Page 27 of Twins for the Secret Prince
Pieter recognized Derek’s voice. He shook Eva awake. “Eva, wake up. They’re calling us. The rescue party’s here.”
“What?” Eva said, sitting up quickly and rubbing her eyes. “They’re here?”
“I hear them above us. They must be close.”
They both stood up, smoothed their clothes, and tried to make themselves look as presentable as they possibly could in a few seconds, trying to hide all visible traces of what had happened between them the night before. Pieter cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted, “We’re down here!”
“We’re coming! Hold tight!” Derek shouted. There was the sound of quick footsteps and then Derek was there, standing on the edge of the rock face, looking down at them.
“We’re both here, and we’re uninjured,” Eva called up matter-of-factly.
A second later, two more faces appeared over the rock face. Two of the best recruits had joined Derek in the search for their sergeants. “Boy, are we glad to see both of you,” Derek said, beaming.
“Just let me make sure this fire is out and we’ll come right up,” Eva said. The rain was little more than a constant mist rather than the heavy rain it had been, so Eva and Pieter both stomped their boots on the dying embers of the fire, making sure it didn’t spread.
Eva was first to scrabble up onto the rocky ledge above, with a helping hand from Derek. Pieter went next, finding that although his body was stiff from the events of the previous day, it seemed to have healed well. Derek clapped him on the back as Pieter thanked him for coming to their rescue.
“How did you find us?” he asked.
“The smoke from the fire,” Derek said. “We saw it about an hour ago, when the sky had cleared a little, and we set out straight away. It was quite a hike. How did you get so far away?”
Pieter and Eva exchanged a look. “The landslide carried us into a gully,” Eva said. “We couldn’t stay there for the night, so we let the river carry us downstream, to a more hospitable location.”
Pieter fought to keep the images of the freezing, perilous river out of his mind. “It was Sergeant Bailey’s plan,” he said. “She’s the reason you found us both unharmed.”
“Good work, Sergeant Bailey,” Derek said. “Let’s get you both back to base camp and get you a nice hot meal. Then you can tell us all about your wilderness survival experiences.”
Pieter saw the admiration on the faces of the two recruits as they looked at Eva, almost like she was a superhero. When he looked at her, he saw no expression on her face, just grim determination.
“So it’s an hour’s hike back to camp?” she asked briskly.
“Give or take. The rain’s let up mostly but be careful underfoot. It’s dangerous,” Derek said.
Pieter shared a look with Eva, who looked like she was struggling not to say something sarcastic, and then they both burst out laughing, happy and relieved that they’d been found.
“Okay, okay, dumb thing to say after what happened to you yesterday,” Derek said, smiling.
As they started walking, Pieter said, “When we get back, I’m having sausages, and beans, and griddled bread. And coffee.Lotsof coffee.”
“I’ll eat anything going,” Eva said. “Everyone basically looks like a giant chicken leg to me right now. I’m famished.”
Because the storm was forecast to return later that morning, bringing with it more strong winds and heavy rain, coupled with the fact that Eva and Pieter had been swept away in a landslide, Derek made the call to end the wilderness training and return to base camp. When they were reunited with their squads, Pieter noticed that Eva’s recruits looked more than pleased and relieved to see her back; they looked completely thrilled.
As she told them all about the actions she and Pieter had taken to find shelter and warmth, she was magnanimous, never once letting on that she’d been the one who’d come up with the plan and who had also pulled Pieter out of the water. He saw admiration and respect writ large on the recruits’ faces, and he knew exactly what they were feeling because he shared their sentiments. Eva was a true force of nature.
When Eva got to the part of the story where they were rescued, both squads burst into spontaneous applause. Pieter joined in and then, when the sound had died down, said, “I want you all to know that I’m clapping for Sergeant Bailey. The way she told you what happened didn’t make it clear that it was her survival skills that saved us. Thank you, Sergeant Bailey.”
Pieter clapped, and both squads joined in, as did Derek, who looked on at Eva proudly. Looking embarrassed, Eva said simply, “Right, if the storm is coming, we need to get packed up quickly and start moving. We’re clearing out in fifteen minutes.”
The skies opened as soon as they started the trek back to the base, and now, as they drew near, Pieter could feel a wave of tired enthusiasm pass through the recruits. No doubt they wereall looking forward to a warm shower, a hot meal, and the chance to sleep in their own beds tonight. He was no exception.
But when they walked through the doors, Pieter and Eva were told to report to Major Aston’s office immediately. They shared a quick look but didn’t say anything to each other until they were alone.
“I feel like I’m wearing a cloak of guilt,” Eva said in a hushed tone. “I don’t know how he could have found out about what happened between us last night. Unless there were drones out looking for us, but I’m sure we would have heard them.”
Pieter shook his head. “No drones. There’s no way he could have found out about us. Could he?”
“I don’t see how. But then why does he want to see us?”
