by: Marty Chrisman

Luke dozed off, only to be awakened by the cold. Involuntarily, he started shivering. His heart began pounding in his chest as he sensed something in the darkness out of his range of vision. He knew there were bears, wolfs and even mountain lions this high up on the mountain. He kept silent, trying not to breathe too heavily, so he wouldn’t attract the attention of whatever was lurking in the shadows. He had never felt more helpless in his life.

Luke had known fear while in the Marines but nothing like this. The air was getting colder. He longed to be back home in his own bed, warm and safe. He wondered if he would ever see his family again, ever get the chance to tell them just one more time how much he loved them. Luke cried out in pain as he accidentally moved his injured leg. He could feel the blackness reaching out for him and he went willingly and without question. At least then, he wouldn’t feel the pain.

Drops of icy cold rain jarred Luke awake. He blinked against the glare of the early morning sun, instantly wanting to close his eyes and retreat back into the darkness. It was starting to rain. Within minutes, it was pouring, drenching Luke’s clothing and chilling him to the bone. His teeth were chattering and he was shivering violently from the cold. Finally, the rain stopped but Luke continued to shiver, his wet clothes keeping him cold and uncomfortable. The storm had also made the air in the mountains cooler than usual which only added to Luke’s discomfort.

He found himself getting drowsy. He fought to stay awake. He knew that under the present circumstances, he was in a very real danger of developing hypothermia. He was still cold even though the sun had started to warm things up a little. But, as soaked as his clothes were (as well as the ground where he was lying) he knew that it would take hours for the sun to even start to dry his clothing.

Luke licked his lips. He needed a need badly. His mouth was dry and parched and his throat felt like sandpaper. But there wasn’t even any rainwater near enough that he could drink some. He swallowed several times trying to work up some moisture in his mouth. He knew that he could go for a few days without food but he was going to need water soon. He was starting to lose track of time, no longer sure how long he had been lying there. If the rain had washed away the markings he had used to mark his trail so he could find his way back to camp, then it would also make it almost impossible for anyone else to find him. He tried not to think about that.

A dull ache was starting in his head and he just wanted to sleep. Unable to keep his eyes open any longer, he let himself drift into an uneasy, restless sleep. A sleep that was haunted by a nightmare. The nightmare of dying here in this place, slowly and in pain. Waiting for his body to finally just give up, to fall into a sleep from which he would never awaken.

Luke awoke with a start, his heart beating wildly, as the last traces of the dream slowly faded away. Only, he was afraid that it was not just a dream but his reality. It had gotten dark again as nighttime fell, his second night trapped on the mountain. A full moon lit up the area that had become Luke’s prison.

Suddenly, another man stepped out of the darkness and into Luke’s sight. Tall and lean with dark blonde hair, he looked to be approximately Luke’s age. At first, Luke couldn’t be sure if the man was real or just a product of his imagination, until the man spoke “Looks like you got yourself a whole lot of trouble.” Luke heard the same slow drawl in the man’s voice as his own, so he was obviously from around these parts but Luke knew that he had never seen him before. Luke tried to speak but found that he didn’t have the strength to.

“Damn poachers. I thought I got all their traps. I must have missed this one.” The other man said, as he knelt down to examine the trap clamped tightly around Luke’s ankle. “You’re lucky it wasn’t a grizzly trap. That would have taken your leg clean off.” He smiled in a friendly manner “Let’s get a fire started and get you warmed up. Then I’ll get that thing off for ya.”

It didn’t take the other man long to get a fire started. Luke welcomed the warmth. A campfire had never felt better. Gradually, he stopped shivering but he was still cold and his clothes were still wet. He tried not to move since even the slightest movement of his right leg hurt like hell. “My name’s Cory Lynn.” The other man introduced himself as he knelt down beside Luke once more.

He gently slipped an arm beneath Luke’s shoulders and leaned him up just far enough that he could hold a canteen of water to Luke’s lips. Luke tried not to but a soft moan of pain escaped from his lips. His whole body hurt. He drank gratefully, the cool water quenching his raging thirst. Cory only let him have a small amount before taking the canteen away. “Can’t give you too much at a time. I don’t want you throwing it back up again.”

“Thanks.” Luke finally managed to say, his voice sounding weak and hoarse.

“I’ll get this thing off and then come morning, we’ll get you out of here.” Cory looked at Luke solemnly “I ain’t gonna lie to you, it’s gonna hurt like hell but it can’t be helped.” Luke tried to brace himself but he still couldn’t help screaming in pain as Cory grabbed the jaws of the trap and slowly pried them apart. He could feel the wicked teeth of the trap tearing his flesh as the embedded claws were pulled loose. When Cory had the jaws of the trap pried open wide enough he yelled at Luke to pull his foot out. It took every ounce of strength that Luke had left to pull his mangled foot out of the trap.  Cory quickly released the jaws, which clanged shut with a loud snapping sound.

Still in pain from moving his injured leg, Luke was only vaguely aware of Cory wrapping a piece of cord around his leg, well above his boot and tightening it as a tourniquet to control any bleeding from the wound. Cory left Luke’s boot on, knowing that it would help control any swelling, at least for the moment. When he was done, he glanced at Luke and saw that his eyes were closed. He had passed out.

It was probably just as well, Cory didn’t want him moving around too much and hurting himself even more. It would daylight soon. When it was, he would take Luke to his cabin where his sister could take care of him while Cory went for help. Luke was in no condition to be taken very far, especially on horseback which was how Cory was traveling right now.