Eros

Chapter 30: The Sparrow

Angie groaned. It sounded more like a croak to her. Hot, unbearable pain consumed every part of the body and she was freezing. So freezing her limbs turned useless and heavy. She lifted her head a few inches and gasped.

"Ooh." She moaned.

A stretch of sparkling, bright diamonds on an expanse of black velvet loomed below her. Frosty winds cut her face, her bones. She cringed from the agony of existing.

Angie lay there for a few minutes, weighing her options under the haze of anguish. If her body didn't throb so much, she could probably try to reason her way out. But she could feel something hot leaking down her arm. She tried to move her legs, but cried out when she couldn't. They felt very, very heavy—as if she had no legs at all!

"Oh no . . ." she heard her voice shivering with tears. She couldn't see through the night for any damage done to her body. Or where she was for that matter. There wasn't a moon out. She lay there a few moments more before thinking about anything else, listening to all the pain and aches that reeked mayhem all throughout. After a few breaths, she tried to remember where she was.

She couldn't even remember how she got here.

Suddenly, Angie remembered.

She had wondered away from the group, knowing full well how wrong and what a bad idea it was, but there was something that drove her and she, at this minute, had forgotten what. With a sigh of frustration, closed her eyes, squeezing the tears out.

How horrible and frightening to be in such a mess where there was no help of any kind even if she screamed out for it. How long until she would be discovered? How stupid could she be, trailing away from her expedition. Shay wouldn't be worried because she wasn't expecting Angie at all.

And then what? She forced herself to stop thinking about what she couldn't do. Now to think about what she could do. "Okay," she said in a raspy voice. "I'm still alive, which is a good thing. My arm could be broken." She huffed, trying to breath slow, but could only in shallow puffs. "My legs—unh!—my legs, I can't feel a thing."

She scrunched her face, planning to see how sturdy a surface she lay on since she didn't want to fall again just for checking her legs. Her right arm was pinned under her and her left arm was resting above her head on some rock.

"Great," she muttered. Angie slowly shifted her weight back so she could move her right arm out from under her. She froze, her heart stopping with terrifying fear. What if there was nothing more than sheer cliff behind her and she fell?

Angie closed her eyes and prayed for guidance. She was stuck, helpless and cold and scared. What more could she do? She listened very carefully. Maybe if she could gauge the sound of the wind, she could tell if there was rock behind her. There was no doubt that she was facing Litochoro and other cities far below, considering the sparkling city lights.

The frigid wind iced her body, dancing cold fingers on her skin and numbing her wounds. She heard it skipping and playing along behind her, flying up into the sky. It sounded like there was a rock behind her.

Trusting her instinct, Angie leaned back and held her breath, terror gripping her nonetheless. Solidity along her back reassured her and she burst into sobs, grateful for being on her side. With several breaths to lend her courage and strength, Angie leaned against the rock, and slowly scooted her arm from beneath. She cried out, hot pain ripping her body apart.

"But I gotta do this!" she bit out through clenched teeth, the tears leaking fast from her eyes. After screaming a few times and whimpering, her arm was finally free.