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Chapter 3

The rumble of the rockslide was over as fast as it had begun. Miranda ran toward the place her friends had been only moments before. "Please be okay." She prayed over and over again. "Gordo, Lizzie." She desperately called.

"Miranda?" she heard Gordo call.

"Gordo? Oh thank God. Where's Lizzie?"

"You don't see her?" he asked in desperation.

"No." Miranda replied. Her heart was beating so hard in her chest, she felt like it was going to explode. Then she heard, "Oh God", and her heart stopped. "Gordo? Please tell me she's okay."

"Miranda," He called in a strained voice "I need your help. Can you make it over here?"

"Yeah, I'm on my way." Miranda scaled over the pile of rocks as quickly as she could. Sliding down the other side, she stopped when she saw Gordo kneeling at Lizzie's side. Miranda could tell it was serious by the way Gordo was clutching at her hand. "Gordo?"

"It's bad Miranda." He croaked, there were tears in his eye when he looked at her. "I need you to help me move this big rock. She is pinned under it, and I can't move it by myself."

"Is she...", Miranda wiped away the tears from her dark eyes.

"No!" Gordo snapped, "She will be fine, we just need to move this rock. She will be okay."

With Miranda on one side and Gordo on the other, they lifted the heavy rock and laid it down beside the canyon wall.

Lizzie, fighting her way back to conscientiousness groaned as the heavy weight was lifted from her body. "Lizzie?" Gordo called. "Come on Lizzie, open your eyes."

"Gordo? Help me." Lizzie mumbled. Her voice so weak that Gordo had to put his ear so close to her lips, he was almost touching her. Fear gripped his heart. He had never seen Lizzie so helpless and in so much pain.

"I will. Just hang on." He looked up at Miranda. "We have to get her out of here."

Miranda panicked. "We can't! I mean, we don't know how bad she's hurt. Moving her could make it worse."

At that moment, Lizzie coughed. Looking down at their best friend, they were both shocked to see blood coming from the corner of her mouth. At that moment, their worst fears were realized. Lizzie was in trouble, big trouble. "I think it just got worse." Miranda whispered.

"That's it. We have to move now." Gordo said. He knelt down beside Lizzie. "Lizzie, I am going to pick you up okay? We have to get you to a hospital."

Lizzie nodded her understanding. She grimaced as Gordo's arm slid under her shoulders, but once he reached under her legs and lifted, Lizzie screamed in agony. "Gordo! Oh God! Please Gordo put me down. Please!"

Lizzzie's cry of pain scared Gordo so bad he almost dropped her. Placing her gently on the ground, she lay against Gordo's chest and sobbed. "Okay," Gordo said brushing Lizzie's hair with his hand. "That was a bad idea." Once her sobs subsided, Gordo asked, "Lizzie, where does it hurt?"

"All over." She groaned.

Gordo looked up at Miranda, unshed tears shinning brightly in his eyes. He exhaled in frustration. The woman he loved was laying against him in agony, and there was nothing he could do about it. "It's all my fault." He said, "I should have stayed with the plan. This would have never happened, if I had only listened to Lizzie in the first place."

"Gordo," Miranda interrupted, "You can berate yourself later. Right now, we have to get help and fast."

Gordo held Lizzie tightly against him. He could not stand the thought of letting her go. "Gordo, you need to let go of Lizzie. She needs to lay flat." They both could hear Lizzie's labored breathing, but that didn't scare them as much as the gurgling sound they could now hear.

Lizzie cried out as Gordo shifted to lay her flat. He could see the strain on her face as she tried to ride out the waves of pain that were passing through her small body.

"God, Lizzie, I am so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I want to help you. Please tell me what to do?" Gordo pleaded.

"Just please don't move me again." She gasped.

Miranda knelt down beside her cherished friend and wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Lizzie, we won't move you any more. I just need you to try and focus. I am going for help. You just take it easy."

Lizzie looked at her friend's face. She could see the worry in her eyes. At that moment, Lizzie knew how bad the situation was. She was going to die, and her friends were going to have to watch. "Miranda, you and Gordo go. The two of you can move faster, and you will be able to get help here faster."

"No." she heard Gordo yell. "I'm not leaving you."

Lizzie looked pleadingly at Miranda, and whispered. "I don't want him to see me die like this. Please don't let him watch me die."

Miranda looked up at Gordo. Tears were streaming down his face. Miranda looked back at Lizzie. She knew if anyone could keep Lizzie from giving up, it would be Gordo. He had to stay. "Don't you dare talk that way. You're not going to die. You hear me? You hang on. I am going for help."

"Miranda, please." She begged.

"No, damn it! Now listen. You save your strength because you are going to need it when I get back. I love you and will see you soon." Miranda stood up and walked over to Gordo.

"Gordo, you are going to have to stay focused. You remember your first-aid?" Miranda asked.

"Yeah I remember. I'm not stupid." Gordo retorted.

"I know your not Gordo, but this isn't just anyone you're caring for... this is Lizzie. Can you handle it? Should you go for help instead?"

"No." Gordo said. "I can handle it. You go and hurry."

Miranda grabbed one of their discarded canteens, "I will. Remember to keep her warm and calm. And most of all keep her awake. I am worried that with the head wound she may have a concussion."

"The head wound is the least of our problems." He muttered.

Miranda looked at her friend one more time. Lizzie was shivering. She also noticed that she had coughed again, causing more blood to come from her mouth. "Internal injuries." Miranda said. "I don't have much time. Gordo, take care of her."

"I will. Just hurry." Gordo watched as Miranda scaled the rocks. He heard her land on the other side and take off running in desperation for their friend's life.

Once he could no longer hear Miranda's feet pounding on the ground, he turned and walked over to Lizzie. Her breathing was labored and a sheen of sweat glistened on her face. "Hey you." He said, "How you doing?"

"I'm cold." She breathed.

Gordo looked over where he had thrown his camping gear in his desperate attempt to find Lizzie. He noticed that her gear was beside his. He had almost forgotten that he'd picked up her gear after taking pictures and being utterly embarrassed by Miranda.  "Hang on. I'll be right back."

Gordo ran over to his and Lizzie's sleeping bags. Unzipping his, he placed it over her and tucked the edges under her body, so no wind could get to her. Folding the other in half, he placed it under her head. "How's that?" he asked.

"Better." She breathed. She tried to smile to reassure Gordo, but the effort was too much. She slowly closed her eyes. All she wanted to do was sleep.

"Hey Lizzie," Gordo said, tapping her on the shoulder, "Come on, stay with me here. You need to stay awake."

"I'm so tired. Please let me sleep. Just for a few minutes. Please." She begged.

"No. Lizzie." Gordo shook her; "You have to stay awake. Talk to me. Tell me where you hurt. I need to know okay. That way I can help you."

"I hurt all over Gordo." Lizzie whimpered.

Gordo looked down at her. He knew she was in pain and all he wanted to do was let her get away from it by drifting off to dreamland, but he knew it could kill her, so he tapped her again. "Tell me." He prodded.

Lizzie's eyes rolled up at him. He knew that if she were not in so much pain, she would probably try and kill him for messing with her. "Tell me." He commanded again.

"My pelvic area really hurts. It felt like bone rubbing together when you picked my up. My lower abdomen feels weird and my left side is on fire." Lizzie stopped to catch her breath, "And Gordo?" she gasped, "It's getting really hard to breathe."

Gordo just looked at her. "Hey, you have to hold on a little longer okay? Miranda will be back soon. You just hang in there."

"No," she breathed. "I don't think so. No matter what, Miranda will never be able to get back in time Gordo. I can feel it."

"No!" Gordo snapped in frustration, "You will not talk like that. You hear me? You will make it, and all three of us will face the world together. We are the three Musketeers and nothing can stop us. Right?" he asked, almost pleading with her.

"Right." She answered feebly. "Gordo, just in case, there is something I want you to know."

"Lizzie..." Gordo interrupted.

"No." she replied with a little more strength than either of them thought she had. "Please, I need to say this. The timing has never seemed right and this is definitely not the right time, but I may not get a second chance." Lizzie was fighting against the darkness threatening to take her under. She blinked several times, hoping that she would be able to see Gordo when she told him. She hoped she could get it out. She didn't want to die, and him not understand how she felt about him.

Her hand groped out from under the covers searching for his. When she grasped his hand, Gordo's eyes filled with tears. Lizzie was struggling to breathe and speak. " Please Lizzie, this can wait."

"No it can't." Lizzie replied weakly. "David Gordon, you have been my best friend for so long. I can't imagine not having you in my life." She stopped and squeezed his hand against the pain. "I want you to know, if anything happens to me, it is not your fault. I have had the best time of my life with you and Miranda. Please never forget that." She gasped again. "Gordo? I... I... love." Lizzie closed her eyes, and her hand went limp in Gordo's.