Page 97 of Valor

LIMA

A Hunt Brothers Search & Rescue Novella

Jessica Ashley

To those who always try to see the bright side.

And those who turn to Him in the midst of the storm.

Psalm 23.

LANI

Starvation and dehydrationmake my limbs feel heavy as lead. Whatever drug cocktail was in that bag has made it impossible for adrenaline to kick in, so my movements are labored and slow. Vision blurry, I stumble down the porch steps, falling and scraping my knees against the rocks.

I cry out, pain shooting up through my legs, but I know that if I stop now I’m dead. And that’s just not an option. My knees sting as I stand and brush the rocks and dirt away from the cuts as best I can.

I can do this.Moving as quickly as possible, I keep walking forward. There are no lights in the distance, no signs of nearby houses or streets. I’m wandering in a sea of darkness, lit only by the dim moonlight overhead. And thanks to clouds, it’s not quite bright enough to see much.

Stumbling through the darkness, I reach the start of a long drive with two big ditches on either side.Follow the road, Lani, you got this.I can barely see, but that doesn’t matter because for the first time in who knows how long, I’m breathing fresh, clean air.

If I can make it to a road, I can wave down help. I can find a store. A phone. Someone who can help me get home. And once I’m there, I know my brothers and Gibson will hunt down whoever did this to me. They’ll make sure my abductor never finds me again.

I sniffle, tears stinging my eyes.

I just have to make it home.

Dear God, please let me make it home.

I stumble again, tripping and hitting the ground with a heavy thud. My heart hammers as I push up and note headlights turning down the long drive.No.With no other houses out here, there can only be one person behind the wheel of that car, and I’m nowhere near strong enough to fight back.

Staying low, I rush to the side and all but throw myself into the ditch. Still shaky from the drugs, I can’t catch myself as I roll down the side, and my head slams into something hard at the same time my body falls into the water that’s gathered at the bottom. I choke on a cry, and it comes out as a muted whimper. When I touch my forehead, my fingers come back coated in thick warm liquid.Blood.

The headlights pass by, and I begin crawling through the pungent water. I keep moving, keep going as fast as I can.

Someone yells, a furious sound that quickens my already racing heart. I pick up the pace. A storm drain is just ahead, passing beneath the road and connecting to the ditch on the other side. With my heart in my throat, I move toward it and slip inside, closing my eyes and barely breathing as I wait for whoever is up there to come and find me. I lay as flat as I can on my back so I can keep my face above the few inches of murky water lingering inside.

Minutes tick by, and tires screech. But no one looks in the storm drain.

I wait, still barely breathing, until I’m sure I’m alone. Then, I climb out the other side and push up to my feet, though I remain bent over, so I don’t stick out of the ditch. The chirp of cicadas is deafening, but if they’re making noise, then the chances that someone is above on the road are low.

I’m not sure how long I walk, but as my mind grows foggy again, my limbs getting heavier by the second, I know I don’t have long before I’m out cold. I need help—now.Otherwise, I’ll be dead, and my family will never know what happened to me.

LANI

Four Days Earlier

“I think that looks perfect.”I study the plans spread out over my parents’ kitchen table, grinning widely as I take in every detail of what will eventually be a house.

My house.Complete with a beautiful greenhouse and a coop full of chickens. I’ll have forty or fifty of those feathery dinosaurs.I can’t wait.

“You like it?” my dad asks.

In response, I wrap my arm around his waist. “Iloveit, Dad. You knocked it out of the park on this one. Honestly, you missed your calling. You should have been an architect.”

He chuckles. “Designing homes for my kids is good enough for me.”

“Well, there’s always this as a fallback if the whole rancher thing doesn’t work out.” I hip-bump him, and he laughs.

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