Only Shadows

Chapter 24

Izzy

"I don't know if we should move her!"

"Yeah, but we can't stay here!"

Fingers resting on the inside of her wrist, a brush of hair against skin.

"Pulse is normal."

She squeezed her eyes shut tighter, cold ground hard beneath her body.

"Izzy, are you awake? Are you okay?" His voice was right next to her ear, low and pleading.

She groaned as other sensations flooded in. Sore back, scraped palms, head thumping like a bass speaker.

"We need to go!" That voice further away.

"Say something. Say anything," Caleb whispered, his words tickling the nape of her neck.

Against better judgment, she opened her eyes. Spots danced in her vision as the world came back into focus. "Ow," she whimpered.

"Tell me where it hurts." Like Camila when she was younger.

"Mostly my head."

Caleb brushed the hair back from her face. "Think you can sit up?"

Nodding was out of the question, so she grabbed his hand instead. Supported by an arm around her back, he pulled her up. Only his fingers felt cold, his scent fresh pine.

"Let's get a move on!" Sed kept scanning the area, turning and pacing.

Caleb held his hand up to wait a minute. Then his fingers traced over her scalp, roaming through her hair.

It might have felt pleasurable without the pounding headache. "What are you doing?"

"Checking for lumps, but I don't feel any." He pulled back, bringing up his phone flashlight. "I need you to keep your eyes open and follow my finger, okay? You hit your head when you fell, and I want to make sure you don't have a concussion before we move." Taking charge again, but she followed his instructions. "Concussion's unlikely. We can move." He slid the phone back into his pocket before helping her up.

"Woah." The world spun. She closed her eyes and felt his arm around her again, strong and secure. She leaned into him until the land settled.

"Can you walk? Does it hurt anywhere else?"

It did, but Sed danced around in the corner of her vision. Besides, she didn't want to stick around any longer than he did. While the air felt lighter, it tasted burnt and smelled like chlorine. No wonder the animals avoided this place – they were smarter than her. "Let's go. I'll be fine." That was a lie.

Sed immediately lurched forward and they retraced their steps, moving as fast as possible with Caleb's arm around her. A bit awkward, but now wasn't the time to pretend she didn't need his support. Soon they rejoined the main trail. She felt steadier on her feet when they got there. "Do you need to rest a few minutes or can we keep going?"

"Keep going?"

"Keep going," Sed replied at the same time as Izzy. He tried to tuck that chunk of hair behind his ear. "We're safer moving out of the area."

Exhaustion flowed through her body, bones, and soul, but she didn't want to stop yet. It'd be too difficult to move on. She straightened up. "I can walk it alone, thanks."

Caleb nodded, but stayed within arm's reach for the rest of the hike down.

𓄿𓄿𓄿

The trail dipped before popping up onto the gravel access road. Almost back. Thank God, because that sucked. Next time she passed out and smacked her head, it needed to be closer to the car. Next time. Probably a bad sign to assume there'd be a next time.