Page 13 of Fangs
Fuck.
I had precious few options, but this river might make the choice for me. Maybe this wouldn’t be such a bad way to go. It hurt, right now, but I would eventually go numb, and I’d rather drown in frozen water than burn alive.
I thought of Mac and the crew—mycrew—and tears filled my eyes. I didn’t want to lose them. I wanted to go home.
I closed my eyes, fighting the panic by picturing Trey reaching for me. He would pull me against his chest. My arms would go around his neck, my hands in his hair, and his strong arms would hold me tight. I would breathe in his comforting scent and tip my head up to meet those brown eyes. He would smile that sunshine smile and kiss me.
I’ll find you again in another lifetime. Maybe there we’ll have more time. I love you, Bones.
I love you, Trey. I love you so much.
I could see him so clearly: the warmth of his eyes, the way the skin crinkled around them when he smiled, the soft waves of his brown hair. I could feel the calluses on his hands as he entwined them with mine.
“Stay with me. Please, don’t leave,”I begged.
Maybe it was just my imagination, but I could have sworn he whispered. “I’mnot goin’ anywhere, darlin’.”
The tears that ran down my face felt scalding hot compared to the frigid water. I held on as long as possible, but soon, the current ripped me away. I let my body go limp, eyes closed, trying to fight the instinct to survive. Then my head slammed into a rock, and there was nothing at all.
3
Iknew I was still alive because I feltawful.
My entire body shivered. I pried my eyes open to see I’d washed up against a giant fallen tree in the river. My upper body was on the tree trunk, my hands clinging to the icy branches, but the rest of me was still submerged in the freezing water. My teeth were chattering so hard I was half afraid they would break. Pulling myself onto the tree took many tries, my skin scraping across the slippery bark, but I managed to drag most of my body out of the water. I knew I needed to get up and move, find shelter, and start a fire, or I would die of hypothermia, but I couldn’t seem to find the strength, mentally or physically. I was just so fucking tired. I didn’t want to fight to survive anymore. I wanted Trey. I wanted to fall asleep and wake up in his arms.
The frothy whitewater continued to roar past, dragging other large branches and logs along with it. The tree I clung to rocked with the force of the water, threatening to pull it downriver. Chunks of floating ice bumped against my lower body, and a constant freezing mist sprayed my face. My legs were still in the water, and I couldn’t feel them at all.
You’re a river, Bones.
My lips twitched. I doubted anyone else would find that as funny as I did.
I drifted in and out of consciousness, and the sky lightened. My wet clothing and hair had frozen stiff. I wasn’t shivering anymore, and I was pretty sure that was a sign death was coming. That knowledge didn’t bring any fear, though—just relief that soon quiet darkness would embrace me.
Wait for me, Trey. Please take me with you.
The sun had risen when a strange noise cut through the fog. I moved my eyes just enough to see Lee running down the bank toward me. His lips were moving, but the sound was all garbled. He didn’t hesitate before charging into the water and swimming out to me.
“No,” I croaked in a hoarse whisper. “No!"
He ignored me, climbing onto the tree and easily balancing on the slippery bark. He stood over my body and began to pry my fingers from the tree branch. I tried to cling to it, but my body was a numb, frozen prison.
“Ember, let go!” I realized he was shouting at me.
“N-n-no,” I choked out through chattering teeth, but the branch slid through my fingers, and both of us tumbled off the slippery log and into the water. I tensed in anticipation of the painful cold, but I couldn’t feelanything. I tried to kick my legs to get back to the surface, but my body barely moved, and I just kept sinking until a hand snagged my arm and jerked me up. I broke the surface, gasping. Lee grabbed my face, trying to keep it above water. His eyes bored into me.
“Ember! Are you?—"
He let out a pained grunt as the rapids slammed him into a rock, and we both went under again. Despite the water trying to rip us apart, he didn’t let go of my arm. He dragged me to the surface again, and I blinked water from my eyes, my teeth chattering uncontrollably.
“I got you,” he promised as he wrapped an arm under my chin and began to swim with the other.
I stared at the cloudy sky as he towed me along on my back, feeling like I was floating out of my numb body. I could hear him taking deep, controlled breaths as he moved through the water. As soon as he could touch the bottom, he stood and hauled me into his arms, cradling me against his chest. Water streamed from both of us as he took careful steps toward the shore.
“Ember, can you hear me?” he asked, his voice steady but laced with urgency.
I stared up at him, shivering hard. Strands of his black hair clung to his face, water dripping from his chin. He met my eyes, and his jaw clenched.
“Stay awake,” he ordered.
