Page 23 of Lucky Charm

You were only as fast as the slowest among you was a tried-and-true axiom in the teams for a reason.

“Any contact?” Hunt didn’t know what they could do about it, but he needed to know.

“Unknown,” Doogie answered. “I can’t see or hear anything in this.”

An hour later, with half a click left to reach the caves on a slow, slippery track, the first mistake happened.

He and Doc fell.

He wasn’t clear on who had slipped first, but it didn’t matter. He came down hard on top of her and twisted, trying to take his weight off. They slid fifteen feet or more sideways on a long slope of flat rock, then tumbled into a rugged morass of large boulders, sharp edges, and brush – all covered with snow. He shifted to his back and pulled her on top of him, thus protecting her from the tear of theterrain. They rolled more than slid. The darkness of the day and the snowfall masked any hint of what was coming.

Shifting again, Hunt calculated the laws of physics. Some external force had to stop them. He pulled Doc closer to his bigger body, planted his feet, and tried to slow their trajectory. He tensed, afraid they’d tumble off into an abyss.

Instead, he slammed into a rock outcropping.

The force punched the air from his lungs much like taking a bullet in his bulletproof vest. Breath warred with fear for Doc.

Doc’s sweet, panicked voice hit him at the same time he was able to suck in much needed oxygen. “Oh my God, oh my God, are you hurt?”

The pain told him he’d cracked a rib or two or four, and his back hurt like a mother, but he wasn’t telling Doc that. He shifted to sit, expecting the flash of pain, but forgetting to stifle the groan.

“You are hurt. Your back? You shouldn’t have tried to hold me.” Doc rolled away from him and struggled onto her knees to care for him.

He reached out and gripped her hand to stop her intent. “Not here. No time. I’m okay, Doc. We need to get back to the trail and move.” He shifted carefully to his side to determine if his back was still functional – painful, but not debilitating. Then he sat, struggled for one breath, and then another and another until he was breathing enough to not pass out. He used the outcropping to lever himself to his feet, his ribs and back screamed. Yep. Bitching. But he was mobile. He checked hisarmaments. His earpiece was gone, but all his weapons were still where he’d put them.

Hunt reached and helped her stand.

“Stop that.” She batted his hands away. “Don’t hurt yourself worse.”

He ignored his aches and pains, prepared to tackle hers. “Are you hurt?”

“No, I don’t think so. Bumps, scraps, bruises.” She shook with adrenaline and overload.

Doogie and Quaid slid down next to them.

“Holy Christ, are you two hurt?” Quaid reached to help Doc onto a more secure footing. He wanted to punch the motherfucker to get hands off his Cait, but he really did need a minute.

“I’m okay, but Hunt’s not.” Cait’s doctor voice was compromised by shock.

“LT?” Doogie lifted an arm to anchor Hunt.

“I’m okay. A bruised rib or two. Nothing major. “I need an earpiece. Lost mine.” He leaned on Doogie, continuing to have a bit of trouble getting air.

Cait lifted a hand and removed hers, passing it over.

“We got company, Hunt,” Doogie reported, tapping his earpiece.

He positioned his own device and heard Tommy’s voice over their network. “We’ve got unfriendlies on our ass, moving fast in a hunt-and-find pattern. They must have found one of our trails. We laid a few false ones so I can’t be sure which one they are on. “Y’all okay or do you need cover?” Tommy’s voice conveyed all the urgency of aslow walk on a summer afternoon with frequent stops for fishing.

“We’re okay.” Hunt shifted his weight off Doogie and moved to Quaid. His body complained but did his bidding. “Can you delay them, Tommy?”

“Not without giving us away. Snow is covering everything super quick. But they are moving faster than we are. Law of averages.”

“Copy.” They side-stepped around the craggy area until they found the goat trail Doogie had been able to use to get to them. The snow wasn’t accumulating as much here. Quaid went first, pulling Doc by the jacket up the trail. Doogie did the same for Hunt. Back in the original dip in the trail that signified the path, they met Carter.

“Anyone need medical?”

“Not here,” Hunt answered, and tried to calculate position to the caves.