Page 14 of Uncharted

Zane’s nod is a dark blur. “Right. Let Haley go first. Her head isn’t as swollen as yours.” He laughs.

Haley climbs over me. And yes, I very much enjoy the process. And hold on to her a little as she does.

I roll back onto all fours and army crawl behind her. When she gets to the edge of the rocks, I have one hand around each of her ankles.

“Ease up a little there, Captain America. I need a couple more inches to see.”

“What do you see, Haley?” Zane calls behind me.

“The swim platform. But when I squish my head up to the top of the cave, I can see a little green on the back. Like a... I don’t know.”

“A golf turf.” Zane calls from behind me. “Like you might use to let a dog go wee?”

“Yes. Ow, fucking hell, that hurts,” I say. I’ve got a nice scrape on my ear now.

“Come out, Haley. Let’s try something else.” We get to the place where Haley climbed over me last time, and as much as I liked it, I’m not doing it again. “A little more, Zane.” We back up far enough to lie side by side. “I want to go back in and push with my legs. Zane can hold on to my hands.”

“Fuck no. I’ve seen this movie too. I’m strong, but not strong enough to hold up your fat ass like some swinging trapeze artist. Or a cartoon.”

“I’m not going to fall out.”

“No.” Haley and Zane say together.

I grunt.

“I can’t see his face, but he’s doing it, isn’t he?” Haley says.

“Absolutely. Fucking yes, he is.” Zane replies.

“He’s not going to listen to us, is he?”

“Nope.” Zane sighs.

“Fuck,” Haley breathes.

We’re back in position. This time my legs are on the rock. My back is to the ground. Zane’s holding on to my arms, and Haley’s gone outside telling the others. What a shithead I am. Like they don’t already know. “Tell me again how you think pushing that thing out isn’t going to make this tunnel collapse?” Zane asks.

I tilt my head in the sand. “No. One, two, three.” And I push.

Chapter7

Visual Bearing

Haley

“Sassy, slow the fuck down.”

Right. I take in a deep breath and pinch my eyes shut. “We got through to where we could see the ocean. And there’s a boat. We couldn’t make out the whole thing. Actually, we could only see the aft.”

Dante jumps. “It’s the Rock Candy?”

“That’s what I was trying to tell you. The hole, it’s too small. Calvin had a boneheaded idea to get at it with his foot and kick at the rock. To see if it will move. Zane and I told him no. The only fucking thing that’s going to fall is Calvin.” I’m trying not to hyperventilate. Really, I am.

“What the fuck?” Easton’s ready to charge by me. I grab his hand. “Stop. The spot next to the cliff only fits one person. No, go. Go. What if it collapses on Zane too?”

We all race in. I take Easton’s hand, and we train in like I did between Calvin and Zane last time.

“Fuck, it’s cold in here, Sassy.” Dante’s right behind me, his warm breath in my ear.

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