Chapter 2 #3
“I’ll be fine,” I said, desperate to get outside.
He hesitated but then took my elbow and opened the door, marching us out into the dark woods. When he stopped and released my arm, I didn’t move, standing close to him and staring out at the darkness.
“What’s the matter?” he asked.
“Are there cougars out here?” I whispered.
“No,” he said, but his voice gentled. “We haven’t seen any signs of cougars.”
I shuddered and saw him notice. I hoped he bought my act that I was scared to walk into the woods. I stepped forward, then stopped, turning to look back at him.
“Don’t look.”
A sharp laugh escaped his lips. “You think I want your brother to cut off my balls?”
“Just… don’t look.”
“I’m not gonna look.” He sounded irritated.
I took slow, deliberately noisy steps into the woods, acting like I was trying to find some good cover.
“Don’t go much further,” he called.
“Don’t look!” I hissed at him.
“I’m not looking. Gods.”
I could see from his silhouette he’d turned his back to me. I took a deep breath and started walking a lot quieter, trying to mimic how they’d moved silently through the woods. He disappeared behind the trees. I breathed shallowly, my heart pounding.
“Ember?” he called, and I turned and ran.
He let out a string of curses as he charged after me, and I pushed myself even faster, my breath puffing out in white clouds.
The woods were so dark, and unseen branches slapped me in the face as I ran, but I could barely feel them.
He whistled the same pattern over and over, and I knew he was trying to alert the others.
Moonlight weakly filtered through the trees, casting ghostly shadows on the snow-packed ground.
Somehow, I managed to stay on my feet as I ran, but I could hear the crunch of his running footsteps behind me.
It wasn’t long before I heard running water, even over my gasping breaths, and I went straight for it.
Water was the only thing Wolf couldn’t track through.
A second later, I broke through the trees and came to a stumbling stop on the bank of a river.
The moon put out just enough light for me to see it was swollen with snowmelt and roaring quickly past, far wilder than I knew was safe, but it was my only chance to escape my brother.
I hesitated for half a second, then charged into the dark water.
I sucked in a gasp. The water was so cold it hurt . It surged up from my knees to my chest, and I nearly fell as my boots slipped on the rocks.
“Ember! Stop!"
I threw a terrified look over my shoulder to see Lee barreling out of the woods toward me.
I lunged forward, fighting the current. Maybe this was as deep as it went. If it stayed like this?—
I took another step, and the ground dropped out from under me.
My shriek was cut off by icy water rushing into my nose and mouth.
I popped back up, gasping in a lungful of air.
I could hear Lee yelling, but I was more focused on not drowning as the current pulled me downstream.
Lee tried to run along the river, but there were fallen trees and thick brush along the edge that he had to swerve back into the woods to go around, and I lost sight of him.
The water slammed me into a partially submerged rock hard enough to make my bones vibrate.
I could swim okay, but I was tired, and keeping my head above water was getting harder.
I avoided another rock, but the water behind it sucked me under.
For a terrifying minute, I couldn’t tell which way was up as the water spun me around.
I tried to fight it, but it wasn’t until I gave up in panicked exhaustion that the river spit me out.
I broke the surface, gasping in a lungful of air.
The current was moving fast. I couldn’t see Lee anywhere.
My body was so cold my limbs were growing stiff.
I managed to grab hold of the next rock I nearly bashed my skull in on.
I clung to it, struggling to pull myself up as the water sucked at my body.
The freezing air sliced across my wet skin as I panted, arms trembling. I wouldn’t be able to hold on for long.
Fuck.
I had precious few options, but this river might make the choice for me. Maybe this wouldn’t be such a bad way to go. It hurt, right now, but I would eventually go numb, and I’d rather drown in frozen water than burn alive.
I thought of Mac and the crew— my crew—and tears filled my eyes. I didn’t want to lose them. I wanted to go home.
I closed my eyes, fighting the panic by picturing Trey reaching for me.
He would pull me against his chest. My arms would go around his neck, my hands in his hair, and his strong arms would hold me tight.
I would breathe in his comforting scent and tip my head up to meet those brown eyes.
He would smile that sunshine smile and kiss me.
I’ll find you again in another lifetime. Maybe there we’ll have more time. I love you, Bones.
I love you, Trey. I love you so much.
I could see him so clearly: the warmth of his eyes, the way the skin crinkled around them when he smiled, the soft waves of his brown hair. I could feel the calluses on his hands as he entwined them with mine.
“Stay with me. Please, don’t leave,” I begged.
Maybe it was just my imagination, but I could have sworn he whispered. “I’m not goin’ anywhere, darlin’.”
The tears that ran down my face felt scalding hot compared to the frigid water. I held on as long as possible, but soon, the current ripped me away. I let my body go limp, eyes closed, trying to fight the instinct to survive. Then my head slammed into a rock, and there was nothing at all.