Slide

16

Slide was ahead of her, nimbly leaping up rocks and easily jumping down the other side. Sometimes he broke into a run and bounced easily from rock to rock on the balls of his feet as if this was nothing more than a kid’s playground.

Ember pushed a sweaty strand of hair from her forehead and tried to slow down her breathing. She wanted to tell Slide to stop, but he was too far ahead. Another look behind, and she saw that Layla had stalled at a rock formation and seemed unable to get through. She hurried back to them.

“What’s going on?” she asked, looking up at Anne with concern. Anne shook her head, her eyes full of worry.

“I can’t climb this rock,” Layla moaned with her breath heaving in and out. “We tried to go around, but the gap is too narrow. I can’t get through.”

“Just rest a minute,” Ember said. She pointed to a flat rock a short distance away.

“Sit down there, lie down if you like. Have some water while I try to figure this out.”

Ember looked at the rockfall, knowing there was no way to figure this out. It was an impasse for Layla, and everyone knew it. Dean had barely made it over, and Killian and Mick were just catching up. Ember looked behind her, wondering if Slide had even noticed they had fallen behind.

Suddenly, he dropped down from above. She stepped back in a hurry, her heart pounding. He shook his head, breathing hard and sweating.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said. “I noticed you guys were gone, and I came back through the trees. I wanted a higher vantage point just in case we were in the middle of an ambush.”

“That’s okay,” Ember said, her heart hammering in her chest. “But we’ve got a problem. Layla can’t get through.”

Slide assessed the situation, quickly jumping back over to Layla’s side of the rocks. He helped everyone get over, leaving Killian and Mick behind them.

He took Layla gently by the hand and led her to the rock. Ember could see that she was worried. The poor woman was exhausted and no doubt hurting all over from the ordeal. She swallowed hard, wondering what Slide’s plan was.

He simply hefted Layla into his arms, holding her high against his chest. He leapt forward in a move that almost defied gravity, finding purchase with his toes. He let his momentum carry him forward, so he landed on the edge of the rock with his next step.

He jumped from the top, and Layla screamed. Slide paid her no mind, his face calm as he calculated each step. He landed on the flattest piece of rock in the small gully.

As he came down on both feet, he bent at the knees, grunting a bit as he took Layla’s weight. He didn’t jostle her in the slightest. Ember was more than impressed.

“Thank you,” Layla said hoarsely. She was trembling a little, but okay.

“Five-minute rest,” Slide said, sitting down and opening his canteen. Ember hurried over to sit beside him.

“That was an amazing feat,” she said. “Thank you.”

He shrugged. “No trouble at all. I didn’t think about Layla and Dean too much today. After I appointed helpers to them, I thought they’d be fine, but I forgot how bad this terrain is.”

“We have to travel this way, don’t we?” Ember asked in dismay. “We have no choice.”

He nodded, handing her the canteen. “Amadou will be covering all the main routes. I’m sure he knows our plans. He might not know our pickup point, but he’ll easily guess which paths we’d take.”

Ember sipped the water slowly, watching the others.

“I have to keep them safe,” she said. “This is all my fault.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Slide said firmly. “Amadou is a beast. None of this is your fault.”

Ember stayed silent. She didn’t agree, but there was no point arguing about it.

Slide only let them have another few minutes before moving them on. They quickly figured out a system where if one person supported Layla from above and another from behind, she could get over the smaller rocks by herself.

The constant inclines of up and down were tiring Ember out quickly. She couldn’t believe that Dean and Layla were keeping up with the group at all. More than once, when she looked at Dean, his face was twisted with pain, but he didn’t protest or complain.

Her heart went out to these poor, brave people. None of them had expected to run for their lives through hostile territory. She was determined to make it up to them somehow.

Finally, Layla faltered. She couldn’t go on. Her hard breaths came out as sobs. Slide turned around and hurried to her side, sweeping her up and holding her against his chest.

“It’s all right,” he said softly. “I’ve got you.”

He returned to the front of the group, barely slowing down. Ember noticed the sun beginning to sink toward the horizon as they went on, throwing long shadows against the hills.

Surely, we’ll stop soon. Not even Slide can run all night.

She immediately revised that statement. Maybe he could, even carrying a heavily pregnant woman. She put her head down and prepared to run another few miles.

Suddenly, there was a shout from behind. Mick came charging up, leaping rocks in his haste to reach them.

“What is it?” she asked, fear making her heart pump fast and filling her with adrenaline.

Now I could run all night.

“I think we’re being followed,” he said, trying to keep his voice down. Ember felt a horrible, cold chill run through her. With the whole group in such a sorry state, she was sure they wouldn’t all make it through this alive.