Gone Away by Elizabeth Noble Page A

and coil it around his shoulder.
    Staying low to the ground, Mason moved quickly back to Riece’s side. Closing his eyes and sighing with relief, Riece reached out, took Mason’s hand, and gave it a squeeze. When he tried to let go, Mason’s grip intensified, and he pulled Riece closer to him and brushed his lips over Riece’s forehead.
    “We’re going to survive. Both of us. Together. Don’t think anything else, even for a second,” Mason whispered.
    Riece nodded. “I know.”
    “Did they take your water purifier?”
    “No. They searched me and my bag and left me everything except the locator beacon.” Riece studied Mason for a few seconds. “I guess they wanted us to have some supplies to survive longer.”
    “Yeah. So we could give them a better hunt. No fun if you bag the quarry too soon. It’s not the trophy, it’s the chase,” Mason muttered. “Though I suspect they are regretting letting you keep that camera.” He twisted and pointed back to where he’d retrieved the rope. “Let’s go see if the rest of what we carried here today is still where we left it. Then we’ll head to our base camp. Odds are good they have no idea that exists or where it is. Stay behind me and walk exactly where I walk. Heel down first and roll your foot forward gently to evenly distribute your weight and push down any leaves, twigs, or anything that might make noise. We’ll try to keep to bare dirt when we can. Move slow and take deep, even breaths through your nose.”
    “Okay,” Riece said.
    Mason smiled and put his hand on the back of Riece’s head for a few seconds. “I know that’s a lot to process, but you can do it—you’re smart.”
    Riece nodded. Mason stood up and held out his hand to help Riece to his feet. “We stick together.”
    Mason held up one thumb and used two fingers to point out the direction they would go. Riece did his best to imitate Mason, bending at the knees to stay low when they were in more open ground and stepping where Mason stepped.
    They reached the spot they’d started from without incident. The few supplies they’d left were still there. Whether they’d been left on purpose or the hunters never realized they were there, he and Mason might never know. The important thing was they had canteens of water and some food. Mason had considerable skills in this environment. Riece had always claimed he’d trust Mason with his life.
    That sentiment was about to be put to the test.
    Mason took Riece’s pack and shouldered it, then hooked the canteen they’d left behind to it. He started wandering around the area, looking up into the trees and down onto the ground. “I need a branch, preferably with leaves still on it.”
    Riece moved a few yards one way while Mason went the other. Spotting a tree with several branches bent at odd angles, Riece turned toward Mason. “What about one of these?”
    Mason jogged to Riece and looked up as well. “That’ll work.” He jumped up and grabbed one of the smaller offshoots of a larger branch and gave it a yank.
    As soon as Mason had the branch within his reach, Riece took hold and helped Mason. The branch bent, and together they pulled it almost to the ground.
    “Wait,” Riece said and managed to move his hands farther up the branch. He bent his knees and lifted his feet off the ground. “Now try.”
    Mason threw his weight back, and Riece saw the muscles of his arms tense and bulge as he jerked downward. For a second they and the branch seemed suspended in time. The only warning Riece had was a loud crack. The branch let go, and he and Mason crashed to the ground.
    As he rolled to his feet, Mason grabbed Riece’s arm and pulled him up as well. “Keep low and go check to see if anyone is coming up the gully who might have heard that,” Mason said.
    Riece ran as quietly as possible to the gully edge and knelt down. He leaned forward and looked left, then right, before he scuttled back to Mason. “Nothing.”
    “Okay, good,” Mason