A Near Fatal Fall

When the sun began to rise, Mike woke; he had slept while Pat had stood guard. Mike looked over and saw Pat sound asleep. Ovie was sleeping next to him. Mike stepped over and kicked them. “Get up you two lazy bones! It’s morning!” Ovie and Pat jumped out of bed quickly, Ovie yelling, “I’m awake! I’m awake!”

They ate a quick breakfast. After they had finished, Ovie and Pat began to pack up.

Mike looked over at Ronald, who was still asleep. He walked over and kicked him, yelling, “Get up, boy!”

Ronald moaned and rolled over. Mike kicked him harder. “I’ll get up soon, father, I’m so tired.” Groaned Ronald, sleepily.

Mike picked up a stick and struck Ronald with it. Ronald leapt up with a yell of pain. There was a jagged cut down his leg.

“Next time get up when I call you.” Said Mike.

Ronald looking about remembered the events of the day before.

By this time Ovie and Pat had finished packing.

“Aren’t we going to eat breakfast before we start?” asked Ronald.

“No! Wait till we stop at noon. We already ate, if you hadn’t slept in you could have eaten too, now it’s too late.” Said Mike.

Ronald started to say something but one look at the stick that Mike still held made him decided to stay quiet.

They all picked up some bags and off they went, through the forest.

Ronald winced at every step he took. He had been able to wrap his leg. He tripped on a root and fell. Ovie kicked him. “Get up, you’re slowing us down.” He said angrily.

Ronald got up slowly. Ovie gave him a push and they started off again.

Every step gave Ronald pain now. He limped along slowly behind Ovie and Pat.

After a bit they came to the edge of a cliff, with a thirty-foot drop. Mike, after looking down, turned and began traveling along the left side of the cliff. Suddenly, he stopped. Ronald, looking closely at the cliff, saw steps carved in the rock.

Ovie and Pat began to descend carefully. Mike pushed Ronald towards the steps. Ronald started down. Several times his foot slipped but he caught himself in time.

About halfway down the cliff Ronald let out a shout. His feet had slipped, and he fell! Mike hurried down after him. Ovie and Pat reached him first. Luckily Ronald had landed in a bush and it had somewhat broken his fall. Mike sprinkled some water from his canteen onto Ronald’s face, his eyes opened slowly.

“Get up, boy, we need to keep going.” Mike growled.

Ronald tried to sit up, but an agonizing pain caused him to let out a suppressed scream and he sank back down on the ground. Mike knelt beside Ronald and began feeling Ronald’s chest. When he touched one of Ronald’s ribs, Ronald cried out, from the stab of pain.

“Broken rib, probably.” Said Mike.

Then he turned to Ovie and Pat and said, “Go get some sticks for a stretcher.”

Ovie and Pat hurried off for material, while Mike found a blanket in one of the sacks. When Ovie and Pat came back they built a stretcher. Then Mike bent over Ronald and said, “We’re going to move you now.”

Then they laid the stretcher next to Ronald and rolled him onto it. Ronald fainted from the pain.

Ovie and Pat each took an end of the stretcher, and off they went into the forest.

After a while they came to an abandoned hut in a clearing. “We’ll stay here for the night.” Mike ordered.

They went inside, and Pat gathered some wood for a fire.

Ronald had a fever, the cut on his leg was infected, and he also was delirious. The thieves tied him down to keep him from moving around.

The next morning Mike, Ovie and Pat woke up and ate breakfast. Suddenly Mike jumped up and looked out the window. “Someone’s coming!” he yelled.

Mike, Ovie, and Pat grabbed their supplies and dashed out the door.

In their hurry they had forgotten Ronald. It was not until they were out of the clearing and in the woods beyond that they remembered him and then it was too late to go back.

End of Chapter Two