Rescued by Emery, page 4
part #2 of Deep River Shifters Series
“Really? You don't take Silas for granted? You don’t take your brother for granted?” Emery gave her a partial smile, a knowing smile that seemed to mock her. “You are upset with Jason for only coming up here because Silas begged him. You think that your brother should come when you ask him to come. But how many times have you asked him since he moved out? Once? Twice? Did you ever bother to find out what was going on with him when you asked? Or do you expect him to drop everything and come when you call him? You are upset with Silas because he is trying to make you feel better by forcing you to face something. Something that is clearly eating you up, but you refuse to talk to someone who desperately wants to help. Nor are they the only ones you are hurting. It is rare that I have ever seen Ryland so concerned about anyone outside of the family. And you are trying to entirely avoid him because you are hurt that he is dating Serenity. They all really care about you, but you can’t see it because you are so focused on feeling guilty that you don’t care about anyone else. Only your emotions matter. That kind of selfishness is only going to hurt everyone else, and it will eventually drive them away. Yet you pretend that isn’t the case by deflecting and faking that you are fine. Absolutely brilliant.”
Cora glared at Emery, her emotions clearly written in that expression. He smiled back, “That’s better. Stop trying to hide it. You’re pissed, so say so.”
“Don’t hide it? Alright. Fuck you,” she spun on her heel and quickly walked away from him. She hoped to find some other way down because she no longer wanted to be anywhere close to Emery. Hearing him follow her, Cora sped up and started to look for a way to lose him. “Stop following me, asshole,” she said over her shoulder.
There was no response, so she began to jog.
“Cora, it’s not safe. Stop!” The sound of Emery’s voice behind her spurned her forward. Seeing several boulders resting on the path in front of her, Cora thought that she might be able to lose him. After months of trying to hide her feelings of guilt and shame, the dammed-up emotions were bursting forth in a reckless display of disregard for her own safety. Cora’s bag slammed against her back as she ran down the path. She looked behind her as she veered to the right, thinking that Emery would follow the path down instead of the one leading up. Pleased that she couldn’t see him behind her, Cora turned back around just as she reached an opening in the ground. Desperately waving her arms, she tried to keep herself from falling over the side. Unable to fully stop the forward momentum, she watched in horror as she fell through the opening.
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. The way the opening grew closer, her hand reaching out for something, anything to stop her fall. It was impossible to see very far into the opening because it got dark quickly. The path was on the wrong side of the mountain, so there was no sunlight at that time. That meant she had no idea just how far she would fall.
Resigning herself to the fate that would befall her, Cora felt a sense of calm. While she knew that her brother would be sad at first, it would mean he finally could live his own life without having to constantly worry about her. Her friends may be upset, but they would get over it. What did she add to anyone’s life? Closing her eyes, Cora decided that it was for the best.
It all happened in a second.
Chapter 4
Repercussions
The next second, something slammed into her, but it wasn’t the hard rock that she had expected. And it didn’t hurt either. Whatever it was, the thing was fuzzy and warm. It wrapped around her like a large warm blanket.
She felt a jolt, but no pain because whatever was under her protected her from the worst of the fall. Confused as to what had happened, Cora decided that she must have died and her brain was no longer properly processing what was happening.
The fall lasted less than 30 seconds, but it seemed to stretch on forever. When it was over, the fuzzy warm thing rolled her to the side. Cora let gravity do the rest, and the feel of cold rock met her hands. She didn’t hit hard, so she opened her eyes and tried to look at whatever had stopped her from the worst of the fall. Without thinking, her hands began to pat various parts of her body as if to make sure nothing had been detached in the fall. Her eyes weren’t acclimated to the darkness, so she couldn’t quite make out whatever had protected her.
A second later, someone groaned nearby. “Oh fuck, that was just… Goddamn!” There was emotion behind it, but it was cut off by a sudden gasp. “Shit. That’s not good either.”
“Emery? What the hell?” Cora stood up and backed away from the voice.
“Don’t be an idiot again. Ahh.” There was a sharp intake of breath and a strange sucking noise.
“How the hell did you get down here?” Cora took another step back.
“Cora, there is a large opening behind you. If you keep stepping back–” there was another groan before Emery finished, “you are going to fall again.”
“What the hell did you do?” Cora desperately willed her eyes to see the world around her, but it was too dark to see what he claimed was behind her. Half thinking that he was lying, she moved her foot back a little.
“Seriously? You are going to test – oh shit, that hurts!” Emery’s voice echoed around them.
As angry as she was, the fact that he had fallen down because of her made Cora feel guilty. Bringing her bag around to the front, she started to dig through, looking for a light. She had one for her hat, which would have been ideal for the current situation.
“As for what I did, I stopped you from killing yourself. You’re welcome.”
Cora stopped moving. “That couldn’t have been you. It was something big and hairy.” She started digging around in her bag, willing her fingers to find the light.
“Your point being?” There was annoyance in his words, but there was also pain.
“Are you hurt?”
“Do you care?”
Cora stopped for a moment and considered his words. She had been running away from him, endangering herself in the process. It seemed like a valid question. “If you actually did save me, then I would be heartless not to care. Despite your shitty opinion of me, I actually don’t want to be the cause for anyone else’s pain.”
“That doesn’t answer the question.”
“Of course I care. Clearly you fell down after me, so it’s my fault you are down here, too.” She was ready to ignore his claim that he had saved her. It was impossible that he had done anything, but it was also impossible to ignore that he was here because of her. “Great, one more shitty thing I’ve done to someone. You should have just let me–”
“Say one more word, and I will tell your brother.”
Cora paused for a moment and considered what Emery had said. “What makes you say that? Why do you think that will make a difference?”
“Judging by the way he and Silas planned this trip, it is clear that he is really worried about you. Given how reckless you just were, I think I know what has him most worried. It seemed like a safe bet that you have given him reason to be concerned for your safety. Since you don’t care about hurting yourself, threatening to tell him seems like the best way to get you to stop acting like a complete moron.”
Cora gritted her teeth.
“Say it. There is no reason to spare me from your venom.”
“I’m not a moron.”
“I see no evidence to the contrary.”
“You are a real asshole. Obviously you aren’t anything like the rest of your family. At least you aren’t like Ryland and Silas.”
“No, I am not like them. When I see a problem I figure it out and try to solve it. Unlike Ryland, I have no problem with hurting someone’s feelings if it forces them to face reality. He’s blunt, but not smart enough to understand how his words affect people. It’s the reason he has no business trying to take care of the family.” Emery muttered under his breath, “Not that someone is paying any attention to that.”
“At least he isn’t a complete and utter asshole.”
There was a sound like a growl that was quickly cut off. Emery groaned, “Please don’t make me laugh right now. I need to get this fixed up before you say anything else funny.”
“How was that funny?” She glared into the darkness.
“I’ll tell you later.” There was the sound of something ripping and some grunts from wherever Emery was.
“Are you alright over there?” Despite the way she felt about him, Cora couldn’t help but be concerned. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Don’t run off again. That would be lovely – uhhh.”
“You were the one who said to let my feelings out.”
“Yes. Learn how to express your emotions more honestly. That isn’t the same thing as running away from them.”
“I wasn’t running away from the way I felt. I was running away from you.”
“Bullshit. Every time Silas has tried to talk to you, you have changed the subject or dodged answering. He didn’t even realize it at first, not until I started pointing it out to him.”
“How the hell would you know?” She slowly started to move forward toward the voice, her foot stretching out a little at a time, trying to see if it encountered anything.
“Because he came to me to talk about it. He could tell something was wrong, but he couldn’t figure out what. Ryland also talked to me about it, which is the whole reason I came on this trip. Neither of them is exactly good at dealing with these kinds of problems.”
“They are better at it than you.”
“Not really. I just miscalculated.”
“I'm not something that you can calculate.”
There was a loud sigh. “Actually, people’s emotions can be calculated to some extent. The only thing that varies is the degree to which they feel and respond to their emotions.”
“I don’t know what the hell you are talking about.”
“Of course you don’t. You don’t bother to understand people. Very few people ever bother to really understand their own species.”
“Did you lie to me? Because you sound like a shrink.”
There was a stifled laugh followed by a groan. “I asked you not to make me laugh. It just makes me bleed a little more.”
“What?” Cora moved forward as quickly as she could, her hands outstretched. Suddenly images of Emery having broken bones popped into her head. Feeling shocked at being perfectly fine and being angry, she hadn’t even considered what his condition was. It was only at the mention of blood that she began to consider that he had not fared as well as her during the descent. “Are you okay?”
There was a groan before he answered, “Probably. But seriously, I know you don’t care, so don’t worry about it.”
“Shut up,” her voice was harsh and uncaring, but it disagreed with her actions. Cora stretched out her hands and felt around for Emery. Even though her eyes had had enough time to adjust to the darkness, it was still too dark for her to be able to see. Instinctively she looked up for a second. “We must have fallen quite a long way.”
“Over half a mile.”
“What? How could you know that?”
“It’s one of the inherent abilities of my family.”
Cora stopped trying to find him and thought about his words. She had always noticed that neither Silas nor Ryland got lost, but she had assumed that was because they had learned when they were young, the same way she had. Then again, there were plenty of people she knew who could get lost just walking around new towns. Her hands stretched out again, “I think you are right about that, and based on what I know of Silas and Ryland, I think there is more to it than just the average good sense of direction.”
Emery ignored her and asked, “What are you doing?”
“I’m trying to find you.”
“Why?”
“So that I can help. If you’ve broken something, I can help set it.”
There was quiet for a moment. Then Emery responded, “Since when?”
Cora’s hand brushed against something warm. “Since forever.”
“No one ever mentioned that.”
“It isn’t exactly common knowledge, but my parents weren’t about to let their kids be like everyone else. Jason and I get disaster training once every two years, and that includes emergency care.”
“That isn’t the same as setting bones in reality.”
“No, having set Jason’s leg when he broke it the first time we were here counts, though. Or the time that my parents took us to Thailand and we survived an earthquake. My parents sent us to help with some of the wounded.”
“What? When did that happen?”
Cora let out a derisive laugh, “Yeah, you know me so well, you feel like you can just say whatever shit you want to push my buttons.” She felt his leg. “Is it the other one?”
“No, it’s not a broken bone.”
Cora sat back. “Oh, why didn’t you say?”
“Shock.” Emery coughed. “Why doesn’t Silas know about this?”
“Why would he know about it? I know nothing about his excursions when your family gets together. Whatever goes on, he never talks about it.”
“If he tried you wouldn’t believe him.”
“Sure, I’m too stupid to understand.”
“Please stop.” She heard him shift his position a little and groaned as he did. “I am not trying to argue with you, insult you, or make you emotional. Our family is incredibly complicated, and it isn’t something that most people would understand.”
Cora frowned, “Is it like some kind of cult or something?”
From the sarcasm in his voice, she could imagine him rolling his eyes. “I think that anyone is able to understand what a cult is. Clan would be more accurate, but that really doesn't cover what we are.” He shifted again, and she heard a sharp intake of breath.
“What are you doing? Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m nearly done.”
“But I am worried about it.”
He was about to argue, but stopped before answering. When he did speak, Emery said, “Without any light, you aren’t going to be able to do anything. If you have a light in your bag, try to dig that out. It will make it easier to keep you from falling again.”
“I’m not going to go running off again, if that is what you are trying to say.”
Emery sighed, “I am saying that I am not going to be able to do much guiding at the moment, so it would be best if you could see. It will impair my vision a bit, but right now it is more important that you be able to see.”
A number of questions went through her head, but the one that spilled out her mouth was, “What do you mean it will impair your vision?”
“I have exceptional night vision.”
“You keep saying stuff like that. It’s not like you and your family are superhuman or something.”
There was a moment of silence. “How would you know that?”
“Because I’ve known Silas forever. If he had any extraordinary power, I would probably be the first person to know.”
“Ah yes. In the same way if you had any extraordinary experiences and medical training, he would know about it.”
“That’s not–” Cora stopped talking, not because she wanted to avoid arguing, but because he was implying that there was something strange about the family. Shaking her head, Cora decided that couldn’t possibly be what he meant. “I get what you are saying–”
“Clearly you don’t, but as I’ve said, you wouldn’t believe any of us if we told you.”
Cora sighed, “Please, it has been a tiring day and I really am not up for any more arguments, so please put that on hold for now. We can argue after I have a chance to nap.”
There was a stifled laugh, followed by a cough and a groan. Emery took a deep breath, “I quite like naps too, but now is not the time. I’m afraid we are going to have to really move it.”
“Oh my God, I have a phone!” Cora felt like an idiot as she stood up and pulled the phone out of her pocket. Pressing one of the buttons, she turned on the light and started to shine it at Emery so she could look him over. A hand reached up and pushed hers down.
“It would be a better idea to find your head light if you have one.”
“I may have left it behind. Jason didn’t exactly give me enough time to make sure I had everything. Not that it would have made much sense to get a cap light anyway. We were supposed to be back on the road by the time the sun set.”
“Please look because carrying a light will be a lot harder.”
“Why don’t you get yours? Or is your night vision so exceptional you don’t have one?”
“You got it.”
Cora sighed, “Whatever. I’ll see if I can find my cap light.” She dug around and finally saw it buried at the bottom. When Cora pulled it out, she realized that it was cracked. “Well, not sure how much good it will do.”
“Broken?”
“It’s cracked, but it may still work.”
“Give it a shot.” He moved with a groan. It was enough to inspire her to move a little faster.
“Stop moving around and let me take a look.”
“It isn’t a broken bone.”
“That’s fine.” A strange noise escaped from Emery and she realized that wasn’t what she had meant to say. “I mean broken bones aren’t the only thing I know how to treat.”
“Honestly, I would rather you not deal with this one.”
“You said you are bleeding. That means we need to stop it.”
“Yeah, I already thought of that and have done everything I can to stop it. The best thing we can do now is to get out of here.”
Instead of arguing, Cora finished fixing the light to her cap and put it on. She directed the light at Emery, who put a hand up over his eyes.
“Warn me before you do that, please.”
Cora ignored his obvious discomfort at the light and tried to get her eyes to focus. His hands were on his side by the time she could really see. “What is it?”
“A wound.” He stood up. “Good, it works.” The light flickered. “Good, it sort of works. Come on.”
“Are you sure you are in any condition to walk?”
