Chapter 27
I finally made it to the old campsite. The entire road was now flooded, moving the water around the site, and it was steadily rising. I eyed the cliff wall in the back.
The inches of water creeping up my ankle, signalled that this place wasn’t as safe as Gale had thought when he picked it. I needed higher ground, but the only way up was against the current of the flooded river that was once a road, or the slippery cliff side with no climbing equipment.
Up it is.
My heart pounded as I made the first ascension. This wasn’t a blunt cliff like the basin in the nest was. This had a narrow ledge at the top that I’d have to get around to get up.
Slow and steady, I told myself.
I used the roots sticking out as handholds, but the blood, mud, and rain made everything slick. A made it a couple feet up, before my hand slid off the roots and I tumbled to the ground with a painful squish from the impact. My heart banged against my sternum in warning.
I didn’t even make it three fucking feet.
The weaker part of me knew the perfect place to hide until the storm passed. A secondary agreement came from something more territorial and defensive than me; Rot.
How far did I have to go to make his thoughts shut up? I guess I’d find out.
The hole in my shoulder was a constant throbbing reminder that I had to work for it this time. I grabbed my gloves from my pant’s pocket, but they were soaked. I sighed to myself. Raw dog it was.
Much like everything else today.
I climbed back up, keeping my grip knuckle-white tight and ready to recover from a fumble at any time. Every two inches forward, I slunk one inch back. My nails ripped back from the bed, rivulets of red rolling down my fingers, from how hard I fought to keep what I gained.
Splinters dug into my hands, digging like glass each time I held on for dear life. It was a soft reminder that I was alive.
I couldn’t give up. Not when I’d finally chosen myself.
Every muscle in my body worked, and I scaled the cliff up to the top, but now the ceiling of the ledge would force me to go across to pull all the way up.
My eyes travelled down. The distance between here and the ground was a lot bigger now. I tested the first major root I could reach, and it snapped like a spaghetti noodle. I recovered, scraping my arms. Tears pricked my eyes, blurring my vision.
I took a deep breath. You’ve got this, Talia.
I aimed for a fatter root hanging slightly out of reach. One I knew I wouldn’t recover from so easily if it snapped. The muscles in my arm screamed as I dangled there. My stomach clenched, preparing for it to snap.
My lips shook as I carefully reached for the next root thick enough it could actually hold me. It reminded me of the first time I went across the monkey bars. How nerve wrecking it had been, and I tried to think of that memory instead of about what would happen if I failed.
With that thought, I swung forward. The previous root snapped, making my stomach lurch. I clenched my hand onto the next root and was sent swinging back and forth. My hand slid down to the bottom. My other hand barely got a grip before the first one slipped.
I forced deep breaths out as I continued forward.
There was no going back now.
A spike of protective fear made my hands shake. My grip grew painful as I forced my hand to remain steady.
I finally reached the edge, and got my hand around the lip of the ledge. When I went to pull myself up, the earth oozed through my fingers and crumbled.
The earth melted away, leaving me with nothing to anchor onto.
My heart lurched into my throat and a shriek left me. There wouldn’t be a recovery this time.
Damn it.
My stomach dropped as I flew through the air.
Worth it.
I only fell two inches when hands grabbed my wrists. My wrists screamed from the pain and popped as the rest of my weight dropped, but I wouldn’t complain. New blood oozed from the bullet wound in my shoulder as the muscle ripped.
Shannon.
She came back for me.
My eyes went up and instead met Gale’s eerie gray gaze with a grim set of his mouth.
Oh, come on!
He pulled back, grunting with my added weight. Rot’s anger rumbled inside me as if Gale’s touch incited a fury, but I wasn’t in a position to fight someone literally saving our life.
The ground under Gale shifted like a gelatinous slime that made my pulse race. Panic took over, and I kicked my feet to help get up the ledge. Land fell away as he moved, and the realization that he might run out of strength before I was out of this made my heart thunder in my ears.
“Keep going, Talia,” Gale’s voice echoed the same thing I often told myself, and the sudden unease made me want to let go of him and plummet below.
Why?
Was it Rot that was reacting to Gale? Or was it me?
Once I was over the edge, I sat on my bottom, taking a few breaths.
Cracking made me scramble backwards, and Gale grabbed me by my pits to drag me back.
The ground fell away like the fall was hunting us.
I gracelessly made it to my feet to help, and we backed up until Gale’s back hit a tree.
He wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me tight to him as the ground crumbled, until all that was left was two inches in front of my boots.
The sound of the thick slop of dirt hitting below rang loudly even against the raging storm. It was close. Too close.
We both took deep breaths to recover.
I was all too aware of his body against mine. It made my skin crawl. Everything inside me revolted against his touch, whether it was life or death, or not.
What was he even doing here? Following me at worst. Waiting for me at best.
Otherwise, he’d been long gone three times over. He had more than enough time to get out and get help. He chose not to.
And now I owed him my life. Wonder what he’ll demand in return.
Before my breathing recovered, I went to step around the tree, but Gale’s hold tightened around me. His arms ran over my arm sensually before locking around my wrist like a handcuff. I couldn’t even pull away without plummeting over the edge.
“We’re leaving.” His voice came out with a rough, threatening edge, daring me to try something. A loud roar echoed in the distance, closer than last time.
He climbed carefully around the tree, sliding out from behind me, and I followed him. By the time I turned the tree, he had that gun pointed at me again.
“Let’s go.” He used the gun to point me forward.
I complied, but this wasn’t happening. I didn’t work to get here to be back in his hands. I’d go along with him for a while, since it suited my purpose, but the second I saw my chance, I was taking it.
This motherfucker didn’t own me anymore.
A storm of emotions flickered through me. They were big and explosive. Rage. Loneliness. Terror. Agony. Desire. Confusion. Before one could really settle another emotion took over.
Rot was going through it. I almost felt bad, but there obviously wasn’t enough space for me in him, so I didn’t have space for him in me.
He’d come after me sooner rather than later, and I’d deal with him when he did. One problem at a time, Talia.
I walked in the general direction of the road ahead of Gale. I had to get out of here. The sooner, the better.
“Quit moving so fast.” The click of the safety turning off snicked behind me. I halted my steps, putting my hands up.
His calm tone, like it was another day in class, made me realize how clinical and cold this man was. It made me realize how much I preferred Rot’s snap, impulsive reactions. At least I didn’t have to dissect whether he was truly calm or not.
“If you run, I will shoot you.” As if he hadn’t already made that perfectly clear already.
“The monster will be after me.” I rolled my eyes. Slowing us down wouldn’t accomplish what he thought it would. Every second in the swamp, the higher the chances of his brutal murder was. “We need to move.”
“Don’t worry about that, sweetheart.”
“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” was whispered in my ear as I ignored the hands touching me.
I froze as my brain short-circuited and my breathing stalled. The voice was exactly the same.
My stomach shrank, and the blade that lived in my chest twisted.
Same tone. Same lie.
Tears pricked my eyes.
It was him.