Cannon

7

Finally, they stopped, and he put her down. Cannon had his hands on his knees and breathed out deeply. “There are no roads out here, so don’t worry about hearing trucks. They can’t get to us that way.”

Ryver felt dizzy, so she sat on the ground. The man came to her and placed his hand on her shoulder, rubbing it. “Here, come over here.” The man lifted her by the forearms and moved her to a nearby stream. He took off his backpack and pulled out a straw, handing it to her as she knelt by the river. “Here, this is a filter, so you don’t get sick.”

She took it wordlessly from him and drank desperately.

“Eat this,” he said, offering her a protein bar. She had never wanted a protein bar like her life depended on it. She inhaled it quickly, almost choking in the process. After that, he handed her a small squeeze bottle. It had the words electrolytes on it. She figured she was definitely in need of those. She drank the entire squeeze bottle which was no bigger than her finger. Then had more water and leaned back onto the ground. She closed her eyes to focus on her breathing.

“I was sent to get you home safe,” he said. His voice was still so soothing despite the anxiety threatening to take her over.

She opened her eyes and tried smiling. “I’m Ryver. I guess you know that already.”

Cannon stuck out his hand. They shook, his palm warm. His smile was broad and alluring.

The sudden sound of swiftly moving helicopter blades caught their attention. Cannon looked overhead and sniffed the air. Ryver frowned, watching him home in on something Ryver wasn’t aware of.

“The trees are too thick here. They won’t find us. Don’t worry.”

“I’m not worried,” Ryver lied. She didn’t want Cannon to think of her as a damsel in distress.

He smiled again, making her feel weak in the best way. “Well, to be honest, I was a little worried.” Their eyes lingered on one another for a few more moments before Ryver turned away, lowering her forehead to her knees.

“How is your arm?” he asked.

Ryver had completely forgotten she had been shot. Well, sort of shot.

She looked. It was barely grazed, only slightly bleeding. She shrugged. “Nothing too serious. I need to wash it off.”

She eyed the stream. “Do you think I can do a quick wash? I feel disgusting and I smell horrible.”

He nodded. “I’ll have to stay right here. You’re okay with that?”

She bit her bottom lip. “Would you turn just for a quick moment while I undress and then again when I’m ready to come out?”

He seemed to think about but agreed. “I’ll grab you something clean while you wash.” He handed her a small capsule. “When you wet it, it turns into a wash cloth with soap in it.”

She gasped. “Thank you so much.”

Once she’d had the fastest wash of her life and had rubbed the rag all over her body, face and hair, she submerged in the stream and allowed all the disgustingness of the time in captivity to wash away. She dried herself with one of his t-shirts and then put on a T-shirt and shorts he’d brought in his bag for her. She didn’t know if he had any other clothing for her, but was grateful for the one clean set.

“Thanks for the clothes and the wash cloth,” she said.

“You’re welcome. That’s the only set I was given for you so we need to keep you clean if possible.”

“Yeah. I understand.”

“Here.” Cannon tossed her a first aid kit. “We don’t need flesh-eating bacteria making a home in your arm.”

Ryver was exhausted, but he was right. She removed a few bandages from the kit and then squirted medicine on top of her cut. It burned, but she knew it was going to help.

They intermittently heard the sounds of choppers overhead as Cannon pulled something small from a pocket and put it in his ear. “Home base,” he said, then paused a second. “Plan B.” When she saw his scowl, she wondered what the other person was saying. “Get out of there, Gus. Rendezvous with the A.L.F.A agent. We’ll see you in Uganda. Out.”

Ryver jerked with surprise. Uganda? She almost threw up then and there from anxiety. They were hundreds of miles from the border. “We can’t walk to Uganda. It’ll take a week.”

Cannon’s brow rose. “I have food for several days, and there are numerous creeks and lakes along the way.” He held his hand out to help her up. “Plus, your abductor’s compound happens to be much farther east than the village you were in.”

“So, how long will it take to get there?”

He shrugged. “Barring interference, a few days.”

That was not what she wanted to hear. Traveling several days through the jungle didn’t sound like a good time to her. She winced. “God, how many snakes live in the jungles?”

He chuckled. “Many.”

“It’s not that I’m a wussy, but even my dad hates snakes. And aren’t anacondas prevalent here?”

“Yeah. Especially in streams.”

She squealed and rushed away from the water. “And you let me get in there?”

He laughed harder. “I would’ve known if there were any nearby. I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”

She cleared her throat. “Good to know.”