Page 3 of One Little Memory (Cherry Valley Novella)

He took another step, and his feet slid out from under him, landing him on his back.

He cursed as he tried to stop his slide.

Grabbing onto a tree trunk, he managed to halt his downward progress.

Flipping over to his belly, he searched for his flashlight, which he’d dropped in the fall.

It was a few feet away. He snagged it and held onto the tree trunk with his other hand as he tried to get his feet underneath him again.

The tree above him let out a groan. He shone his flashlight up at the car. It was only then it became apparent the car was balanced precariously between the embankment and the tree. The front half of the car wasn’t even touching the ground. The tree it was wedged against groaned again.

“Shit,” Phoenix mumbled as he scrambled to his feet.

If he didn’t move quickly, he might be crushed by the car.

The tree creaked, convincing him it wasn’t going to hold much longer.

He pulled himself up the embankment using trunks for leverage.

Finally, he reached the driver’s side of the car and peered in the window.

A woman was leaning against the deflated airbag.

Blood was everywhere around her head. It had even dripped down into her eyes.

Her long chestnut hair covered half her face, and the other half looked deathly pale.

He wasn’t sure she was still alive. She didn’t look good if she was.

The car creaked and shifted as the tree began to give way.

His heart slammed against his rib cage. If she was still alive, he needed to get her out of there as quickly as possible. Cocking his head, he listened for the sound of sirens. They were faint, but they were coming. Still too many miles away to be of any help yet.

He banged on the window. “Hello? Ma’am? Hello?”

The woman’s eyelids fluttered but remained closed.

Alive at least. That was a plus. Now he had to keep her that way.

Phoenix tried the door. To his amazement, it swung open, but the movement shook the car and a loud snapping sound from the tree rent the air.

“Shit!” he mumbled again as he reached out and touched the woman’s neck.

Her pulse was strong and steady. A good sign.

He shone his flashlight into the car, making sure there were no other passengers. Then he refocused it on the roof of the car so it provided some light, but he wasn’t shining it directly at the woman. “Ma’am?” he said again. “I need you to open your eyes.”

Nothing.

“Can you hear me? I need you to open your eyes. I have to get you out of the car. Ma’am?”

The woman let out a moan, and her lids fluttered once more. This time they opened. Her chocolate brown eyes were filled with confusion, and she seemed to be having trouble focusing. “Wh-what happened?” she murmured.

“Ma’am—"

The young pine tree cracked loudly. The trunk wasn’t thick and appeared to have reached the maximum curve it could. It wasn’t going to hold.

Urgency made his voice harsh. “Ma’am, I need to get you out of the car. Do you understand me?”

She blinked and tried to sit up straight but let out a soft moan. Phoenix reached in and pushed her back against the seat. “Can you undo your seatbelt?”

She narrowed her eyes as if to focus on what he was saying.

When he asked again, she replied, “Yes, I th-think so.” She tried to wipe the blood out of her eye but just succeeded in wiping it all over her face.

She cursed softly as she reached over and fumbled with the seat belt for a full minute. “It’s stuck.”

The tree groaned, and bent more, wood splintering ominously. The car slid downward. Luckily, everything came to a stop, but time was running out. The sirens were close now. Right above him there were voices. His radio went off. The fire department had arrived.

“Phoenix, what the hell are you doing down there?” Fire Chief Vickers demanded.

He keyed his mike, “Chief, there’s a woman trapped in the car.

You can’t see it from up there, but the car is not resting on the ground.

It’s wedged between the tree and the bank.

The tree isn’t going to last much longer and the car will roll.

We’ve got to get her out now.” The rest of the embankment was another seventy-five feet easy and was straight down.

“Roger that. Is she conscious?”

“Barely.”

“Got it. We’re on the way.”

Phoenix turned back to the woman. The confusion in her eyes was now replaced by fear. “Am I going to die?” she asked.

“No.” There was no way in hell he was going to let her go without one hell of a fight. He reached in and tried to undo her seat belt, but it held. He pulled out his knife from his utility belt, flicked it open, and then cut the belt.

“Okay, I’m going to pull you out of the car, and then we’re going to move to the right. The fire department guys are already coming down to help us, okay?”

She licked her lips. “Okay.” She was sliding her left leg out of the car when the car jerked forward, and the nose pitched downward.

She screamed. Phoenix lost his footing again, and his feet went underneath the car.

He caught the doorjamb of the car and hauled himself back up, but the car pitched again.

“Phoenix?” Chief Vickers barked on the radio.

He ignored the chief. “You’re going to have to move quickly,” he said to the woman, capturing her gaze. Her brown eyes were huge. She bit her lip but then nodded.

“Okay then, on the count of three. One. Two. Three!” She used the steering wheel to push herself out. Phoenix closed his arms around her just as the tree collapsed, dislodging the vehicle. He threw them to the ground and covered her as best he could.

When the car’s front wheels hit the ground, it started down the embankment, gathering speed as it went. It bounced off another tree and flipped over. A loud crash sounded when it hit the bottom and landed on its roof.

Phoenix’s radio went off, but he ignored it. He lifted his head and captured the woman’s gaze again. “Are you okay?”

She stared at him for a moment and then promptly passed out.