Page 89 of The Voice of Wild Places
Cornelius waved a hand carelessly.“Maybe we are.”
“That's not funny.”
“Well something funny is happening!”Cornelius announced grandly, then popped the rest of the fruit into his mouth.“Might as well enjoy it.”He moved on from the fruit to the fish, and a pleased noise escaped him.Cornelius ate his breakfast with a renewed vigor, and Watt just stared at him.
Cornelius grinned.“What?”
“Maybe you still have a concussion.”
Cornelius laughed.“Or maybe I'm done trying to fight my destiny.”
Watt flushed.“You're going to milk that, aren't you?”
“I can—never mind.Dear, this pacu is amazing.”Cornelius teased.“Come on, eat.Enjoy the outside while you can, I have a feeling we're going to be grounded for awhile.”
Watt sighed, and allowed himself to fall into the lie.Everything would be fine, as long as they pretended.
Cornelius might have been losing his mind.But for once, he didn't mind.Funny, that.
The rest of the day, and night, was absolutely miserable.After eating they had picked up, with Watt doing most of the work, and retreated to the lean-to.It was well built considering the time and resources that Watt had available to him, but the storm that moved in on them was of biblical proportions.The fronds could only divert so much water, and the framework of the limbs shuddered beneath the howling gusts of wind.
Watt lay closest to the entrance, which he had barricaded from the inside with brush and more fronds.He took the brunt of the elements that penetrated every weak point of their shelter, and Cornelius lay between him and Maggie.She faced the wall, her back against Cornelius' side.Nearly every position hurt, and while laying on his back hurt the least, it was hard to see Watt's face.
Watt lay curled beside him, careful as can be.While they were so close, there was also a great distance between them.Watt was so afraid of hurting Cornelius, that he had hardly touched him at all.It was irritating, the only true injuries Cornelius had were his possibly broken ankle and ribs.And his recently dislocated shoulder was back in place, it just hurt like hell.The concussion had to be long gone by now too, the headache he fought was likely from his weakened state.
Between the weather, his pain and anxieties, Cornelius slept fitfully on and off throughout the night.He couldn't even soothe himself by stone, as it had been lost to the river and he didn't have the heart to tell Watt or find a new one himself.By the time the storm cleared off, he was exhausted.He didn't want to get up, and wouldn't have it wasn't for Watt's insistence.Watt offered to carry Cornelius to the river to wash and relieve himself like he'd done yesterday.Unlike yesterday, the water was a raging beast.It had climbed the pebbled shoreline, and was not far off from their camp.
“I can piss on my own, thank you,” Cornelius said, pushing Watt's offered hand away.Watt gave him a look, and Cornelius scowled.“Been dealing with a bum leg for most of my life, I'll be fine.”
Watt rolled his eyes.And not in a subtle way, either.Cornelius opened his mouth, but Watt held up a finger.“Fine.But hold on one minute.”
Cornelius was too shocked to do anything else.Watt usually did as Cornelius said, and his attitude was … disconcerting.Cornelius leaned heavily on the tree Watt had built their shelter against, listening to his companion blunder through the jungle.Everything still hurt, but being upright gave the mind a certain boost.Maggie's back arched as she stretched at Cornelius' side, tongue lolling as her jaw widened.When Watt returned, her tail began to wag and she rubbed against his leg.Oh, to be as easily pleased as a dog.
Watt held a branch in his hands, about the same length as his cane but much wider around.The bark had been freshly peeled, exposing the creamy green flesh beneath.One end was narrower than the other, but substantial enough it wouldn't snap off.Watt offered it to Cornelius and said, “It's not quite right, but it'll give you something to lean on.”
Cornelius swallowed, wrapping his fingers around the makeshift cane.It was cool to the touch.For a moment they both held it, staring at the other.Cornelius pulled hard, yanking Watt down to his level, then darted forward to lay a deep kiss on his lips.Watt still wasn't close enough, so Cornelius bit Watt's bottom lip and pulled.Watt made a noise in the pack of his throat, the echo of a whimper, and came willingly.
“Encontrei-os!Aqui!Aqui!”
Cornelius startled out of the kiss, flipping his grip on the cane in preparation to wield it like a bat.Watt stepped in front of Cornelius, reaching for the gun tucked into his waistband.Maggie barked twice, then took off for the shoreline at a dead run.Cornelius squinted, trying to make sense of the distant pebbled shoreline, rushing water, trees, and a … a man?
“Is that …” Cornelius began, glancing at Watt for confirmation.
No longer reaching for his gun, Watt raised his hand high in the air and waved, his smile clear as day.“Antônio!”
Cornelius sagged with relief, lowering his cane into the mud so he could lean upon it.Tears immediately welled in his eyes, and he choked on a laugh when Maggie took off running to meet their new companion.“I can't believe it.”
Watt slung his arm around Cornelius, who slumped against his side.Watt kissed the top of his head and whispered, “We're going to be okay.”
It took Antônio no time at all to reach them, weaving through the washed up debris along the riverside with ease.Not only was his easy movement magical to Cornelius, so was his presence.Where the hell had he even come from?
When Maggie caught up to Antônio, he acknowledged her but didn't stop running.He didn't really stop running when he caught up to them, either.Watt held them steady when Antônio collided with them, throwing his arms around Cornelius and Watt.He was hot and sweaty and real, and the familiarity of him had not only Cornelius choked up, but Watt too.Maggie whined, pacing around the three in dizzying circles.
Antônio said, “I knew it.I knew it.”He lifted his head, looking to Watt first, then Cornelius.“You idiots.”
Cornelius laughed, shaking his head a little.“What're you doing here?How'd you find us?”
“We couldn't go back without knowing you were okay.After Severino found your belongings, we thought you had to be upstream.”Antônio patted Cornelius on the back, which jarred his injuries unpleasantly, but he didn't care.“This is northeast from camp, twenty miles now.I think.”
