I chased after them. “What is wrong with you two? Tell me what’s going on.” I knew they couldn’t, but I needed them to speak to me.
Storm and Stone came running after us. “What’s going on?”
“I looked at them. I don't know, but Charlie wants to go up this road.” I watched his behavior and stopped for a minute. “Wait.”
Charlie kept up his flying attempts but hit the ground and slid across the asphalt. He was ripping up his scales, damaging himself further. I could see the cut on his back and wounded wing getting worse. There was blood running down his side. “He’s bonded to your brother. I think he can smell him like a bloodhound does.”
“So, we follow him?” Stone asked.
“Yes, we follow him. He is beating the crap out of himself. I don't think he will let me carry him.” I closed my eyes and softened my voice. “Charlie. Come here, Charlie.”
He stopped and looked at me. “Buddy, I need you to trust me and Daisy.” I looked at him, hoping he understood. “Daisy, come here.” She flew over and landed on my shoulder. She seemed to be on the same page as Charlie somehow. I had no idea if the two dragons could communicate. I picked up Charlie and put him on my shoulder.
“Daisy, find River.” She took off. Rarely do I let her fly completely free. The city had too many obstacles, but she was fast and graceful. She would fly ahead and then loop back. We all ran down the road after her, and Charlie would stomp and screech, so we would continue down the road. My heart was pounding in my ears, and I looked at the sign for Rocking Lake. We had traveled about two and a half miles down the road. Charlie threw himself down on the ground and dartedoff the road. There was a steep incline that was about seventy feet on either side.
What I saw at the bottom crushed me. There was a body that I assumed was River. I ran down the hill. When I reached the bottom, I could see that River’s legs were at crazy angles, and his shirt was blood-soaked, a piece of jagged metal in his back.
His brothers were right there with me seconds later. I dropped to my knees, and I touched his back. “River?” I got no response, and I couldn’t feel the rise of his body. “Please, sweetheart, be alive.” I leaned my head close to his mouth, nothing. My mind was going into shock, and my brain started to spin. I picked up his limp wrist and felt for his pulse.
I thought I felt the lightest thump. I waited, and there it was again. “Who’s got the steadiest hands right now? I think I felt a pulse.” Blaze took his wrist.
Four sets of eyes bore into him. “Maybe.” He didn’t let go. “Yes! It’s very faint, but it’s there." Then everything happened at once. They strapped River into a life flight about five minutes after we found his battered body at the bottom of the ravine. Charlie screamed and screeched the entire way as we drove to the hospital, and I hoped we weren’t too late.
The drive was about two and a half hours. When we finally arrived, River had been in surgery for two hours. We saw this as a good sign since he was at least fighting. He was strong. He had gotten so close to base camp, but it was at least seven miles from where the plane had crashed.
Shandra and Tyrell were able to fill in the blanks. A goose had come through the cockpit window. The mountain came out of nowhere with the snow, the decompression, and a twenty-pound bird hitting the yolk. It was simply a freak accident. Both were recovering fromtheir injuries in the same hospital and were relieved to hear that we found River alive.
After four more hours of surgery, the doctors addressed River’s family. “He’s in critical condition, and we’ve done everything we can. It’s up to him now to fight for survival. I’ll tell you that he is one strong man. River’s body has gone through a lot. His injuries were incredibly severe, and I don’t know how he survived. It really is a miracle he is alive.”
“When can we see him?” I asked a little too anxiously.
“One of you can go in for five minutes.” The doctor looked at the five of us. I am not positive, but I think one of them growled. “I mean two of you. He probably won’t be conscious for at least twenty-four hours, but talk to him. There is documentation that says it helps. No way to assess his long-term prognosis until he is back with us.”
The brothers turned around at once and did rock paper scissors. “Boom! I’m going in!” said Forest. “He likes me best anyhow.”
“Let’s go talk to your man.” He grabbed my arm and guided me towards the ICU. They had never considered that I wouldn’t be one of the two. My eyes filled with tears.
Entering the hospital room, I was horrified and relieved. My beautiful boyfriend looked so fragile and broken. As I walked to his side, I was afraid to touch anything. Forest went to the opposite side of the bed. “Little brother, you scared us to death. You need to get better because Mama isn’t happy with you.” I could hear the tremor in his voice and saw tears on his cheeks. “We need you. Don’t you dare give up on life. On me.” He looked at me and gave me a tight-lipped smile. “I’ll give you some privacy.”
Forest walked out of the room. I squeezed River’s hand, stroked his hair, and kissed him softly on the forehead. “Sweetheart, there is so much more to our story. I need you to fight so we can write it.” Seeing his chestrise and fall relieved me since he was barely alive the last time I saw him.
I leaned in and kissed him gently. “Rinalto River Barallo, I am hopelessly in love with you. Come back to me.” The nurse walked over and smiled at me. My time was up. I squeezed his hand again and left the room.
I sat in the ICU waiting room with his brothers. They each looked exhausted. Every few hours, one of us was allowed to sit with River for a few minutes, and we took turns going in. We would try to get sleep on the rigid plastic chairs, but none of us seemed willing to close our eyes for long. The door to his room was cracked open, and one of us would stand looking through the gap, watching over him.
The sun came up, and the world around us started their morning. Tanner and Rodney showed up with coffee and breakfast sandwiches. My body was grateful for the fuel, and I felt slightly more human. We all continued to keep watch over River.
When I checked on him after we ate, the nurses and aides were getting ready to take him somewhere. I stopped in my tracks. “What’s happening? What’s wrong?” My throat tightened, and my breathing got shallow. Please no. I leaned over and put my palms on my knees, trying not to pass out. “Please, what is going on?”
They were moving him out of the ICU into a regular hospital room. "You all can sit with him as soon as we have him settled.
“That’s good, right? That’s a…” I couldn’t think of a word. “Promotion?”
The nurse smiled at me. “Yes, it’s a promotion. Give us about half an hour, and we’ll come to get you. You are one of a group of stern men that spent the night here, right?”
I hung my head. “Yeah, that’s us. We are justworried.”
“It’s okay. We see all kinds. Sitting with your loved one in a room will be better for all of you. Now, go tell the others.” She shooed me out of the room.
