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Leaning out the side of the chopper, I peered across the sea of green to a stream of red smoke drifting from the dense trees ahead.
“That’ll be Wyatt,” I said. “He must’ve heard us coming.”
“I’ll circle around the crash site,” Xavier said.
Layla gripped her seat until her knuckles turned white. Being in a chopper with open doors was not for everyone.
Her gaze met mine, and I mouthed,Are you okay?
She nodded, but the fear in her eyes said otherwise.
As Xavier circled our helicopter around the crash site, Wyatt leaned out the wreck and gave us a wave.
“That’s a good sign,” Gunn said.
“Sure is. Let’s get them the hell out of here. You grab the gear.” I nodded at Gunn. “I’m lowering down first, and I’ll relay a plan.”
“Copy that.” He handed me a comms device.
As Xavier maneuvered the bird over the top of the wreck, I guided the comms around my neck, turned it on, and attached the winch to my vest. “You hear me?”
“Loud and clear,” Xavier called. “You ready?”
“Roger that.” I gripped onto the hook and the winch lowered me onto the wreck.
The path the chopper had taken was easy to see as it left an erratic line of broken tree branches in its wake.
“You made it,” Wyatt called as he hauled me into the wreck.
“It wasn’t easy, I’ll tell ya.” The chopper creaked beneath my weight as we shook hands.
“How you doing, Cody?” Bracing to counterbalance the steep angle of the floor, I squatted at Cody’s side.
“I’m good now that you’re here.” The bruising on his face looked like he’d lost a boxing match. His left eye was swollen shut and the strip of fabric that had been tied around his forehead was stained with blood.
“Let’s get you out of here first.” I tapped his leg. “We need to get you into this harness. Can you stand?”
As Wyatt and I helped Cody upright, I relayed through my comms to Gunn that Cody was coming up first.
Cody wobbled on unsteady legs as we hooked him into the harness.
“Okay, Gunn, bring him up.”
I held onto Cody until the tension on the winch was ready, then eased him out of the wreck. With Cody under control, I turned my attention to Booker. “Hey, captain, how you doing?”
“I could use a beer, that’s for sure.” Booker had brutal bruising and cuts on the left side of his face, but other than his pinned legs, he seemed fine.
“I reckon we could arrange that.” I scanned the maze of twisted metal and shattered glass around him. We got damn lucky to survive this crash. Leaning against the wall to get my balance, I studied the section of the wreck trapping Booker’s legs. “Can you feel your feet?”
“Yep. And I can wriggle my toes.” His face was pale and drawn, and despite his words, his tone suggested that he was in some serious pain.
“Good. We’ll get you out of here in no time.”
“Hunter, Cody is secure.” Gunn’s voice boomed in my comms. “What do you need?”
“Bring down those tools, the harness, and attach it to a rope for Booker. I think we’ll have to go with the plan of using the winch.”
“Roger that. I’m on my way.”
