Free Wilderness Target by Sharon Dunn Page B

me get this up so we can get out of the rain and build a fire,” he told Clarissa.
    They worked quickly, grabbing sturdy sticks to prop up the tarp. He dashed in and out of the camp, piling up wood and kindling. “Some of this will be dry enough to burn.” He pulled items from his pack. “We need to find anything dry that will burn. Any kind of paper.”
    After she helped Ezra find kindling, Clarissa grabbed a piece of cloth and some string from her pack. When she glanced up again at Ezra, he had a fledgling fire started.
    “It’s kind of hard. Everything is so wet.”
    She nodded in understanding, then called out toward the tent where she’d left their patient. “Bruce, we got a fire started, and a tarp set up so we’ll be out of the rain. Come on out, and I can put your arm in a sling.” At least she hoped she could. She’d done something like this only once, in a first aid class.
    Bruce poked his head out of the tent, pressed his lips together and nodded. He crawled out, and Clarissa was pleased to note that he’d started to get a little color back into his face. “I’ve got a cut on my leg, too,” he said.
    She touched his arm as gently as she could. His body jerked and he let out a groan. Her hands were trembling from cold as she draped the cord around his neck and tied it through a hole she’d punched in the cloth.
    “Let me see the cut on your leg,” she said.
    Bruce lifted his pant leg. Clarissa winced when she saw the gash. She located the first aid kit, put disinfectant on the cut and covered it with gauze and medical tape.
    She helped Bruce to his feet and settled him in front of the fire.
    “Stay close to the heat. Get dried out.” She patted his shoulder. He nodded.
    She felt the weight of a blanket settling on her shoulders, and Ezra leaning close and whispering in her ear. “Now get yourself warmed up.”
    She settled down beside Bruce while Ezra disappeared into the trees and returned with more wood. He tossed it beside the fire. “Once we get it going strong, we can throw some of that damper wood on.” He knelt and held his hands closer to the flames.
    “Where is everybody?” Bruce’s voice was weak.
    “I don’t know. I’m not sure what happened here.”
    Clarissa detected the tension woven into Ezra’s words. His sideways glance toward her made her wonder if the reason for the others’ disappearance wasn’t the storm, but something more sinister. Something connected to her.
    * * *
    Ezra allowed the heat from the flames to surround him. His pants were soaked, and he was still shivering. There were a hundred things he needed to do, but he would be no good to anyone if hypothermia overtook him. His mind raced. He wasn’t sure about Leonard, but Jan and Ken should have been at the camp. So where were they?
    He couldn’t focus on the disaster that was behind him. He needed to put his energy into pulling things back together. He needed to find the other members of the group. Clearly, Bruce couldn’t continue the journey. And they all might need to be going home. The first step was to get some help on the way with the satellite phone.
    Bruce lay down close to the fire and nodded off. The rain had turned into a drizzle.
    Clarissa patted the sleeping man’s shoulder. “He’s been through a lot.”
    “We all have. This was certainly not what was on the itinerary.”
    She stared at the disaster that had been their camp, a sad and bewildered expression on her face. She drew the blanket tighter around her shoulders.
    If it hadn’t been for Clarissa showing up when she did, he might not have been able to save Bruce. “Thanks for helping me back there.”
    She stared at the fire. “It’s what anyone would have done.”
    “Guess I’m glad you left that shelter after I told you not to.” That much was true...but it led to the question he wished he didn’t have to ask. “Where were you headed?”
    She opened her mouth as though to say something, but then turned sideways, pulling