Harry kicked the wooden wheel away, further breaking it.
“Harry!” Celia snapped as she swung at a mosquito at her neck.
“Dang thing was broken anyways.” He placed his hands on his hips as he walked away from their broken down cart. She sighed as she inspected the damage. She was thankful for at least no injuries on their part but without a wheel their cart was going no where. Even with the wheel, their horse had run off when it got scared from a snake in the bushes. They were stranded in the hot sun and night fast approaching. And they both knew it would be days before someone found them.
“We are going to have to walk back to town.”
“We’ll never make it by sundown.”
“Well that is a risk we are going to have to take. We got no weapons. No food. We ain’t gonna last an hour out here in the cart so let’s get a move on now.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The hours dragged on as they trudged through prairie. They looked ahead and watched the road turn and follow the edge of a swamp. Cecilia sighed. They’d have to go through the wetland if they had any chance of reaching town before sunset which was quickly approaching.
“You ready?” Harry asked as he held out his hand.
She took it and nodded. She lied. She wanted to curl up in her warm cozy bed in the city and have her maid bring her hot chocolate as she stirred the fire alive. The dangers of a city did not measure up to the dangers out here. She was crazy to follow Harry out here. To marry him on a whim. But this was why she married him. The gentle way he held her hands and cared for her. She felt safe and secure in his arms. And now thousands of miles away from home and here they faced the last leg of their journey. They were only but a day’s travel away from their new land. They traveled for weeks without injury, sickness or broken down wagons. It had to happen now…
Another hour passed as they trudged through the water. Thankfully it was only a few inches deep, yet it still made it difficult to walk through. Better three hours in here instead of six on the road.
A sharp pain nicked her foot causing her to stumble. Harry instinctively caught her before she fell completely into the water. He stood her up and she tried to wrench out the water from her dress.
“You okay?”
“I’m fine. Must have stepped on something.”
“Can you walk?”
She took a couple steps forward and nodded.
The sun was beginning to set. The marsh was beautiful and maybe it was the feeling as if she were dying that made her notice such beauty that surrounded her.
Her foot had gone numb long ago and her breathing was now labored. She did her best to hide all this from Harry. He surged through the water like a man on a mission. He was going to get them through this mess. She wondered now if her life depended on it.
She felt Harry rubbing her face with cold water. “C’mon honey, c’mon!!” He urged her. She snapped her eyes open and gasped. He looked relieved as he held her close.
“What happened?”
“You fell and you wouldn’t wake up. You scared me! What’s wrong?” He asked.
“It’s my foot.”
Harry reached down and slipped off her shoe. She couldn’t see and judging by his expression, she didn’t want to see. Instantly Harry rose to his feet and lifted her up into his arms as he trudged out of the water and found his way back to the road.
It would take longer but at this point, both options were equally as dangerous and taking the road, at least this way he could follow it in the dark.
She prayed they would near the town soon…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ceilia opened her eyes. She had nodded off again. This time she was in more pain and darkness had completely surrounded them.
“Harry?” Her voice was weak.
“There you are.” She could hear the worry lace his tone.
“Are we close?”
“Just another minute...please, hold on.”
“Harry?”
“Yes?”
“I love you.”
Harry lost it then. Ceilia felt his knees buckle and he dropped to them. He held her tightly and wept. He was afraid to lose her. And she was afraid to die, to leave him.
“Don’t leave me, please…” Harry begged.
Oh how she wished she had the strength to wrap her arms around him or to jump to her feet and run, hand in hand, to the town and start their lives.
God, please don’t let me die. Harry needs me and I need him…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jonathan jumped out of bed and stood in the middle of his room, out of breath. He blinked as he tried to wake up and remember what made him jump out of bed.
“What is it?” Sarah asked him groggy from being torn from sleep.
“Not sure. You stay in bed. I’ll be back in a while.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jonathan saddled his horse grunting and whispering under his breath. “Dang blasted cow had to go wander off again. I ain’t got the energy to keep losing sleep over that blasted animal.” He mounted and headed west towards the marshes. He hoped he wouldn’t find a dead cow. Those marshes were deadly due to the snakes. He’d nearly lost his life or limb over one when he first moved out here.
The moon was bright tonight.
“Hello?” Jonathan heard a man’s voice cry out somewhere to his right. He kicked his horse and they hurriedly moved forward. About twenty feet away he came up upon a strange sight. A man bent over something on the ground.
“Please, help me! My wife!”
Jonathan slipped off his horse and knelt beside the couple. The woman’s eyes were closed, her breathing shallow. “What happened?”
“I don’t know. We were in the marshes…”
“Marshes?” Snakes…
Without explaining himself to the man, Jonathan picked the woman up and lifted her up onto the horse. He climbed up after her. The man quickly got to his feet. “My ranch is just a mile west. You head straight that way and you’ll find us.”
With that, Jonathan sped away, leaving a husband in the dust. But if the man wanted his wife alive, he’d understand why Jonathan hurried.
The woman moaned.
She didn’t have long…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harry ran after the horse, confused and angry. But something inside him told him to trust the man on the horse. So he kept running. His Celia was dying and he wasn’t there…
Suddenly he felt his foot hit a rock and he went flying through the air…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The sun was bright even in the early morning. Harry coughed away the dirt from his face as he slowly got to his hands and knees. His head throbbed.
Memories from the night before came flooding back.
Harry heard the sound of a man spitting. He looked up and saw the man from last night.
“You coming or not?” The man casually turned around and walked away. Harry jumped to his feet and ran after the man. He didn’t dare ask.
“Name’s Jonathan.”
Jonathan led Harry into the ranch and to a room. Celia was lying on a bed, a wet cloth over her forehead. A woman that Harry could only assume was Jonathan’s wife smiled and left them alone. Harry ran to Celia’s side and held her hand as he caressed her cheek. Celia stirred and turned to look at him. She smiled.
“Hey there.”
“Hey there.” He laughed with relief. 