Page 10 of Riff

I needed to get her some water.

She wasn’t going to make it without some.

There had to be a water source around here somewhere.

“Listen, I need to take a look around, see if I can find a stream,” I said.

“Don’t leave me,” she squeaked, eyes huge, panicked.

“I’m not,” I said, holding up my hands. “I am not going to leave you. I just need to look around, and you need to rest for a few minutes. I won’t go far,” I promised her. “I promise.”

“Okay,” she said, but her lower lip wobbled.

“Count to sixty ten times,” I told her. “I promise I’ll be back by then.”

With that, I took off in one direction, counting for myself, so I kept my word.

But there was no luck.

I made my way back to her, finding her breathing even, but she was rubbing at her calves, the muscles likely cramping from the dehydration and exertion.

“Okay. Let’s do that one more time, okay? I need to go in the other direction,” I said, pointing.

“Okay,” she agreed, more comfortable now that I’d proven I would come back.

But no luck in that direction either.

“Okay,” I said when I came back the second time. “How about I give you a piggyback ride while we go this way?” I suggested, pointing in the direction I wanted to continue down, getting further away from the house.

“You can’t carry me,” she insisted, getting to her feet, but there was no missing the wince she made as her legs took her weight again.

“I’m pretty sure I’ve carried grocery bags heavier than you are right now,” I said, turning away from her, and lowering down, cutting off any objections as I waited for her to move closer.

She hesitated, and my gut twisted thinking of all of the reasons she might have to not want to be anywhere near a man, but she did eventually wrap her arms around my neck, then her legs around my waist.

I was right about her weighing practically nothing.

But she still slowed me down a bit, making me do a brisk walk instead of the run I’d preferred.

Still, progress was progress.

And another twenty minutes into our trek, I heard it.

A trickle.

“Thank fuck,” I said, making a beeline for the sound, finding a pretty sizable creek nestled between some heavy tree cover.

“Hop down, Vienna,” I said as I got to the bank.

She wasted no time, dropping down onto all fours, plunging her hands into the water, cupping it, and taking greedy sips.

“I hate to even say this, but go slow,” I said as I lowered down as well, cupping some and drinking.

There was no reasoning with weeks or months of dehydration, though. Vienna plunged her hands into the water over and over, drinking greedily for what felt like ages before, finally, taking a slow, deep breath.

But her hands went in again, this time rubbing the water up her dirty arms, then cupping some to scrub at her face with.

“As much as I want to tell you to go ahead and do a whole body scrub,” I said as she eyed the water with pure longing, “I don’t think you should get too wet right now. It’s going to get cold tonight.”