Page 85 of Reluctant Chemistry

“I’m her father,” Frank replied, “and this is her brother, Mitch.”

“CeCe? It’s CeCe who’s up there?” Luka asked in disbelief. “In this rough weather? What the hell?”

“Okay, so you obviously know this girl too?” Ray said to him.

“Um, yeah.” Luka rubbed the back of his neck. “She’s an ex-student of mine.”

Frank scoffed and was none too quiet about it. “We’re joining the search party. When are they heading in?”

“With the rivers the way they are, we’ve decided to attempt a chopper run first,” Ray said, his attention focused on Frank. “If we can pull it off, we’ll be in and out within a couple of hours. Ferguson’s a twelve-hour turnaround on foot.”

Mitch showed his concern. “Shit. I told her not to go this weekend and now look what’s happened. Is the weather clear enough to fly?”

“That’s what we’re about to find out,” Luka replied.

“Right. Sun’s up, guys,” Ray said. “Let’s give this a whirl. If you have to pull back, we’ll send in a party on foot.” He looked at Luka, understanding in his expression. “You up to this, mate?”

Luka swallowed hard. “Yeah, I’m good.”

* * *

Luka’s stomach lurched as they struck another air pocket. It was always the same when he wasn’t at the controls, and despite Russo being an experienced pilot, even he struggled to keep his machine smooth in this kind of weather.

In between focusing his mind on the terrain and the cloud bank rolling in from the west, Luka thought of CeCe—injured, cold, and alone in that hut—and his need to protect her hit him in his already unsettled gut.

His mother’s words echoed in his head.Don’t worry…treat her with care…everyone makes mistakes.He closed his eyes and recalled the girl he used to know. That carefree beach babe who’d rocked his world and turned it upside down. When he thought about it, nothing much had changed in that regard.

Russo’s voice sounded in his ear. “You doing okay, O’Leary?”

Luka adjusted his mouthpiece. “All good.”

Russo glanced back over his shoulder. “How about you, Melissa?”

“I’ll be better when we get our soul home,” she replied. “It’s not looking too good to the west.”

Melissa was right. They’d make it in. But would they get out again?

“At least they made it to the hut,” Russo said. “I should be able to find a spot nearby to park the beast.”

Battling the relentless rain, Russo touched down in a small clearing adjacent to the hut. Luka and Melissa dashed into a freezing cold room, the potbelly stove in the corner providing no heat. CeCe lay on the bottom bunk in the darkness, huddled in a sleeping bag and space blanket, her eyes like saucers as she stared up at him.

“We have to stop meeting like this.” Although a stupid cliché, it was the best he could manage as he crouched and reached for her hand.

“Luka?”

“It’s okay. We’re going to get you out of here as soon as we can. Your dad and Mitch are waiting for you back at the office, and your mum’s on her way.”

“It hurts.” CeCe pressed back into the mattress and squeezed her eyes shut. “Ouch.”

He put his hand to her forehead. Cool to the touch, which reassured him. “CeCe, this is Melissa,” Luka offered by way of introduction. “She’s one of the best on our team, so you’re in good hands.”

“How are you bearing up, sweetheart?” Melissa unzipped the sleeping bag and checked CeCe’s vitals. She pointed to the blood-soaked pants.

CeCe’s teeth chattered. “It’s cold…hurts.”

“Hang in there.” Luka pulled a pair of scissors out of his bag and cut along the seam line of the pants. He frowned when he noticed a bandage on her thigh.

“We’ll have you out of here before you know it. Okay?” he repeated as he carefully peeled the dressing from the laceration. “Melissa’s just going to give you something for the pain.”

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