Page 19 of Love By The Falls

“That’s right,” I say, squaring my shoulders. “Brady, carefully, grab his legs and I’ll keep his arm and neck still. Slowly, let’s carry him back to the truck.”

Brady and I lift Arturo while we follow Teo’s voice back to the vehicles. My foot slips as we climb the rocks to the higher elevation where we left the Jeeps, but I easily steady it and continue. Sweat drips down myarms as I hold every muscle still to avoid jostling Arturo too much. I would have called an ambulance if I thought they could get to us faster.

Wait! That’s it.

After lowering Arturo into the backseat, I check his pockets for a cell phone and find one in his back pocket.Yes!Now I can call one of the other guides or even an ambulance to see if they could get here faster or direct me to the nearest hospital.

But when I tap the screen, I realize the phone is broken.

Shit.

“Let’s go,” says Teo.

“Do you know which is the way out?” asks Brady. Charlotte looks right and then left. There is no clear pathway, the forest is dense in all directions.

Fuck. It all looks the same, but I think back to when I drove here.

“It’s this way,” I say, pointing ahead at a small clearing.

“Are you sure?” asks Teo.

“If you’re not sure, you could get us more lost,” adds Brady.

“He’s right. It’s that way,” says Charlotte.

“How do you know?” asks Teo. “You had your eyes closed for most of the ride.”

Charlotte’s eyes narrow. “I’m pretty good at getting my bearings.”

“Does anyone have any other ideas?” I ask. They look among themselves and Teo shakes his head. “Then, let’s go.”

Walking to the vehicles, I point to Arturo’s truck. “Teo, can you drive the other Jeep?”

Teo shakes his head. “Sorry, man. I can’t drive stick.”

“I can drive,” says Nikki, raising her hand.

“Great, follow us.”

Brady hops in the backseat with Arturo and drops his arm over his chest, holding him steady.

Teo and Tasha climb into the other Jeep, with Nikki at the wheel.

“Ready?” I shout.

“Ready,” says Nikki.

I turn to Charlotte, hands at the wheel. “Alright, we agree it’s that way?”

She looks up at the sky and then down to the clearing. “Yes,” she nods confidently. Wasting no more time, I peel out of the mud and into the canopy of trees.

I drive straight for several minutes before reaching a fork in the road. I don’t recall the fork from earlier since I blindly followed Arturo on the way up instead of paying better attention to the turns. “My instincts tell me to go right.”

Charlotte bites her lip and leans forward, staring at the road ahead. I slow the vehicle down, but if I don’t turn soon, we’ll ram right into that tree.

“Yes, there are tire marks that way,” she points ahead. “Go right.”

I pull the steering wheel in that direction, jostling us.

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