made her groan, then easing just enough to unlock her brain again.
She had to stay awake. She remembered that. Hypothermia was far more likely to get her if she allowed herself to sleep. But exhaustion was dragging her down despite an agony that should have made sleep impossible.
She ate the last bit of the energy bar and scanned the gorge around her, hoping to see a person, any person. But no one appeared. Her hands, which had been throbbing, now started to grow numb and she tucked them under her arms, willing sensation to return.
Not much longer till dark, she realized. At least down here in this gorge. Would they call off the search with nightfall? Probably. She couldn’t imagine that it would be wise to wander around these woods with only flashlights.
Then it occurred to her that the rushing water drowned most sounds. How could she call for help? Looking around, she sought some rocks. Maybe if she found a couple, she could bang them together. Maybe that sound would penetrate the water’s rush better than a voice.
It gave her something to do. Since she absolutely, desperately needed to stay awake, it was a welcome idea. It busied her, trying to find some rocks that she could reach without moving too much.
Because she had expended so much effort to reach this niche, she was afraid to leave it for any reason before morning. She was running on willpower now, and had no way to gauge when the last of her physical strength would desert her.
Movement helped keep her warm, though, so without abandoning her niche, she started to feel for rocks.
* * *
The sound of rocks banging reached the knot of men in the forest, and Craig, as well. He tensed, readying his shotgun.
“Well,” said the third guy, “she must still be alive and kicking.”
“How bad is she?” Cap asked.
“Her leg’s broken. I watched long enough to be sure. She’s not going anywhere.”
“Okay.” Silence. “Gaff, maybe you ought to go take care of her now. She could die in a rock fall.”
That did it. Craig quit looking for the best opportunity. Gun at the ready, he stepped out of concealment, aiming at the three men.
“Don’t move.”
They swung around and saw him. Immediately Cap lifted his rifle, aiming at Craig. Before he could shoot, Craig stepped behind a tree, making sure to keep his line of sight. Buddy and Gaff both lifted their own rifles to the ready.
“I can take you all out with one shot,” Craig said. “Advantage to the shotgun, and I’m loaded for bear. Literally.”
Cap took a shot anyway, and the bullet hit bark just above Craig’s head.
“No!” Buddy shouted. His rifle, which had been pointing in Craig’s direction, suddenly swung around and fired at Cap. Cap fell. Gaff lifted his own gun, aiming at Buddy, but before he could take his shot, Buddy fell to the ground. Craig seized the opportunity and sent a blast toward Gaff. The result wasn’t pretty.
Buddy, lying on the ground now, yelled, “I won’t shoot.”
Craig didn’t think he would. He’d seen Buddy shoot Cap. “Keep your rifle on Cap. He may not be gone.”
“Okay, okay!”
Craig waited until Buddy rolled onto his stomach and took a bead on Cap.
Then he shoved another shell into his shotgun and stepped out again, moving toward them. As he got closer, Cap suddenly stirred. He fired but heard the report of Buddy’s rifle at the same instant. Cap went still.
Game over.
Except for finding Sky. That’s when hell grew even colder.
“I don’t know exactly where she is,” Buddy said. He was now standing with his hands up while Craig debated whether to cuff him. “I just know Cap was going to arrange for her to have an accident in the ravine.”
“So this was your bright idea?”
Buddy looked down. “Yeah. I didn’t mean for it to go this far.” He glanced at Cap’s body. “He wasn’t who I thought he was.”
“Maybe I’ll want to hear about that later. Right now I want just one thing.”
Buddy, looking hangdog, nodded. “She’s in the ravine. That’s all I know.”
Craig heard the distant crack of rocks hitting each other again. “You don’t know how damn lucky you are that she’s probably still alive.”
Buddy looked at the barrel of Craig’s shotgun, unerringly pointed right at his middle. “Believe me,” he said. “I know. Let’s quit wasting time and find her.”
Craig keyed his radio on the search frequency. “She’s in a ravine south of the command center, Lucy. I haven’t reached her yet, but