Page 99 of The Hero Within
Eden's knees went out from under her, and she lost her grip on the shotgun. The pair of wargs rolled toward the lip of the hollow tower they'd just climbed, and Eden's eyes widened as Johnny shot her a sharp, panicked glance.
Then they vanished over the edge, his claws lashing out helplessly for grip.
And failing.
Gone. He was gone.
The rope snapped taut, and the sudden slam of his weight against her harness nearly bowed her in two.
"Johnny!" she screamed, yanked toward the edge.
Jamming her feet out, her boot heels locked against the inch-high lip of concrete that circled the ledge. She pitched forward, almost upright, her arms windmilling—
"Got you!" Lincoln bellowed, hauling her back against his chest.
The harness cut into her skin, and Eden screamed in pain as Johnny's weight swung like a pendulum from her waist. Then Arik's fists wrapped around the rope, easing some of the strain. The pair of them fought to haul her away from the edge.
The rope jerked.
"Kick him off you!" Arik bellowed into the emptiness, and Eden finally realized she wasn't just holding the weight of one man.
"Son of a bitch." Lincoln's arms were almost crushing her ribs.
Eden threw her head back, forcing every inch of willpower into her straining thighs, as she choked back another scream. The rope jerked, and Arik almost lurched forward.
Eden grabbed his shirt. If he went, they'd all go.
A sudden cry echoed up through the tunnel, and the rope suddenly slackened.
The three of them collapsed back on the ground.
Eden grabbed the rope, hauling it hand over hand—
No weight.
Nothing.
One of them must have cut it.
"No!" She scrambled toward the edge, leaning over it, her heart squeezing in her chest. "Johnny?"
Her voice echoed through the hollow core.
Nothing moved.
Only an endless splash of water that vanished into the darkness below. Her heart jacked into her throat, her eyes darting—
And then a hand locked around one of the rungs of the embedded ladder, water spraying off a dark shoulder.
"Please, please, please, please, please," she prayed, as the figure hauled himself up out of the shadows until she could finally see his face.
Johnny.
It was Johnny.
Eden collapsed onto the ground, panting for breath. Safe. He was safe. Tears of relief burst out of her, and a hand squeezed her shoulder as Arik stopped beside her, and peered down.
"Is he dead?" he called softly.
