Page 105 of Bastian's Storm (Surviving Raine 2)

“Yeah, I can tell.”

“It’s going to have to be reset,” Evan said. “A few more hours, and it’ll have to be broken again to get it to heal right.”

“Whatever,” I said. “I’ll deal with that when I get to the bottom of the mountain.”

“Yeah, I was wondering how you were going to do that,” Arden said. “I’m going up and over, away from where they might try to land a helicopter.”

“You know there’s no other way off this island,” I said. “It’s not like you can swim it.”

“I have an idea,” he said. “Don’t worry about me.”

“I’m not,” I replied. “I don’t give a shit about you, but I do have a vested interest in your survival now.”

His mouth turned up in a half smile. The look was almost challenging, like he’d still be willing to fight it out, but I didn’t acknowledge it. There wouldn’t be any point.

I did give a shit, though, even if he wasn’t going to take out Franks on my behalf. I wanted him to make it. He was in better shape than I was physically, but I didn’t see any fucking way he could survive.

“I’m going now,” Evan said.

“You’re not going to make it,” I said.

“Yeah, I will,” he replied. He smiled as he looked at me. “You’ll know it, too—as soon as you hear the news about Franks.”

I nodded, still not completely sure I could trust him to go through with it, but I also knew it was a better option that what I had planned, which was nothing.

Evan reached out his hand, and I took it a little tentatively. We shook briefly, and he turned without another word to start up the slope. I watched him for a minute and then headed over the side of the cliff.

I probably could have brought myself down the side of the mountain with one leg and both arms on a good day, but it was rough going, considering the state I was in. I was still mostly frozen, and my body didn’t want to do anything I told it to do. My arms and shoulders ached. My head was swimming and clouded, and there was a throbbing in the back of my skull that kept reminding me that I’d hit my head pretty hard.

Grasping the sharp rocks to scale my way down the cliff, my one good foot tried to find a decent place to rest as I caught my breath a little. The rock I stepped on held me, but it wasn’t enough to let go with my hands. It only gave my shoulders a little relief as I leaned my forehead against the cliff and took some breaths.

Back to it.

I didn’t know how long it took to get down. The sun never set; it only dipped low on the horizon before it started to rise again. By then, my body was done. Only my mind with images of Raine and Alex kept me from letting go in defeat.

Can’t stop.

Hand over hand, balancing on one foot, and reliving my time on the island with Raine, I kept on going. I never looked down as I progressed and was surprised when the cliff flattened out somewhat and allowed me to let go of the rocks with my hands. As I did, I lost my balance and put weight on my left leg.

“Fuck,” I groaned as my leg gave out from under me and I fell, rolling down the rest of the mountainside between two short ridges. I threw my arms out to slow my descent but continued to tumble anyway. I didn’t have enough strength to stop and ended up just going where gravity took me. I managed to turn myself just enough to point my feet downward and try to dig in the heel of my good foot, but it wasn’t enough. In the process, I slammed my temple into the ridge on my right, and my head jerked to the side. A moment later, I landed at the bottom, just short of where land gave way to the ice floes.

My lungs burned as I tried to get some oxygen into them. The pain in my head was excruciating, and I was sure I was going to throw up, but I couldn’t even roll to my side. The exertion from the fall had been too much—I couldn’t move anymore. As much as I tried, my body simply wouldn’t listen.

I tried to get my bearings. I was at the bottom of the mountain and would be easily visible from the air. I was close to the water, and the ground was wetter here. I knew that was a death sentence, but I couldn’t manage to do anything about it.

My body was done.

Darkness lifted, and I saw the bright white of the snow on the ground with the blue water not far off. I tried to move my arm, but it appeared to be frozen to the ground. Shooting pain traveled up my left leg as I tried to pull it closer to my body to secure a little more heat. I was lightheaded, dizzy, and thirsty, but I couldn’t remember where my canteen was. Even if I could recall its location, I wasn’t sure I could move enough to reach it.

I wasn’t cold. That was bad.

After all this shit, I’m going to die waiting for them…

Curling into myself as much as I could, I closed my eyes and waited.

I never heard the helicopter; I just heard Landon.

“Give me a sign, buddy.”

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