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Breathe, Austin, I told myself. You let Sara down, but there was nothing you could have done for the doc. It happened too fast.

I nodded and glanced up at the wall of boulders still before me. The tubes to my left were still filled with people being evacuated.

It should have taken all of ten minutes to scale the entire thing, but in that moment, it felt like an impossibility. If I bailed now, I wouldn’t be a liability to Rosi. Maybe that was the way to protect her.

“Please don’t push me away,” she’d said in the cave. The memory made my heart lurch. How could I even think of abandoning her? I wasn’t the same kid I’d been in the raft with Sara. I was a fucking adult who’d studied with Tibetan monks and traveled to the harshest places on the planet. This was my last fear, the fear of letting someone in and then letting them down, and I was going to conquer it like I had Kilimanjaro. I’m coming, Rosi.

I spread my legs hip-width apart and sank my weight into my feet. Then I eyeballed the ledge of the next step and leaped for it, planning my fingerholds in advance.

By the time I reached the sixth floor ten minutes later, I found Nicole, Rosi, and her friend Cora in the hall arguing.

The moment Rosi’s eyes met mine, she launched herself at me, and I caught her around the waist as she threw her arms around my neck.

“Awww,” Cora squeaked.

Rosi ignored her and buried her face in the crook of my neck. Moisture from her tears slid down my skin, and I gripped her tighter.

“I thought I wouldn’t get to say good-bye,” she whispered.

“Good-bye?” I said, setting her down and wiping her cheek. “I’m not going anywhere. We’re going to figure this out together.”

“I will not have this many potential civilian casualties here while we sort this,” Nicole barked. But I only had eyes for Rosi’s relieved grin.

“Jackson already okayed it,” I said, holding up the weapon he’d given me without breaking eye contact.

Rosi cleared her throat and cocked her hip while honing in on her friend. “Cora, you should go. Austin’s here for me, I’ll be fine. But I might not if I’m worried about where you are and if you’re safe.”

Cora blew a section of rainbow hair from her face and crossed her arms. “I might be helpful, you know. I can ask for help from my guides in locating this thing.”

Everyone looked at Nicole, who turned away and pressed a finger to her ear, listening to something none of us could hear. When she spun back to us, she had a grim look on her face.

“Well, you three successfully waited long enough for the emergency evacuation flights to take off. So no matter my thoughts on the subject, you are stuck here until one of the planes returns.”

Cora jumped and clapped, and I shook my head, unable to marry the childish excitement with the scene I’d just witnessed in the medcenter.

Then again, Cora had yet to see the thing for herself. I hoped for hers and Rosi’s sakes that wouldn’t change.