“A text won’t go through, but if there’s a second where a signal pops up, maybe the message will change. Maybe someone will get it when they try to call you. It’s worth a try, isn't it?”
Amelia’s hands shake so badly that she almost drops the phone. We hover over it, trying to block out the ghost-pale light, but it blares like a beacon inside the dark cave. Eighteen percent battery—worse than we thought. The little red line is bleeding out fast.
“No bars,” she whispers. “I don’t have high hopes for this.” She taps the voice icon. It takes forever to load, spinning a little circle—taunting us. The battery drops to fifteen percent.
I shift my gaze to the cave opening. Grover will be back any second. Come on…
Amelia sucks in a breath when the screen finally pops up with the greeting recorder. A big red dot. It all looks normal. She taps the record button. “This is Amelia Davis and Darcie Reynolds. We’re being held in a cave in the Bitterroot Mountains. We need help.”
The pounding of my heart beats inside my eardrums. “Save the message. He’s coming back.” I stand and walk towards Grover so Amelia can finish up. “Thank you, Grover.” I say, taking the bowl of snow. “This should help…want to sit with us?” I have so many questions.
“Not yet. Got more to do.” He kneels down next to Amelia, grabs her pant leg, and before we can blink, rips the denim up to her knee like it’s a piece of paper.
“What did you do that for?” Amelia shoves his hands away. “How dare you violate my clothing without permission!” She pulls the edges together like they’ll magically reattach.
“Need to see that leg. Can’t do nothing if I can’t see it.” He taps her hand, and she lets go. Then, she leans back and lets him go to work. He peels away the denim as carefully as any trained surgeon and inspects the leg. “Be right back.”
“Did the message save?” I pull the phone out from under her. The ‘No Service’ thing blinks, and I’m not gonna lie—I’m suddenly not so sure about this plan.
“So does this mean…it’s my voicemail now?” Amelia’s voice cracks.
“Yeah. Maybe. Hope so.” The battery sinks again. Twelve percent. “Better power off.”
Grover returns with a bowl of warm water and some interesting supplies. It’s amazing how much we trust him. In spite of the fact that he kidnapped my brother, he’s basically good and kind—exactly what Stuart and I were planning to argue for our Shadow Man presentation. As soon as I get the chance, I plan to find out just who this guy really is.
“This is gonna sting.” Dipping a cloth in the steaming water, he dabs at Amelia’s leg, wiping away dried blood and dirt like an artist working on a masterpiece. He leans in, narrowing his eyes, and pulls out a chunk of wood. From her leg.
Tears pool in Amelia’s eyes, and she stiffens, but she doesn’t scream—not even a little. It’s kind of a miracle, actually. I’m pretty sure Amelia Davis is basically incapable of being quiet about anything.
“How’s it look?” she asks, and I lean over. It’s clean now, but the skin is purple. Yellow goo sticks to the edges of the wound.
“Well…it’s better without all the blood. And what I thought was your bone jabbing out of your skin was actually a piece of wood, so maybe it’s just fractured, not fully broken.” I glance up at Grover, who seems totally in control of the situation. “Right, Grover?”
He grunts, but doesn’t answer—just continues to work, gaze flicking from Amelia’s leg to her face. “I’m packing it with snow now; I’ll check again later.” He lays a piece of soft deerskin over Amelia’s leg, then shoves a pile of snow over it.
Amelia’s body jolts like she’s been hit by lightning. “Oh, my goodness!” She clutches the edge of the animal hide, flinging herself back against the pillows. How long do I have to put up with this? It’s worse than the splint—it’s pure torture!”
I roll my eyes…and she’s back.
“Not long.” Grover rises, taking the bowl of water with him.
Amelia presses her lips into a thin line, chin raised. “We are never getting out of here! You need to sneak away and get some help. Obviously, I can’t do it.” She scoots around, huffing and groaning.
I don’t even try to help.
“None of this would have happened if you had any sense at all! And changing my message…it was a stupid idea.”
I stare at her, my mouth fully open. “I’m not leaving Andrew. He comes first—always. And I will get him home.” I fluff one of the pillows and lay down with my back to her. “You should know something about me. When I care about someone, I don’t leave them stuck and helpless.”
She sniffs like I offended her. Whatever.
“Ozzie!” Andrew takes a flying leap onto my back, and his little arms curl around my neck. It might be the best feeling in the whole entire world. I pull him closer.
“Hey Buddy! What’re you doing?” His freshly scrubbed, radiant face glows in the darkened cave. He actually smells kind of good. “Wow, did you have a bath?”
“Yep—in the snow!” he says, throwing his hands in the air. “Gro—ber showed me how to make it yellow!”
I raise my eyebrows at Grover. He snorts and dips his head.
“That sounds… interesting. How do you make yellow snow?”
Andrew holds his pudgy fingers across his lips like it’s a state secret and whispers, “You pee on it.”
I bust up laughing—like fall over laughing. It was the clearest sentence I’ve ever heard him say, and it just cracks me up.
“Gro—ber make his pee go up dear.” He holds one hand in the air so high he almost falls backward, then he covers his mouth with both hands and giggles his head off.
After a minute, he’s suddenly quiet. He leans his head on my chest, all warm and soft. His heartbeat is strong, and his breath is warm on my neck.
I stroke his messy hair. “You okay, Bud?”
He pulls back. “Yeah… but I wanna go home now.”
I flick a look toward Grover. His head is down, shoulders slumped. He won’t meet my eyes.
Andrew’s head is warm as I press my lips to his dark curls. “We’ll go home soon, Buddy. We just gotta make sure Amelia’s leg is okay first, alright?”
He gives me such a serious look, like he’s three going on thirty. “Uh-huh. Is it hurt bad?”
“We don’t know yet. Grover’s checking.”
“Okay, Ozzie.” He slides off my lap and climbs onto Amelia’s.
Her eyes practically pop out of her head as he holds his little hands against her cheeks. “I sorry you’re hurt, Mealya.” Then he hugs her neck and kisses her face. Amelia goes stiff.
Grover swoops in and plucks him from Amelia’s lap. “We’ve gotta get back before Mommy wakes.”
Andrew clings to him with one arm, and blows kisses with the other as they make their way back to Mommy’s chamber, where the air reeks and the walls close in.
Tears slide down my cheeks, and I wipe them away with the back of my hand.
Amelia touches her fingers to the place where Andrew kissed her. Her face softens in a way I haven’t seen before. “He’s about the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen.” She turns to face me full-on. “Whatever it takes. We’re going to get him home.”