Page 61 of Mountain Void

“I’m lighter.”

Then she moved.

Lorenz swore under his breath. Every instinct demanded that he drag her back to shore.

He forced himself to focus.

“On your stomach. Move slowly,” he cautioned. “And you stop the second I tell you.”

Inch by inch, she gained on the ice. In response, the ice creaked in protest, a low groan that set Lorenz’s teeth on edge.

Charlie

Never in her life had she felt this afraid.

This wasn’t who she was. She didn’t take risks. She didn’t—

Get a grip.

A part of her wished she hadn’t insisted on going on the ice. Lorenz knew what he was doing. She didn’t.

But he was heavier. There was no way he would have made it this far. And if he went under, there was no way she could help him—or the boy.

This is the only way.

Her legs felt like blocks of ice inside her jeans, but it wasn’t the cold that made her shake. It was pure, unadulterated fear.

She stretched her arms forward and kept moving, because if she stopped now, she wouldn’t be able to convince herself to move again.

She moved a knee up against her hip, sliding forward. The surface beneath her creaked.

Don’t think about it.

The boy.

Think about the boy.

She could see him clearly now. Dark hair plastered to his pale forehead, looking impossibly small. As she watched, one of his hands slipped, and most of his body disappeared inside the black, jagged hole.

“Don’t let go. I’m almost there,” she said, speaking in English, because every bit of French had fled her mind.

She did the only thing she could—she kept crawling forward, on her belly.

“You’re doing great, Charlie,” Lorenz said from somewhere behind her.

The boy whimpered. She was close—so close that she could see his teeth chattering.

“I’m almost there. Look at me ... regarde-moi,” she begged. Finally, a word in French.

The boy’s eyes lifted to hers.

Good.

His fingers scraped against the ice.

“Don’t try to climb out,” she said, the words coming out in English again. Hopefully, he understood. “Just hold on.”

His fingers slipped.