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She heard someone—presumably Josh—groan before he spoke.
“I’m okay,” he hissed, but she could easily hear the pain in his voice. “My leg. It hit against the rock.”
“Can you stand?” Saff asked, and Maddie immediately felt relief in hearing her voice.
He groaned again, then after a few moments, he answered. “Yeah.”
She could hear shuffling footsteps against the rocks ahead.
“Help them get across, and I’ll check it when we get to the other side,” Saff said.
Then, not even a moment later, she heard the light thud of footsteps approaching on the rocks.
“It’s okay,” Saff said in front of her. Maddie’s hand shot out, grabbing onto her. They clung to the jacket that was now wet beneath her fingers.
“What happened?” Maddie asked, wrapping her uninjured arm around her.
Saff breathed heavily as she answered. “Josh slipped on one of the rocks. It came loose. He started to go over the edge but held onto one of the other rocks.” She paused, her breathing labored. “I pulled him back up. He’s fine.”
Maddie relaxed, letting out a breath.
“Come on,” Saff urged. “We need to keep going.”
They continued as they had before, and when they reached the newly made gap in the rocks, Saff helped her cross, holding her like an anchor as she stepped.
“One more,” Saff muttered in her ear as they stepped onto the last one. Then she felt the soft earth beneath her feet.
Saff led her a few more steps. “Your mom’s right here,” she said, taking her hand and placing it on her shoulder. “I’m gonna check on Josh.”
Maddie nodded. “Mom, are you okay?”
Her mom ran her hand over her fingers where they rested on her shoulder as she panted.
“Yeah. I’m fine.” She paused, catching her breath. “Your brother is a little banged up, but I think he’s okay, too.”
Maddie squeezed her shoulder.
“Honey,” her dad said beside them. “Why don’t you sit down for a minute while she checks out Josh’s leg?”
“Yeah,” her mom breathed. “Okay.”
She felt her mother lower to the ground, and she followed, resting beside her as they waited.
“Does it just hurt here?” Saff asked from somewhere close by.
“Yeah,” Josh grunted. “My thigh slammed into one of the rocks when I slipped.”
“Does it hurt to walk on?” Saff asked.
“Yeah,” he answered. “But not too bad.”
It was another few seconds before she finally heard Saff mutter, “Its already bruising, so you’ll probably be in some pain, but I’d be surprised if it’s more than a deep bone bruise.”
Josh grunted again. “I’m fine. Let’s keep going.”
“The sun’s about to go down,” her dad cut in. “We should stop for the night.”
Surprisingly, no one argued.
