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"Oh Jesus," Ty breathed as he shined the weak light of his flashlight into the night

Kelly jaer, then cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, "Nick!"

His voice ed by the pounding surf below and the downpour fro their breaths, desperate for a return call Ty couldn’t tell the difference between the beat of his heart, the sound of the surf and rain, and his desperate desire to hear his best friend’s voice All the sounds of thatout for help

The touch of Zane’s hand to his shoulder spurred hi to the swiftly dissolving trail, watching it zigzag like Nick had been dodging soe at ti in his ears, stinging his eyes until they teared He had no doubt those gunshots hadn’t been heard inside the thick walls of theruin of the lighthouse on the hill When they hit the top of the hill, the scene before theear, and he and Kelly both threw theround Zane followed suit, and Kelly pulled Emma down so they wouldn’t be seen

Asolowed in the ht Ty could tell it was Nick merely by the set of his shoulders Another un at Nick

"Give un shouted into the wind His accent was Scottish

Ty’s breath left hi A her to his chest to protect her

If Nick said anything, his response was lost in the wind

"I don’t need her alive!" the gunranddaddy!"

Zane grabbed at Ty’s ar up, but Zane wasn’t fast enough Ty lunged to his feet and charged the unround

Ty rolled several feet away, flattening out in time to see Nick, his side bloodied by the stray shot, lose his balance and fall over the edge of the cliff with Amelia in his are of the cliff, grasping desperately His fingers found Nick’s, and their hands clasped together, thesoing to stop their slide He wound up with his chest at the edge of the cliff, his shoulders and head hanging over, and his fingers wrapped around Nick’s forearrip He swung freely over the jagged rocks and the frigid ocean below A teddy bear fell away fro after it Nick watched therimaced up at Ty

"Give me your other hand!" Ty shouted

Nick reached up and fuht shifted, Ty began to slide again The earth beneath hirass wet

Nick cried out in pain and dropped his hand, shaking his head "Let go, Ty!"

"Fuck you! Find a foothold until we get help!"

Nick tried to reach out for the cliff’s inverted face, but as soon as he ain The cliff was too far away for hi solid

"Ty!" Nick shouted "We’ll both fall if you don’t let go!"

Ty shook his head, flat out refusing to accept that He tried to pull Nick up, but his separated shoulder screa He felt a hand at his belt, heard E Nick’s "I can’t lift you, you’re going to have to cliritted teeth Even hanging by a thread over certain death, he sounded annoyed with Ty for being an idiot

"Try!" Ty shouted

"I can’t cli because you’re not attached to anything! Fucker!"

"Try it anyway, Jesus Christ!"

Nick made one more attempt to reach for Ty with his other hand, but it ed at hi him toward the sea as the top half of his body slid over the sloped edge The earth beneath hi into Nick’s face and hair

Nick shook it away He looked back up, o, Ty"

"I’o," Ty told hirowled He relaxed his fingers, leaving Ty to cling to hihtened his hold "Don’t do this to o"

Ty shook his head

"Let go!"

"No! I have help, they’re coh, he could feel hi Where the fuck were Zane and Kelly? He shouted over the roar of the ocean, "Help!"

Nick reached down, fu?" Ty asked

He pulled a knife frorim smile

"Don’t you do it," Ty said "Don’t you stab ers, the blade catching the reflection of a streak of lightning

"Zane! Doc!" Ty shouted He shook his head at Nick "Don’t you fucking dare stab me with that knife!" He tried to slither backward, desperate to get round, to hold Nick there until h to keep thereen eyes were unreadable, the knife in his hand Ty shook his head "I gave you that knife for your birthday, youthe knife through the air, ai to create a scar that Ty would carry in his nightmares for the rest of his life The e, and Ty squeezed his eyes closed because he would be da go