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Fuck. It’s the camera closest to us. Covering the thick band of trees not more than fifty feet from where we’re standing.
“Ari, we need to get inside.” I’m still watching the man—he’s stopped beside a tree, reaching over his shoulder—
Oh FUCK.
“Cash?”
There’s no time.
I lunge at Ari, grabbing her around the waist, knocking her onto the ice.
She yelps at the impact; I tried to cushion her fall, but it wasn’t enough.
A sharp crack rings through the air.
Something whistles past, slamming into the ice only feet away.
Someone just shot at us.
Ari whimpers beneath me. “Cash?” Her voice is breathless and tiny.
My heart is thundering, loud drum beats in my head. Panic surges, but I shove it down. We need to get off the ice, get to cover. But where? How?
I lift my head for a quick glance, almost certain I’m about to be shot. But I’m not, and I see where we need to go.
Quietly, I tell her, “We need to get to the trees on the way back to the house.” There’s a small copse of trees twenty feet from the pond, but in the direction of the house. If we get there, we’ll be protected and I can call the police.
There’s a shaky sniffle beneath me, but Ari whispers, “Okay.”
“Stay flat on the ice, but go sideways first—”
Ari wriggles out from under me, scooting forward toward the edge of the ice.
I don’t want her moving ahead of me; she’ll be unprotected. “Ari, wait—”
And this terrible situation gets worse.
There’s a crack. And another. And several more in quick succession.
But it’s not gunshots. It’s the ice cracking.
“Oh, Cash…” Ari’s voice is shaking. The ice is fracturing under her.
Oh shit.Shit. I pitch my voice low, trying to keep my fear from bleeding through. “Spread your arms and legs out. Go slow, it’s going to be okay.”
Flat to the ice, I work my way in front of Ari, keeping distance from the quickly appearing spider web of cracks radiating around her. As much as it’s killing me to go slow and not rush to her, I can’t take the chance of putting more weight on the ice.
Ari’s moving carefully, doing just as I told her, but it’s achingly slow progress. Little sniffles drift over to me, scared whimpers breaking my heart.
Another loud crack, and I think we’ve been shot at again. My lungs seize in terror.Please don’t have hit Ari.
Then the ice shatters, dropping Ari through it.
She cries out, then it’s suddenly silenced.
NO.
Her head appears above the water, and my heart starts beating again. “Cash!”
