Chasing Mercury Read online

  “How long have we been out here? Did you say two days?” asked 4B. She pulled up the blanket resting in her lap and tucked it under her chin.

  “Just over 56 hours,” she answered.

  “Where is the rescue team, then?”

  “I’m actually kind of surprised they haven’t found us yet. We’re near the crash site. All I can figure is the cloud cover has hindered the search efforts. There are miles and miles of forest and coastline to search, all of which is pretty rugged. They probably don’t know if we hit the water or the mountains. But I’m sure the plane has a beacon on it. They’ll come soon.”

  Nora hoped she was right.

  “Do we have enough food to last?”

  “For a few days,” answered Nora. “We’ll be fine until they find us. I’m sure.”

  “Is that it?” asked 4B waving at the pack.

  “We have another pack with more soda, candy bars, and a bunch more peanuts and crackers in it. I keep both packs up in a tree about three hundred feet from here to keep the bears away.”

  “Bears?” 4B peered out into the nearby woods.

  Nora nodded and poked the fire with her stick. “Yeah. Alaska is crawling with them,” she said, and then she noticed the startled look on 4B’s face. “Don’t worry. I haven’t seen any signs of bear around here. We’re on a ledge that doesn’t have much food or reason for them to come up. Besides, I think bear-proofing a camp is something every young Alaskan learns at birth. They’ll stay away if we don’t give them a reason to investigate. They’re more afraid of us than we are of them,” encouraged Nora, trying to provide 4B with an assurance she didn’t feel herself. Only a sidearm would have helped her confidence.

  “You’re from here, then? Around Valdez?”

  “Close. Juneau. Born and raised. What about you?”

  The woman appeared to think about it and that same strange look came over her face.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Nothing?” asked Nora. She wondered again about amnesia. She didn’t know much about it, but it seemed to fit, what with the way 4B kept hitting blanks when she tried to remember even the most mundane item. She wanted to press 4B to see how deep it went, but something told her to be gentle about it, to ease 4B into her memory. It didn’t make sense to get her worked up when they were out in the middle of nowhere. Survival should be at the top of their priority list.

  4B shook her head. “It feels like it’s just out of reach.”

  “It will probably come back as soon as your headache goes away.”

  They watched the fire in silence for a few minutes.

  “You said it’s just us? This wing is big, so it was a large plane?”

  Nora nodded and her chest tightened as it did every time she thought about the crash. “Yeah. We were on a 737. I imagine they hold over a hundred people. It doesn’t seem possible, you know?” She shook her head. “For a little while, I thought I was the only one. Then I found you.”

  “Thankfully,” replied 4B with a smile. “What happened? Why did we crash? Did we hit bad weather?”

  “I don’t think so. The rain was coming down pretty hard in Anchorage when we took off, but we were above the cloud cover before it happened. Things were smooth. But then, one engine went out, and when the pilot turned around to go back to Anchorage, the other went out.”

  “Do you remember the actual crash? Going down?”

  Nora shivered. The real question was, would she ever forget? The scariest part had been in the beginning, when the anticipation of everything had started, and then the feeling of dropping. The way everything had just ally-ooped and how it felt like it wouldn’t end. It had been less scary when things had banged and bumped.

  “Yeah, it felt like it went on forever, but really, it was so quick. I was thrown clear somehow, seat and all,” Nora said, patting the cushion of the chair below her. “I ended up, still strapped into this seat, not too far from here, between two rocks. Somehow I landed without a scratch on me. I found you a few hundred feet out that way,” Nora said, waving her hand in the opposite direction of the ravine. “You were nearly covered by a fallen tree I’d given up on finding anyone. I was walking along the crash path and I almost stepped on you. You were covered in dirt and pine needles. Your hair was the only thing I saw.”

  Nora watched 4B reach up and feel her hair. Half of it was matted with dirt and dried blood. 4B pulled a strand out and looked at it, rolling it between her fingers.

  “You’ve been watching over me since then.” It was a statement, not a question. Nora nodded her head. “Has watching over me kept you from looking for help? Should we try to hike out? Try to find a town or something?”

  “The best thing we can do is stay put. There are miles of wilderness in every direction. Search and rescue will find the plane and rescue us.” She said it with more conviction than she felt.

  “You saved my life.”

  “Maybe. I honestly thought you were—” Nora paused. “I couldn’t tell that you were breathing at first, and you weren’t responsive. But you had a pulse, so I carried you over here, cleaned up your cut, and… well, I’ve been watching you breathe ever since.”

  “Saying thank you doesn’t seem like enough,” said 4B, dropping the dirty strand of hair and reaching up to take Nora’s hand. Nora gave it a squeeze.

  “You waking up is enough, believe me,” said Nora. 4B couldn’t know how taking care of her had kept her going.

  They sat for a few minutes, each thinking her own thoughts.

  “I’m tired. Do you mind if I rest a bit?” 4B didn’t wait to hear Nora’s response as she dropped Nora’s hand and inched down to lie curled up with her back to Nora. Again, Nora worried about the concussion/sleep thing, but 4B clearly wanted some space to digest the conversation. So, Nora watched the even cadence of 4B’s breathing and sat sentinel over her, just like she had the last two days.

  An hour later, as the afternoon turned to dusk, Nora reclined in the beat up airplane seat with her feet propped up on one of the rocks of the fire ring. It was a position that had become not so much comfortable, but at least familiar in the hours of waiting. The burning wood snapped, popped, and hissed, and she monitored the rise and fall of 4B’s respiration as she slept. Sleep started to pull her in, too. She was exhausted, but she shifted in her seat instead and finished off the last few peanuts from the package in her lap. When she tossed the plastic wrapper on the fire, the package shrank and pulled in on itself. It probably wasn’t good for the environment to burn the packaging, but her concern for the environment was overshadowed by concern of bears that could sniff out food from hundreds of feet away.

  Even unconscious, 4B’s company was a comfort to Nora. Nighttime was still bad, though, when the constant vigilance couldn’t keep the doubt and dark memories away, and panic would try to set in. The first night had been the worst, when she didn’t have the fire to help keep the dark away, and the thoughts that came with it. That’s when the specter of the wreckage burning so far below, and fear of the predators that lurked in the night, tried to take over. But now, even with the fire, it was hard to keep at bay the horrors of the crash and the visions of the bodies she’d seen. So, she didn’t sleep—at least not much. The fear of being stranded in the wilderness without protection or real shelter, along with the responsibility of taking care of someone who might die at any time, drove away any hope of sleep for her as soon as she tried to close her eyes.

  Once again, nightfall was just a couple of hours away, and she braced herself for another sleepless, fear-filled night. Maybe this one wouldn’t be so bad now that 4B was awake.

  Nora pushed up from her seat and moved out from underneath the wing. Light was fading from the gray sky. She stood tall and stretched, trying to ignore the uncomfortable thoughts. It occurred to her again that 4B might be doing the same with the memory loss. Maybe, when she was safe and back with her family, 4B would remember. Nora hoped that would be the case.

  4B continued to sleep, and Nora inven
toried the remaining food. She carefully sealed the pack around what was left, hefted the bag to her shoulder, and took it back to the tree where she hung it again, beside the other one, high above the ground, safe from bears and other animals.

  Instead of immediately going back to the shelter, she went to the lip of the ravine, crouching next to the tree she had clung to when she had watched the airplane explode. It seemed so long ago now, just a couple of days later. She draped her arms across her knees and rested her chin on them, looking out over the space before her, the shadows filling in the gorge. She couldn’t see to the bottom from her vantage point—nor did she want to—but a thin dark stream of smoke snaked up from the abyss, just to be swept away immediately by a wind she couldn’t feel when she was just a few feet into the tree line behind her. She could smell the plane smoldering below. The scent, acrid and industrial, was fainter than it had been, but she could still smell it, and it was different from the little campfire she had made.

  She could feel the presence of the people who rested in the charred skeleton of the wreckage. After seeing it up close, she was no longer surprised she hadn’t come across any survivors, though she still found it hard to believe she and 4B were the only ones. Was it just wishful thinking to feel others had to be out there somewhere?

  She shuddered to think of the bodies and body parts she had stumbled across in her search. Although she had been trained for that situation, nothing could have prepared her for the horror she had experienced down there. The first two bodies had been awful, mostly because of the surprise of it. The first two turned out to be the least upsetting, though. Each body she had discovered—seven in total—was worse than the last. Coming across body parts had been the worst, seeming so out of place. Her stomach turned at the sights and smells she couldn’t put out of her mind. She hoped they had died quickly.

  She thought of them down there, now. She’d left them where they lay, unable to make herself move them to another spot. Should she have buried them? She’d hoped rescue would have come by now, making that unnecessary. It wasn’t like her to be indecisive. She needed to do something.

  Nora was getting good at locking her feelings away, so she shoved her dark thoughts aside once again. She just didn’t have time for focusing on anything other than keeping her and 4B alive. Unless she learned to hunt—a skill neither her father nor the Guard had taught her—the food had to last them until someone came to find them. If someone came to get them. After two days, her confidence that they’d be rescued had started to wane. The charred wreckage of the airplane made it hard for her to believe that a tracking beacon had survived. And as the days crept on without a sign of help, Nora wondered what they would do. Strangely, she had no doubt they’d survive. She just had to figure out a plan.

  With thoughts of survival occupying her mind, and darkness fully descended, Nora rose from her perch and returned to the makeshift camp. She threw some more wood on the fire, took her seat and watched her companion sleep. Once again, 4B’s beauty struck Nora, even with the dirty bandage and blood-matted hair. As she watched, 4B stirred, still asleep, reached out, and then dropped her arms. Something disturbed her dreams. Nora wished she could help her, but she hadn’t figured out how to fix her own nightmares.

  Nora was dreaming.

  She sat at the worn, green Formica dining table in Aunt Mace’s kitchen. Steam from a freshly brewed cup of coffee grazed her chin as she hunkered over it, staring at the hand of cards she held fanned before her. She was one card away from calling rummy.

  It was her turn. Her aunt, who sat across the table from her, gestured impatiently for her to draw the next card. Nora smirked, and watched her aunt push the sleeves of her housedress up and lean her chin on her free hand, signaling that she didn’t have all day. But Nora didn’t want the game to end. She drew a card. The exact card she needed. She considered tossing it on the discard pile.

  “I know you got only one card to go, Eleanor, and I was dealt a shit hand. Don’t you go throwing off to keep the game going.”

  “You don’t know.”

  “You wouldn’t be calling an old woman a liar, would you?”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it,” said Nora. She fanned out the winning hand in front of her. “Rummy.”

  “That’s my girl,” said Aunt Mace with a smile and Nora’s heart broke. Aunt Mace never lost without a string of curse words.

  Nora woke and a wave of sadness surged through her. She yawned, and her surroundings—the crackling fire, the airplane wing shelter, and the smell of pine—re-established themselves in her awareness. The anxiety over their situation returned, and the sadness drifted away along with the dream. She shifted in her seat, and caught the e-reader as it slid off her lap. She set the device next to her chair and crossed her arms, dropping her chin back into her chest, ready to fall back to sleep. Night had just settled over the little camp, and Nora was tired from lack of sleep. Her eyes fluttered closed.

  The woman across from her stirred in her sleep and Nora looked at her from through her lashes. The woman rolled to her side and looked at Nora. Nora watched through the shadows as the woman’s eyes roamed over her. She must have thought Nora was asleep. Her gaze was unmasked, curious, as if she were trying to build a story from the intensity of her stare. Nora wondered what she saw: a somewhat attractive face, probably dirty, with a few lines, but not too many; dark, shoulder-length hair in a ponytail pulled through the back of a red ball cap; capable hands, nails trimmed short and no rings; a sports watch with a black band; loose blue jeans held up by an expensive belt; well-worn hiking boots; a brown and blue flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a brown t-shirt underneath; a thick silver chain around her neck with an onyx pendent framed in silver; simple hoop earrings; a full mouth. Nora smiled and the woman started.

  “Caught me staring.” A blush crept up 4B’s face.

  “Just tell me I wasn’t drooling,” said Nora with a sleepy smile, sitting up and stretching. “Besides, I watched you sleep for two days. It was the best entertainment for miles around.”

  “I don’t think either of us slept for long,” said 4B, glancing outside where the darkness closed in around them. “I’m so thirsty. I think that’s what woke me up.”

  Nora handed her a bottle of water and then looked at her watch. They’d slept about an hour. It was the longest Nora had slept at once so far.

  “Is there something wrong with your hip? You yelped a little when you rolled over earlier.”

  The woman accepted the water, unscrewed the cap, and took a long drink. Breathless, she lowered the bottle with a grateful smile and reached down to feel her hip through her jeans, wincing as her fingers passed over the meaty place just where the thigh met the crease in her upper leg. “Oh, that smarts,” she said, as she put the water aside. Nora was surprised when she unbuttoned her pants and pushed down the side far enough to take a look. The area, about five by three inches, was puffy and dark purple with bright red around the perimeter, but no abrasion. When 4B touched it, she hissed.

  “Oh, yeah, I have a pretty good hematoma right there. No broken skin, though,” she reported, carefully examining it before she pulled her pants back up. “I should probably ice it.”

  “We have plenty of ice. I’m actually surprised neither of us is more badly hurt,” Nora said as she went over to the beverage cart and broke a piece of ice from the chunk of glacier she’d stowed in it. “I should have done a better job of checking you over for injuries when I found you.”

  Water sloshed in the metal container and Nora saw 4B sit up suddenly.

  “Um, Nora? I have to go…” she started, struggling to get up.

  “Gotta pee?” asked Nora, moving quickly to her side.

  The woman nodded. By now she’d been able to get up on her hands and knees. Nora sensed the urgency of the situation even though 4B already looked exhausted.

  “You’ll need help.”

  Nora saw a blush creep up 4B’s cheeks and found it amusing. She tried not to laugh,
though.

  “Easy getting up. You haven’t been on your feet in a few days. Take your time. Mind the low ceiling under here.”

  She helped 4B rise in tentative stages, holding her arm as they paused in a crouch for a moment before easing to a semi-standing position under the wing. It looked like the effort eased the situation. They moved out from under the wing and stood up.

  “I feel a little light-headed,” 4B said uncertainly. She held tight to Nora’s arm, taking her first unsteady steps. Nora was a good three inches taller than 4B, which helped as 4B leaned heavily against her. It was dark and the pause allowed Nora’s eyes to adjust from the light of the fire. The moon was nearly full and even though it was dimmed by the cloud cover, it helped to illuminate the forest around them. It was bright enough that she didn’t need to use the flashlight she had in her pocket.

  “Oh god!” said 4B grabbing herself like a kindergartener. “We have to hurry!”

  Nora shook with the effort of holding back her laughter.

  “Stop laughing! I’m going to pee my pants!”

  “I’m not laughing,” said Nora, but the chuckle that punctuated the statement earned her a severe stare. It was enough to stifle further laughter and Nora concentrated on getting 4B to the area she’d turned into their informal latrine. It was far enough from the shelter to keep curious animals at a distance, but right now she wished it was closer for 4B’s sake.

  Unsteady at first, 4B soon gained enough confidence to walk with only an arm looped through Nora’s. Nora finally indicated a spot behind a bush, next to a large rock.

  Nora positioned her and backed up a step. “Just lean against the rock like that and squat. Do you need me to stay?” She wasn’t sure she should leave her alone, even to pee.