Page 53 of Wild in the Woods
And certainly not when she looped the rope around her waist once and tried to figure out how the hell she was going to get down there. Her feet slid and she nearly fell straight in. Thank God for the rope supporting her lower back. Finding some footing, she realized there was an embankment leading into the hole. It was super steep and slippery but provided some backdrop for her to walk her way down, down, slowly giving herself more rope as she descended into the yawning darkness. The end of the rope created a splash, and she knew she was getting close. It was so dark. So damn dark.
Sweat coated her hairline and dripped into her eyes.Don’t think, just do. Mindset, mindset. You’ve got this. You’ve got the child.Lulu had no idea how she was pulling this off.
The bottoms of her boots touched down in water. Something grabbed her legs, desperate little hands fisting her pants at her calves and trying to pull up. Lulu lowered into the water, finding it knee-deep on herself, but the boy was wet clear to his neck.
“Hey, hey, I’ve got you.”
He threw himself into her arms. Tears burst from Lulu’s eyes and ran down her face. “Are you okay? What’s your name?”
He buried his face in her chest. She thought he said Luke.
“Okay, okay,” she crooned, patting his back, and looking up. How was she going to get him up there?
Grabbing the radio, she pressed the button. “I have the boy, Luke. We’re inside the hole and I’m not sure I can get him up by myself. Is anyone there?”
“Copy. Confirming you have found a child named Luke?”
“Yes. Please, send someone.”
Static came over the radio followed by silence. The child trembled violently in her arms. She couldn’t wait. He’d die of hypothermia down here.
“Hey, Luke, do you think you can cling to my back like a baby koala?”
He sniffed hard, nodded.
“I’m going to help you onto my back, and you need to hold on real tight with your arms and legs, okay?”
She helped him into position and felt the slosh of one soaked sock against her back. His other foot was covered with a shoe. Looking up helplessly, she had no choice but to climb. If she didn’t, he’d die. His soaked, cold clothing pressed into her, chilling her to the bone.
Leaning back on the rope, she tried to find footing on the slippery embankment and began to pull them up. Footstep by footstep. Slipping. Falling to her knees. Slipping again. His scant weight became remarkably heavy on her back, but he held on like a champ. She found a rhythm. Made progress, foot by foot, inch by inch. Mud coated her boots and weighed them down like cement. Her muscles screamed and her biceps quivered. Tears ran freely from her eyes.
But then daylight washed over her face, and she got a lungful of clean, damp air. They’d made it.
“We’re almost there, buddy. Hang on.”
Her head broke the surface of the opening.
“Hello, Lu. Need a hand?”
Sharp prickles shot randomly over her body in response to that voice. Rudd looked down at her with a hand extended. She damn near lost her grip on the rope.
“Whatare you doing here?”
“Let me help you. Here, give me the boy.”
This wasn’t happening. But she was so cold, so exhausted, she couldn’t question it right now. Another hard pull and she’d cleared her shoulders enough for Rudd to grab Luke. Free of the child’s weight, Lulu pulled herself up. Rudd grabbed her upper arm to assist and suddenly, finally, she was on the sold, beautiful ground.
“Wow,” he said with awe. “You just rescued a kid from a hole. What’s happened to you, Lu? You’re like a wild woman now or something.”
Breathing hard, she looked for the radio. It wasn’t on the ground or attached to her shoulder.
“How are you even here, Rudd?”
Still hanging onto the rope, she searched for the radio.
“Looking for this?” Rudd held the radio above his head.
Her stomach bottomed out. He must have grabbed it off her while he took Luke.
