Miss Mills parked the automobile next to the lake.' Crane pressed hard on her wound, trying to stem the flow of blood. The Rockefeller Park, near the Lake of Swans. Miss Mills is badly injured and I require assistance most urgently,' Crane rushed out. 'Captain, there has been a most grievous event. He quickly found Captain Irving in her contacts, and pushed the proper spot to connect the call. He searched Abbie's pockets and found it, thanking God that she had given him lessons in its use. Why hadn't he paid attention? Why hadn't he insisted that she teach him? He knew the way back to Miss Mills' automobile, but that was of no use, as he did not know how to drive the blasted thing. What was he going to do? He looked around, realizing that was an utter waste of time. They were in the middle of this godforsaken forest, and she needed help urgently. He gently placed his hand on her chest, and almost collapsed with relief when he felt the steady rise and fall of her chest as she breathed.īut still, she needed help. The words 'a mortal wound' leapt into his head, and he thought he would be sick.īut no, he reminded himself, this is not 1780. Gently he turned her over, and his gut clenched when he saw that the front of the unconscious woman’s shirt was covered in blood. Roots and rocks caused his feet to stumble, but he stayed upright, and at long last he was there. 'Oh, no, no, no, no, no' escaped with his breath as his pace quickened. Panic, absolute, sheer panic filled his chest as his feet started moving toward her. His vision still was not as clear as it should be, so it took a moment before he realized that the crumpled heap on the ground located about 150 feet to his left was, in fact, his partner. Tentatively, for he wasn't entirely sure it was safe, he took a few steps away from the protection of his tree, and scanned the area again. When she again did not answer, he scanned the area, trying to find her. He used a nearby tree as leverage to stand. When that action failed to bring about a new volley, he sat up entirely, breathing with relief when it became clear that the danger had passed. 'LIEUTENANT!?!?!' he shouted, fervently hoping that she would respond.Īfter what seemed like an interminable amount of time, the sound of projectiles whizzing by overhead ceased, and Crane ventured to lift his head. He reached up to try and wipe the obstruction away, only to realize that it was his own blood running into his eye from a wound somewhere above it.

The vision in his right eye was fuzzy, something making it unfocussed and slightly. He couldn't see from his position on the ground, his face buried in the forest floor, but that wasn't all. Awareness returned in a mad rush, and Ichabod scrabbled to his knees quickly, only to fall back prone to the ground when he realized the projectiles-were they rocks?-were still flying at a furious pace.

Adrift by Lisa Dee