Page 14 of Latham
“So now you’re telling me you’re a prince? A—a bear-prince?” Her head was spinning.
Latham laughed. “Fuck no. My family is distantly related to the king but many times removed. Half the planet would have to die off before the government would be making me any kind of a royal highness. Sorry to dash your dreams of being a princess.” He flicked her nose and she batted his hand away.
“Being your mate is good enough for me,” she said.
“And wife as soon as we can make the arrangements and get you situated on Ardanna. Unless you wanted to be married on Earth? I guess that can be arranged but we’d have to save up for the trip. Ardanna won’t pay to send us there.”
“No, I don’t have strong ties on Earth,” she admitted. “No family and if I got married there I suppose my co-workers would take up a collection and buy us a cheap gift and send a holo card.”
“Ardanna it is then. I have a huge family who are constantly complaining they don’t see enough of me. My mother can invite them all to the wedding.”
She gave a distracted chuckle but studied their surroundings with a sinking feeling in her gut. “I think before we start wedding planning we should get ourselves out of here.”
He rose and pulled her to her feet too. “Actually, I want to find a safe place for us to camp for the night. The sun will be going down in another hour or two and the cloud pattern promises rain. The first day we were at the cove I studied the topographical map and there’s a cave in this general vicinity.”
She rubbed her arms. “Not sure I want to be in a cave after a big earthquake.”
“I know you don’t want to be outside in a tropical downpour either,” he said. “We won’t go deep into the cave, I promise, just far enough to stay dry and have a fire. Better put your boots on first though.”
“You saved them?”
“Saw them on the floor when I ran in to grab our packs, snagged the laces and brought them along,” he confirmed, unfastening his rucksack and pulling out the footwear in question.
“How do you stay so calm in a crisis?” she asked as she pulled socks from her backpack and sat down again.
“Training. Years as a ranger. Experience in combat. You live a lot longer if you keep your head when the world disintegrates around you.” He squatted next to her. “Hey, you did a damn good job, don’t beat yourself up. Us surviving was a team effort.”
She hugged him and finished fastening her boots but was dubious. “Shouldn’t we stay here, close to the cove? Or where it used to be, I mean. Won’t the rescuers search for us there? I mean, if we wander off?—”
“Usually if you’re lost in the wilderness then yes the advice is to stay put,” he agreed. “But, sweetheart, think about it for a minute. The only thing the Harlecky folks can tell the authorities is you and I took the boat and went out on the ocean for the day. The ocean that became a horror show of a tsunami. The cove is completely wiped out and probably still under water. Searching for us is going to be a low priority without much hope on their part so we need to be proactive about getting rescued. Tomorrow when the rain stops we’ll hike along the trail until we find a place with a signal. I know there was a signal at the antigrav landing area because the guide got a com while we were getting ready to move out. Okay?”
“Latham, the landing area is across the gorge.” Helaine heard her voice tremble.
“You got across once—I know you can do it again. And hey, maybe when we climb the zipline tower we’ll be lucky and can com from there.” He held out his hand. “Ready to go caving?”
“Oh goody, another of my not-bucket list items coming true,” She grumbled but took his hand and laced their fingers together. “Lead on.”
He’d entered the directions in his handheld when he originally noted the existence of a cave, before the disaster happened and led them unerringly off the established path, through the jungle and to a towering rock wall. The mouth of the large cave loomed like a black hole at the base. Thunder had become continuous overhead and Helaine knew Latham was right they couldn’t remain outside in the coming storm, especially with no equipment.
“But we won’t go deep inside, right?” she asked when they stood in front of the wide opening.
“Just far enough not to get rained on, I promise,” he said.
“What if something else already lives inside there?” was her next question.
“You saw my famptror. No local beastie is going to argue with me over property rights. Come on, I want to get us set up in a good spot and come back outside and gather wood for the fire before everything gets wet.”
Random drops were already splattering down so Helaine swallowed hard and followed him inside. She was relieved when he declared a slightly elevated spot fairly close to the entrance was acceptable and they set their packs beside a glittering stalagmite. Daylight filtered inside but she could tell it would be pitch black when the storm broke and even worse when night fell. The idea of a fire became paramount in her mind. Latham wanted her to stay inside while he gathered wood but she adamantly refused to be left alone so they went together, making several trips with their harvest before the increasing rain put a stop to the forays.
“Lucky I’m a ranger,” he said as he arranged a good quantity of the wood in a circle of stones he’d built and used a small tool from his rucksack to ignite the blaze. “I know all these handy things like making fire.”
Helaine reached for him and he joined her, sitting with her back to the stalagmite. The warmth of the fire was toasty on her feet and legs but Latham’s body heat was what she craved. The fire he’d made was nice and took the chill off but the yawning darkness of the cave behind them was unnerving her. The fire only illuminated a pitifully small area.
Lightning flashed repeatedly outside the cave and then thunder roared through the sky as the rain came down in sheets. ”I wish I could say this was cozy but it isn’t especially.” Helaine said, trying for a light tone. “Not up to IDA’s standards, I’m sorry to say.”
He rubbed his hand along her spine, causing her to arch her back like a cat asking for more of his touch. “I wish I could provide better for you tonight.”
“Hey, no it’s not on you.” She moved so she could see his face in the flickering light. “You saved my life today and you got me out of the rain.”
