“BLAKE?” I scream in desperation, looking around frantically.
“SKYLAH?” he cries, tearing my soul right from my body.
I run toward his voice, hating that it’s too fucking dark to see. I grab my phone and put on the flashlight app, shining it everywhere I can.
“Blake, where are you?”
“Down here.”
My flashlight follows his voice and before I even find him, Slade is rushing down into the ditch. The light finally shines upon my brother and what I find crushes me.
Blake lays in the bottom of the ditch, covered in blood. His face is battered and bruised but his leg…fuck. What kind of sick monster would do this? It looks as though someone has beat the shit out of him with a baseball bat.
“Blake,” I cry, following Slade down into the ditch. “I’m coming. I’m coming, just hold on a little while longer.”
Slade is at his side in no time and instantly starts assessing the damage, looking around, trying to figure out how the fuck we’re going to get him out of here.
Despite only a few seconds having passed, it feels like a lifetime that it takes me to finally reach him. I drop down at his side, my hand instantly latching onto his. “You’re going to be okay,” I promise him. “We’re going to get you out of here.”
Blake shakes his head as the agony shines brightly through his eyes. “I can’t fucking move, Sky,” he says, his skin clammy and cool, wordlessly begging for me to make the pain go away.
“I know,” I murmur, trying my best to keep calm while holding back tears. “We’ll figure this out, okay. Just…shit, Blake, just focus on something else. Anything else.”
“I…” he attempts to sit up and cringes, falling back down in pain.
“Don’t,” I beg him, glancing up at Slade in desperation.
His eyes flick around the ditch one last time with uncertainty before finding Blake’s. “I’m going to have to carry you out of here, man.”
Blake shakes his head. He’s not exactly a small guy and moving him is no doubt going to hurt, but Slade is right, it’s our only option. Otherwise, we could wait around for an ambulance to arrive and then wait as they try to take things slowly for him.
As if realizing this, Blake’s head falls back onto the dirt. He closes his eyes, looking petrified of the pain. “Just do it quickly.”
Slade cringes. It’s not going to be quick. He’s strong and fast, but navigating this ditch in the dark isn’t a walk in the park. It’s steep and rocky. One wrong foot could have Slade tumbling down and making it so much worse.
He crouches down beside Blake while looking back at me. “You go first and open the back door, but keep your flashlight on the ditch. If I fall…”
“You won’t,” I promise him. “You’ve got this.”
Slade lets out a heavy breath before turning to my brother. “You ready?”
He shakes his head. “Nope, but I’ve got no other fucking choice.”
Realizing it’s now or never, Slade scoops one arm around Blake’s back as the other slides in under his thigh. The movement has Blake screaming in agony and tears spring from my eyes. I want nothing more than to stay with Blake and let him squeeze the shit out of my hand, but I can’t. I have a job to do.
I take off like a bat out of hell, desperately trying to climb my way out of this ditch, my own leg screaming in pain. Rocks are slipping beneath my feet and I fear for how Slade is possibly going to do this while carrying my brother.
I somehow get to the top and hurry back to the Dodge, tearing open the door. I race back to the edge and just as Slade had asked, I shine the flashlight down into the ditch, lighting it up as much as possible.
Slade clenches his jaw and then rises, lifting Blake’s dead weight. The veins in his arms bulge but he puts it to the back of his mind, determined to get this done.
Blake’s leg hangs heavily and has tears streaming down my face, seeing the pain on his. Every step Slade takes is absolute agony. Blake’s eyes are clenched and he looks as though he’s only seconds from passing out. Sweat runs from his forehead as he fists his hands into Slade’s shirt, trying to help hold himself up.
Slade gets to the edge and starts to climb, one strained step after another. “Come on,” I murmur low, mostly to myself. “You can do this.”
He finally gets to the top and a breath of relief pulls from us all, but we’re not done yet. Slade races to the backseat of his truck and does his best to get him in. It’s a struggle but Blake’s able to help hoist himself in as I help get his legs into the car, holding back sobs, knowing that every little touch is killing him.