Not even being able to see enough to take the next step.
Lying suspended in his harness, unable to muster the strength to get himself back up on the bridge. Trying just to fill his lungs with air.
Wildfire screaming his name.
He looked out at the rope bridge now. Had she come out to get him?
She’d been nearby, yelling his name. A sharp pain in his leg, then he’d finally been able to take a full breath a few seconds later.
He remembered unstrapping his backpack. Why had he done that?
And now the love of his life was lying next to him, unresponsive, unconscious.
“Wake up for me, Wildfire.”
This storm was a bitch. He needed to get them to shelter. Make sure she was okay. Make sure he was okay. He had no idea how he’d gotten to this side of the ravine.
Everything was still so fucking fuzzy. The last time he’d felt this way was years ago when a doctor had given him penicillin without checking his medical chart to find out he was highly allergic.
Nobody was giving him penicillin out here, so he wasn’t sure what had happened.
He reached an arm around Riley and moved her gently so she was lying beside him. She groaned the slightest bit, which was a good sign.
Then he caught sight of the blood on her jacket.
Shit. She was hurt. He forced himself to focus through the fuzziness that still wanted to wrap around his brain.
He unzipped her jacket, searching through the rain for any sign of wounds or any further blood but found nothing. She groaned again and shifted, her hand falling open beside her.
Holy hell, that’s where the blood had come from. He took a look at her other palm and sure enough it was just like the first.
Those were wounds from the rope bridge. He’d been in trouble, and she’d come to get him, tearing her hands up to do it. He still didn’t understand all the whys of it.
But he did understand that they needed to get out of this storm right fucking now.
He sat up, breath hissing with the dizziness and stiffness. He squeezed Riley’s shoulder. “Time to get up. We need to get out of this storm.”
She didn’t move.
He shook her harder. “On your feet, Wildfire. We’ve got to move.”
She groaned and turned away from him, huddling into herself for warmth.
“Let’s get somewhere dry where I can build a fire. Don’t you want to get warm?”
He didn’t have any feeling left in his extremities, and he had a good fifty pounds on her. A lot more muscle mass to keep him warm.
“Tired. Rest.” Her words were whispered through wet lips that were turning blue.
If he was piecing the situation together correctly, she’d used all her energy getting him off that rope bridge. Now that her body was coming down from the adrenaline high, her blood sugar had bottomed out. There was nothing left in her tank.
“I know, sweetheart. I know you’re tired. You’ve done so good. But this storm is getting worse. Let’s get to some shelter.”
He knew the exact one they could go to, had been to before. Who said lightning never struck in the same place twice?
Thunder rattled overhead.
“I was just kidding,” he murmured to Mother Nature.
Riley still wasn’t moving. He didn’t want to drag her, but he wasn’t at all certain he’d be able to carry her without injuring them both.
She needed to walk a few hundred yards.
He pulled her up into a sitting position. “Riley! Get up. You’re not done yet. You’re going to have to rest later.”
She groaned again but still didn’t move.
He was going to have to fight a little dirty. Although, he had to admit the thought of this working gave him more hope than anything.
“Wildfire, I need your help. I don’t think I’m going to make it without you.”
That was true on so many different levels he couldn’t even call it a lie, although he could definitely drag himself to the shelter without her help.
But she didn’t know that.
“If you can’t get us to the shelter, we’re both going to die. I’m going to die, Wildfire. I need you to wake up and help me or I’m not going to make it.”
She groaned again, but this time those hazel eyes opened.
“Hey, you.”
“You’ve got to get out of the storm,” she whispered. “You go. I’ll catch up.”
Yeah, right. “Come on, get up.”
“Can’t. You go.” Her eyes were already starting to close again.
“I can’t make it without you. You have to help me. Please, Wildfire.”
With a huge groan she rolled to the side and got up. He knew what a superhuman effort that simple move had taken.
It didn’t surprise him for a second that she’d found the strength to do it.
She’d been amazing him from the first day he’d met her. He might be the one who’d gotten famous doing crazy stunts, but she was the one who had the kind of strength that mattered.
“We can’t cross the bridge.”
He nodded. The lightning was too dangerous, and neither would make it anyway. “Hunter’s cabin,” he yelled through the rain.
She reached for her medical backpack, but he shooed her hands away. The fact that she didn’t argue just proved how weak she was really feeling.
He took off his gloves and put them over her icy hands. They were too wet to help much but were better than nothing.
He grabbed her arm and headed west, in the direction of the shelter, thanking God with every step that he already knew about it. It was only a half mile away, but their pace in these conditions and their condition was snaillike.
By the halfway point, he really was afraid he might have to drag her. Her steps were getting slower and less steady with each minute.
Of course, if he was dragging her, who was going to drag him? Because he wasn’t sure he was going to make it either.
And this goddamn storm was getting worse. His head was still woozy, his body still weak, and he wasn’t sure they were still going in the right direction. The hunter’s cabin wasn’t meant to be found easily.
Had she somehow managed the superhuman feat of getting him off that rope just for him to lead them to death in the wilderness?
Her small hand slid into his, her grip loose because of her wounds.
“Together.” Her voice was too low for him to hear her, but he could read her lips.
She stepped forward again, guiding him.
He moved with her. He trusted her with everything.
Cupping her hand in his, they continued one slow step at a time through the battering rain and winds.
Their speed picked up slightly when they finally saw the shelter, and they stumbled the rest of the way to the door. It couldn’t even be called a cabin. It didn’t have any furniture, just some very basic supplies.
But compared to the storm raging outside, it was absolute heaven.
They both stumbled through the unlocked door and collapsed onto the ground. He kicked the door shut behind them, and they just lay there. Breathing. Alive.
It wasn’t long before he began to regain feeling in his numb limbs.
It wasn’t pleasant.
If it was bad for him with his size and muscle mass, Wildfire’s body must be feeling it even worse. She needed to get out of those wet clothes immediately. Hypothermia was definitely a possibility. He rolled to the side and forced himself up onto his hands and knees.