SPIKES OF BRIGHT PAIN stabbed through her temples. Her teeth felt gritty and she realized she’d swallowed sand and dirt when she’d hit the ground. Brita forced her eyes open but the light level didn’t change much.
She wondered where her flashlight had landed. And if it would still work.
Something cold and wet coated the whole right side of her face. Reaching up she felt the sticky substance, peering at it on her fingertips.
Blood.
That was when she realized the origin of the pain.
She’d cut her scalp when she’d plowed into the rocks.
Brita pushed herself to a sitting position and closed her eyes on a wave of dizziness. She didn’t know how long she’d been there, but her muscles were cold and cramped and the air outside had grown several degrees colder.
Glancing upward, through the we
