I’m not letting go.
I’m not letting another person die because of these fuckers.
Samantha sobs loudly, the tears streaming out of her eyes.
Ezio pulls back. I brace myself for another blow.
“Pandora!” River’s beautiful voice rings out.
I burst out laughing, a wild, desperate sound. “Over here!”
I hear pounding footsteps on the ground, and Ezio starts to edge back. I need River to help me.
Ezio curses. “Fuck. Guess you get lucky this time, Pandora.” He dashes off, into the dark underbrush of the forest.
I need River to punish Ezio.
River appears next to me. “Asch! Blaze! I found her!”
I want to tell them to go after Ezio. That I’m fine, that there’s nothing for them to do here.
Ezio needs to drown in a pool of his own blood.
River’s hand joins mine on Samantha’s arm.
Blaze and Asch jog up on my other side. “Shit,” Blaze mutters. They both reach down and grab Samantha’s other wrist.
“On three,” River says.
I can’t even hear Ezio anymore.
I nod.
“Okay,” River says. “One. Two. Three!”
They pull with all their strength, and I do the same.
It takes us several long, agonizing seconds to pull Samantha over the edge of the ravine. As soon as she’s on solid ground, Samantha wraps her arms around me.
Her sobs fill the space in my chest, expanding my lungs.
Weird.
I return the embrace. “Hey. You’re… you’re alive.”
I’d say she was okay, but I’m not sure she is.
I’mnot even okay. I’m never okay. But I can deal with all this shit.
Samantha shouldn’t have had to.
For several moments, she only cries against me, until she finally sags down and pulls away. Her cheeks are flushed, and I’m not sure if it’s from the exertion or embarrassment.
Probably both.
“I… Thank you,” she says, looking between me and the guys. “All of you.” She stiffens, then asks, “Where’d that man go?”
I let out a dramatic sigh. “Gone, somewhere. Although without a car or supplies, I don’t know what he’ll do out here.”
