Page 16 of Disappearance at Angel's Landing
Who was she kidding? This place was a hole. Almost literally. But she hadn’t cried in a few minutes. She’d count that as awin. Lila shifted onto her stomach, searching for… Okay. She didn’t know. Something, anything, that might look like a Jenga piece she could pull without setting the whole tower down on top of her? Dirt grated against her skin beneath today’s kerchief as she toed herself closer to the wall of rock ahead. A collection of smaller boulders—the size of basketballs—were wedged tight. The mammoth rock hanging over her head was supported by these smaller ones on this side of the death trap. “Okay. So you guys are off-limits.”
Craning the flashlight to her right, she lost count of the number of rocks squeezed into every nook and cranny between two of the largest boulders. Those could work. They were higher off the ground. Very little chance of causing a complete collapse with the larger boulder ready to take the weight. Where was her architectural engineer dad when she needed him?
She stopped that thought in its tracks. She didn’t need him. She’d been doing just fine on her own.
More than fine. Maybe a little lonely with no one but a roommate she barely saw once a week—if she was lucky. Her parents and siblings blamed her for the destruction of the family and wanted nothing to do with her, but she had a good job. She got to work in one of the most beautiful places in the world.
Though getting trapped underneath it wasn’t great.
She could get a little obsessed with romantic comedies and probably went overboard on the Ben & Jerry’s more than she wanted to admit. Her boss and fellow rangers avoided her at all costs, mimicking and mocking her when they thought she wasn’t paying attention. Oh, and then there was her unhealthy crush on a man who would never see her as anything more than a coworker because of his whole messed-up past and bad attitude, but damn it, she was fine.
Where was Branch? Had he survived? Was he hurt? She wouldn’t let herself believe anything worse.
The fact was no one was coming to save her. If she was being honest with herself, nobody cared she was out here, about to die, and wasn’t that a kick while she was down? Risner would pretend to grieve but ultimately just want to get himself some attention. There would be a service. She could see him now, giving some big speech where he went out of his way to tell people how close they were. The sexist asshole.
Sayles might shed a few tears, but she’d have her big, strong FBI agent boyfriend to help her through it. The other rangers would probably use the gift cards she’d given them to go out together. Her family considered her dead a long time ago. And Branch… Her heart tried to tell her he wasn’t all grizzly bear and growls, but they didn’t know each other. Nobody really knew her. Which meant, even if she got out of here, she had nothing to go back to. No one.
Gravity intensified its hold on her body. Trying to bury her in all the bad feelings. But she had her smile. She had those little pockets of happiness, even if it came bottled from the pharmacy.
“I’m not as mean as I could be, and people should be more grateful for that.” Lila got her knees under her, her head bumping the ceiling of her little cave. If she weren’t about to die, this would be a great shelter in the middle of a storm, but she wasn’t planning on sticking around to test that theory. Her injured ribs squeezed, and she lost the air from her lungs. Another moan slipped free, but she used the pain to keep her in the moment. To focus on reaching for that first rock. “Just like playing Jenga. Nothing to it.”
She didn’t even believe herself. The rock—about the size of her hand—came quietly, and Lila released the tension she’d held in her neck. “See? Nothing.”
The boulder overhead shuddered. Then sank another couple inches.
Her scream triggered ringing in her own ears as she flattened herself against the ground. Dust settled, a few other rocks came loose. And she waited to die with her eyes pinched tight.
Except she wasn’t dead yet. Her lungs seemed to get the message, letting go of the need to hyperventilate. She pried her eyes open. Instantly blinded by the increased sliver of sunlight coming from between the two largest boulders. It wasn’t much. Definitely not enough for her to crawl through, but a couple more rocks might fix that. “Please, just let me have the chance to kiss Branch before I die.”
That was all she wanted. All she’d ever wanted. And if he was out there—hurt, alone—she had to get to him.
She collected the flashlight she’d dropped and shoved it in her pack before threading her arms through the straps. One shot. She had to make it a good one. Lila two-handed a basketball-size boulder and put her weight into dislodging it from its position. The rock tumbled free, landing short of her kneecaps. She pumped her fist gently up at the boulder threatening to end her puny existence. “Yay me.”
The next part would be the trickiest.Tricky. Tricky. Tricky.Nope. She had to down the urge to start singing Run-D.M.C. Those would not be her last words if this went poorly.
A few other rocks skittered down the slope wedged between the two boulders, but she’d managed to clear a good amount. The breeze trickled into the cave-slash-prison, and for the first time since waking, she could really breathe. For now. She could see trees and mountains and sky. And dirt. An entire waterfall of dirt.
Was Branch out there? Was he looking for her? Was he as worried about her as she was for him?
Grabbing for the next section of rock, Lila set each down peacefully in an attempt to not anger the earth gods. She could do this. Excruciating seconds turned into excruciating minutesas she carefully removed and set down each piece of the very dangerous puzzle.
Finally, a hole large enough she could fit through held strong. Another sob built in her throat, but she swallowed it back. She could have a mental breakdown after she got the hell out of here. Preferably in the shower. With ice cream. And one of her favorite scream-o songs on repeat. Everyone needed a self-care day.
She unshouldered her pack and tossed it through the opening. If she didn’t make it out of this, at least someone would know where she’d met her maker. No time to think. She just had to move.
Lila thrust herself through the opening. The ledge of rock under her ribs gave out, and she sank a couple of inches. The next scream was lost on a gust of wind as panic took control. Clawing her nails into the dirt, she shoved through as the boulder shifted down with a rumble. Her toes cleared the deathtrap, and Lila collapsed onto her back.
“Well, aren’t you a determined little thing?” The outline of a man cast a shadow over her from above, though she could make out his features as her vision darkened. Strong hands wrapped around her arms. “Looks like you’re coming with me.”
Chapter Twelve
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Branch cracked his eyes open to an upside-down world. His head thudded hard. Something sticky and…wrong plastered against his face. He swiped at it. Blood seeped into the loops and whorls of his finger pads. He followed the drops to a rock below, the source of the soft ticking that’d brought him around. The headache hit then, strong and disorienting. He closed his eyes against the dizziness, but it was no use as long as he was strung up like a piñata.
His pack pulled at his shoulders, swinging above—or was it below?—his head. He tucked his chin to his chest to get a better look at what kept him from splatting against the rocks at the base of the tree. His boot had caught between two bare branches, but his heel was already sliding free from his shoe. A fifteen-foot drop wouldn’t work in his favor. Hell.
The landslide had come out of nowhere. He remembered shoving Lila ahead of him to make sure she cleared most of the rock, but…he didn’t remember much after that.
