Chapter 26
Colin
I groan as I slowly start to move my fingers and toes, carefully testing out my limbs to make sure nothing is broken. Thankfully, we only fell about ten feet. It hurt, but I was pretty damn scared it was going to be a much longer trip down.
Trystan.
“Trystan! Where are you?” I grapple for my flashlight that’s two feet or so away, dreading the sound of nothing but wind howling and thunder booming. Nevermind the steady pour bringing in water around us.
“Come on man, say something! You okay?” He hasn’t answered you already, so, no, he’s probably not all smiles. I shake my head, my teeth knocking together from the cold and adrenaline coursing through my veins. Did I pass out? I haven’t heard Mark.
“Mark! You there?!” I holler, panic settling in. I’m not sure how I landed, so is Trystan to my right or left? Did Mark fall in too? Fuck! I frantically start shining my flashlight left and right, searching for one or both of my friends. My light finally settles on a boot. There’s Trystan. Shit.
“Trystan!” I make my way to stand, feeling a tad woozy. Yup, pretty sure I passed out. I feel around my head; no blood, but a pretty good goose egg on the back. My pack is still hooked on my back. I shrug it off so I can move faster to Trystan.
He’s lying on his back, and his left arm is bent at an unnatural angle, visibly broken. Shit.
“Trystan, buddy, I’m here. Wake up.” I feel his pulse, looking at his chest to thankfully see it rising and falling at a steady rate. He’s got blood across the side of his head. I lift his lids to check his pupils, and they react and he squints, groaning.
“Oh, thank fuck! Trystan, your arm is broken. Be careful trying to move. Does anything else hurt? I start lifting his shirt to check for crazy bruising.
“Shiiiiiiitttttt…” Trystan groans out again, clearly feeling the pain settle in.
“Talk to me, bud.”
“Mark?” he grits through his teeth and hisses as he starts wiggling fingers and toes.
“He’s not down here with us. I already looked.
We both were out cold, so he’s probably going for help.
Oh thank you, Jesus!” I glance up at the sky, feeling a smidge of gratitude.
“He at least was the one with the keys. What else hurts?” I stand to grab my pack, unhooking the sleeping bag I thought to roll up last second to throw over him to keep him warm.
I reach in and pull out my first aid kit to see what all I have in case we need it.
Dude, I’m glad I bought the one with flare sticks and a flare gun in case our batteries die.
“Phones. Do either of our phones work?” Trystan stutters out, but it’s hard to hear him over the storm.
Thankfully, the ravine is giving us a little protection.
I look around with my flashlight again and notice the water has gotten deeper.
That’s not good. I grab my phone. It’s eleven-thirty nine.
I think we left the tent about an hour ago.
I guesstimate our trip through the woods.
Trystan and I have probably been down here for about thirty minutes or so.
Maybe. Assuming Mark is okay and he found the trail right away, he’s probably just making it to the truck to call for help.
He’ll still need to find a signal, so we’re likely going to be down here for another hour or more.
“No service. Which pocket was yours in?”
“Jacket pocket, broken arm side.” He tries to reach for it.
“Nope. Don’t move fast. Better yet, just don’t move. I got it. damnit, it’s cracked good. Let me see if it even does anything.” I push all the buttons. Nope. It’s fucked.
“It’s fucked, man. Is that sleeping bag helping any?”
“Yeah, thank you. I’ve been slowly wiggling things. My legs work. My back is sore, but I feel it all. My neck’s okay.”
“Okay, good, because we might have a problem.”
I look around us, and our little island of rocks is starting to disappear.
“What do you mean?”
I shine my flashlight around as he slowly sits up, nursing his broken arm. His eyes round.
“How fast is it rising?”
“Faster than I’d like.” I shine my light toward the inclined side to see what we have to work with.
We don’t have much space to move up in the little carved out space.
Some of it is rock, some of it mud. I grab my pack and pull out another long sleeve flannel button up to make a makeshift sling for his arm.
We work together to get him all settled, taking mini breaks to let him breathe through the pain.
I’m glad he didn’t break an ankle. I check my phone again when we finish.
Still no service. It’s a little after twelve.
I stand, climbing as far up the incline as I can get.
A little snake slithers by, and I cringe, letting out a disgusted sound.
I freaking hate snakes. He’s not poisonous at least. I get a bar!
“I’m trying Mark!” I yell emphatically. I push the speaker button so that I can keep the phone up high. The connection is crackly, but he answers.
“Colin?! Holy shit, man! I was scared! You guys okay? Can you hear me? Help’s on the way!”
“We’re okay, but the water’s rising down here! Trystan has a broken arm and a likely concussion, but hopefully mild. I’m not sure how long we were both out for.”
The connection is bad. I don’t know what he heard, or if he heard anything at all.
The call drops. At the very least, he knows someone is alive down here.
I sigh with a little relief. Help is coming.
I think of Sydney, hoping their storms weren’t as bad, hoping she’s okay.
Man, she’s going to lose it if something else goes sideways tonight.
I’m not going to think that way though. We’re all, for the most part, okay. We’re all alive. Help is coming.
I feel Trystan scooting closer to me. When I turn my flashlight back toward the water filling the immediate area, my stomach drops.
Shit, shit, shit. Thunder overhead rumbles again, signaling the sky to open back up and start crying again.
Beyond the reach of my light, I can make out the runoff of rainwater just pouring over the side we fell in like a waterfall.
This is definitely not good. The water has started to lap at Trystan’s boots.
“So, just how bad do you think this place floods?” Trystan tries to lighten the mood with a worried smidge of laughter, but it’s not working.
He won’t be able to tread water with a broken arm very well.
I start looking for roots that will maybe be something he’ll be able to hold onto if it comes to that.
I don’t know if we’re tall enough for me to lift him up to try to climb out.
I find one and examine it to make sure that it’s one: not a snake, and two: secure. It seems pretty stuck.
“How do you feel about me trying to push you up to climb out? There’s a good, stable root here to hang on to and maybe get some leverage.”
“And what, leave you down here by yourself? Not a fucking chance. Mark’s on his way with help.” I grit my teeth, hating every bit of this, and level my eyes with his.
“Trystan, man, what if this rain doesn’t let up and it really starts to fill up in here?
” Case in point, the water is at our ankles now.
“We only have so long before you have to make that choice. I can tread water. You, with that broken arm? That’s not going to work so hot, and you know it as well as I do.
We have no idea how much longer it’ll be before help can get here.
We likely aren’t the only ones in the area that need help.
Hell, there may be trees down, blocking a road.
” The idea has a chill crawling up my spine, along with the cold water.
I’m not so worried about treading. I’m more worried about the exposure to the cold water.
“I’m not leaving you.”
“This water is going to get really fucking cold too.”
“I’ve been in worse conditions,” Trystan grits his teeth.
“With significant injuries that can impede your ability to adapt to the worsening conditions? How’s that head feeling?” His pupils aren’t different from each other, so that’s a good sign.
“Of course I have a fucking headache. I’m sure yours isn’t too much different!
” he spits back at me. He’s getting testy, but I understand it.
He’s working on coping, and trying to decide what the fuck to do all while in a shitload of pain with that broken arm and whatever his head’s feeling like.
I seriously think he took the harder hit though.
“I might need you to shoot off the flare gun if things start getting rough, and we need help to get here faster. It’s possible if I get you out of here that you can get to Mark and maybe between the two of you, you guys can pull me out somehow.
We don’t know how long it’ll be for help to get here.
There might be something in the truck that your training will recognize as helpful that Mark might not notice.
“You make a good point. Fuck! I don’t want to leave you down here alone!”
“Better now while we still have time to consider options than when the water’s higher.”
I see the resignation wash across his eyes. I sigh in relief. This gives us more options. We have to try.
“I hate when you’re right.”
“Tonight, I hate it just as much, but we gotta try. I can worry about myself if it’s just me.
I can’t worry about you too. If this place fills, I will have to tread and handle exposure symptoms with a possible mild concussion.
I don’t know if I’d be able to keep you afloat and worry about all your injuries too.
Don’t put me in that position if there’s a chance we can get you out and possibly avoid it altogether with both your guys’ asses finding a way to haul me out.