Page 166 of The Illicit Play
Grady would have remembered spare batteries.
I huff at my own stupidity and force myself up straight.
There’s no point standing here feeling sorry for myself.
If I can get out from under these trees, the moonlight can help me along… and I think I see a patch of it up ahead.
Tightening my grip on the bag, I surge forward, determined not to make this night my biggest disaster.
I’ll find my thinking spot.
I’ll think.
And then in the morning, the sun will rise and I’ll return to Wily’s truck, confident and secure in what I’m going to do moving forward.
Are you kidding me? You are gonna have no idea!
Shut up!This will work!
I berate myself, anger firing through as I stomp over tree roots and leave the edge of the trail. I can see a patch of light up ahead, and I’m sure it’s this bright because it’s shining on a slab of rock.
That rock will be my bed for the night.
It’s not like I’m planning on sleeping. I just want to stare up at the night sky and find frickin’ peace. Is that too much to ask?
Moving around a tree trunk, my feeble beam of light highlights what I think is my way forward and I head toward it, totally missing the tree root that trips me up.
I stumble, no doubt looking like a comical cartoon as I lose my balance and try to correct myself. My arms flail, and I plant my foot on what I think is solid ground, but the rock rolls beneath me. I let out this weird squawk when my ankle turns.
And now I’m stumbling to my right, then letting out a feral scream as the ground disappears and I hit nothing but air. The bag—which I really should have put back on properly—tumbles out of my hand, bouncing away from me, but I’m too busy shouting, “No!” and reaching up to slow my descent to even lament the loss.
“Shit, shit, shit!” I scream again, my body sliding down the rock, then landing with a bone-crunching thud. “Ahhh!” My wail echoes across the black space in front of me.
I reach for my leg. I have no idea what I’ve twisted or broken, but the pain is blinding.
Patting the ground around me, I try to feel for the flashlight, but it’s gone as well.
All I have left now is a pale moonlight that isn’t enough to truly show me where I am.
My chest heaves, breaths punching out of me as I try to think through this haze of pain.
Breathe.
Figure out where you are.
You’ll need to climb back up.The thought is harrowing, my brain sizzling with panic.
Breathe!
I suck in a breath, snapping my eyes shut as I grip my knee, trying to ignore the pulsing pain in my leg.
Breathe.
Think.
“Think, Blake,” I whisper. “Think.”
Sucking in another breath, I force my logical brain into action and take it one step at a time.
