Page 125 of Gambler's Fallacy

But I don’t want to make things worse.

I make a frustrated sound and back off, letting Earl drop to the ground.

My fists still tight with anger, I glance up at Seven. “Are you—” My voice is heavy and aggressive. I swallow and try again. “Are you all right? Do you need help?”

He shakes his head, carefully descending back down the path. He’s shaking, and sweat is dripping down his face. “Where’s Caleb?” he asks as he approaches, looking down at Earl with a strange expression I can’t quite read. “Is he okay?”

“He was alive when I left,” I say. I reach out for him, and he lets me help him down the remainder of the rocky path. As soon as we’re on the same mostly-solid ground, he wraps his arms around me.

I don’t even care that his sweat soaks through my shirt. I hug him back, then lift his chin so I can kiss him.

Seven kisses back, and after a brief hesitation, he hugs me back. His front is soaked with sweat, too, but he doesn’t pull away even as he pleads, “We have to help Caleb. Vortex?”

“They’ve probably got it covered. Caleb was trying to sweet talk his way out of things.” I kiss Seven one more time, then reluctantly pull away and turn toward Earl.

“I guess we can’t leave him here,” I say.

Earl shakes his head. “P-please. I’ll pay you. Anything,” he sobs. Tears stream out of his eyes to join all the blood.

“I just want to be left alone,” Seven tells him, his voice weirdly tight. “I don’t understand why no one will leave me alone.” He glances at me. “What are we doing?”

I grab Earl by the collar and force him onto his feet. “We’re going back, and if Vortex and Caleb haven’t solved shit yet, we’re going to bail them out, and then we’re going to find a motel or something and have a long hot shower.”

I push Earl ahead of me, and he sobs as he stumbles along.

Seven is close behind me, his hand clutching the hem of my shirt.

I pause at the narrow crevice.

“Earl, can you get out through here? If you can’t, I have to leave you in here to die,” I say with dark cheer.

Earl stands up straighter. “I can! I can!”

He’s slow to move, but the exhaustion is getting to me, so I don’t mind this chance for a breather. I take a quick drink from the water bottle then hand it to Seven.

Seven takes it, drinking greedily from it. He must realize it’s in limited supply, though, because he stops. “Sorry,” he says. He eyes Earl. “He’s probably thirsty, too…”

“He can wait until we’re back at the shack,” I say. “I’ve got more in the car, too.” I rake my dirty hand through my hair. “Unless Caleb drank it all, I guess.”

Seven shivers despite the heat, starting to speak but cutting himself off instead. “We should keep going,” he says urgently. He slips through the crevice before I can stop him, leaving another smear of blood behind.

I follow close behind. Earl’s in no state to do anything to Seven anymore, but I’m not risking it.

The temperature difference inside the cool cliffside versus out in the sun is stark. I spot Earl trying to run, but his steps are uneven and he stumbles every few feet.

I roll my eyes and close the distance between us, easily grabbing his shoulder.

He cries out and shakes his head. “Please! Please, no more!”

“You were running in the wrong direction, dumbass,” I hiss at him. “Unless you want to die out here in the sun.”

Earl sobs harder. I look over my shoulder at Seven, who is standing stock still.

“That way,” I say, pointing in the direction of the sun. It’s hard to tell from here, but I spot the small shack in the distance. The shape is barely distinguishable from a boulder at this distance, and it’s hard to believe how far we’d walked.

Seven grabs my hand with his own, which is sweaty, but I don’t have the heart to push him away despite how hot it is.

I’m too grateful he’s okay.

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