anything to remember him by. I’d never forget him or his marvelous kisses. The sun drifted behind a cloud, and the air became much colder. Glancing at his lips, I wondered if they were as chilled as mine. I wouldn’t forget this adventure, either.
He pulled a jacket from his backpack and the scarf from mine. He folded it lengthwise and wrapped it around my shoulders. Then he offered me his jacket.
I shook my head. “My wool scarf will soon trap my body heat and keep me warm. It’s wool.”
He put his jacket on, and we walked until a peak rose up in front of us. Through a fissure too narrow to slide through, a steeple in the distance indicated a church. A curl of smoke, perhaps from a chimney, gave me hope that was the town. However, we’d have to climb over the next peak to go any farther. I looked through the slit again. I couldn’t tell if another valley lay beyond. We might have to keep climbing up and down until we reached the plains or another valley where the town was.
I took Mario’s hand as we clambered up over dry ground and rock. Sometimes we had to grab hold of big, jutting rocks to pull ourselves along.
Finally, we reached the top, but didn’t see any valleys below. We’d be climbing up and scrambling down again for quite a ways.
After we climbed and slid to a low place between two peaks, Mario said, “Stop. Let’s rest here and eat.”
He found a large, flat boulder for us to sit on. It was cold at first, but I soon got used to it and warmed it with my body. I was so hungry, the ham and cheese sandwiches we’d brought with us tasted marvelous, and the water from the melted snow in the thermoses was cold and refreshing.
“Wait,” Mario said. “Don’t drink all the water. We need to make it last. I can’t be sure how long it will take us to reach the town.”
I set my thermos down and screwed the cap on. We shared the remaining cinnamon bun, remarkedly intact after the crash.
He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m feeling better now. I should be okay to go on. He reached inside the backpack. “And here’s oatmeal-raisin muffins for dessert.”
Mine tasted very good. I could have eaten another, but he only gave me one. I washed it down with one more sip of water, then recapped the thermos.
Mario stuffed the wrappings in a paper sack, stomped it flat, and anchored it under a large rock. “There are two more muffins, but I’m saving them in case we don’t make it to the town tonight. Distances can be deceiving, and it might take us longer than I think it will.”
we set out again, going up one peak and down, then walking easily along a low space before climbing another peak again. I was glad I had sturdy shoes with non-slip rubber soles.
By the time the sun was low in the sky, my legs were dragging and my energy almost gone. “Can we stop and rest a while?”
“Sure.”
We were in another miniature valley. It actually had grass, bushes and little purple flowers resembling daisies. I sat cross-legged, no longer caring about grass stains on my pants. “How much farther do you think we have to walk?” I asked.
He shrugged. “The last time I got a glimpse of the town, it didn’t seem like we’re getting much closer.”
“Surely, we won’t have to spend the night in the mountains. It could get really cold.” I shuddered.
After a few minutes, he looked up. “Let’s see what things look like at the top of the next peak.”
When we finally climbed up there, a wonderful view of the sunset greeted us. Golden clouds turned pink, then magenta, and finally faded into gray. I looked down. Shadows darkened our descent, but I could still see the town ahead. We had to push on.
My back and shoulders ached. As tired as I was, I didn’t want to slide down and get scratched. I watched where I put my feet. At one place, I started to slip, but Mario grabbed my arm and steadied me.
When we reached a low spot, I sighed. “Can’t we rest a bit? I’m really tired.”
Mario leaned against a large boulder which had apparently rolled down. “It’s getting dark. I don’t think we can make it to the town tonight.”
I leaned back against a steep rock face, wishing for a chair. “And I’ll miss my plane tomorrow.”
“You mean we have to spend the night out here in the mountains? What if wild animals attack us? There must be some around, or we wouldn’t have seen a buzzard.”
Mario looked around. “I haven’t seen any.”
“But there might be mountain lions. Do you know what animals might run around this region?”
“I don’t hunt, so I’m not familiar with might be roaming around here. We’re up high, so there aren’t likely to be many. Maybe we just need to keep our eyes and ears open.”
That possibility left me feeling unsettled. I sure hoped we wouldn’t find any, or worse yet, have them find us. “Can’t we at least make one more try to reach the plains where that city is?”
Mario shook his head. “I don’t have the strength to go much farther. I just feel weak. I don’t want to get dizzy and fall.”
“Rest here a minute. I’ll go on ahead and see if there’s a good place where we can be out of the wind.” I trudged a bit farther and saw an opening. To get there, I’d have to walk on a narrow ledge, but it was worth a look.
“Wait there and rest,” I called back to him. “There’s some kind of opening up ahead. I’ll check it out.”
Glad the thermos was in my backpack and I had my hands free, I clung to a rock jutting out, even though my arm soon ached. Carefully, I made my way along a narrow ledge. As I turned the corner, the way got even narrower in front of the opening. With my heart in my throat, I managed to get one foot steadied on the eight-inch protrusion in front of what looked like a cave. Grasping the overhanging lip of rock, I carefully put one knee down, then the other. I looked into the darkness, then crawled inside. It wasn’t very big, but there was enough space for both of us to lie down. I crawled farther inside and came to a dead end. Nothing growled or rustled. The space was just a few feet longer than six feet.
Carefully, I made my way back to Mario. “There’s a cave up ahead, but if we walk as far as we can before it gets dark, we might reach a road.”
“But if we stay there and it snows, we won’t be out in the open.”
I glanced at the gray sky. “Come on, let’s get started.”
“My legs ache. Can’t we rest a bit longer.”
I grabbed his hand and tugged. “We need to get going before it gets any darker.”
He groaned. “Oh, all right.” He stood upright. “The pathway is narrow up ahead. Let me go first.”
“Why? Because you’re a man? I already made it there and back.”
He shook his head. “Because I might see a root in the path you wouldn’t notice.”
“My eyes are just as good as yours.” I started walking, not liking how dark it was with the shadow of the peak above us cutting out the light. I made my way around a bend and headed for the cave. Looking behind me, I couldn’t see Mario. Had he fallen off? Surely not. I would have heard him scream.
‘Hey,” I shouted, “where are you?”
“I’m coming. This ledge is awfully narrow.”
I crawled inside the cave. “Hold onto the protruding rock above your head and follow the ledge around. Be careful. I don’t want you to fall.”
Finally, he appeared at the opening, still holding onto the high rock protrusion.
“Now, bend your knees and crawl in,” I said.
After letting go of the protruding roof of the cave, he bent down on hands and knees. I took hold of Mario’s arms and pulled him inside.
He wrinkled his nose. “It’s dark and moldy smelling, but at least we’re out of the wind. What if there’s a bear back there?”
I shook my head. “I crawled back as far as I could go and didn’t see or hear any animal. Besides, it’s too small back there for a bear.”
“Are there any tunnels we should check out?” he asked.
“I didn’t see any. He shone a light around, showing me a flat place about the size of a single bed. He brushed dirt to the side. “We can spend the night here.”
That was just great. Here I was spending the night with a man who claimed he might marry another woman because she was pregnant with his baby. No matter what he said or did, I wasn’t having sex with him tonight, except he hadn’t made any moves on me yet. He seemed mainly concerned with my safety.
He sat cross-legged, his back against the wall and rummaged in the backpack. “Have a seat.”
I copied his position and sat across from him. “We need to try to call.”
“You’re right.” He tried his phone. “I can’t get a signal. Can you?”
I tried mine and shook my head.
He held out a muffin. “This is dinner—minus the tablecloth, the napkins, the silverware, and the wine. I hope you still have some water in your thermos. If not, I can give you some of mine.”
“No, thank you. I’ll be fine.” I took the muffin, startled by the unwanted electricity that flowed from his hand to mine. How could this still happen when he might be going to marry his ex-girlfriend? After all he’d said about her, I wondered how they’d get along.
His gaze met mine. “You know, if things were different—"
“They would be if you weren’t so bull-headed. I don’t know why you’re determined to marry her.”
“I want to do the right thing by my child—if it is mine.”
“You can’t even be sure she’s pregnant or if it’s your baby,” I snapped, wishing I were somewhere else with anyone but Mario, who was determined to cling to an outdated tradition to avoid scandal.
By the time I finished the muffin, which now tasted like a wad of paper, and drank the last of the water in the thermos, it was still daylight outside, but it was very dark in the cave.
Mario finished his muffin and turned on his little flashlight. “We can lie down here. I’ll keep my jacket on, and you can wrap your shawl around you. Lie beside me. We need to keep warm.”
Just what I needed—to spend the night lying next to a sexy man who might marry another woman. Except, damn it, what he said made perfect sense. I didn’t want to lie alone on the cold stone and freeze all night.
Hs jacket was unzipped. “You’d better zip that up to keep warm,” I said.
He looked at me, his expression serious. “But if I keep it open, I can wrap part of it around you. That scarf you brought won’t keep you warm enough.”
Great. Now he was going to lie so close he could wrap his jacket around me. That would put us chest to chest. “Isn’t that awfully close for a couple who won’t even have a relationship after today?”
He frowned. “I care about you, and I don’t want you freezing when I can do something about it. If it makes you feel any better, you can turn your back to me, and I can put my arms around your waist to warm you.”
Just thinking about his arms around me, made me feel warm and cozy. Stretching on the cold floor, I lay on my side and scooted back. What if he started caressing my breasts? Would I be able to resist him, to tell him no, that he had to remember the woman he’d promised he’d marry to save her good name and his baby’s. I’d better set him straight right now. “I’ll let you keep me warm, but don’t try anything.”
He lay down, holding his jacket open. “Come closer. It’s going to get much colder. We need to conserve our body heat if we are going to be able to hike to that village tomorrow.”
I wrapped my shawl around me and inched toward him. The rough cave floor scraped at my clothes and rasped against my bare cheek. He grasped my waist and pulled me close. Oh, the warmth from being next to his broad chest was heavenly. He spread my hair away from my neck and placed a soft kiss there, sending good feelings spiraling down my back. He whispered in my ear, “If kisses are all I can give you, at least let me warm your beautiful neck.”
I felt as if I were stealing something belonging to another woman, but I enjoyed it.
“Your arms are cold,” he said and ran his hands up and down them. Then he pulled me even closer until his face touched my cheek. “Your skin is so soft, and I love your curves.” He ran his fingers through my hair. “Such a beautiful shade of red,” he murmured.
“Mario,” I said. “You need to save your compliments for Delores.”
“I can’t help but flatter a beautiful woman. You’re not only beautiful, but you’re honest. You accept me as I am without coddling me, and I enjoy being with you. I’d love to take you a few places in Europe so you could write more travel articles. I admire your willingness to try new things and I enjoy your delight in the sights you see with me. And when I became sick and couldn’t do much, you took charge and handled it well. Despite our difficulties today, I haven’t heard you complain once. Many women would baulk from all you’ve managed.”
I wondered what he could find nice to say to Delores. So far, I’d only heard about her unpleasant qualities. I hoped for his sake she had more good traits. No, I didn’t. If he was going to marry her, I wanted her to be hateful, so he’d leave her and seek me out. But that wasn’t likely to happen. And besides, I loved him and didn’t want him to be unhappy. What was I thinking? I couldn’t be falling in love with him. There was no place such a relationship could go.
I hadn’t meant to fall in love with him. But I had. Damn it.
Mario eased his head back down beside me. He shifted, pulling me closer to his lower half, shocking me with the size of his erection pressing against my backside. Holy cow, he was big. My lower body tingled, hungry for something that would never happen. Well, he would be sleeping with me, but that was all.
Finally, from his deep, even breathing, I knew he was asleep. Now I could relax without worrying he was going to seduce me. Sometimes, using good sense wasn’t as satisfying. Yet, I had to be sensible. And I sure didn’t want to be in Delores’s shoes, no matter how stylish. I sighed and tried to sleep.
I awoke to find Mario’s arm across my breast. He was still asleep, but I was wide awake. And aroused. I gently pushed it down to my waist. My chest felt cooler immediately, so I pulled the scarf tighter around me.
With his strong arms around me I felt safe and secure. It was so nice to be protected like this. Even miles from home in the harsh environment. I wished we could be together, always. He shifted but kept his arms tight around me. I wished I could wake up like this every morning, safe in his arms, loved and cared for, like his precious possession.
Even though no wind blew inside, and the heat from his body warmed my back, the rest of me was freezing. Somehow, wishing things were different kept me awake and daydreaming. It didn’t matter how nice I felt in his arms, or how wonderful it was to be appreciated for what I was like, or how his kisses made me feel on top of the world, he would never be mine.
I had to reach my goal. I needed to finish my degree. I could find ways to continue to write travel articles. Maybe split my vacation. I could dabble in travel writing until I got good at it. And maybe I could make one trip to wherever his team was playing. I could cheer for him and wish him good luck from afar. If he were married to Delores, he wouldn’t want to meet me—and I didn’t want to see her again, knowing she had the best man in the whole world, the one I treasured. I’d just have to stop thinking about him. Finally, I fell asleep again.
As daylight crept into our hideaway, I woke again, this time to find his head on my shoulder. He was muttering something that sounded like, “so sweet.” I tried to ease away, but he clasped me so tightly around the waist I couldn’t move. I just lay there enjoying the guilty pleasure of lying next to a man I couldn’t have.
The air was still. No sound of a helicopter searching for us. No human footfalls approaching. And thankfully, no heavy ones from a bear. Did they even have bears around here? I’d had no reason to research that, though I probably could have checked out snakes. They were everywhere, weren’t they?
Mario stirred. He looked at me and smiled. “Good morning, sweet one.”
I grinned. “Good morning, yourself. How are you feeling? You are so nice and warm. I hate to leave your side, but we’d better head out toward that town.”
He smoothed back his hair. “You’re right. I do feel better, but I hope it’s warmer outside.”
He zipped up his jacket, and I wrapped my shawl around me, leaving my hands free. He shouldered the backpack, and we set off. I stepped carefully along the ledge, not wanting to slip. The next rock face was so steep coming down, we had to slide a few feet on our behinds, but we soon reached a place where it was easier to walk.
My energy had returned. As we climbed up and down lower crests, I caught occasional glimpses of the plain below and the church steeple. I took hold of his arm, feeling the muscular strength. “Do you suppose it’s possible the town is deserted?”
Mario shook his head. “We saw smoke yesterday. There’d be no reason to abandon it. Even if there is no skiing nearby, tourists and especially hikers should come by often enough to keep it going. Let’s check our phones and see if we can get a signal.” We both tried but had no success.
Finally, we reached the plains. Now the town looked farther away than I’d thought, but I couldn’t wait to get there. My stomach growled. “I could sure use some scrambled eggs and bacon.”
“That sounds good to me.”
“Can we rest a few minutes?” I asked. “I need to get my second wind.”
“Sure. There’s a bunch of boulders over there and even a tree. Perhaps there’s a clear, moving stream where we can get more water.”
The faint sounds of running water filled the stillness.
“That’s good,” Mario said. “I see some flat rocks we can sit on. Now, that the sun’s come out, they will be warmer than the ground.”
Mario set the backpack on the ground and sat on a low rock beneath a much larger one. Both were in the sun. “This one is likely to be warmer, since it’s not as big as the other.”
I sat next to him. “Tell me about your team’s chances to be entered in the big football competition. I guess it’s the European version of the Super Bowl.”
“They call it the Euro World Cup. It happens every four years. If we do well in the tournaments, Monterra could be named as one of the twenty-four teams chosen to be in the playoffs.”
A hissing noise sounded from somewhere nearby. The rock I sat on had an overhanging protrusion.
Mario’s fingers clamped on my left shoulder. “Slide closer to me,” he said. “There’s a snake.” I looked down. A brown and white snake with a pattern resembling a copperhead and a protrusion like a rhinoceros darted out from under the rock and bit my ankle. “Ow,” I screamed.
Frozen in place, I jerked my leg away, afraid it might bite me again.
“Damn it. That’s a horned viper.” Mario batted it away with his backpack. Then he kicked it. The snake flew in the air. When it landed, it looked stunned, but soon came to life and squirmed closer. Mario grabbed a large rock, threw it at the snake’s head, and smashed it.
“Please tell me it’s not poisonous?” I said.
“I’m afraid so. It’s the most venomous snake in Europe.” Now, the three-foot long creature writhed on the ground. Slithering around and contorting itself in undulating curves, it moved slower and slower. Finally, all motion ceased. Now conscious of the pain, my heart beat faster and faster. Was I going to pass out? Surely, one didn’t die instantly from a snake bite, but I felt dizzy. My ankle still hurt, but it was swelling and red. My face and hands felt numb, and I found it hard to breathe. “I’m scared. Could I die right here?”
“We’ve got to get some help,” He said. “You need to get to a hospital and be treated with antivenom as soon as possible.”
He hadn’t said I wouldn’t die here. I felt cold all over, and eagles clashed in my stomach.
“But what if we can’t get one of our phones to work?” I asked.
He drew in a deep breath and sighed. “We just have to.” He pulled his belt from his pants, then stretched it around the top of my scarf and tied it with a knot. Now my whole leg throbbed.
He pulled out his phone. “Damn. The battery is dead.”
“Oh, no. I hope mine works. I can’t reach my phone without moving my leg. You’ll have to get it for me.” I pointed to my left hip.
He slid his hand into my pocket, pulled out my phone out and looked at it. “It has bars, thank goodness.” He dialed. “Armando, Kelly has been bitten by a snake. We need a medical helicopter. We’re somewhere in the alps. Wait a minute. Kelly, do you have an app that will give us our location.”
I nodded. I reached for the phone and pressed the GPS app. Feeling like I was going to pass out, I handed it back. “Here, you take it from there.”
Luckily, he was smart enough to figure it out and relayed our location to his brother.
“You need to stay still,” Mario said. “I’m going to get some water and wash your wound. I’ve heard the venom is water soluble. Maybe I can remove some of it.”
Suddenly shaky and worried, I didn’t want to be left alone with possibly another snake
around. “You’re just going to leave me here?”
“You need to stay still and don’t move, or the poison will...I don’t want to think about it.”
“Can it kill me?”
“Uh...”
“Tell me.”
“Most people survive being bitten. Very few die.”
“Here I’ve survived a plane crash, and now I might die from a snake bite. This sucks.”
“You might luck out. Some bites are ‘dry bites,’ without any venom.”
From the way I felt, I was sure I hadn’t gotten a “dry” bite. “Do they still recommend sucking the venom out?”
“No,” he called, his footsteps crunching fallen leaves from a tree, then fading as he moved farther away.
A minute later, he was back. Carefully, he took off my shoe, peeled my sock off and washed the wound. My ankle already looked and felt swollen. “Keep sitting on the rock but stretch your leg out. You need to keep it lower than your heart. And take off any rings or bracelets.”
“You mean even my hands might swell?”
“I’ve heard it’s possible. He held up a stick. “Now give me your shawl.” He placed the stick next to my leg. “Hold this here.” Round and round he wrapped the shawl until it was so tight I could barely feel the rest of my leg, but the area around the bite hurt like mad.
I felt dizzy. “I’m not wearing any rings, but I feel like lying down.”
“No. Don’t. I want your leg lower than your heart.”
Now I felt nauseous. I hoped I wouldn’t throw up in front of him. That would be embarrassing. “How do you know what to do?”
“I got bitten by one while we were hiking. It wasn’t pleasant, but I survived. Mine wasn’t dry, but I was lucky enough to get antivenom before I got too sick. I had to call my father to send a helicopter for me.”
We waited, and my ankle hurt even more. I was so dizzy, I couldn’t stand up even if I’d wanted to.
Half an hour passed with Mario pacing the area and scanning the sky. Finally, I heard the welcome sounds of a helicopter. As soon as the chopper set down, a paramedic jumped out of the aircraft and lifted down a stretcher. He set the wheels on the ground and rolled it toward us. As he loaded me onto the gurney with Mario’s help, he asked about the snake.
“It’s a horned viper,” Mario said and pointed to the carcass. The paramedic loaded me onto the helicopter and beckoned Mario to climb in.
“Where are we going?” I asked, my voice sounding weak.
The paramedic was cleaning my wound. “Bolzano. With over 100,000 people, we have a good hospital. It’s at the foot of the Dolomite Mountains. Our Museum of Archaeology has a Neolithic mummy called Otzi, the ice man. When you recover from the snake bite, you might want to visit our 13th-century Mareccio Castle.”
He was trying to distract me. I lifted my head. “Maybe when I feel better, I might want to visit those places. How long will I need to stay in the hospital?”
“At least twenty-four hours, but probably longer,” the paramedic said. “You should be checked the following day as well.” He spoke into his phone to someone at the hospital, relaying my condition.
“We should be there in ten minutes,” the pilot said.
It couldn’t be too soon for me. I was breaking into a cold sweat.
Mario was holding my hand. I seemed to be moving in and out of consciousness. I looked up at him. “I think I love you.”
“And I love you,” he murmured. “I just want you to be all right.”
When the helicopter landed, I finally returned to consciousness and wished I hadn’t. My leg looked massively bloated. My taut skin was pasty white and blotchy red. It felt as if my leg could explode any minute. Even though my leg was numb, I could still feel the pain. They unloaded my stretcher and wheeled it into an emergency room, smelling of disinfectant. A technician stuck a needle in my arm and took blood and rushed it somewhere … to a lab I supposed. In no time, they had me on a bed with an IV attached. A nurse was adding vials to the bag. “We’re giving you antivenom,” she said. Soon, four empty vials lay on a tray, next to six more filled ones.
I stared at the gray wall. They must think I was in really bad condition. The nausea and dizziness soon subsided, although the pain did not. The blank expression of the nurse alleviated some of my worry.
Feeling much better after I’d absorbed most of the eight vials used, I tried to sit up, but the nurse said, “Nein, nein. You must lie still.”
Mario said, “They speak both German and Italian in this area as well as a little English.”
A technician taped wires on my chest and did an electrocardiogram. “We need to assess the level of any damage to your heart.”
After the technician left, I looked up at a big round clock on the beige wall. It was one o’clock. I still hurt, although the morphine or whatever they gave me helped. I suddenly remembered I couldn’t go home tomorrow. “I need to cancel my plane flight.”
“Don’t worry.” Mario said. “I’ll take care of that.”
The first thing I thought of when I awakened was I hadn’t called my folks. “Oh, no. I need to call my parents. Where’s my phone? I hope I have enough juice. Hand me the phone, please.”
I pushed the number, but nobody answered. And then I thought about the flight to the hospital. Had I told Mario I loved him? Had he really said he loved me? My brain was so foggy I couldn’t be sure.