“I’m waiting with bated breath,” I said dryly.
His smile never left his face, but his gaze had a lot more than just steel flecks when he spoke. “Don’t piss off the doc.”
I stared at him, considering my options but settling on a dirty look and turning to leave him to his…whistling. I had no idea what kind of attempt that was: a warning, intimidation, trying to put us more or less on the same level. Not that any of those attempts were remotely effective, but I’d had enough conversation to last me at least a couple of days.
It wasn’t as if we wouldn’t have plenty of time to get to know one another, and for him to figure out how shit worked.
COLIN
“Motherfucker,”I hissed as my footing failed me and my foot slid down the embankment. I wobbled, almost going down with the dirt and rocks I’d knocked loose. My knee, the one that had taken enough of a beating for a lifetime, smacked hard against a rock; a pointed corner sending a jolt of pain up through my leg and down again.
“Doing alright over there?” came Carter’s voice. I had met him a few days after arriving, and while he reminded me a lot of Jake, he wasn’t as dopey and had a far quicker wit. He’d introduced himself by saying that he and Mav were usually in ‘exile’ so Xander wasn’t tempted to commit a felony more than he already was. Considering Carter was far more willing to be a smartass than me, and Maverick seemed to be hardheaded, doing things to the beat of his own drum more than even Trevor, I could kind of understand.
“Fucking fabulous,” I called as I heaved myself up using a root sticking out of the ground that actually held my weight. “Can’t you tell?”
“We’re supposed to be finding and rescuing someone who isn’t you,” Carter told me as he helped drag me to my feet. “Maybe keep that in mind?”
“Tell me about it,” I muttered as I got atop the embankment and stood somewhere that hopefully wasn’t a hazard. That was easier said than done when the damn storm blocked the light with its thick, black clouds and a constant downpour that whipped sideways with the wind. There, of course, was next to no lightning, so we had to rely on flashlights.
“Now if only we could find these fuckers,” he muttered as he looked around. I could see the headlamps only a handful of yards away. It wasn’t that far from where Carter and I stood, but in weather like this, a misstep could make all the difference between someone getting separated or hurt.
Or worse.
“What was it Cait said?” I wondered, mostly to myself, but it wouldn’t hurt if Carter could throw something out that was useful. “They were?—”
“Out here on their ATVs,” he called back. “They got caught up in the storm, which is fucking stupid because we all knew it was coming, and…something about having a hard time breathing, and not being able to hold on forever.”
“Hold on…and breathe,” I said with a frown. “That’s it?”
“That’s it,” he called over the storm. “God, I wish Xander would just be cool for once and order us those night visions like I asked.”
I huddled closer. “You’d just get blinded on the off chance there is lightning, and then what?”
“And then I’m a sitting duck and end up falling like you almost did and bashing my head on a tree or drowning in a puddle,” he said and I couldn’t tell if he just didn’t care or if the idea really was funny to him.
I looked around; we were higher up, so all I could see were the trees and thick brush. There wasn’t much water, but it had been coming down for a couple of hours; there would undoubtedly be plenty of?—
“River!” I snapped, turning to Carter. His eyes, which had been the brightest blue I’d ever seen, were dark in this light as they stared down at me in confusion. “Or a creek, something like that, is there one around here?”
“They’re fucking everywhere, especially in a storm like this,” he said, but I could see by his expression that he understood what logic train I had jumped on and he turned, taking me by the wrist. “C’mon.”
I followed as he called through the storm; one headlamp bobbed hesitantly before turning toward us. Reno was waiting for us as we approached, and I leaned in to be heard. “A creek or a river, is there one around here?”
“Yeah,” he answered, voice raised and clear. “A creek around here that likes to pretend it's a river during weather like…shit.”
“Breathing,” Carter muttered. “Fuck. We need to get to where it is.”
Reno sighed, turning to look at the embankment my clumsy ass had almost taken a tumble down. “Wanna guess?”
“Love that,” I muttered. “Nobody twist their fucking ankle, or all you’re getting is an ice pack and a ‘feel better’ out of me.”
“You’re a shit doctor,” Carter said with a laugh as Jake jogged over and they tied a rope around a sturdy tree, testing the knot before we prepared our descent.
Jake’s voice, which boomed even at his normal volume, broke through like thunder. “He’s a Doc, a Stitcher, they’ve got shit bedside manner, man. They keep you alive and hopefully upright; don’t expect a lollipop and a Bluey band-aid to make it better.”
“They’re Hello Kitty, actually,” I said, and Carter sighed.
“That’s so 2000s.”