‘I don’t know if I can do this,’ I sobbed five minutes later.
I’d taken off my backpack and, gritting my teeth against the pain, I’d slotted it under the lower part of my left leg so that the fracture didn’t drag along the ground. Painstakingly, I’d shuffled backwards.
Each movement was pure agony. I couldn’t make an inch of progress without hot needles of pain rupturing across my leg.
Rain continued to lash down. The darkness of the night or the sun being blocked by such thick clouds made me feel more alone than I ever had before.
More than anything, I needed someone to rescue me. But no one was coming. My phone still had no signal. I couldn’t call anyone.
I had to save myself.
I didn’t bother wiping my tears. The rain would wash them away. My arms aching, I hauled myself backwards.
The pain was unbearable. I screamed into the sky, thunder clashing off the mountains.
From then on, I didn’t try to contain myself as I shuffled over to the hut. I cried out with each tiny jostle that felt like searing iron pressing into shin. I howled as each jarring movement released fresh stabs of pain.
I almost collapsed when I made it to the opening of the hut. Part of me whimpered that I’d come far enough. I’d gotten myself here, most of my body in the shelter. Why did I have to keep going?
I gritted my teeth and slid further into the hut. Beneath a covering of straw sprinkled with goat dung, the floor was concrete. Hauling myself properly inside was made far easier by the flat surface. Groaning, I kept dragging until even the tips of my toes were sheltered from the rain.
The temptation to collapse was stronger than ever, but I refused to get this far then do myself serious harm by not taking a few simple steps. A tiny voice whispered that maybe serious harm had already been done, but I shushed that and got on with undressing as much as I could.
I left my jeans and boots on, as doing anything that touched my left leg directly made me want to scream and never stop. Under the watchful eyes of goats that had been far more sensible than me and had sought shelter before the storm hit, I strippedout of my coat and jumper. Wincing, I pulled my T-shirt over my head, then slumped backwards into a pile of hay.
The movement hurt, but the pain receded as I lay still on my back. I was never more thankful for the magnetism that drew animals to me than I was now. The goats huddled close to my sides. I didn’t know if it was instinctual knowledge of where not to touch or that my top half was chilled but soft whereas my jeans were cold and wet, but the goats stayed away from my injured leg.
I gathered them closer, encouraging a couple to hop up onto my stomach and aching chest. I breathed in their thick musk as their furry warmth sunk into my freezing skin.
My eyes slid shut. A short rest, a moment to recharge and warm up, then I’d retrieve helpful supplies from my bag. I had my basic vet kit in there, plus water and the lunch Oscar had been disgusted by earlier. I would tend to my leg as best I could, eat and drink, and take care of myself until someone realised I was missing and found me. Aster had told me stories of Callum’s unerring ability to hunt him down when he got into trouble. I wouldn’t mind borrowing some of that for myself.
But first, sleep. I snuggled closer to my goat blanket and gratefully slipped into unconsciousness.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
KIT
We didn’t speak much as Errol sped up the mountain. Rain pounded the roof of the car, making it impossible to stretch my senses outside, to discern if a heart beat in an achingly familiar pattern nearby.
I used the drive to repeatedly tell myself truths. Lucas was a capable man. He wouldn’t be in danger because of the storm. He would be tucked up safe somewhere, maybe even in Callum and Aster’s cabin. Each minute that passed was one closer to finding him.
It was a herculean effort to keep my mind away from other thoughts. Like that the storm had come in so quickly, maybe Lucas didn’t have time to find shelter. He wasn’t used to the island like we were. He wasn’t as strong and quick.
The light in Callum’s window appeared from nowhere. He had a generator up here that would have kicked in as soon as the power cut. Before the car had fully stopped, I hurled myself out into the rain and ran to the cabin. I hauled the front door open.
Disappointment settled over me like a heavy blanket. Only two heads swivelled towards me. One bearded and concerned, the other freckled and delighted.
‘Kit.’ Aster twisted on the sofa. ‘Have you come for snuggles?’
I frowned at him, then registered the cold slap of fear.
Guilt, as crushing as my anxiety for Lucas, swept over me.
Not once, while huddling with Bonnie during a storm, had it occurred to me that Callum would be just as scared. But it should have done. Callum had lost his family in the same way she had.
Bonnie had asked for help. I should have known Callum never would. If there was ever an opportunity for him to put others above himself, he’d take it. He’d leave us to comfort his sister, while he hid in his cabin alone.
I was so damn glad he had Aster now.
