Page 60 of Countdown

Her head knew that, but her body was protesting. It wanted her to sink to the ground, curl up in a ball, and go to sleep. She ignored it and moved, her hands like frozen blocks of ice. She flexed her fingers, thankful she could do so. No frostbite yet. “You d-don’t think we’re too exposed out here?”

“I think the shooter’s gone, thanks to the arrival of law enforcement, but we’re tucked into this little horseshoe area with trees surrounding us, so I think we’re all right.”

“Okay.” She stood shivering, trying to work up the energy to move.

“Raina?”

“I know, I know. Move.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

All she wanted was to be warm again. Okay, mostly, she wanted to stay alive, but getting warm was a very close second. If gathering sticks would lead her to that outcome, she was allin. She stomped her feet, glad she could feel them, but the wet clothes were driving her nuts. “Sticks. I need sticks.” Could she find anything dry? It still looked like it might rain but so far had held off.

Ignoring her physical discomfort, she walked to the edge of the wooded area and found as many pieces of dry wood or kindling as she could carry. On her search for small or broken limbs, she spotted an empty two-liter drink bottle in the underbrush. She hurried over to it and grabbed it to add to her stack of wood, noting there were three more in the same spot. She scurried back to where Vince had made some kind of bow out of a broken tree limb and a shoelace.

“You have a p-pocketknife? That’s handy. Were you a Boy Scout?” she asked, dropping the armload on the ground next to him. She picked up the bottle and slid a dirty fingernail under the label.

“Eagle Scout.”

“Of course you were.”

His eyes landed on the bottle. “Plastic label?”

“Yup.”

“You’re a genius. That’s going to make things a lot easier.” He took it from her and added it to his little teepee-shaped pile of sticks, then went back to his bow and another piece of wood he’d notched a small hole in. “This is the fireboard.” He nodded to the bow. “That’s the drill. It’s what’s going to help create enough friction to start the fire.”

“Great.” She honestly didn’t care how it was done, she just wanted to see flames. She was wet and cold, and for some reason, it was taking a really long time for anyone to start heading their way. “Where is the rescue boat? Isn’t there some kind of water police or something out here? We shouldn’t even have time for this kind of thing.”

“No idea. We’re going to need some larger pieces of wood. Wanna see what you can find while I get this going?”

“Sure.” Raina did as he asked, finding that he was right about moving. The more she moved, the warmer she stayed—although the termwarmwas a stretch. The wind whipped around her, chilling every inch of exposed skin. She gathered a few larger tree limbs and returned to find the wood smoking. Then a tiny spark caught, and Vince blew gently, holding the label to it.

At first there was just some smoke, then a tiny flame nibbled at the label. “It’s working,” she breathed.

He continued to baby the small flame, then transferred it to the area he’d prepared. Within a few short minutes, large flames reached higher and finally started putting out enough warmth for Raina to feel it against her palms.

She eyed him as she dropped to the ground next to the fire. “You did it.”

“Yeah.” He drew her closer, squishing the wet clothes against her. She grimaced but didn’t pull away since he was huddling next to her. “Look.” He nodded to the officers gathered on the shore in the distance. They looked like tiny specks, but she thought she could see them backing a boat into the water. “They’re coming.”

Feeling was returning to her face, but her body was still chilled to the bone. “Awesome.” She paused and looked him in the eye. “Thank you, Vince.”

“For what?”

“For pushing me to swim. For keeping me safe. I know you didn’t have to build a fire. I suspect that it was to give me something to do to make sure I kept moving.”

A small smile curved his lips. “To make sure we both kept moving. Working that bow takes a lot of effort and exertion. I didn’t exactly start sweating, but it kept my blood pumping.”

She leaned her head against him. “I want a hot bath, my fuzzy Wonder Woman pj’s, and warm slippers. And a cup of hot chocolate. In that order.”

“I wouldn’t mind that myself. Minus the Wonder Woman. I think Iron Man would be appropriate though.”

Raina laughed. A long burst of sound that was too loud and on the verge of tears, but it still felt good. Then she sobered. “I’m sorry, Vince.”

“For?”

“For dragging you into this. For asking you for help. For you almost getting killed.” A tear trickled down her numb cheek and dropped from her chin. “I’m sorry. I should have—”

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