 Mason got to his knees and looked around. Riece was sprawled on his back less than a foot away. None of his limbs were at odd angles, and Mason saw no large pools of blood. So far a number of pluses, and the only minus was the fact that they seemed to have dropped into some sort of pit. Reaching out he took hold of Riece’s arm. Before he could say or do anything else, Riece jerked upright and gasped. He twisted in one direction, then the other, so fast Mason couldn’t stop him. Riece’s eyes were wide, and Mason wasn’t sure he was processing what had happened. “Whoa, whoa, Riece. Sit still.” Mason scooted closer and grabbed ahold of both of Riece’s arms. Riece turned and stared at him, holding his breath. “Calm down. Take a few deep breaths and wiggle your toes for me.” “What?” “I need to know you don’t have a spinal injury. Now wiggle your fucking toes.” Mason used the firmest voice he could without snapping the words out. Riece’s eyes got wider. He looked at his feet, bent his knees, moved each foot, then whispered, “My toes move okay.” “Hold your arms above your head and then turn them in a circle,” Mason ordered, using a more gentle tone. He recognized immediately he’d have to keep Riece focused, otherwise he’d have too many thoughts to process at once. Giving Riece orders in a clear and logical sequence was the way Mason could keep him calm. Riece immediately did as told without ever taking his eyes off Mason’s. “They move okay.” “Turn around. Let me see if you’re cut or bleeding anywhere.” Mason used one hand to nudge Riece to one side, then the other. “Feel any bruising?” “My back maybe a little.” Mason turned Riece to face him and used two fingers to ease his shirt up. He breathed a huge sigh of relief when Riece’s skin tone was normal. “We’ll want to check each other for bruising, especially abdominal, which could mean internal bleeding,” Mason explained. Riece’s eyes widened more, and Mason thought they would pop straight out of their sockets like some bizarre cartoon character’s. “Do a sit-up for me.” Again Riece complied. “Feels fine. Like a sit-up. I don’t like doing sit-ups.” “I needed just the one,” Mason said and chuckled. “Now, you look me over—back, neck, head—for open wounds.” He turned around and smiled when he felt Riece’s fingertips start at the base of his skull and brush lightly down to his belt. “You should wiggle your toes and pull up your shirt,” Riece said softly. Mason mimicked Riece’s actions and bent his knees, turned his feet in a small circle, and told him, “My toes wiggle too.” He stood up and offered Riece his hand, pulling him to his feet. Then Mason lifted his shirt. “Anything.” “Lots.” Riece took a deep breath and smirked. “But it’s all supposed to be there.” He looked up at Mason. The few seconds of normal, relaxed behavior vanished, and Riece’s face crumpled. He took two steps forward, slipped both arms around Mason’s waist, and pressed against him, shuddering. “My fault. I’m sorry. This is my fault.” “Hey, hey, shh.” Mason held Riece close with one arm and used his other hand to cup the back of Riece’s head. He glanced up at the opening they’d dropped through. “It’s okay. Nothing is your fault, and it’s only ten or twelve feet to the top. Not that bad. We’ll get out. I’ll get you out. Don’t worry.” He spent a few minutes simply holding Riece. To Mason this was a minor setback. To Riece it was a disaster of epic proportions. He didn’t step back from Riece until he felt the tremors running through Riece lessen. “How will we get out?” Riece looked around while wiping one hand over his face. “I didn’t think or realize what I’d stepped on.” “Don’t worry about it.” Mason looked down at his belt and reached for his radio. “You’re fine, I’m fine, we’ll call for….” He put his hand where his radio should have been clipped to his belt. Riece’s gaze followed his. They both turned in a circle looking around the small area they’d landed in. Silently Riece bent and picked up the radio in two hands. “It must have caught on the wood,” he said. Mason’s radio had been dislodged from his belt when they fell through the wooden covering over the pit. It had landed squarely under Riece, probably accounting for the slight bruising he felt along his back. Right now it was in pieces. “Still not a disaster. Once we’re up top, we can hike to where we’ll be in the open, get a cell signal, or use your locator beacon.” Mason looked up as he spoke. Lengthy pieces of wood planking covered with vines and long grass partially obscured the view of the sky above. Since they had been down in a gully to begin with, much of the rest of the sky was blocked by trees. “This would be a lot worse if one of us were hurt and couldn’t walk. See if you can find the batteries.” “Still think there aren’t any poachers?” Riece asked. He leaned down and squinted at the dirt while Mason paced around, shuffling the toe of his boot along the ground. Gone Away is available in eBook, paperback, through Kindle Unlimited and library digital catalog.    
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