EMBER
Ember felt herself coming back to earth as the paramedic shoved the IV into her arm. It brought her abruptly into the present. The sound of the helicopter whooshing overhead, the frantic shuffle of scared and sweaty people next to her were altogether dull. She felt someone squeezing her hand, though.
When she looked up, the river in her heart ran gold.
It was Slide, who was using his other hand to press a medical bandage into his side. When he caught her eye, a beautiful smile curled up his lips.
“I see you’re back now,” he yelled over the blades.
Ember tried to sit up, and he delicately pushed her back down. She looked around to find she was lying on a stretcher and had a makeshift diaper strapped to her thigh.
The wound from her leg radiated up through her torso like a hot po
