A sob erupted out of her chest.
“I’m here!”she screamed back, wrapping her arms around herself.“I’m here!”
Something dropped from the helicopter—a dark shape swinging wildly beneath it.
A basket.
Fern’s stomach flipped.
The basket swayed violently as it descended, the cable whining under strain. The wind battered it mercilessly.
Upchurch.
Fear punched through her relief. She’d dragged them into this. All of them.
The ground shuddered again.
Reed bellowed behind her.
She spun just as he burst from the cabin, rage twisting his features, eyes wild and unhinged. “You don’t get to leave!” he bellowed, charging toward her.
Fern bolted for the basket.
It swung past her, just out of reach.
“Jump!” Upchurch yelled from above, his voice raw but steady. “You’ve got to jump!”
“I can’t!” she screamed back, terror freezing her limbs. It was too high. Too far.
The mountain answered for her.
A deafening roar split the air as the slope beyond the cabin gave way, a wall of mud and debris tearing loose and charging downhill like a living thing.
“Now!”Upchurch bellowed.
Fern didn’t think.
She hurled herself forward just as Reed lunged for her, his yell cutting off in shock as Upchurch leaned out of the basket and caught her arms in an iron grip.
She screamed as he yanked her up, pain flaring through her shoulders as the basket swung hard, nearly ripping them both loose. Reed’s fingers brushed her boot, slipping away as the basket surged upward.
The hoist engaged. The cable pulled them skyward.
Fern clutched the basket, sobbing as the ground fell away beneath her, mud and trees and chaos swallowing the space where she’d stood seconds before.
They slammed into the side of the helicopter as the basket reached the door, the impact knocking the breath from her lungs. Hands grabbed her—strong and sure—hauling her inside.
Crew.
His hand closed around hers, pulling her into the opening as Upchurch shoved her from behind.
The door slammed shut, and the noise dropped to a dull grumble.
Fern collapsed into Crew, shaking violently.
“You’re safe,” he rasped, leaning into her too. “You’re safe. I’ve got you.”
She broke then, clutching his jacket, pressing her face into his chest as he guided the helicopter in a lethal fight out of the storm.
