Fly free by C.S. Adler

Author:C.S. Adler [Adler, C.S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-01-29T04:00:00+00:00

Seven

Charlotte's wail made the disaster real to Shari.

"Peter's lying hurt in the bottom of the ravine," Shari had announced. Now she had to force herself past her screaming mother to the telephone, where Zeke had pasted emergency numbers for fire and police and the rescue squad. Tension made Shari's fingers so stiff that she had difficulty dialing, but finally the call went through. "My brother needs help," she said and briefly described where Peter had fallen. Charlotte yanked the phone from her hands to add a garbled plea for them to hurry.

Shari started back out to her brother, but Charlotte stopped her. "Don't you dare leave this house. You stay here and wait for Doug and Walter. I'll take care of Peter."

"But you don't know where he is and I do."

"I told you. Stay here," Charlotte said. Each word burned with hate as she added, "Do like I say for once. I'm going to my son now and I'll deal with you later."

Shari heard her mother starting her car. If Charlotte waited for the rescue squad at the bridge that crossed high over the ravine and directed them from there, they would enter the ravine too far from Peter. With no path to follow and rocks and brambles to hold them back, they'd take forever to get to him. Suppose Peter opened his eyes and found himself alone! Shari couldn't obey. She couldn't remain in the house doing nothing when Peter might need her.

She began running back along the shortcut. He was still unconscious when she reached him. She couldn't tell by listening for a heartbeat if he was alive or not because her breath was coming in gasps and her own heart pounded too loudly in her ears. Blood oozed from his hair. When she put her arms around him, he felt suspiciously cool. She kissed him and spoke to him and tried warming him with her body. Once she thought she saw his eyelids flutter, but she couldn't be sure.

"Petey, wake up. Petey, I love you so much. Please be all right," she begged. Sitting there on the damp ground, she shivered. How much colder he must feel! She wanted to get his body off the ground and onto her lap, but she was afraid to risk moving him. All she could do was wait. She didn't cry. She was too full of dread to cry.

She listened in the dark at the bottom of the ravine while the water warbled its way over the rocks and birds whistled to each other across the stream until, at last, she heard the voices of the rescue squad. "You see him anywheres?" "Not yet." "Think we're in the right place?"

"Here!" Shari yelled. "He's here, here, here." Her voice echoed. She kept screaming until she was hoarse and an answer came back.

"Okay, we hear you."

A lanky, gray-haired man and a chunky young woman in jeans came crashing through the thicket on the far bank. "There's a log you can cross the stream on," Shari yelled.

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