Page 3 of Guarding Truth

Metal creaked and Juliette screamed. The vehicle skidded down the side of the mountain. The seat belt dug into Caleb’s shoulder, but it was the only thing keeping him from hitting his head on the roof.

Boom.

The car collided with…something. What was it? Dust poured into the cabin, so thick Caleb couldn’t see inside or out. Someone coughed. He reached out his hand to feel around the back seat and connected with Juliette’s hand. She squeezed back.

“Nobody move,” Caleb said. “We must have hit a tree or rock that broke our fall.” At least they were upright, but his side of the car had taken the brunt of the crash. He tried the door but it wouldn’t budge.

He needed to make sure everyone survived. “Everyone okay? Call out.”

“I’m alive,” Juliette replied.

A grunt sounded from the front seat. “I—I’m alive but hurt.” The voice was Laz. “I’m pinned under the dashboard and can’t move my leg.”

Tank didn’t reply. The smell of diesel burned Caleb’s nostrils, and the vehicle let out a slow groan. They needed to move. Now.

A seat belt unbuckled. “I’m going to go out the door and get Tank and Laz out. You get ready to jump out when I have them.”

“Jules, no. If you move, we might fall. It’s not safe.” If a rock was blocking their fall, it might not hold them for long. “We’re not done falling.”

Caleb’s gut clenched at the sound of the opening door.

“I have to get them out. I’m the lightest in the car. We have to try.”

From Caleb’s vantage point, he saw nothing but the sun rising outside the front windshield. Out the window, he saw the outline of the boulder that had slowed their descent down the mountain. The boulder was the fulcrum and their car the seesaw. “Be careful, Jules. We’re still in danger of dropping some more.”

Once the dust settled, he could see the front seat. Tank wasn’t moving, and a streak of blood trickled from his forehead down his cheek. The door scraped.

“I’m out,” Juliette called back. “We crashed into a rock, but it kept us from going over the side of the mountain. It’s steep.”

More daylight lit the sky, and Caleb watched Juliette hold on to the vehicle for support while she made her way to the front.

She reached through the glassless window of the driver’s side door. “I can’t find a pulse. I’m heading around to Laz. We’ve got to get them both out of here?—”

Rocks and pebbles tumbled down the side of the mountain, causing the Humvee to shift. Juliette lost her footing and slipped out of his sight with a yelp.

Smoke filled the cabin. Caleb crawled through the back seat and went out Juliette’s open door.

“Please, Lord, let this rock hold us,” he whispered.

He maneuvered his way to the edge of the rock.

“Jules!”

“I—I’m stuck.” He followed the sound of her voice and saw her clinging to a tree branch. Her speech slurred and a gash on her forehead seeped blood.

A pop sounded from behind him, and he turned to see black smoke pouring from the engine. Not a good sign. The car might explode.

He had to save both Laz and Juliette.

“Laz, you have to get out.”

“Can’t move, bro. Save Juliette. Get her out of here. I’ll be all right. I’m sure help is on the way.”

His lie cut to Caleb’s core.

One of his two friends could die here tonight.

Caleb sent up a prayer and committed to his choice.

---