Page 31 of Explorer's Revenge
Logan and Rick waste no time bracketing Wilder and using him as a pillow before closing their eyes. He nods at me, and I close mine again too, wrapping one arm around Aiy so he can be comfortable.
I don’t sleep, but I let my brain wander and my body recover.
Besides, Aiy might have another nightmare, and he doesn’t need to go through that alone. As if my thoughts conjure it, his whimper cuts through the air. Opening my eyes, I turn my head to see his brow furrowed as he jerks in his sleep. Lifting my other arm, I softly rub away the lines between his eyebrows. “You’re safe. You’re here with us. You’re safe . . . .” I repeat it until he settles down, but I don’t pull my hand away like I should.
Instead, I watch him, stroking his soft, beautiful face. I wish more than anything I could take his pain away from him.
Leaning down, I press my lips to his forehead as softly as I can so I don’t disturb him. “Don’t worry anymore, okay? I’ll always protect you. I’ll always keep you safe. Nobody will ever hurt you again.”
Pulling back, I turn my head and meet Wilder’s knowing eyes. I wait for his words, but he simply smiles and closes his eyes, his brothers leaning into his sides like twins.
Twenty minutes later, he sits up and softly shakes Logan and Rick, so I lift Aiy. “Time to keep going,” I murmur as he groans and opens his eyes, wincing at the sun.
“Ten more minutes,” he whispers.
“Nope. Come on, hot stuff, let’s move.” Rubbing his back, I wait for him to fully wake up before I help him to his feet and sling both our bags on since he’s tired, and then we are off again.
The sun moves through the sky, and it’s late in the afternoon. Either we will need to call it soon and find somewhere to stay or risk it by pushing on. One look at Wilder, though, and I can tell he has no intention of stopping.
He’s determined to catch up to her, so we say nothing and follow him.
“I’ll take point,” Logan calls. “You can watch our backs.” He must have noticed that Wilder is favoring one side—his uninjured one. It’s a nice way of ensuring he doesn’t do too much, so we switch, and Logan whistles as Rick walks past him, taking point and hacking at the foliage that only seems to get thicker.
He finally stops, panting and sweating as he shakes his head.
“We should stop for the night,” I suggest. “We aren’t getting far.”
“It has to be around here somewhere, right? Maybe if we keep going—motherfucking tits!” Rick shouts, reaching back as his body moves forward, and my eyes widen when I see the tree he just pushed aside is atop a steep hill. We leap toward him, but it’s too late, and he tumbles over the edge.
Stopping at the precipice, I stare down as he rolls and hits everything on his way down, his voice reaching us.
“Ass!”
“Dick!”
“Too young to die!”
“Send help!”
“My balls!”
He’s finally quiet as he disappears into the thick foliage below.
For a moment, we are silent, and then Wilder leaps over the edge and slides down after him.
Sighing, I glance at Aiy. “Come on, let’s rescue the idiots.”
TWENTY-TWO
RICK
Everything hurts, and not in a good, I spent the night drinking and fucking type of way, but in a more I tried to fight Godzilla and lost sort of way.
I hear the others yelling my name, but my head is spinning and my ears are ringing, so I let that dissipate before I try to answer.
“Rick!” My brother’s desperate voice is what gets me moving, and I lift my arm.
“I’m alive,” I call before I cough and spit out some dirt. Lifting my head, I take inventory of my body. My pants and shirt are ripped, and I have some cuts and bruises, but nothing seems broken, which is a fucking miracle.
