Finley frowned at the three of them. She shook her head. She muttered, 'Shit,' then stood up.

Cora in the lead, they started walking over the weathered planks of the old dock. Abilene felt tired and stiff and achy. It would've been nice to rest a while longer.

But, God, we've got a long way to go.

Miles and miles.

At least we're getting out of here.

At the end of all those miles, there would be a motel. Eventually. A motel. A cool, soft bed.

If only we'd done this last night.

Helen would still be...

A plank gave out beneath Cora's foot with a sound like a cracking whip and she gasped 'Fuck!' and pitched forward, her foot trapped. Her outthrust arms crashed the shotgun against the dock. Crying out in pain, she slammed down on top of it.

As the others rushed forward, she pulled her fingers out from under the gun. They were red and shaking. She wiggled them a bit, apparently to see whether they still worked. Otherwise, she didn't move.

She lay there, left leg thrown out to the side, right leg straight out behind her but twisted, caught at the ankle between two boards.

Vivian stepped over the gap, knelt at Cora's side, and stroked her head. 'Are you okay?'

'Just great.'

'You'll be all right.'

'Sure. Damn it!'

Abilene and Finley crouched over the opening. The heel of Cora's shoe was wedged under the board behind the one that had broken.

'We'll have it out in a second,' Abilene said.

'Be careful.'

Finley let out a huff. 'Yeah. God knows, we might get careless and bust it.'

'Very funny,' she muttered. She flinched when Abilene eased her knee sideways. She let out a long groan when Finley, holding on just above the top of the sock, pulled her foot out from under the edge of the plank and lifted it free.

Around Cora's ankle, the sock bulged like an inflated balloon. Vivian, watching, wrinkled her nose.

Finley whistled and said, 'Nasty.'

Feeling sick, Abilene said, 'I hope it's just a sprain.'

'Don't bother,' Cora told her. 'It's broken.'

'So much for hiking to civilization,' Finley said.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE.

Cora rolled over slowly and sat up. She scowled at her misshapen ankle. 'Just great.'

'Does it hurt much?' Vivian asked.

'It hurts like shit.'

'Now what'll we do?' Abilene asked.

'Sit here and wait for it to heal,' Finley suggested.

Ignoring her, Cora said, 'I guess I can use the shotgun as a crutch. But we'd better start by stabilizing my damn ankle. I don't want it flopping around. We'll need some splints.'

Abilene stretched out flat on the pier. She looked down through the gap and saw the splintered ends of the plank that had snapped under Cora's weight. Still nailed at the top, the two sections of board drooped toward the water. She grabbed one, pulled it up, and jerked it from side to side. The nails squawked as they were tom from their moorings.

She stood the slat upright. With Batty's knife, she split it down the middle. She broke each board across her knee. When she was done, she had two usable pieces of wood, each a couple of inches wide and nearly a foot in length.

'Perfect,' Cora said.

Grinning, Finley said, 'Hickok, you're a regular Boy Scout.'

'Taking the makeshift splints from Abilene, Cora pressed them against both sides of her ankle. 'Now we need to bind them in place.'

'Belts,' Finley suggested. She lifted the hanging front of her shirt, looked down at her waistband, and frowned.

'You took it off to tie up Batty,' Abilene reminded her.

'Oh, yeah. So where the... jeez, did I leave it there?'

'I guess so.'

'Well, shit.'

'That's all right,' Abilene said. 'I've still got mine.' She unbuckled it.

As she pulled it from the loops of her denim skirt, Vivian said, 'Batty's got my shoes, Finley's belt...'

'Improving his wardrobe,' Finley said.

'Cora's tire iron. Anything of yours?' she asked, looking at Abilene.

'Not unless you count the water bottle.'

'The old bat's got quite a collection of stuff,' Finley said.

'That's what I'm thinking,' Vivian said.

'While you're thinking,' Abilene told her, 'give me your belt.' Vivian unfastened it and pulled it from the loops of her white shorts. 'Can't he use that kind of stuff for casting spells? You know, personal possessions of people?' She passed the belt to Abilene.

'Here we go with hexes again,' Cora said.

As she buckled her belt to Vivian's, Abilene said, 'They use things like fingernail trimmings and hair. I've never heard of working black magic with someone's shoe... or tire iron.'

'It's not my tire iron, anyway,' Cora pointed out 'Came from a rent-a-car, remember?'

'But you were carrying it.'

'Could we just forget all this curse shit? We've got real things to worry about, okay? Like, for instance, my ankle.'

'Should we leave your shoe on?' Abilene asked.

'Yeah. It'll give me some extra support.'

While Cora held the splints in place, Abilene wound the connected belts around them. She overlapped the leather end to secure it, then worked her way downward, wrapped the strap a couple of times under her heel, worked her way back up the ankle and shoved the end buckle between two tight layers of leather.

'Pretty good,' Cora said.

'It might come undone after a while, but...'

'As long as it'll get me back to the lodge. Plenty of stuff in the car we can use to bandage it better. Let's get moving.'

Vivian lifted Cora from behind while Finley and Abilene pulled her up by the arms. Braced on her left leg, she tucked the shoulder stock of the shotgun under her right armpit and put much of her weight on it. With Abilene supporting her from the other side, she turned around.

'We'll go ahead,' Vivian said. 'Try to step where we step.' She put an arm around Finley. Side by side, they matched strides and stepped together onto each plank. Abilene and Cora followed them, Abilene struggling to hold Cora steady, Cora hopping along on her good leg, the shotgun barrels clumping each time she planted them against the wood.

'You doing okay?' Cora asked.

'Just a little nervous.'

It's like walking across a frozen lake, Abilene thought. Feeling the ice give a little every time you step down. Hearing it groan and crackle. Knowing it's going to collapse. Waiting for the drop.

She was awash with sweat, panting for air, and muscles all over her body seemed to be twitching. Partly from the exertion, she thought. But mostly from fear, from expecting the drop.

Vivian and Finley, only a short distance in front of them, took one final stride and stepped ashore. They turned around to watch.

'You'll make it fine,' Vivian said.

'No sweat,' Finley added.

It felt to Abilene like a miracle when she finally placed a foot on solid ground.

'Let's make it to the top,' Cora gasped. 'Then we'll rest.'

Abilene grunted in response. Vivian and Finley stepped aside to make way for them. The ground was level for a few feet, then slanted upward toward the edge of the forest. The boards of the dock had been nearly dry, but the grass and weeds were still wet from the rain.

They struggled slowly up the embankment, being careful not to slip. The muzzles of the shotgun sank into the moist earth, and Cora had to yank them free after each step. Like Abilene, she was panting for air and drenched with sweat. Her right side, bare where Abilene clung to it above the armhole of her tank top, was hot and slippery. Her left arm felt like a massive weight across Abilene's shoulders.

They were halfway to the top when hands pushed against Abilene's rump. She couldn't look around, but realized that Finley and Vivian must've decided to help.

It's like when I was towing the boat, she thought.

Cora no longer felt quite so heavy leaning on her and the slope seemed less steep.

When she reached the top, a pinch through her denim skirt revealed the identity of her helper.

'Ouch! Fin, you creep!'

'Couldn't resist.'

The three of them lowered Cora to the ground. Then Abilene flopped down beside her. Though twigs and rocks poked against her, the grass felt cool and wonderful. She lay there, struggling for air.

'That was probably the worst of it,' Vivian said, sitting down nearby. 'The rest'll be pretty level.'

'It won't be easy,' Abilene said.

'I'll take over for you,' Vivian told her.

'Yeah,' Finley said. 'We can trade off every few minutes.'

'Who's gonna trade off with me?' Cora asked.

'You're the jock around here,' Finley said. 'This oughta be a snap.'

'Thanks.'

'Too bad it wasn't one of us,' Vivian said.

'Speak for yourself,' Finley told her. Abilene didn't look up, but she was certain Finley must be smirking.

'Would've been better,' Vivian went on. 'Cora's the biggest.'

'And heaviest,' Abilene muttered.

'Hell, yes,' Finley said. 'That's how she broke the pier.'

'You guys are a riot.'

'If one of us had the busted ankle,' Vivian continued, 'Cora could've carried us out.'

'Maybe Batty planned it this way,' Abilene said, and wondered if she was kidding. 'To keep us from leaving. Broke the board under Cora to disable the strongest of us.'

'Get real,' Cora muttered. 'It broke because it broke.'