Page 55 of Her Crew

Like two beautiful apparitions, Tye and Alec stand in the clearing as I reach the top. I wondered if I’d ever see them again. Even if I survived the whole lost-in-a-national-park ordeal, I didn’t know how to reach them. I don’t have a phone. I don’t know their numbers. I would never be able to keep up with their travels.

But I don’t have to worry about any of that, because here they are.

My voice betrays me as I run to them. My throat longs to scream their names, but I can’t. As I race toward them, I don’t even know how I manage to breathe. They finally see me rushing headlong toward them, and I stop as they face me. For a moment, we all just stand and stare, too locked in disbelief to do much more than blink.

“Is it really you?” I ask, still terribly unsure how it could be.

“It’s us,” Alec says. “We found you.”

He rushes forward and takes me into his arms, wrapping me in security. He pulls back and checks me over, then tugs me against him again. He spends the next few seconds checking me over for any injuries before releasing me into Tye’s strong arms. He pulls me into him, and Alec hugs me from the other side. I’ve never felt more at home in the middle of nowhere than I do right now. Between them.

“H-how?” I ask.

Alec smirks against the top of my head. “Apparently, Tye is a numbers nerd.”

Tye shrugs. “I just knew how far he drove.”

“I thought I’d never see you again, pup,” Alec says as he bands his arm around my waist and presses his forehead to the back of my head.

“Me too,” I whisper. But then I take a step back, and both of them release me. “But . . . what now? Where do we go?”

Alec shakes his head. “We’re going back to that motel. Stacks has to pay for what he did to you.”

“I don’t want you guys to get in trouble. We’re safe. We’re together. It doesn’t have to go further. We can run off and make our own lives. Something different.”

Tye raises his chest. “Oh no, princess. He’s done. No one hurts what’s ours.”

When they step back and start toward the van, I realize they’re serious.

We wander for several hours, but I quickly lose my confidence in their ability to get us back to the van. We seem a bit lost, and I’m certain we’ve passed that downed tree at least once so far. I think we’re going in a circle.

It’s dark out here, and I can’t see a thing. The trees seem to thin out to our right, though, so I head that way.

“Maybe we should try this direction.” I take a few steps, and my foot slides down the side of a rocky embankment. Before I know what’s happening, I’m throwing my hands up to grip a small tree. Now I realize why the trees seemed to clear. I’m dangling above a ravine!

I stare at Tye’s and Alec’s knees. Gripping the tree a little tighter, I try to walk up the side of the rocky wall, but the roots start to give. The tree bends, and I’m dropped further below the edge. My feet scrape the ledge as my toes balance below me. I’m a big girl, and I don’t have the arm strength to keep myself up very long. If this tiny ledge breaks away, I’ll go with it.

“Help!” My hands slide down the rough bark, and the tree leans closer to me. Dangerously close. I kick and strain and exhaust myself just to keep from falling to my death.

Alec and Tye reach for my hands.

“You have to let go of that twig and grab my hand!” Alec screams.

I shake my head. I’m too scared to let go. I’m terrified of that moment between letting go of that shrimpy tree and grabbing his hand. I’m frozen in fear.

“I won’t let you fall!” he says.

“I’m scared!”

“I know you are, pup. I know. But you’ve been scared a lot, haven’t you? And what do you do? You beat back that fear. You wouldn’t be here right now if you hadn’t.”

He’s right. I’m stronger than I realize. I’ve survived what would kill most people, and if I give up now, I fought those battles for nothing.

I use my renewed frustration to drive myself upward. My cheeks puff as I grip his warm, sweat-coated hand. The tree creaks and cracks, and it’s not enough. No amount of petty anger can help Alec hold up my full weight alone.

The tree cracks, and I start to fall. At the last moment, another hand grips my forearm as Tye jumps into action. Grunting and groaning, they pull me over the cliff’s craggy edge. As ungraceful as humanly possible, I’m dragged onto solid ground again.

I roll onto my back and stare at an endless sky of stars. Alec and Tye flop on either side of me, and we just lie here and breathe.