Page 33 of Trail to Trouble
“How could it get worse?” Hannah asked.
“She died and he survived.”
Hannah flung her hand over her mouth.
“Once the chief figured out what had happened, he hunted down the trapper and sent him to the afterlife. So, I guess in the end, the young lovers got what they’d wanted. They say when the wind blows right, you can hear the two profess their love for one another, then silence, then the distinct splash of the two hitting the water, then the normal flow of the waterfall again.”
“What were their names?” Hannah asked.
“Binishii and Luke.”
Hannah lowered her hand. “Have you heard it?”
“No. But Uncle Lee and Aunt Heidi say they heard it the day Uncle Lee proposed to her up here. I believe them. They are the most honest and down-to-earth people you’ll ever meet.”
They edged closer to the gulley of fast-flowing water and posed.
Alyssa lifted her camera to her eye.
He snuggled Hannah closer to his side and posed for the photo.
The wind shifted. “Binishii, I love you. Now and forever,” a man’s voice sounded in the breeze.
Hunter’s heart slammed in his chest. He turned his head and looked at Hannah.
The shock in her gaze let him know she’d heard it, too.
“I love you, too, Luke. It’s time.” The woman’s tone was filled with sadness.
He glanced at Alyssa, who still held her camera to her eye. No look of surprise on her face. Had she not heard the profession of love from the two souls in the afterlife?
The wind stilled. The atmosphere went dead silent. Hunter’s heart raced. Good God, he was about to hear the splash he’d learned about from the folktale.
BANG!
Shock shook his extremities as Alyssa fell forward, landing hard on the solid rock formation they stood on. Blood stained her shirt. There was no cry of agony. She didn’t move.
There was no shelter on this massive bald rock.
Instinctively, he flung himself in front of Hannah.
“Hold on,” he ordered as he wrapped her in his arms the best he could.
A second shot rang out. His shoulder burned, but he held Hannah tightly as he jumped over the edge of the waterfall, twisting his body to shield her from the protruding points of the rocks as they plummeted to the pool of water at the bottom of the falls. Pain shot through his hip as it hit an unforgiving, cement-solid, jutting prong. The impact shifted his body. They were now going to hit the pool on his side rather than feet first. Not good. Hannah’s hands dug into his sides. Another blow to his side felt like a knife ripping through his ribcage.
A low splashing sound echoed in his ears as his back crushed against the surface of the water, knocking the wind out of him, and his mouth opened. Pain ripped through his spine. He gulped in water. His lungs burned. A vision of an angel appeared before him. His angel. Bright emerald eyes with gold flecks latched onto him and, as if magnetized, pulled him forward. Suddenly, he felt the firm grip of hands pulling him. His face broke through the surface of the cool water. He choked and gasped as she quickly pulled him along the surface of the water.
“Hunter. We have to get out of here. You have to help me.”
He heard Hannah’s nervous pleas among his choking and gasping, but he couldn’t seem to gather his wits mentally or physically. Yet, the pain registered. His entire body throbbed and stung.
“Please, Hunter. You must get up!”
At the water’s edge, he rolled over and tried to use his hands to push himself up. Agony ripped through his shoulder and back. Hannah grabbed him at the bicep and pulled him until he stood, but her hands stayed firmly on him. He wobbled. It was as if his right leg couldn’t support him. Her grip tightened.
“We have to hide. At least get into the woods.”
By memory, he knew the forest was only a few yards away from the water’s edge, yet his blurred vision prevented him from seeing anything other than a mass of green that seemed so far away. Yet, moments earlier, while in the water, Hannah’s angelic face was clear as could be.
