“Got it! Hang tight! We will be back for you!”
Trystan’s shadow disappears from sight, the sloshing of his steps fading. I look around, alone with water making its way up my thighs. Another round of thunder booms overhead,and the steady rain turns into a downpour…again… Just. My. Fucking. Luck.
Chapter 27
Sydney
In Garrett’s truck, we make our way toward the state park when Ava’s number comes across the bluetooth on the dash screen. She’s in the car behind us with Brynleigh. We’re currently stopped due to a big limb that Garrett is pulling out of the middle of the road. I’m suddenly grateful that he remembered to grab his chainsaw in case we would need it. So far, we’ve been lucky, but with what we’ve already seen, there’s a decent possibility he may have to use it before this ride is over. Jane reaches forward and taps the screen.
“Mark just called again!” Brynleigh nervously rambles out through the truck’s speakers. “They’re all alive, but Trystan and Colin fell into a ravine! He said help is already on the way, but they couldn’t give him more info on how long it would take to get there. He pinged me their location. I’m sending it to you guys now. The tone of a notification comes through, but I’m barely paying any attention because all I can imagine is the guys stuckin that ravine. Are they hurt? Is it a big ravine? Small? Deep? Oh my gosh, is it flooded? Poisonous snakes? My mind is whirling in a billion different directions, and I realize the strangled sound I just heard came from my own throat. Holly squeezes my hand, trying to pull me out of dark thoughts.
“Hang on! He’s calling again. I’m putting him on my speaker!” Brynleigh exclaims.
A muffled fumbling comes over the line as Garrett pulls his ass back up into the truck and guns it.
“What’d I miss?”
“SSHHH!” Jane points to the dash, signaling the call.
“Update! Trystan just showed up at the truck!” My heart dips again that there’s no mention of Colin. “His arm is broken, but Colin managed to help push him up to help get him out! You have our location, send emergency personnel to us if you make it before they do. We have to go back and get him out of there. The ravine is filling up with water fast!” The call drops before any of us can say anything, but Garrett pushes his speed faster. The rain is pelting the windshield hard, but he’s laser-focused on the road ahead. He puts on his hazards to let anyone know we’re coming in hot, not caring if it gets us pulled over.
“They’ll get him out of there, Sydney. I’m going as fast as I can to get you to him. I’ll help pull him out myself if I’ve got to. I have some extra rope in the back end.” We’re about ten minutes out from the park. Jane reaches over to rest a hand by Garrett’s knee, seeking comfort from his proximity.
“That water has to be freezing,” I mumble. Garrett’s eyes flash to mine in the rearview before landing back on the road.
“We’re going to get him out.”
“Do we have any blankets in the storage box of the truck bed?” Jane asks.
“There’s at least one.”
“Okay, good.”
We all sit in tense silence as Garrett gets us into the park, following the GPS to the ping Mark sent.
“Do you know where this is going to be?” Jane mutters under her breath, trying to sound calm.
“I have a general idea. Coming with me?”
“Always. I’ll have the blanket ready. Maybe Brynleigh will have one in her car too. Holly? You and Ava need to stay with Syd and Brynleigh. Got it? We can’t all go in this rain, and somebody has to point the emergency crew in the right direction if they show up.”
“I see Mark’s truck up ahead. Get ready to roll. Hood up.” We pull up, and Garrett’s out the door in a flash. Ava and Brynleigh jump out. Ava’s got blankets she’s tossing to Jane before they slide into the truck with Holly and I, ensconcing us in worried silence. Holly’s got an arm wrapped around my shoulders as we watch through the windshield as Jane and Garrett disappear from the range of the headlights into the woods on the trail with their gear in tow.
Ava turns up the music to try and distract everyone. It’s not working. Ten minutes pass by…twenty…Where the fuck is the help that’s supposed to be coming?Thirty fucking minutes pass by, and I’m about to lose my damn mind.
Finally, some red and blues start flashing in the distance behind us at the forty minute mark, and I sigh with a smidge of relief. I won’t fully relax until Colin is in my arms, and I know that he’s okay.
“There they are!” Holly squeals, and I nod my head because I’ve already seen the lights.
“No, Syd, they got him! They’re coming out!” Holly explains, frantically pointing toward the windshield. My fingers are fumbling and flying to the handle of the door. I stumble out as fast as I can and run across the asphalt toward the shadows of my friends emerging from the woods. I let out a tortured crywhen I see Mark leading a blanket-clad, shivering Colin toward the warm truck.
His eyes lift at the sound, and a pained expression flitters across his face as he opens the blanket to capture me into his arms, wrapping us up tightly together. He gasps as my warm body slams into his, and I sob into his neck, uncaring that anyone is bearing witness to my melt-down. He’s so cold, it makes me sick to my stomach. I wrap my arms around his torso, willing any of my warmth to flow into his body and stand up on tiptoe to reach his lips.
“I’m okay, baby. I’m okay. Shhh. It’s okay,” he whispers with chattering teeth against my lips, pulling me closer.
A few paramedics dash toward us, leading us to the back of the ambulance just as the rain lets up and is more of a sprinkle now. We’re all soaked, but I don’t even care. Mark has his arm draped around Brynleigh’s shoulder as we watch the other guys. Trystan is already up inside being looked at with a blanket wrapped around the rest of him. They had to cut off his shirt. Colin sits down on the back and peels off his wet shirt before a warm, dry blanket replaces the cold, wet one. The audible sigh that leaves his lips has me cringing at the thought of how cold he was. He answers their questions as they shine lights in his eyes and check the back of his head. His eyes lock with mine as I stand there hugging myself with one arm and chew on the thumbnail of my other hand.
“We got here just in time.” Jane comes up and wraps her arms around me. “The last downpour really had things filling fast since it was a small ravine. Collapsed the other end with mud and rocks which pushed all the water Colin’s way. Mark and Trystan weren’t able to lift him out by themselves because it was so slick. He had been treading water when we got there with the ropes. We were able to anchor it to a nearby tree and haulhim out. The root they’d been using for leverage snapped, so he didn’t have anything to really hold onto.”