I saw trash. I saw weeds. There were still a few wildflowers refusing to admit that fall was gone and winter was quickly approaching. The grass had greened up after the summer heat faded, and now it was growing again, making it even harder to see what might be hidden underneath.
What I didn't see was blood. There was no trail down the middle of the road like a man had been dragged. That was something, at least. Not much, but we were all clinging to our own fragile shreds of hope.
Then the truck slammed to a stop, the back end skidding out to the side with the force of it. "Oh fuck," Luke said, before laying on the horn.
I immediately looked over, but at first I didn't see anything. It wasn't until I leaned closer to Luke that I saw just the edge of something burgundy. It was the kind of color that looked like, if it was dry, it would've been magenta.
"Ash!" I screamed as I bailed out of the truck.
I barely had the presence of mind to grab my medical bag from the back. All I could think was that the fabric wasn't moving.
Chapter Seventy
Pain. That was the first thing that registered. I felt a groan get stuck in my throat. I couldn't even convince my mouth to open so it could escape. Right after that, I noticed the cold. No, that was wet. Well, wet and cold. It was only on my right side, which had to mean something. I just couldn't figure out what.
Then a hand pressed against my neck, making me aware of the raw skin there. This time, I whimpered, but it seemed to be the right thing to do.
"Ash?"
I knew that voice. I loved that voice. I tried to move my arms so I could reach it, but nothing wanted to work right. Using what little energy I had left, I tried to force my eyes open. The right one managed to crack apart, and the glimpse of brightness made me want to close it again immediately.
"He's alive!" Then hands started pushing at me - and it hurt.
I wanted to get away from it. I had to get further from here. I needed to run! Yanking my one working eye open again, I twisted and did my best to crawl, but I wasn't very good at it. My hand managed to reach out and grab a handful of dirt. My fingers dug in, pain flared, but running was how I would stay alive.
"I got you, babe," that voice assured me. "It's okay. You're safe now. I'm gonna take care of you."
"Cy?" I managed to get out, but the voice didn't sound like mine.
It was broken, mangled, and rough. Even to my own ears, it sounded weak, like it had been used too much and left out in the weather to rust. Still, only Cy would call me babe. Luke didn't talk that way. Desperate to convince myself this wasn't a fantasy, I struggled to look through the glare, and what I saw was the most beautiful thing ever.
Cy was kneeling down beside me. Just behind him, Violet stood with both of her hands over her mouth. On my other side, Luke was doing something. Oh, he was looking me over, checking my wet arms and legs. I just really hoped they were all still attached.
"Ash," Cy begged, "I need to know if you can move your feet. Just a little bit. Can you do that for me, babe?"
I grunted to let him know I was, then tried as hard as I could.
"It's not much, but both of them were moving," Luke said.
"That's my man," Cy praised me. "You're going to feel a pinch, but it's gonna make everything a lot better."
What he probably didn't realize was that a pinch would be nothing. Right now, every inch of my body hurt. Thankfully, my thoughts were starting to clear. Still, it felt like I was struggling to think through mud. Everything was moving so slow. I had a million questions, but I couldn't quite manage to make any of them work as words.
Instead, I said the one thing that kept spinning through my head. "You saved me. You're all here, and you saved me."
"Shh…" Luke said, grabbing my hand. "Cy, we need to get him out of the water in this ditch. This shit's freezing."
"And he is not gonna like it," Cy replied. "Let me get a little painkiller in him first."
That was when I realized he was doing something to my arm. It felt like he was wiping at it, but that didn't make any sense. At least not until I felt the poke. A moment later, my entire body grew a little bit lighter and all of the discomfort eased just a bit. No, I sure didn't stop hurting, but at least now I felt like I could handle it.
"Luke, grab my bag," Cy ordered. "Ash, don't you dare fight me. This was a hell of a lot easier when you were still lean and skinny."
Then my entire body was jostled. I felt an arm behind my back, lifting me up. Belatedly, I realized there was one under my legs as well, then Cy heaved, pulling me to his chest even as he stood. Behind him, Violet made a noise like she wanted to protest, but she didn't know what to complain about. The next thing I knew, we were moving.
"Put him in the back of my car," someone said.
I didn't recognize that voice, but when we reached the top of the ditch, I saw the police car. Cops are bad. I didn't trust the cops, yet one was here? No, wait. He wasn't just a cop. That was Dan, and he was a friend. That meant this was okay, which was why Cy was taking me to the back of the cop car.
