Phoenix

by Crouch, Janie

  She felt almost paralyzed with indecision.

  Think, Riley.

  She had to leave him. It was dangerous, but attempting to get him off this rope bridge was going to take time she didn’t have until she got the EpiPen.

  Thunder boomed overhead, almost mocking her decision.

  “Riley!”

  She had no idea if he could hear her. “I’ll be right back!”

  Decision made, she didn’t waste any more time. She hooked her leg back over the rope and pulled herself up. God, that took a lot of energy. She needed to be careful not to fall; it would take too much time to get back up.

  She fought her way through the rain and wind, moving as fast as she dared along the rope. The balancing rope continued to bite into her hands, but there was no way around that. If she loosened her grip, she was going to fall.

  If she fell, it would waste minutes Riley didn’t have.

  Her breathing was already labored by the time she made it back to the ravine’s edge. She unclipped her harness, mostly numb fingers wet with rain and blood from her palms, and ran for the RV.

  She was soaked to the skin and breathing raggedly by the time she made it. She found her med bag exactly where she’d left it, already packed and ready for any emergencies. She threw the walkie-talkie inside, slipped it all on and ran back out into the cold.

  Every step toward the rope bridge seemed more impossible, but she ignored the screaming of her lungs and muscles and pushed forward faster than she thought she was capable of.

  Riley would do the same for her. She knew it without a shadow of a doubt.

  By the time she made it back up to the bridge, the storm had decided to make things more interesting. Rapid bolts of lightning and cracking thunder echoed all around her.

  Wyoming storms were notorious for a reason. Going out on that rope bridge might very well be suicide.

  It didn’t matter. She was not leaving him out there. Seeing him dangling so completely still had her heart lurching in her chest. Was she too late?

  “No. No, no, no, no.”

  She strapped the safety line back onto the harness, cursing herself for not grabbing some gloves while she’d been at the RV, and went back out on the rope.

  This time she ran.

  She kept her balance longer than expected and was almost to Riley before she felt the sickening lurch of the fall again. But the safety rope held, and she used her momentum to swing closer to him, catching his dangling body with her legs.

  Please let him be alive. Please let him be alive.

  She didn’t even wait to check his pulse, just drove the EpiPen into the muscle of his hard thigh.

  It was only then that she allowed herself to take his pulse, nearly sobbing with relief when she found one.

  He was still alive. That was the most important thing.

  If there was one thing the Linear Tactical guys preached like a pastor in church, it was that survival was the most important thing. Everything else was secondary.

  Of course, neither of them was going to survive if lightning struck the bridge. She was going to have to drag him. She wasn’t sure she could do that. She’d used up the last of her reserves just getting to this point.

  Dragging him back the way she’d come would be the best option. If he needed further medical attention, the RV was his best bet.

  But getting him off this bridge was the most important thing. If she collapsed halfway, they both could die here.

  She’d have to take him the shorter way. Even that was going to be hard enough.

  “Talk to me, Riley. Open your eyes and talk to me!”

  “Wildfire.” The word was mumbled and barely discernible, but it was something.

  “Ry, can you pull yourself up?”

  He made a movement with his arm, trying to grab the rope, but then his hand fell back to his side. He was completely out of it.

  “Okay. It’s okay. I’m pulling you to the edge.”

  Silence.

  “I’m going to hook one of my safety lines to you to pull you over.” It was the only way she’d be able to move him.

  She reached up and unclipped one of her safety ropes and clipped it into his. She crossed over him and began shimmying toward the ledge about ten feet away.

  The second rope was taut enough to start pulling Riley’s weight. Instantly, it took a huge effort from her exhausted body just to move a couple of inches.

  She forced herself to keep pulling.

  “Talk to me, Riley. Say something. Anything.”

  Another yank on the rope, another few inches moved.

  No sound from Riley.

  She could feel hysteria growing inside her.

  “Come on, Phoenix. Open those eyes and talk to me.”

  The last word came out in a sob as she pulled again.

  She felt some movement on the rope, and when she pulled again it was slightly easier. She looked back at him in a panic.

  He had unhooked his backpack, allowing it to fall into the ravine. It didn’t help much, but it meant less weight she was trying to move.

  When he saw her looking, he held up a hand briefly. At least he was conscious. Breathing.

  She renewed her efforts, ignoring the rope biting into her palms. Ignoring the screaming of every single muscle in her body.

  She set her gaze on the end of the ravine and gritted her teeth. She was not stopping until she got there.

  Riley had taught her that. He’d taught her the importance of focusing on the goal and moving toward it, even if it was only the slightest bit at a time.

  She sobbed in relief when she finally reached the edge and climbed up. She turned and pulled the rope until he was resting against the cliff.

  It took every bit of her strength and a lot of help from gravity to pull on that rope until he was against the ledge. She finally shoved her hands under his armpits and then just threw her body weight all the way back, bringing him with her. And that only worked because somewhere along the way, he’d become coherent enough to use his legs to help.

  As she lay on the grass with him at her side, her legs began spasming. She didn’t know if it was MS or just what she’d been through in the past thirty minutes. Either way, it didn’t matter. She’d gotten them off that bridge and Riley’s breathing was already clearer. The EpiPen was working.

  She needed to get them to shelter, but there was no way she was moving from this spot.

  She’d done everything she could do. Her body was done.

  She didn’t even try to fight the blackness that overtook her in the middle of the storm.

  Chapter 18

  There had been quite a few times over the years when his life had flashed before his eyes, but none of them had been like he was stuck in some sort of molasses.

  He’d been feeling weak by the time he left camp. He’d written it off as just being pissed at having to start so much later than everyone else. But by the time he’d gotten to the rope bridge, he’d known for sure something was wrong.

  Riley took risks all the time, but well-calculated ones, ones where he was fully aware of the danger and had accounted for it. This had been totally different.

  By the time he’d gotten to the rope bridge, he’d known he needed to stop. Get help. He couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think.

  But then Wildfire had been there. And she’d told him over and over to just go.

  Her voice had been all he was able to process, and he trusted her above all others, so he’d gone.

  Taking a step out onto that rope bridge, he’d known he was going to make it across because Wildfire had told him to go. He would do anything for her.

  From there, it all became blurrier and blurrier. Literally.

  Not even being able to see enough to take the next step.

  Lying suspended in his harness, unable to muster the strength to get himself back up on the bridge. Trying just to fill his lungs with air.

  Wildfire screaming his name.

  He looked out at the ro
pe bridge now. Had she come out to get him?

  She’d been nearby, yelling his name. A sharp pain in his leg, then he’d finally been able to take a full breath a few seconds later.

  He remembered unstrapping his backpack. Why had he done that?

  And now the love of his life was lying next to him, unresponsive, unconscious.

  “Wake up for me, Wildfire.”

  This storm was a bitch. He needed to get them to shelter. Make sure she was okay. Make sure he was okay. He had no idea how he’d gotten to this side of the ravine.

  Everything was still so fucking fuzzy. The last time he’d felt this way was years ago when a doctor had given him penicillin without checking his medical chart to find out he was highly allergic.

  Nobody was giving him penicillin out here, so he wasn’t sure what had happened.

  He reached an arm around Riley and moved her gently so she was lying beside him. She groaned the slightest bit, which was a good sign.

  Then he caught sight of the blood on her jacket.

  Shit. She was hurt. He forced himself to focus through the fuzziness that still wanted to wrap around his brain.

  He unzipped her jacket, searching through the rain for any sign of wounds or any further blood but found nothing. She groaned again and shifted, her hand falling open beside her.

  Holy hell, that’s where the blood had come from. He took a look at her other palm and sure enough it was just like the first.

  Those were wounds from the rope bridge. He’d been in trouble, and she’d come to get him, tearing her hands up to do it. He still didn’t understand all the whys of it.

  But he did understand that they needed to get out of this storm right fucking now.

  He sat up, breath hissing with the dizziness and stiffness. He squeezed Riley’s shoulder. “Time to get up. We need to get out of this storm.”

  She didn’t move.

  He shook her harder. “On your feet, Wildfire. We’ve got to move.”

  She groaned and turned away from him, huddling into herself for warmth.

  “Let’s get somewhere dry where I can build a fire. Don’t you want to get warm?”

  He didn’t have any feeling left in his extremities, and he had a good fifty pounds on her. A lot more muscle mass to keep him warm.

  “Tired. Rest.” Her words were whispered through wet lips that were turning blue.

  If he was piecing the situation together correctly, she’d used all her energy getting him off that rope bridge. Now that her body was coming down from the adrenaline high, her blood sugar had bottomed out. There was nothing left in her tank.

  “I know, sweetheart. I know you’re tired. You’ve done so good. But this storm is getting worse. Let’s get to some shelter.”

  He knew the exact one they could go to, had been to before. Who said lightning never struck in the same place twice?

  Thunder rattled overhead.

  “I was just kidding,” he murmured to Mother Nature.

  Riley still wasn’t moving. He didn’t want to drag her, but he wasn’t at all certain he’d be able to carry her without injuring them both.

  She needed to walk a few hundred yards.

  He pulled her up into a sitting position. “Riley! Get up. You’re not done yet. You’re going to have to rest later.”

  She groaned again but still didn’t move.

  He was going to have to fight a little dirty. Although, he had to admit the thought of this working gave him more hope than anything.

  “Wildfire, I need your help. I don’t think I’m going to make it without you.”

  That was true on so many different levels he couldn’t even call it a lie, although he could definitely drag himself to the shelter without her help.

  But she didn’t know that.

  “If you can’t get us to the shelter, we’re both going to die. I’m going to die, Wildfire. I need you to wake up and help me or I’m not going to make it.”

  She groaned again, but this time those hazel eyes opened.

  “Hey, you.”

  “You’ve got to get out of the storm,” she whispered. “You go. I’ll catch up.”

  Yeah, right. “Come on, get up.”

  “Can’t. You go.” Her eyes were already starting to close again.

  “I can’t make it without you. You have to help me. Please, Wildfire.”

  With a huge groan she rolled to the side and got up. He knew what a superhuman effort that simple move had taken.

  It didn’t surprise him for a second that she’d found the strength to do it.

  She’d been amazing him from the first day he’d met her. He might be the one who’d gotten famous doing crazy stunts, but she was the one who had the kind of strength that mattered.

  “We can’t cross the bridge.”

  He nodded. The lightning was too dangerous, and neither would make it anyway. “Hunter’s cabin,” he yelled through the rain.

  She reached for her medical backpack, but he shooed her hands away. The fact that she didn’t argue just proved how weak she was really feeling.

  He took off his gloves and put them over her icy hands. They were too wet to help much but were better than nothing.

  He grabbed her arm and headed west, in the direction of the shelter, thanking God with every step that he already knew about it. It was only a half mile away, but their pace in these conditions and their condition was snaillike.

  By the halfway point, he really was afraid he might have to drag her. Her steps were getting slower and less steady with each minute.

  Of course, if he was dragging her, who was going to drag him? Because he wasn’t sure he was going to make it either.

  And this goddamn storm was getting worse. His head was still woozy, his body still weak, and he wasn’t sure they were still going in the right direction. The hunter’s cabin wasn’t meant to be found easily.

  Had she somehow managed the superhuman feat of getting him off that rope just for him to lead them to death in the wilderness?

  Her small hand slid into his, her grip loose because of her wounds.

  “Together.” Her voice was too low for him to hear her, but he could read her lips.

  She stepped forward again, guiding him.

  He moved with her. He trusted her with everything.

  Cupping her hand in his, they continued one slow step at a time through the battering rain and winds.

  Their speed picked up slightly when they finally saw the shelter, and they stumbled the rest of the way to the door. It couldn’t even be called a cabin. It didn’t have any furniture, just some very basic supplies.

  But compared to the storm raging outside, it was absolute heaven.

  They both stumbled through the unlocked door and collapsed onto the ground. He kicked the door shut behind them, and they just lay there. Breathing. Alive.

  It wasn’t long before he began to regain feeling in his numb limbs.

  It wasn’t pleasant.

  If it was bad for him with his size and muscle mass, Wildfire’s body must be feeling it even worse. She needed to get out of those wet clothes immediately. Hypothermia was definitely a possibility. He rolled to the side and forced himself up onto his hands and knees.

  The shelter didn’t have much in the way of comfort, but it was called a survival shelter for a reason. He crawled over to the corner that held a basic potbelly stove and a pile of dry kindling and wood. In a few minutes he had a good-sized fire going, which added warmth and light to the cramped space.

  Girl Riley had gone back to sleep. That wasn’t a good sign if they were dealing with hypothermia.

  He stripped off his own clothes as he got to his feet and walked over to her. Being naked actually felt warmer than being in the wet clothes.

  “Talk to me, Wildfire. How are you doing?”

  No answer at all. Not even a moan. He checked her pulse, reassured when he found it steady and strong.

  “I guess you deserve your nap.”

  He pulled her clothe
s off, then dragged her by the armpits closer to the fire.

  “Never let it be said I’m not romantic.” She would’ve said the exact same thing if she was awake.

  He pulled the Mylar emergency blanket from her medical backpack and wrapped it around her, then grabbed the walkie-talkie.

  “Base Camp Two, this is Phoenix. Do you copy?”

  A few seconds later a voice came from the other end. “Phoenix, this is Zac. Everything okay? Where’s Riley?”

  “I had some sort of mishap crossing Brickman’s Bridge. Felt like some sort of allergic reaction. Riley got me across, but we’re stuck now because of the storm.”

  “Did you make it to the hunter’s shelter?”

  “Affirmative. We’re safe and relatively warm for the time being. Wildfire is conked out. She used all her energy stores helping me.”

  “Roger that. Stay safe until the worst of this passes. We’re getting the rest of the racers to shelters also.”

  “Will do.”

  Riley grabbed the large winter coat and a scratchy blanket, both folded in the corner of the shelter. He slipped the coat on himself and wrapped the blanket around both of them. Then he laid himself behind Riley, spooning her close to him. Between him and the stove, her body should be warm on both sides.

  With the knowledge that they were safe and Wildfire was in his arms, where she belonged, sleep claimed him.

  Chapter 19

  Riley didn’t wake up any faster the second time than he had the first. Everything was still a little fuzzy.

  But this time he didn’t want to wake up, not with Wildfire snuggled up beside him. Her fingers were trailing along the edges of the multiple tattoos covering his chest and shoulders.

  For just this minute, everything was perfect.

  There was no storm still raging outside.

  There was no breakup or distance between them.

  It was just the two of them lying in a comfortable silence. How many times had they done this on an early morning or late at night? Just lain there, comfortable with each other, not trying to fill the air with unnecessary noise.

  She’d turned toward him sometime in the middle of sleeping. Muscle memory, probably. She always fell asleep wanting her own space. Then woke up draped on top of him.