Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 106646 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 533(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 355(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106646 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 533(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 355(@300wpm)
A fucking pit trap.
They're marked. They're always marked. I must not have been paying attention, too distracted by O'jek's surliness and thoughts of A'tam. My legs are tangled in the skin that was put over the pit to fool any prey, and the snow piled atop hid it so well I didn't realize where I was stepping until it was too late.
Rookie mistake, Bridget.
I sit up, wincing, and notice that my ankle is killing me. It throbs with unholy heat, which doesn't bode well for the rest of my hunting. I try to get up, and my back spasms, so there's that, too. I groan, lying back down and lifting my ankle. I give it a little flex, and a flash of pain shoots up my leg.
Definitely a problem.
"Are you all right?" O'jek's voice sounds a little echoey, and when I look up, he's at the top of the pit. I'm about six or seven feet down, judging by things, and half-covered in snow. He squats down by the lip but makes no move to get down and help me.
Of course this would happen when I'm with O'jek.
I manage I feeble thumbs-up. "Just great."
"If I send down a rope, can you climb back up?"
I bite my lip, shifting my weight, and my back gives another fierce spasm again. "Eventually? But I'm gonna need a moment. My back's acting up and my ankle hurts."
He makes a sound that seems like impatience. "Do you need me to go get the healer?"
"No," I say immediately. The last thing I want is to be carted in to camp like an invalid and have everyone staring at me. "I'm fine."
"But you cannot get out of the pit."
"I can," I snap. "Just give me a moment."
He lowers his rope and then waits at the top. "Every moment we sit here is a moment someone else is hunting—"
"I know!"
"Then get up." O'jek dangles the rope right in front of my face. "Or tell me to get the healer."
I glare up at him from the bottom of the pit. "Why don't you just go on without me?"
He hesitates. "This is what you want?"
Of course it's not what I want. But because I'm as stubborn as a donkey, I shrug my shoulders. "I'll dig my way out once my back eases up." It's just snow, after all. I can dig my way out. It's not like I'm truly trapped.
O'jek doesn't look sold, though. "I do not like this idea. You are a vulnerable female."
"Do you want to win or not?" I throw back at him.
He rubs his jaw, crouching beside the pit and thinking.
"Look, I'm out of commission for this round. We haven't caught anything. Just go, all right?" I wave a hand, indicating he should leave. "If I'm not back at the encampment at sundown, you know exactly where I am."
"But…" O'jek frowns fiercely. "Are you sure you are not hurt?"
"Just my pride." And my ankle. And my back. "Just go on, okay? Win that knife."
He hesitates again, then nods and leaves the edge of the pit. I close my eyes, willing everything in my body to stop hurting long enough for me to dig my way out. When I open them again, though, I don't feel any better. My back is clenched tight. My ankle hurts.
And now, because I'm a stubborn asshole, I'm alone. I chased off my partner.
Way to go, Bridget. I clench my jaw, sit up, and whimper at the sharp pain that shoots up my body. Not my finest moment, clearly. I should have taken O'jek up on his offer for help…
But I can just imagine him carrying me back to camp, a scowl on his face at how useless I am. I think I'd rather die out in the snow, alone, than go through that. My pride can't handle it.
The good news, I tell myself, is that someone will come for me after sundown. Which, given how slow I'm moving, seems entirely likely. I put a hand to my face, fighting back a groan. Why me?
17
A'TAM
Nothing is more alarming than running across O'jek on one of the trails and B'shit is not with him.
I see him in the distance, and he raises a hand to acknowledge me. I wait a few moments, scanning the snow behind him, but there is no sign of B'shit anywhere. Did she give up and return to camp? No, I realize. B'shit does not give up on anything. She is tenacious, like a young kaari. She locks her jaws and stays put, no matter the outcome.
I do not like this.
I turn to D'see, handing her my spear and the two dead hoppers we have found this day. "Take these. I must talk to O'jek."
"I'll just stay right here," D'see agrees, moving to the nearest rock and sitting down upon it. She adjusts her yellow furs, tossing her mane and squinting at the landscape. "My goodness. How did I not realize an ice planet would have so much snow?"