Page 41 of Escaping my Dragon

My lips felt numb as I explained. “Miss Jekins fell through a hole but couldn’t be extracted, so I was hoping to use another heli with a working winch.”

The corporal’s mouth rounded. “I’m sorry, Sir. But there isn’t one expected for at least a few hours.”

I scrubbed my face. “Meaning I need a new plan.” I glanced at Joslyn and Vernon. “You should head for the airstrip and get on the plane.”

“Like hell we are. We’re going with you to rescue Velma.”

“I’m trained for this kind of mission, you’re not. You’ll hinder more than help.” The honest truth.

“You can’t do it alone,” Vernon pointed out.

The corporal cleared his throat. “I’d offer to aid, Sir, but my orders are to stay here and refuel the choppers soon as they arrive for their next run.”

“See, you need us,” Joslyn insisted. “We can help.”

Maybe they could. “Follow me. We’re going to need to grab some gear. Since I don’t have a winch, we’ll have to improvise.” Inside a locker I found a not oft used rescue strop, essentially a sling. A rope ladder, too.

As I loaded the chopper, I also had to advise people looking for escape that I was performing a high-risk rescue operation. None decided to join us, preferring to wait for the next ride.

Once loaded with gear—that also included tents, rations, and other things should we end up stranded because something went wrong—we headed off again.

“Here comes the plane,” Joslyn murmured into her microphone, drawing my gaze to the large craft descending from the apocalyptic sky. A plane Velma would most assuredly miss. It would be loaded quickly and sent off well before my return.

My jaw tightened.

I’ll make sure you’re on the next one. Because failure wasn’t an option.

Chapter Thirteen

I regained consciousness and kind of wished I hadn’t. For one, I remained in the hole where I’d fallen. Two, despite all my gear, I was cold. And three, forget sunny skies overhead. A miasma spread across the sky.

Erebus must have blown.

Which probably explained why Noah hadn’t rescued me. Likely he’d been called back to McMurdo station to help people evacuate.

But what about me? And yes, I said it in the whiniest inner voice imaginable.

I’d expected more from the man. Hell, I expected better from my friends. How could they have abandoned me? I knew it was irrational to blame them, after all, look at the circumstances, not to mention, they had no kind of training. Still, I allowed myself a brief pity party before taking a deep breath.

Stop being a pussy ass bitch and save yourself. A galvanizing admonishment that pushed me to my feet.

A glance at the walls showed them dimmer than in my dreams, probably due to a lack of sunshine. Despite knowing the futility, I did try to climb. My mittens couldn’t find any grip and slipped down the smooth ice. No protrusions extended for me to grab. A pat of my body didn’t show anything I could use to chisel myself an advantage. Where was a pickaxe when you needed one?

“Help!” I yelled, in case Noah wandered nearby. Could be the quake had opened many craters and he had to search them all. “I’m here. Hello?”

The reply that returned wasn’t the one I wanted.

There’s no one near enough to hear you, servant.

“Not you again,” I groaned.

Still impertinent, I see.

“More like not needing this kind of concussion fuckery right now. In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m stuck in a hole, a volcano exploded, and my chances of making it out alive don’t look so good at the moment.”

I can keep thee from harm.

“And how are you going to do that? Aren’t you the one who’s been whining you need help getting free?”