14. Carried Away
Carried Away
Liam
Ilay in my tent, listening to the soothing rain as I tried to ignore my nerves about this storm. We weren’t on high ground and wouldn’t be for a while, but Ivan had assured us it would pass quickly.
I tried to focus on the sound of the storm, tried to fall asleep, but I couldn’t stop thinking about Cerise and how badly I wanted her. It hadn’t escaped me the way her breath hitched when I would let my touch linger. Or the way her cheeks flushed when I couldn’t stop myself from watching her.
And then there was the way she’d reacted when I silenced her the night of the prank. It made me even more curious. What else would make her look at me that way? Her pupils blown and eager for more.
It wasn’t just about sex. I was growing to like her as a person, and I hadn’t felt that captivated by someone in years.
I cared about her.
I groaned and rolled over, the sound of rain growing louder.
It was pouring now, and my worries about flooding grew.
This didn’t feel right. My gut told me something was amiss.
Giving up on sleep, I got dressed and left my tent to inspect the campsite.
There was a small amount of standing water, but nothing significantly concerning yet.
But something urged me to get a closer look, so I trekked through the woods in search of the nearby stream we’d passed earlier today. After a few minutes, I reached it and froze, my worst fears confirmed. It was rising rapidly.
I sprinted back to camp, shouting for everyone to wake up, but they didn’t hear me over the storm. Reaching Cerise’s tent first, I opened the flaps.
“Get up and pack your things as quickly as possible. We need to get to higher ground. Now.”
She bolted upright, tossing her blanket to the side. She was only wearing a shirt brushing the tops of her thighs, her long lean legs on full display, and I was bombarded with the visual of those beautiful legs draped over my shoulders as I tasted her.
Now is not the time, you idiot.
I backed out and woke the rest of the team.
“But Ivan said we were fine!” Dr. Rosenshield shouted over the sound of the storm.
“Well he was wrong. Again,” I responded with irritation.
Who the fuck picked Ivan as our guide? He’d been useless. Not double checking the cave, missing the quicksand in the path, and now this storm.
Within ten minutes, we’d packed our tents and supplies, donned our fortunately waterproof backpacks, and plodded along in search of higher ground. I tucked my glasses into my pack so I wouldn’t lose them. It was raining too hard to wear them anyway.
“There’s a rocky hill not far,” Ivan said, leading us. “We can climb up and will be safe.”
I stayed close to Cerise, her face painted with worry. “We’ll be all right,” I said, trying to reassure her.
“I’ll feel better when we’re somewhere high.”
“Me too.” I squeezed her hand before letting go and continuing on.
The rain was already a few inches deep, our boots splashing as we trudged through it, and I hoped a rush of water wouldn’t come barreling forth before we had a chance to get to our location.
We hurried through the jungle, reaching the rocky hill, and began to climb, gripping the slippery rocks with determination. Cerise was beside me, her brow knitted with effort as she pushed herself up, but she struggled with the weight of her pack and wasn’t making much headway.
Already at the top, Ivan called to Cerise, “Hand me your bag.”
She did as he said, tossing it up to the best of her ability. Without the extra weight, she hastened her ascent. The rest of the group made it to the top, Cerise and I still climbing to follow. We were almost there.
A rumbling sounded in the distance and my heart leaped in my throat. “Shit. Hurry, Cerise!”
A panicked cry sounded from her as she slipped a few feet before regaining her footing and trying to pull herself back up. I glanced to my right just in time to see a mass of water and debris headed our way. Almost at the top, I grasped the edge, reaching toward her with my other hand.
“Grab on!”
Cerise gripped my hand. I held tight, but it slipped in the rain.
“Liam!” she yelled.
I could barely make out the sounds of shouting above me over the roar of the flood nearing with every passing second. I lunged, gripping her wrist. But as I tried to pull her up, the water reached her legs and yanked her out of my grip.
“Cerise! Cerise!” I yelled. “Fuck!”
She was gone.
Ignoring the screams and yells above me, my pack still on my back, I let go, allowing myself to be swept away.
I hit the surface with a gasp. Debris peppered me with bruises as I tried to find my bearings. It wasn’t very deep, but that didn’t seem to matter. The force of the flood was strong, moving at such a fast pace I could hardly keep my head above water.
Finding the surface, I gripped a floating log beside me, searching the darkness for Cerise. I tried calling out her name but it was fruitless, the noise of the flood smothering all other sounds.
Lightning flashed as I scanned the water ahead of me.
There.
Her head bobbed above the surface, her arms flailing.
I let go of the log and swam ahead, trying to avoid as much debris as possible. A sharp pain in my back took my breath away as something stabbed me. Growling through gritted teeth, I pushed away the ache, shoved off another tree trunk, and searched.
Another flash of lightning showed her a couple of feet away. I pushed off another large log, reaching her in seconds. Wrapping my arm around her waist, I pulled her against me.
She was unconscious.
We needed to get out of this moving water. Now. I had to find something to hold onto, some way to pull us out of this gulley. Perhaps a tree or another rocky hill. Struggling to keep our heads above the surface, I gripped Cerise tighter as I searched for something to help.
Another flash illuminated our surroundings. We were in a riverbed now, with banks on either side. Large roots protruded from the soil, leading to dry land just above the churning deluge. And fortunately, we were very close to one.
Yanking her closer, I grabbed the next root I saw. I had to move fast before we were injured or killed by the debris that would surely hit us.
Fortunately, this part of the bank was only a couple of inches above my head. With a shout, I pulled as hard as I could, pain erupting in my shoulder as I carried the weight of both of us.
It took every bit of effort, but I managed to drag us out of the water, tumbling onto the riverbank and gasping for breath.
The rain had slowed, now a light drizzle, but it must have been pouring in the mountains, causing the flash flood to head our way.
I took off my backpack, dropping it to the ground, and rolled Cerise onto her back, preparing to use CPR.
“Cerise! Can you hear me?” I shouted, patting her face.
Her eyes fluttered open and she gasped, coughing and retching up the water she had swallowed. My shoulders slumped in relief as I turned her to her side.
“There you are. You’re okay. You’re safe. I’ve got you,” I soothed, rubbing between her shoulders through her moans and gasps.
She rolled onto her back, disoriented and confused. “What happened? I—Liam? Where—”
“Shh.” I leaned over and grasped her hand, pulling it to my chest. “We need to get somewhere safe. Can you stand?”
She nodded, still a bit confused, but managed to rise with my help. I slung my pack over my shoulder, thankful I still had it, and kept an arm around her waist to steady her. At least we had some supplies out here in the middle of the jungle.
Alone.
“Liam…What happened? Oh no. Where is everyone?” Cerise babbled, realizing the predicament we were in. “The water…I fell in the water. It was so cold, and…Where did you come from? I don’t—”
“Shhh…it’s okay. Let’s find somewhere to set up the tent and I’ll explain everything.”
“Okay.” Her voice came out in a whisper as she walked with me through the trees. After a while we found a clearing on higher ground. The rain had ceased and I was determined to get us warm and dry.
“Come on, sunshine. Rest against this tree.” I lowered her with care, leaning her against the trunk and kneeling before her. Cupping her face, I asked, “Are you all right? Can you wait here while I set up our tent?”
“Yes. I—” She swallowed, her eyes glistening with tears.
“What is it?”
“Just…don’t leave me.”
“I’m not going anywhere. I’ll just be right here.” I brushed my thumb along her jaw. “You’re safe now. I promise.”
“All right,” she whispered.
Rising, I turned around and set my pack down. Cerise gasped, standing from her spot and stumbling toward me.
“Cerise, you’re recovering from almost drowning. You need rest.”
She ignored me, pulling at the hem of my button-up. “Take off your shirt! You’re bleeding! Let me see it.”
“Right. I forgot about that,” I muttered, the pain now pushing through the adrenaline rush of earlier.
I did as Cerise commanded, standing in the jungle shirtless.
“Can you lie down?” she asked. “Do you have a blanket in your bag?”
“Yes.”
Cerise hurried to my pack and removed the blanket, laying it carefully on the wet, leaf-covered ground. I lay on my stomach, allowing her to examine the wound. “How does it look?”
“It’s deep, but I can heal it. Tell me what happened while I work.” Her voice was still raw, exhaustion obvious in her tone, but I could tell she was trying to hide it, trying to take care of me now.
I took a deep breath as Cerise laid her hands on my mid-back, wincing as she got closer to the wound. “What do you remember?”
“I remember climbing that rock and trying to grab your hand. Then the water swept me away. That’s really all.”
“Everyone else made it to the top. You were carried away and I jumped in after you. I found you unconscious and, though I have no idea how I did it, pulled you out and got us to dry land. I was hit with some debris and that’s the injury on my back.”
“You jumped in after me?” she asked quietly. “Why?”
I turned my head and glanced at her. “Well, I couldn’t just let you drown and disappear forever, sunshine.”
She shook her head. “Thank you.”
Cerise continued to use her magic to heal my wound. Heat bloomed over my back and the pain increased momentarily, then transitioned to itching before dissipating.
“I’m done.”
I sat up and turned to her, kneeling on the ground.
“What do we do?” she asked. “How far away are we from everyone? Do you even know where we are? How are we going to get back?”
I put my hands on her shoulders. “Slow down. I don’t know where we are, but I don’t think we’re anywhere close to the rest of our team. The water was moving very fast.”
“So we’re lost?” The way she looked at me, terrified and vulnerable, cracked my heart in two. I didn’t want her to be scared. I didn’t want her to be hurt or worried or lost in her head. I wanted her to smile. To be happy.
“Lost?” I paused, taking a deep breath. “Yes, sunshine. I do believe we’re lost.”