Then the rock crumbles away.
And I fall.
Impact slams through me brutally as I crash onto a lower ledge.
Pain detonates through my ribs hard enough to white out my vision.
Air vanishes from my lungs.
Dust explodes everywhere.
Loose rock rains around me.
For one horrible second, I can’t breathe.
Can’t think.
Can’t even tell which way is up.
“Olivia!”
Closer now.
Panicked.
Russ again.
I force air back into my lungs with a painful gasp and push myself onto shaking elbows.
Agony tears through my side immediately.
Still alive.
Good enough.
“I’m here!” I shout upward.
The words come out rough and weak.
Not nearly strong enough.
Dust slowly settles around me.
I blink up toward the shattered ridge above.
The path’s gone.
Completely collapsed.
Jagged debris separates me from the others while loose rock still skitters dangerously down the cliffside.
Bad.
Very bad.
“Stay where you are!” Russ shouts down.
Like that’s ever worked with me.
