Page 26 of Mountain Impact

Jens muttered something under his breath. The tall, broad-shouldered man seemed uncharacteristically sullen. “I should have just gone down myself.”

“Give Gael a second. He’ll―”

“Victim is unconscious and in respiratory distress. Shit, I need Jens here now.”

“I’m going down,” Jens said, bending down to grab his medical pack. Suddenly, the helicopter lurched, throwing Jens against Drake, who steadied the doctor.

Kat’s voice was clipped. “Sorry, guys. This isn’t good. Visibility just changed, I don’t have a visual reference.”

Drake didn’t need her to draw a picture for him. Flying a helicopter close to a granite wall was a hazardous enterprise at the best of times, something only a few pilots attempted―but doing it in a storm, without a visual reference, wasn’t brave. It was madness.

“I need to get down there now, Drake,” Jens insisted.

“Give her a second, Jens. If it’s possible, Kat will make it happen.”

The rain continued to pummel the helicopter. Kat took them away from the rock and circled at a safe distance.

“What’s going on, Jens?” Gael asked. He sounded panicked, and Gael never panicked. “If you don’t get here right now, we’re going to lose him.”

Jens slammed his fist against the side of the helicopter. “Fuck. I should have gone down when we had the chance.”

“Guys, I think there’s a clearing in the clouds up there. I can try to get close again but it’s going to be―”

“Do it,” Jens said immediately.

Kat was quiet for a moment.

“Drake?”

She didn’t need to say anything else. Drake knew it was his call. He could order her to head back home, and she would. Gael could hunker down until the storm had passed. But a human being would die.

“Drake … let me go down,” Jens begged. The man’s jaw was clenched tight.

Drake made his decision. “Do it, Kat.”

In a matter of seconds, Jens was clipped into the cable. The doctor swung out of the cabin, into the storm. Drake let the cable out fast. The quicker they got Jens down there and clipped to the rock, the safer he’d be.

“Merde!”

Drake heard Kat’s loud curse an instant before the helicopter swung sideways, slamming Drake headfirst onto the seat next to him. There was a loud, clattering noise. He tightened his hold on the cable reflexively and straightened back up again.

Drake knew immediately what had happened. As the wind had changed, they’d gotten too close to the wall and the rotor blades had clipped the rock. It was a miracle that they were still in the air.

Kat cursed again as she fought to control the machine.

“We’re going to crash, Drake!”

Drake couldn’t help her―Kat would have to figure it out on her own. All he cared about was Jens, who was swinging out in space, getting closer and closer to the granite wall. Drake’s muscles bunched as he worked double-time to reel Jens back.

Jens is dead if you can’t get him back here.

Drake thought of every barbell he’d ever lifted, every push-up and pull-up he’d ever done.

The ground rose to meet them at vertiginous speed.

“I can’t keep us in the air! Brace!”

Ignoring Kat’s command, Drake pulled and pulled. He couldn’t spare the second it would take to look out the window, so he had no idea how far from the helicopter Jens was still.