Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 80439 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 402(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 268(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80439 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 402(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 268(@300wpm)
Thor hoists me up with one arm and Drako grabs hold of me. In total, I was over the edge for less than a minute, but it felt like forever. I don’t know how many times I can face mortality before I lose my mind, but I have to assume it is not that many more.
I scramble away from the edge, staying on my belly, crawling toward what feels like solid ground. I don’t know if I am ever going to trust the earth again.
I look back, and see Drako.
I realize in that moment, that there is absolutely nothing to stop Drako from just letting Thor fall. He could keep me for himself, and he could start his little colony project just as he was instructed to do. It would be a win for him. It would be the best idea, really. It would be the road to self-preservation.
I watch as the muscles in his back flex. He’s pulling Thor up, shuffling back across the scree and using his body as leverage to help Thor’s big frame find purchase. I was rescued in a matter of seconds, but it takes longer to help Thor up.
I find myself holding my breath, terrified that the rest of the cliff might decide to crumble and they’ll both fall and then I’ll be here alone trying to survive a world that’s killed hundreds of people without blinking an eye.
Finally, after what is probably less than a minute, they are both up and moving across to me. All of us make tracks down the mountain as quickly as we can, not at all liking the biodiversity we just discovered.
“What the fuck was that?” I ask the question when I can breathe and think.
“Looked like a troll,” Drako says. “Or a really big monkey. Whatever it was, it was fast. Big teeth. Long arms. Colored like rock and snow. Blended in perfectly until it decided to move.”
“Everything on this planet tries to kill you,” Thor says.
“Cheer up,” I say. “We could be on Australia.”
“Australia isn’t real,” Thor says quickly. “It’s a story the ancients made up to scare their children.”
“I believe in Australia,” I say.
“We need to make a fortified encampment,” Drako says, changing the subject. “We’ve got to harvest trees, carve staves, and bury them so we have a proper wall to keep things like that at bay.”
“I don’t know if we can build a fortified encampment out of wood that is going to keep anything out,” Thor says. “That horde isn’t going to be stopped by wood. And that thing that chased us? If the cliff hadn’t given way, we’d be troll food.”
“Cave, then. We need fortifications. We have all almost died more times than I can count in the past few days alone. Our luck will run out soon.”
There is a pause in the conversation that I feel compelled to fill.
“Thank you for saving our lives, Drako,” I say pointedly.
“That’s alright,” he says. “You’d do the same for me.”
I look at Thor, trying not to seem too pointed. I’m waiting for him to say thank you. He doesn’t. He looks away from us both with an expression that even on a six foot whatever-the-fuck warrior firefighter, looks petulant.
I look back at Drako, and give a little shrug. I truly feel grateful to him, and I don’t feel like he is understanding how much I feel.
“I’m serious,” I say. “You were willing to fight for us.”
“I was willing to fight for you,” he says, somewhat ruining the moment. “Thor can take care of himself.”
Oh, that is a good save. A conversation with Drako is always an exciting proposition. He’s downplaying his heroism though, for sure. He deserves a lot of credit for being able to turn and face a creature that was bigger than all of us put together and clearly well adapted to running prey down on craggy mountainsides.
My stomach twists as I realize there’s some chance it didn’t die when it went over the edge. If it managed to catch itself on the way down, it might still be out there. And even if that one isn’t out there, there are no doubt others.
“I like the idea of a cave,” I say. “With a rock we can roll over the door. I really want to be inside again. I miss inside. It feels like we’ve lost the whole concept of inside. There’s way too much outdoors happening.”
“Then we should explore the lower ranges. I think I saw a fissure in the rock that might have been a cave. Odds are it will be occupied with something, but we should be able to use fire to drive it out.”
Drako is already thinking about our next move for survival. He’s not basking in praise. He was going to save me no matter what. It’s not even a thing to him. I have never been more attracted to him than I am in this moment.