Page 84 of The Voice of Wild Places
Adrenaline erased all of his pains and aches, his dehydration and exhaustion.He searched for the best way up the bluff, having to backtrack a little to do so.Eventually he found a traversable portion and climbed, fingers scraping red rock and feet slipping every so often.The incline was steep enough to torture his thighs, but not enough to deter him.Maggie danced in an awkward circle which sent pebbles skittering down his way, she'd moved closer but refused to leave the peak entirely.
Watt made it to the top, aided by Maggie shoving against him to make the final push.His chest heaved, and he only had seconds to recover as his surroundings registered.The river was much wider up here, and a small island split the stream into two before the water spilled over the edge.Island was a generous term, but it was large enough to house debris from the river such as vegetation and tree limbs, the stone tower thrashing light across the land like a lighthouse, and Cornelius.
Cornelius was half slumped against the tower, and upon seeing Watt he tried to stand.Bioluminescent light flashed across his face, illuminating his wide eyes full of pain and fear.He crumpled to the ground, his cry drowned out by the water’s demanding babble.Watt started forward, eyes darting from the raging river to the light source hidden in the top of the tower.It was brighter than fireflies but flickered like them, and the color sharper than anything he’d seen before.
The river was impassable here.The current raged, and to try and cross it on foot would be suicide.How had Cornelius gotten to the island in the first place?Upon meeting the water Watt cast his gaze down the shoreline, noting the area they were in.An enormous basin trimmed with mountains that towered higher and higher as they stretched away from where he stood.The waterfall was at the lowest point, and beneath the moonlight the river shone like a mercurial road as it stretched across cerrado and fields, its origin shrouded by distant jungle that crowded the far edge of the basin.The only vegetation available immediately were scrawny trees and thorny bushes, more like the stuff he'd been tearing through.
Watt tore his gaze away from the unexplored.There were no hostiles in the immediate area, which was all that mattered.His hands flexed at his sides as he refocused on Cornelius who, with great difficulty, pushed himself upright.He didn’t have his cane, and agony was written in every harsh line of his body.He yelled to Watt, and his voice cracked as it crossed the distance.“Go back!I …” The remainder of what he said was swallowed by the waterfall, but the defeated look on his face told Watt everything.
Watt shook his head.This would not be a promise he kept.He cupped his hands and called back, “No!I’ll find a way.”
Cornelius shuddered, and he wiped angrily at his eyes.He opened his mouth, but the following words were lost to the water.
Watt’s heart twisted with indecision, until finally he held up his hands again and shouted, “Wait for me.”
Cornelius’ face flooded with panic.Watt stared at him, trying to channel every bit of comfort he could.He didn’t turn away until Cornelius nodded, and even then he struggled to look away.It wasn’t like he could go anywhere, but Watt keenly felt he was about to disappear any moment.
Watt dropped their pack to the ground, and his head buzzed when he bent down to quickly check Maggie’s wound.The bandage had come off her leg, and his heart paused beating as he searched for what would surely be a dirt packed injury.After a moment, he realized that he was combing through fur.
Thick fur, not the shave job that Cornelius had given the area when dressing the wound.A wound that was, now, nothing more than a set of raised pink lines, the edges of which were puckered by rough treatment during the healing period.Watt rested a hand beneath Maggie’s muzzle, gently turning her face towards him.
“What happened to you two?”
Dawn was on the horizon when Watt attempted something incredibly stupid, and Cornelius was unable to do anything but watch.He’d dozed on and off throughout the night, watching Watt as he worked.They’d tried formulating a plan together, but it was near impossible to hear each other without breaking their vocal cords.
Regardless, it became clear what Watt planned to do as he prepared vines throughout the night, transforming them into a makeshift rope.A large rock sat off to the side of his work area, dutifully protected by Maggie until Watt was ready to tie the rope around it.
It was a terrible idea.
The tower was a cool weight at Cornelius’ back, and besides Watt’s presence the stone was the only thing keeping him grounded.Despite the fact that they were separated by the river, seeing Watt again was a constant relief to his soul that would not ebb.
How many days had passed since he’d heard Watt’s laugh?
How many nights had he spent cursing himself for not telling Watt the truth?
He’d lost count.He’d lost everything, including himself.
And now Watt was here, working through the night to execute a rescue mission without an ounce of sleep.Once upon a time, Cornelius might’ve wondered why Watt had kept looking for him after all this time.Why the man hadn’t turned back and left Cornelius for dead, like he’d promised he would all those months ago.But now, he knew.
Cornelius’ head throbbed in time with his pulse, as did his leg.He was fairly certain something vital had torn in his knee and ankle, it was a different sort of pain than what normally wreaked havoc on his leg.Hot and sharp, growing furiously when put under weight or through movement.A concussion was likely as well, but he wasn’t sure.His mind had been playing tricks on him long before the river had swept him away.
Watt was preparing to sling the monstrosity of vine and stone directly at Cornelius, so he pushed himself to his feet, shifting most of his weight to his good leg.He braced himself to dodge as best he could, and was temporarily distracted by how Watt looked.Two images collided in his mind, that of a rancher lassoing cattle and a Scot winding up for the hammer toss.Watt hurtled the rock towards him, startling Cornelius into action.
It made it a third of the way across the stream beforethunkinginto the water.Watt frowned, and reeled it in.
He threw it again, and again.Cornelius deflated after a half dozen attempts, his chill giving way to heat beneath the rising sun.Eventually, Watt lost the rock to the current and was forced to give up.Cornelius shouted, “Take a break!”
Watt’s face twisted with frustration, and he shook his head with such violence Cornelius thought he’d break his own neck.A ragged shout clawed out of Watt, the force of which broke through the water and fractured Cornelius’ heart.Watt dropped to his knees and dug his fists into the ground, bowing his head.
Cornelius’ stomach, already tormented by hunger, filled with bile.He’d previously accepted his fate, marooned on this island and lost to anyone who might’ve cared to find him.But Watt had brought hope with him, reigniting the base desire all creatures had.
'I must live.'
Cornelius straightened as best he could, testing his limbs.Under normal circumstances he was an excellent swimmer, but malnutrition, dehydration, and exposure were all against him.But if neither of them could make it across without being sucked into the current and tossed over the falls, then there was only one option.This thought was sealed by the appearance of an odd visitor, or rather a hundred or so odd visitors.
A kaleidoscope of blue morphos fluttered down the river, bringing with them a light breeze that smelled distinctly of moss.Cornelius was stunned by the sight, they had not encountered a single butterfly yet during this trip and now there was a whole rabble of them.Their muddy undersides made their iridescent sky blue wings shine all the brighter, especially beneath the rising sun’s brilliant rays.
The head of the flutter continued right past the crest of the falls, unbothered by the loss of their watery path, and into the sun.
