I joined the brothers again. All of them were waiting to hear any news.
Rodney came over and stood next to me. “How are you doing?”
“Terrible.” Any time I spoke, my voice started to waver. I could feel the tears grabbing hold. The fact that they found the blood shook me up.
“I’d like to tell you it will work out, Uncle Aaron, but I don’t know. I’m sorry, but you always taught me to be honest with people. You don’t do anybody any favors by candy-coating things. All I know is that this looks bad.” Most people would think the words he was saying were cruel. They weren’t. However, they were the truth. I needed to hear it to process it.
Bile worked its way up my throat, causing it to burn. The words made my stomach churn, and tears slid down my face. “I know.” We just stood there. I wasn’t ready to process a life without River in it. In such a short time, it felt like he was all the pieces I didn’t know I was missing in my life. I wanted to take him to France to taste great wines. I wanted to show him the new apartments in the buildings we were constructing. I wanted to make love to him at the vineyard, and I needed to hold his hand and walk along the beach. He was my person. I knew without a single doubt that River was who I was waiting for, and I couldn’t lose him now.
Jason Washington, whom I recognized from the club, stood beside the other official authorities. Protocols were in place to protect dragons. They were as important as the lost individuals. I wasn’t surprised to see him there as the Dragon Club’s representative.
I saw Forest and Stone start talking animatedly. I put my hand on Rodney’s shoulder, and we approached them. “Has something happened?”
“The dogs have found something. They are trying to find what it is right now.” The snow had stopped, and the sun was out. Helicopters were on the way, and snowmobiles were traveling back and forth from the crash site. They set up a place for the volunteers a mile from where the debris field started. We were going to find them. I knew that for sure. I just hoped they were all ok.
Chapter thirty-nine
River
Lost in the mountains of Canada.
The sun felt so good on my face. I opened my eyes. I hurt so bad. I put together little bits of what happened. I remember Tyrell sounding shocked, then several crashes, including one in the cockpit. We didn’t nosedive far. We leveled out, there were feathers and commotion up front, and then it was like we ran into the mountain.
I started to sit up. Pain shot through my body from my hip to my ankle. I brushed the snow off me, and all I could see were torn slacks and blood. My pants had frozen to the ground. I tried to move, but this was going to be a problem. I managed to get the rest of the way up into a sitting position. I looked around, and all I could see was miles and miles of snow and trees.
“Help!” I yelled. I had no idea how I was going to get out of this. I had no doubt people would find us, but would it be in time? I tried to look for Tyrell and Shandra. I didn’t see either of them. Where is Charlie? I needed to find Charlie. I used my hands to move my leg. There was something wrong there, for sure. I used a tree to pull myself upright. I then started dragging myself through the snow.
Chapter forty
Aaron
Basecamp Rocking Lake
Forest walked over to me. “Aaron, they found Charlie.” My stomach sank.
“Is he ok?” There were so many emotions going through me. Dragons could always find their bonded companion, so River was either injured, separated by many miles, or dead. If their human was in need, they had heightened senses. My legs could no longer hold me upright, and I collapsed.
An EMT was standing over me. “There he is.” I looked up at a face I didn’t know. I had passed out, realizing for the second time this week that genuine emotions could control a person, even overwhelm them. “He’s going to be fine. Make sure he sits for a bit.”
The EMT walked away. When I looked around, I saw many faces staring down at me, and I recognized all of them with worried expressions on their faces. “I’m fine.” They helped me up, and I moved over to some chairs they had gotten somewhere.
“They are bringing Charlie down now with one of the snowmobiles.” As if on cue, we heard motors heading our way. Daisy started going crazy, pulling on her leash and jumping up and down. Her wings were flapping, and she was screeching. I tried to calm her, but she wasn’t having it. She knew Charlie was there, and she was upset.
Jason and I walked toward the snowmobile that had just arrived. Daisy was pulling at her leash even harder and screeching. Jason reached for the bundle that held Charlie moments before I got to the driver. As soon as Daisy saw Charlie, she quieted but was still anxious.
“If you touch that dragon, I will rip your arms off and beat you with them.” He stopped, and his eyes got wide. The driver looked confused but pulled Charlie back.
Sarah was right behind me and heard the exchange. Rose was on her shoulder, clearly wound up, but nothing compared to Daisy's fit. “Aaron, you can’t.”
I cut her off. “I can. Charlie is staying with me.”
“Sir, there are protocols.” Jason started. I held up my hand and dismissed what he had to say.
“What’s your name?” Sarah asked him while she guided him away from me and Charlie. While she did that, I reached down for him. They had bundled him up in what looked like a baby blanket. The rescuer didn’t know what to do, so they just handed him to me. Daisy pushed herself against the blanket, rubbing her head on Charlie. She chirped and chattered. Charlie raised his head and chirped back.
Sarah walked back over to me. Give me your wallet. My hands were full of dragons, so I shifted my hip towards her, and she took it out of my pocket. She walked back over to her conversation. I went back to the chair.
“Tanner, can you try to find us a bigger blanket?” He headed towards the building. When he returned, I carefully opened the bundle. I could see a cut along Charlie’s shoulder. It didn’t seem to be too deep. “Okay, Charlie, I need you to open your wings.” Daisy opened hers as if showing him what I needed. He stomped his feet. “Come on, Charlie.”
