“How is us working together going to get that saw into our hands?” Silver asks.
“Well, we think Missy can move her hands enough to get into my backpack and grab our rope. Then, if we can get enough momentum and swing our net toward you, then Missy can toss you one side of our rope. Since the tree with your saw is pretty much between our two nets, we can all pull on the rope and bring our nets to the center. Then, since Silver’s hand is in the best position to reach the saw, she can unhook it from the tree, and we can cut each other out.”
Silver’s lips press into a tight line, seeming to consider the idea, but there really isn’t much to consider since the only choices are this plan or remaining in the nets.
“Fine,” Silver agrees with little emotion.
With that, Missy starts working her way up my shoulders and around my neck, until her fingers reach the zipper at the top of my backpack and start feeling for the coil of rope. Missy’s warm cheek presses against mine as her arms surround me on either side. “Missy?”
“Hmm?” she says, her fingers still prodding through my bag.
“I think we should get trapped in a net more often.”
She giggles, and the sound reaches deep inside me, sending a stream of light running through my veins.
“Shut it, Colton Downing. I’m trying to concentrate,” she says, still laughing.
I tilt my head toward hers until my lips brush her ear. “Oh yeah, me too.”
“Colton!” Missy chides playfully.
“Oh my gosh. Make it stop,” Silver says, and I think for a moment she’s referring to me and Missy.
“Legend, get your bony elbow away from my rib cage,” Silver grumbles at her true source of frustration. “It’s digging into my side.”
“Gee, sis, wish I could, but it’s a little tied up at the moment,” Legend says.
Silver rolls her eyes. “Let’s just get this over with.”
It takes another five minutes for Missy to pull the rope from my backpack and work it and her hand through the net, and another five minutes for Missy and me to get enough swinging momentum to toss the rope to Silver. In the meantime, I inch my hands free from behind Missy’s backpack, thanks to the ever-shifting net, and move them to my sides where they have more wiggle room.
By the time we get the rope over to Silver, Legend has also managed to loosen one of his hands from the net’s grip and uses it to help thread the rope through their net. I reach a hand through our net and do the same until I’ve pulled in enough rope that I can grasp it with both hands. Together, we all pull. The process is painstaking and slow as we tug ourselves closer and closer, each pull bringing us toward one another and the center tree with its fuchsia saw.
Once our two nets meet in the middle, Legend and Silver are so close to us it’s like we’re all huddled inside one net insteadof two. While everyone else holds onto the rope, securing our close position, Missy takes one end of the rope and ties our nets together, making the rope do the heavy lifting. With sighs of relief, we all drop our hands from the rope and stretch out our fingers in the little space we have.
Now that we are positioned in front of the intended tree, Silver grabs hold of the saw and unlatches it from the hook that held it in place. At the same time, Missy and I enact part two of our plan.
“Okay, I’ve got it, now take the saw and cut us out,” Silver says.
“I don’t think so,” Missy says. “Y’all cut us out first, and then we’ll help get you down.”
“No!” Silver says, her eyes cold. “You guys take the saw and cut us down, or no one is getting out of here.”
Missy’s eyes narrow into slits. “Make me.”
Legend’s eyes bounce between Missy and Silver, watching their squabble like it’s a tennis match. Suddenly, Silver holds the saw away from the net and moves three fingers from its handle until she’s holding onto it with only two fingers. “You cut us out first, or I’ll drop it right now.”
Missy’s eyes flash in frustration.
“No,” Legend says.
“Legend. Don’t be stupid. If we don’t get out, no one’s getting out.” She barks at her brother before turning her attention back to us. “I’m dropping it in 5, 4, 3, 2 ...”
“Fine,” Missy seethes.
Missy gives me a covert look and I wink, letting her know that I’ve finished part two of our plan. As swiftly as I can, I readjust my hand so that it’s higher up the net. Silver passes me the saw, and I slowly cut at the top of their net as both Legend and Silver watch with bated breath, giving me unhelpful pointers as I go. I manage to make a few idiotic slashes that I know will irk them,while at the same time, I watch Missy in my periphery as she enacts part three of the plan.
Not long after, the net breaks, and Silver and Legend drop to the ground with a thud while Missy and I go swinging in the opposite direction. Their cut net, which is still tied to our net with our rope, hangs limply as it drags back and forth along the forest floor with the remains of our rope twisted up inside of it.
