moonstruck//Aaron hotchner

ch.41

Camilla and Morgan trudged through the snow, hoping someone would find them. As they continued walking Camilla noticed something odd about how the ground felt. She stopped and slid her boot across the surface. Seeing the snow and ice move she saw a shimmery substance, bubbles and cracks. "Morgan stop!"

"What?"

"Stop walking now."

"Is something wrong?"

"We are walking on ice."

"Well yes."

"No you dont understand. We are standing on a frozen lake or pond and it doesnt look like its sturdy."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive"

"Surely we can make it across without it collapsing."

"Well I dont know how far out we are, or how big it is."

"Ok well come to me." she linegered for a second.

Taking her first step she heard nothing. Camilla kept her eyes on the ground as she walked. It was all going well until she was inches away from Morgan. There was a loud cracking sound. "It can't support us both in one place. See the elevated snow over there?" she asked pointing.

He looked about sixty feet away. "What about it?"

"That's where we need to get."

"We just need to take it nice and slow." he said steeping away from her and putting space between them.

"If we go diagonal then the ice won't have to try so hard to hold us both up."

"Good idea." They both started across the ice. It was all going well until Camilla heard an intense cracking sound. She turned her head in Morgan's direction. "Morgan! Stop!" she yelled. She watched as his foot took another step, fracturing the ice around him. The ice split running up behind him. Camilla quickly shuffled over but immediately stopped as if running into a wall. She saw the ice turn black as the water polled around his feet.

He tried to move but the extra pressure caused the ice to break under his feet. He plunged in the freezing water. Fortunately his forearms slammed into the surrounding ice stopping the rest of him from going under. "Hold on I'm coming." She hurried over and held out both arms. "I'll pull you out, give me your hand."

He put out a shaky hand for her to grab. Camilla grasped his hand and wrist with both hands, and pulled. She closed her eyes and pressed her lips together. The cut on her arm felt as if it were ripping further open. Derek pushed up with his other arm and together they got him out. "I'm going to take everything to land and then I will come back and get you. I want you to army crawl as far as you can." He nodded as his body trembled.

Camilla was successful making it across. She laid everything down and made her way back to Derek. He had crawled at least thirty feet before giving out. She she got to him she pulled him the rest of the way. "Can you walk?"

"I think." He slowly stood up and wobbled. She grabbed onto him and walked him to a small patch of trees. He sat up against the tree while she set everything up. She gave him the carpet square to sit on. "What are you doing?"