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“I hate bats.”
“Think of them as pigeons. Pigeons of the night.”
Riley wasn’t too crazy about pigeons either. Even in the daylight.
She turned the headlamp back on and looked down at her rope. Not much left. She looked beyond the end of the rope at Emerson. There seemed to be a lot of empty space between the end of the rope and Emerson.
“Um, Emerson?” she said. “I’ve reached the end of my rope.”
“Release the descender and let yourself drop the rest of the way.”
“No way. It’s too far!”
“I’ll catch you.”
“Not gonna happen.”
“At the risk of seeing that look again I’d like to remind you that you were going to be brave.”
“There’s a difference between brave and stupid.”
“I could cloud your mind and minimize the difference.”
“No! Jeez Louise. On the count of three. One, two, two and a half…”
Riley released the descender and dropped like a sack of cement, knocking Emerson flat on his back with his arms wrapped tight around her.
“Got you,” he said.
Riley was breathless, sprawled on top of him. “I need a moment.”
“No problem.”
“Maybe you two should get a room,” Günter said. “Has anyone noticed I’m in a lot of pain with a broken leg?”
“Do you know anything about broken legs?” Riley asked Emerson. “Like what to do for them?”
“I’ve read a few articles.”
Riley rolled off Emerson. They got to their feet and stood over Günter.
“I need a knife,” Emerson said.
“I don’t have a knife,” Riley said, “but I have a gun.”
“A gun isn’t going to help me,” Emerson said. “I don’t want to kill him. I want to slit his pants leg.”
“I have a Swiss Army knife,” Günter said. “It’s in my pocket.”
Emerson found the knife and cut Günter’s pants leg off above the knee. The leg was swollen and turning purple.
“There’s no bone sticking out,” Emerson said. “I think that’s a good sign.”
“We should make a splint,” Riley said. “What have you got left in your bag?”
“Money.”
“Get me on my feet and I’ll see if I can put weight on the leg,” Günter said.
