They splashed through the swamp in the darkness, trying to be as quiet as
possible while still moving as quickly as possible. They held hands to avoid
losing each other. Once he bumped his shins against something big and solid that
moved away from him in a swift rush of water -- he could only guess that the
crocodile had just eaten and was sated for the moment, else it would have had him
and saved their pursuers some trouble.

He saw the island first, a dark silhouette in the dim light of the quarter-moon,
and led her toward it. They stumbled ashore, feeling their way up the rocky
outcrop. They found the cave purely by accident; the ledge seemed to have some
space under it, and he crawled in to see if there would be enough room for them
to hide. When he discovered that the space led up and back under the ledge, he
went back to tug at her hand and lead her into the shelter.

The cave was small, its ceiling low and its floor muddy. There was enough room
for them to crawl, but not to stand, and the open space ended abruptly as the
ceiling dipped to meet the floor. They could feel holes leading further back into
the rock, but none large enough to get into. They stopped moving for the first
time in hours, and simply lay panting in the mud.

As they regained their breath, he rolled close to her and found her ear with his
mouth. "I don't think they'll come into the swamp at night," he whispered. "As
soon as it is light, I'll crawl out and see if I can do anything to obscure our
trail into this place. If we can wait them out undiscovered through the day, we
should be able to move on at nightfall."

They wiped their hands as best they could on their clothes, and shared what
little food they had in their pockets. The blackness in the cave was total. He
made sure that his knife was still in its sheath on his belt, but didn't take it
out, lest he lose it in the mud and darkness.

After awhile he felt her hand on him, and then she crawled into his arms and
buried her face against his chest. He held her while she sobbed quietly, and
rubbed her shoulders with his hands. Eventually she stopped crying and raised her
head, and he felt her lips against his cheek, against his stubbled chin, and
finally against his own mouth. She kissed his closed lips, then drew back a
little when he did not respond.

"What?" she whispered.

"Why?" he responded.

"We could die here, or out in the swamp, or in the jungle if we make it that far.
I -- I don't want to die. I know -- its been hard for you -- what with me and
Alan -- why can't we be together now? We may never get out of here -- can't we
just -- be together, one more time?"

He answered her with a kiss, and then they were silent, their mouths joined,
their hands searching, touching, unbuttoning the fatigues that they wore. He
wiped his hands again on the back of her shirt, trying to get them as clean as
possible, then slid them up under her shirt, under her T-shirt, to caress her
naked breasts. Her nipples were hard against his palms -- her tongue dug into his
with renewed vigor as he stroked them, rubbed them with his thumbs, rolled them
between his fingers.

She worked her hand down between their bodies, unfastening his belt and the fly
of his pants, then reaching in to hold his pulsing hardness.

"I guess I'll let you get on top," he said, feeling the mud squish into the back
of his pants as her weight pressed him down.

"You're such a gentleman." He couldn't see her smile, but he could hear it.

Together they wiggled her pants down to her ankles, and she crouched over him. A
move, a slight adjustment, and then she pressed down, taking him inside her. They
moved together slowly, kissing, touching, sometimes not moving at all. When she
came, she bent low, moaning her pleasure against his neck. They continued, and
again she moaned as the intensity of feeling overtook her. He was on the edge,
and as he felt her spasms he went over, thrusting solidly up into her as his body
sought vainly to overcome its own mortality.

Afterward they lay together, still joined, until he softened and slipped out of
her. She fell asleep in his arms, and he held her there on top of him until a
nightmare woke her and she sobbed again against his chest. When she had calmed,
they refastened their clothing, and then again they slept.

With the dawn's first light came the shouts of the searchers out in the swamp,
much too nearby.