Trent doggedly refused my offers to help with Deshavi, as he held on to her jealously. At dawn's first glow I made him stop to rest. I set my pack down on the ground with relief. It was too much weight for anyone to be caring around for hours on end let alone a man of my years.
It was with pride that I acknowledged that I wasn't entirely over the hill yet. In an hour's time I'd pick it back up and carry it some more. I pulled a bag out of it. At least my pack would be lighter now by about 10 pounds.
I started back up the way we had just come from and Trent looked up tiredly.
"Where you going?" He asked.
I showed him the contents of the bag.
"The first thing they'll do this morning is put dogs on our trail. The dogs and their handlers after several hours of following us unimpeded will lose caution and hopefully these explosives will be enough to take out the dogs or scare them enough to stay off of our trail."
"What happens then?"
"Well they might give up on us or they'll regroup and bring in a native tracker, but that will take a little time."
He nodded and I headed off into the gloomy morning darkness.
What I hoped to do was buy us some time. Deshavi had been unconscious all night and we needed time to work on her or she may yet die.
It took a little while longer than I had planned to set the tripwires and proximity sensors, but I was now sure of the effectiveness of my snares. That was worth the extra fifteen minutes it had taken me. It was light enough to see well when I rejoined Trent. He was already standing with Deshavi in his arms.
His face was anxious, "I'm worried about her! She has a fever."
I nodded.
More than anything I wanted to just stop and see to her needs, but we needed a little more distance and the advantage of changed circumstances.
"Around midmorning is when the dogs will hit my traps, when they do our pursuers will be stopped for the moment and we'll stop to."
Trent didn't like it, but he knew the wisdom of what I said and didn't question me further. I stooped to pick up my pack and sling it on and grimly I acknowledged that it felt like it had gained 10 pounds instead of losing 10 pounds.
Every, once in a while I heard the scattered yip or howl echoing out into the morning stillness, that indicated the pursuit of us in the distance. A little past 10 o'clock I heard a muffled sounding explosion, which was followed by several more explosions. I listen carefully, but could hear no further sounds of pursuit. They would have to regroup now, which meant we had the time we needed to take care of Deshavi. I pointed at a creek up ahead of us and Trent nodded his face tight with concern for the one he held.