Page 15 of Fallen Angel

“Landon,” she said, her voice urgent. “Come on. Hurry.” She waved him in.

He stepped inside, his expression stunned. “But Saturday there was a wall…”

“No time to explain,” she said as she ushered him into the darkness, only illuminated by the beach’s afternoon sun and the flashlight on her phone.

Landon observed the cave, his mouth open in awe. But when his gaze landed on Callan lying unconscious on the ground, he jumped back. His eyes widened, and his lips parted as if he couldn’t quite find his words. “Hannah? What the hell is going on? Who is he? What happened to him? How the hell did a cave form overnight?”

Hannah grappled with telling him the truth. He would think she was crazy.Shethought she was crazy.

“I don’t know,” she shouted. “I was just walking along the beach in between classes, saw the cave, and I found him like this.” Panic rang through her voice. She gulped hard, hoping he bought her half-truth.

“You could have said that on the phone,” he said, referencing the picnic basket and bottle of wine.

“Bring it here,” she said. Landon handed Hannah the picnic basket, and she whipped it open. There was bread, cheese, cured meat, and a bunch of grapes. Beneath a checkered cloth there was a mini bottle of Poland Spring water.

“This is all the water you brought?” She didn’t wait for his answer. She pulled out the small plastic bottle, uncapped it, and drizzled it into Callan’s mouth.

“I brought wine. Wanted to show you that I don’t only drink lemonade. It’s from Sonoma.” He trailed off. His cheeks flushed. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Hannah said. “I should have been more specific on the phone.” She tilted Callan’s chin up as she drippled water across his chapped lips. She wanted him to be okay. Sheneededhim to be okay.

Landon maintained a distance between himself and Callan, but kept a close eye on Hannah as she tilted the bottle further against his lips. Callan’s eyes fluttered open, and he swallowed the water.

“It’s working,” she said. She poured the rest of the water into his mouth and he gulped it. She waited for the water to revive him, but his eyes closed again, and his head tilted to the side.

“Give me the wine.”

“Don’t you think we should get him to the hospital? Something could be seriously wrong with him.” He shifted from side to side and glanced over his shoulders.

“The wine, Landon. Now!” Hannah didn’t recognize the force behind her voice.

Landon passed the wine and bottle opener to her, and she regretted snipping at him. She recognized the Buena Vista label on the bottle of cabernet.

“Good choice,” she said and offered him a brief smile. He smiled back.

Hannah uncorked the bottle with ease, thepopechoing off the cave walls. She put the opening to Callan’s mouth, and let the wine trickle past his lips. The ruby liquid seeped down his throat. As he drank, he coughed some up. Droplets sprayed on Hannah’s white sweater, but she didn’t mind.

His eyes opened. “Water,” he said.

“That’s it. I’m calling 9-1-1.” Landon pulled out his phone and raised it toward the cave’s entrance. “Damn, no signal.”

“Just wait,” Hannah yelled over her shoulder. How would she explain this to the paramedics? If it came to needing medical help, then of course they would call. But she also had an inkling that whatever was going on wouldn’t be solved by modern medicine.

Landon paced, but dropped his phone to his side with a frustrated grunt. “There’ll be better service on the beach,” he said.

Hannah ignored him. She reached into the basket and plucked a few grapes from the bunch. “Here, eat this,” she said to Callan. She popped one into his mouth and he bit down.

“Hannah?” Landon asked again. “We have to call for help.”

“He’s going to be okay,” Hannah answered him over her shoulder, never taking her gaze from Callan.

He chewed the juicy grape and swallowed hard. He sighed, and it sounded painful.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

He nodded.

“He’s okay,” she said to Landon. Reluctantly, he shoved his phone into his pocket and crossed his arms.

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