He’s been stretching the bottom of his T-shirt over in an attempt to wipe blood off my face, but now he gives up and pulls the shirt over his head completely. He’s wiping at my face again as Burgundy joins us, kneeling down beside me.
“Oh my God, Kat. Your face looks terrible. I’m surprised you didn’t knock yourself out, you hit so hard.”
“I think it was touch and go.” I stifle another groan as I try to stretch my arms and legs. “But I think it’s mostly my ankle and all the scratches. Help me up, Micah.”
Micah’s hands are so gentle as he lifts me to a sitting position, and then when I grab onto his shoulders for support, he lifts me to my feet.
Sharp pain slashes through me when I put weight on my twisted ankle. “Damn it!”
Micah doesn’t hesitate. He swings me into his arms and starts carrying me up the hill.
“I could do it.” I cling to his neck, feeling touched and off-balance at the same time.
“I know you could, baby, but we don’t have time for limping right now.”
“He’s right. We don’t have long to get into position.” Burgundy is keeping pace beside Micah. “Assuming our estimate of their speed is close to right, they’ll be in view in a few minutes. Do you think you’ll be able to shoot?”
“I’ll try.” I swallow hard, still jarred and rattled and in a lot of pain. Blood is trickling down my face and into myeyes. “Maybe you should run down and get Deck up here just in case.”
“There isn’t time,” she says. “Micah’s vision is too poor at this distance, so if you can’t do it, then I’ll have to do it instead.”
“Okay.” I don’t argue because I have no experience with Burgundy’s skill with a long-range rifle. She’s shown herself to be a very competent person, so she might very well be as good as me and Deck. “I’ll try, and we’ll go from there.”
Micah moves faster than I would have dared, especially hauling a whole-ass person in his arms, and soon we’re near the top of the slope in our plotted position. Burgundy dampens Micah’s T-shirt with some of our water and uses it to clean more of the blood off my face. Then Micah helps me get into a kneeling position. It’s always easier to shoot from a prone position, but there’s far too much brush here to get a good view that low.
The rifle is slightly shaky as I settle it on my shoulder. The road below is blurred through the scope.
I suck in a raspy breath, frustrated at my own cursed luck.
“We’ve got time,” Micah says, low and reassuring. “Just take a minute to settle yourself.”
We don’t have much time, but I use a minute of it to try to clear my mind and my vision. Then I try again.
This time I can see better, but I can’t line up the shots I’ll need. “I need to stand up. I’m still too low here.”
Micah pulls me to my feet and puts an arm around my waist to keep me steady. Then I turn to Burgundy so she can wipe off more of the blood so it doesn’t get into my eyes.
I try to line up the shots again, and this time I’m at the right height. But I can’t stand steady without Micah holding me up, and his body interferes with my positioning. It takes some strength to shoot a rifle in a standing position, and I don’t have it right now.
Plus my mind isn’t entirely clear. I don’t trust myself to hit the tires like this.
“Maybe you should try,” I say to Burgundy. “I’m worried I can’t do it in this condition.”
No one objects. We have no time for extraneous conversation anyway.
Micah helps me sit down again, and Burgundy takes my place. She’s three or four inches taller than me, so she’ll have a better line of sight than me anyway.
Her hands and body are steady. She clearly knows what she’s doing. She aims the rifle. Adjusts and tries it again. Then takes a deep breath and does it one more time.
Then she shakes her head and hands the rifle back to me. “I can’t. My vision is better than Micah’s, but this is too far for me. I’ll miss, and it will lead to major problems. We don’t have time to get Deck. It’s got to be you, Kat.”
I gulp, suddenly filled with anxiety, with pressure, with the weight of responsibility I haven’t felt in so long.
All this time I’ve only had myself and Molly to look out for. But now everyone is depending on me.
Onme.
And I can’t let them down.
