Page 22 of Marc
His lips curled. “That’s better.”
“Can you call the others?” I wasn’t sure they could get a Talon down here, but I knew they’d find a way to get us.
Marc winced.
I stiffened. “Marc…?”
He glanced toward the waterfall.
“You can’t contact them,” I said slowly.
“I lost my comms earpiece in the waterfall somewhere.”
A chill ran down my spine. We were all alone.
“Hey.” His big hand cupped my jaw. “We’re going to get out of here. I’ll look after you.”
I didn’t doubt that. Then my gaze focused on his face. There were lines bracketing his mouth, and his smile didn’t have its usual charming, easy-going look.
I frowned. He shifted gingerly, and I glanced at his stomach. The large bloodstain on his shirt was growing bigger.
“Marc, your injury?—”
“I’ll be fine.”
I made an annoyed sound and reached for the hem of his wet T-shirt. “Why do you guys always say that when it’s clear you’re not?”
He grabbed my wrist. “I’ll be okay, Colbie. Right now, we need to get moving. I really don’t want my blood on display for a hungry monster to sniff out.”
“Moving? To where?”
“We need to find somewhere safe to shelter. Then we can brainstorm a way to contact the others.”
I looked around but it was too dark to see more than the water and the trees. “Shelter where?”
“I’m not sure, but the ripples in the water are telling me there’s something hungry eyeing us.”
With a gasp, I whirled and saw the ripples in the dark pond. Something was moving in there.
And something told me it wasn’t a fish.
God, we’d just been in there.
Marc rose and pulled me up. I hated that huge bloodstain, but he seemed to be moving fine.
He pulled a blaster from his holster. “Lost my carbine.” He didn’t sound very happy about it. “We’re going to be okay.”
“I know.” I managed a small smile. “And you’re a bigger snack for any monsters than me.”
He tugged on my hair. “You’re stuck with me, birdie. But I’ll keep you safe.”
“I know. I just need to run faster than you, and let any monsters eat you instead of me.”
He grinned. “There’s my smart-mouthed birdie.”
“Quit calling me that.”
He scanned around the trees. “Let’s follow the river for a bit. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find an old house or something.”
