don’t get them all?” Tomek asked.
“Well, I am sure they will come back with more. But just like Uncle with the lumber company, if we keep making it hard for them each time, hopefully they will eventually just quit.”
Tomek was satisfied with his brother’s answer, but they both knew that it was just the simple way out. Their lives had been forever changed and this valley was no longer only theirs.
“What about the bodies?” Tomek asked.
“I thought about that earlier. We will have to collect them for burning later. If we light a fire big enough to break bones, when we are done it will for sure give away our position,” Drake said.
“Or we use the fire as a trap,” Tomek said.
“It would work at least for one of them, but I am hurt. You would be alone and if they came together, we could be in trouble,” Drake said.
“How long will you need to rest?” Tomek asked as they reached the river.
“There will be time to burn them and break bones later,” Drake said, reluctant to admit he had no clue just how injured he truly was. “Just stay focused. We need to eliminate them all first.”
“How long will you need to rest?” Tomek asked again, this time hoping for a valid answer.
“I have no idea, but there is no way I can pull a bow back,” Drake said.
“Good thing you have a gun now, then, huh?” Tomek teased.
“Hahaha, ouch, ouch... Don’t make me laugh,” Drake said, as his laughter was met with severe pain in his ribcage.
“Are you ready to go swimming again, brother?” Tomek asked, picking up the stilts. “With your injury, there is no way you will be able to use these.”
“Walk your ass across the river, go get the dugout and come get me.”
Drake was not asking, he was demanding.
“Walking all the way upriver to get the canoe and then coming back down in the dark to find you, not to mention that we will still be downriver of home and we will have to walk back up...” Tomek’s negative tone was interrupted by Drake.
“Fine, I will wade back across. We are going home anyway, so I can warm up, again, there.”
Tomek sat atop a fallen tree that branched out into the river and put the stilts on. He began to cross the river again with ease, showing off his balancing skills, this time in the dark. Annoyed, Drake stepped into the water at the edge and stood there, knee-deep and building up the courage to wade in further.
As he leapt forward again, the ice cold rushing flow of the water stole his breath and forced him to cough, which in return made his ribcage feel as if it were on fire. Only this time was not as bad as the first, he thought. The frigid cold of the river also felt good on the outside of his injured body. The cold bullet vest-lined jacket remained pressed into his ribs, providing some pain relief and it helped control some of the swelling. Jumping forward with his legs under the water and letting the current take him a bit downstream until his feet landed again seemed to be the easiest way to move, as both arms were useless for traditional paddling. Keeping his left arm at his side, pressing the coat’s interior against his chest, he made his way even with his stilted brother.
Slowly inching his way closer and closer, Drake was silent as he finally reached his brother at the halfway point of the river. Knowing they were headed back to the cabin was plenty reason enough for Drake to kick out the left stilted leg of his twin and watch Tomek plummet from his perch, joining him in the river. The splash alone was enjoyment enough, as Tomek’s flailing arms and legs did not make for a graceful entrance into the water.
Tomek’s head was back above the surface as quickly as it had gone under. Swimming arm over arm, dragging the stilts still connected to his legs behind him, he struggled until reaching the shore line. Joining him at the shore, Drake held his breath in an attempt to keep from laughing and inflicting further pain upon his now-numbing chest.
Drake
“Well, I am sure they will come back with more. But just like Uncle with the lumber company, if we keep making it hard for them each time, hopefully they will eventually just quit.”
Tomek was satisfied with his brother’s answer, but they both knew that it was just the simple way out. Their lives had been forever changed and this valley was no longer only theirs.
“What about the bodies?” Tomek asked.
“I thought about that earlier. We will have to collect them for burning later. If we light a fire big enough to break bones, when we are done it will for sure give away our position,” Drake said.
“Or we use the fire as a trap,” Tomek said.
“It would work at least for one of them, but I am hurt. You would be alone and if they came together, we could be in trouble,” Drake said.
“How long will you need to rest?” Tomek asked as they reached the river.
“There will be time to burn them and break bones later,” Drake said, reluctant to admit he had no clue just how injured he truly was. “Just stay focused. We need to eliminate them all first.”
“How long will you need to rest?” Tomek asked again, this time hoping for a valid answer.
“I have no idea, but there is no way I can pull a bow back,” Drake said.
“Good thing you have a gun now, then, huh?” Tomek teased.
“Hahaha, ouch, ouch... Don’t make me laugh,” Drake said, as his laughter was met with severe pain in his ribcage.
“Are you ready to go swimming again, brother?” Tomek asked, picking up the stilts. “With your injury, there is no way you will be able to use these.”
“Walk your ass across the river, go get the dugout and come get me.”
Drake was not asking, he was demanding.
“Walking all the way upriver to get the canoe and then coming back down in the dark to find you, not to mention that we will still be downriver of home and we will have to walk back up...” Tomek’s negative tone was interrupted by Drake.
“Fine, I will wade back across. We are going home anyway, so I can warm up, again, there.”
Tomek sat atop a fallen tree that branched out into the river and put the stilts on. He began to cross the river again with ease, showing off his balancing skills, this time in the dark. Annoyed, Drake stepped into the water at the edge and stood there, knee-deep and building up the courage to wade in further.
As he leapt forward again, the ice cold rushing flow of the water stole his breath and forced him to cough, which in return made his ribcage feel as if it were on fire. Only this time was not as bad as the first, he thought. The frigid cold of the river also felt good on the outside of his injured body. The cold bullet vest-lined jacket remained pressed into his ribs, providing some pain relief and it helped control some of the swelling. Jumping forward with his legs under the water and letting the current take him a bit downstream until his feet landed again seemed to be the easiest way to move, as both arms were useless for traditional paddling. Keeping his left arm at his side, pressing the coat’s interior against his chest, he made his way even with his stilted brother.
Slowly inching his way closer and closer, Drake was silent as he finally reached his brother at the halfway point of the river. Knowing they were headed back to the cabin was plenty reason enough for Drake to kick out the left stilted leg of his twin and watch Tomek plummet from his perch, joining him in the river. The splash alone was enjoyment enough, as Tomek’s flailing arms and legs did not make for a graceful entrance into the water.
Tomek’s head was back above the surface as quickly as it had gone under. Swimming arm over arm, dragging the stilts still connected to his legs behind him, he struggled until reaching the shore line. Joining him at the shore, Drake held his breath in an attempt to keep from laughing and inflicting further pain upon his now-numbing chest.
Drake
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