No!
With a cold shiver, I feel this violent swirl of energy snap around me-- followed by one of the Douglas-firs exploding.
All of us are thrown to the ground by the force of the blast with heavy thuds. Bits of tree dust float in the air, and the accompanying silence has a high pitched ring to it.
I’m trapped under a mass of bodies, Kaleb falling on top of me and Nolan half under me. There’s a sharp pain in my wrist which I know means it’s broken.Shit.
Connor is the first to recover. Scrambling over, his low voice is laced with fear, as he growls, “¡Mierda! Bajarse de ella.”
Kaleb immediately rolls off of me, groaning and coughing, while favoring his right shoulder.
“I’m fine. I’m fine,” I wheeze, attempting to both breathe normally and hide the pain of feeling the bones of my wrist knit back together.
Connor doesn’t believe me, for good reason, and visually searches for hidden wounds-- but if there were any more, they were minor and healed quickly.Oh thank god, I wasn’t bleeding.
“You also against cursing in English?” I joke, shifting so I’m no longer on top of Nolan.
There’s a muttered, “Fucking shit,” from a couple of feet away, announcing that Donovan isn’t too hurt.
Satisfied that I’m okay Connor’s shoulders slump with relief, and he sits back on his heels. A small smirk pulls at his lips, as he simply utters, “Fuck.”
“Well, okay then,” I chuckle.
“Oh look, Connor gave a single fuck,” Nolan grunts, sitting up and dusting bits of tree from his hair. “Where’s mine? Because you know, I’m okay too, thanks for asking.”
Connor’s small smirk turns into a wider smile, when he replies, “Only one per day.”
Nolan shakes his head, with an accompaniment of coughing laughter from the rest of us.
“You know, it’s a good thing I’m already dead,” Felix laments from several feet away. “Otherwise, Callie would’ve just killed me.”
Looking over at ground zero, I see Felix with a huge spike of splintered tree through his stomach.
I cringe. “Sorry, Felix.”
He shrugs and walks through the debris, the bits of trees and leaves still making its way to the ground falling through him.
Wiping at his mouth to clean off bark dust, Nolan requests in a casual tone, “Callie love, I hear the key to a good relationship is communication. How about we go that route next time, before say, you destroy my childhood home, which I’ve grown pretty fond of.”
I groan and run my hands down my face, not caring that I’m covered in dirt and tree bark.
Donovan gets to his feet looking none worse the wear. “Your house? Or are you really just worried about the Shelby?” he jokes, using the bottom of his shirt to wipe at his face and flashing an eyeful of abs.
Nolan gives him a theatrical wide eyed look. “Shhhh. Don’t give her ideas.”
“Was that the reaction you were looking for?” Kaleb grumbles, brushing the bark dust from his hair.
“We learned something, didn’t we?” Donovan coughs and holds out a hand to help Kaleb to his feet.
While rolling his shoulder, Kaleb mutters, “Yeah,podex perfectus es.”
Donovan snorts. “Everyone already knew that.”
I really need to learn Latin.
Connor and Nolan both reach for one of my hands, my wrist thankfully fully healed, and help me to my feet. Other than possibly a few bruises, no one looks to be hurt.
“So what element does exploding tree fall under?” I ask with heavy sarcasm.
