The pain was extremely intense in her shoulder and when her eyes parted slightly the sun blinded her. She tried lifting her arm to block it, but only pain raced through her nerves. With a wince she gave up and let her eyes adjust to the sun's rays. Then her brain started working and she remembered the fall. Immediately she looked for him, but only found herself alone on the bank.

Then something moved at the end of her feet and she saw a shadow appearing from the woods nearby. Her mind told her to get to her feet and go, but she knew it was futile. She sighed and waited. The person was wearing military clothes and had shades covering their face. Her throat was dry and she knew she wouldn't be able to discovered the identity of the person standing next to her.

They laid their gun onto the ground next to her and knelt down. When a hand ran over her face she knew she was okay for now. Then the person got on his bc and called for someone. His attention returned to her then and he looked at the dark stain on her shirt. When he pressed his hand on it, she let her organs twist in agony as she remained still.

The man looked up into her gaze and said, "Must have been intentional."

She wet her lips slightly and forced out, "It was."

His eyes studied the painful lines forming on her face and he asked, "Did you jump off a cliff or something?"

Her mind chuckled and she mumbled, "More like pulled off."

This time he smirked and said, "Help will be here soon. Just stay awake until they get here. Mags is dying to see you."

That name hit a nerve and she said, "Thought she labeled me K.I.A."

He rubbed his neck and said, "She did until some guy showed her evidence that you were still alive. Then she went chasing after him to help him find you."

Her mind snorted in disbelief and she said, "Well, that guy is now the one M.I.A."

A low sound of an engine reached them and she forced herself to move to where she could see. A jeep came rolling down the bank to them and stopped. The driver and Mags got out. They walked over to the two and Mags knelt at her left side. It was obvious she was hysterically pleased to see her, but she didn't care.

The woman noticed the stain and asked, "Who shot you?"

She took a deep breath and forced out, "Guy called Michael. Talked a little with my rescuer afterwards until I was pulled off the cliff."

Mags thought for a minute and asked, "Was that guy Ter?"

Her eyes gave the answer she wanted and she asked, "What happened to Michael?"

With another deep breath, she said, "Got shot by him."

The woman seemed shocked and she asked, "What?"

Mags looked around and said, "I don't get how he'd be able to handle it."

Her eyes grew heavy with the pain and she mumbled, "I don't know, but he shot the guy as we fell into the river."

The woman sighed and said, "It's not like him though. He'd never shoot his own blood."

Those words echoed in her mind as her body gave out and she slipped away into the darkness. Sleep was precedent over anything else, and that included the mystery still surrounding the one guy she had let take over her in only a year of her life.

___________________________________________________________

The fish line tightened and she tried pulling on the pole to test the strength of her catch. When the line almost snapped, she carefully walked over to the bank. Her feet stopped when she saw the body lying face down in the water. She dropped the pole and splashed over to the body. Her arms ached as she rolled it over and she looked at the beaten face in front of her.

Her father yelled in the distance and she called out to him. Then she slowly maneuvered her arms under the wet body and started pulling the man out of the water. When her father arrived, he helped her get the man out of the water and then he checked him over. The girl sighed and waited for his word.

He looked up at her and said, "Surprisingly, this one is still alive. We need to get him back to the house. There we can call your brother to come do what he needs to do."

She nodded and asked, "What do you think happened to him?"

He shook his head and said, "Honestly, I have no idea, Cami."

PGS