With everything in me, I knew instinctively that it was a shining beacon to the end. We were so fucking close.
A male guttural scream pierced my ears sounding like Reed had just gotten what was coming to him. I wish I could have seen it happen. Or even better, been the one to do it. But I could take the satisfaction of knowing he wouldn’t be walking out of here with the grand prize.
Only a few more steps and I’d make it, but Odessa wasn’t with me.
I couldn’t make it to the finish line without knowing that she was okay. Turning around, I headed back. My body hit a few of the fallen boulders, knocking the wind out of me.
The dust had begun to settle and the boulders had stopped falling, but I still couldn’t see where Odessa was.
It wasn’t until it cleared that I found her unconscious, with blood seeping out from a wound in her head.
“Oh, fuck!” I cried, running straight to her.
She’d been hit by a smaller piece of rock, but it had knocked her out cold. Thankfully she was still breathing. I grabbed at the backpack and found the healing mask. I yanked my mask off and put on the healer, feeling its magick settle into my bones.
“Hold on, I’m going to fix you up. Good as new,” I promised, finding that spark within me. It flowed into her, stitching her up and fixing the pulsating head injury she’d sustained. The healer’s mask allowed me to see where exactly she needed that power, and I gladly poured what I could into her, until finally her eyelashes fluttered, and her brown eyes locked onto mine.
“What happened?” She asked, looking around.
“You got knocked out. Do you think you can stand?”
She licked her dust covered lips and nodded her head.
“Does anything still hurt?” I asked as I helped her to stand.
“No, I just feel off. Like I’m missing a chunk of time.”
She wobbled a little as she got her bearings but then righted herself. I kept my hands around her waist just in case though.
“That was a close call,” she said, looking down to where she’d just been laying.
“Too fucking close. You think you can stop trying to die on me?” I asked.
She gave me a half-hearted smile and then froze. “Is that?—”
I looked over my shoulder to see what she was looking at. “The end? Yeah.”
“And you could have gone for it?”
“I couldn’t leave you here,” I answered.
Her eyes shone with shimmering unshed tears as she took in my words. “You really are something, Dex.”
“So, does that mean you trust me yet?” I joked.
But the look she gave me was serious. “I think I do,” she said.
“You ready to finish this thing?” I asked.
“Absolutely.”
I took her hand in mine, and we walked together towards that glowing beacon of hope.
“What’s the first thing you’re doing once we get out of here?” I asked as we sidestepped the fallen boulders.
“Taking a long hot shower. Gods, I miss running water. Oh no! I think I changed my mind— I’m going to stuff my face with something other than fucking granola. Cake! No, cheese! Warm melted cheese and a crust of bread. If I never have to eat granola again, I’ll be one happy woman.”
“Agreed.”
