The beating, rhythmic, noise was so loud, Maddie couldn't be sure whether it was real or just in her head. She tried to open her eyes, but everything was still black. She blinked, harder, but the darkness didn't budge.
Maddie could smell the smoke now. It was all she could smell, really, and so thick that the inside of her mouth tasted like ash. Everything that had happened over the last few hours came rushing back, flooding her brain.
It was only then that Maddie realized she couldn't breathe. She gasped for air, but could only fill her lungs with more smoke. She coughed, violently, and felt strong hands grip her shoulders, and lift her torso up to a seated position.
"Casey!" Logan's muffled voice called. "Can we get Mad Dog some more air please?"
Someone pressed an oxygen mask over Maddie's face, and she breathed deeply. Her lungs filled with pure, uncontaminated air for the first time in what felt like years, and she immediately felt slightly less fatigued.
The hands on Maddie's shoulders pulled away for a moment and she almost fell, unprepared for how weak she felt without them.
"Woops, sorry Mad," Logan said, and the hands held her firm again.
Maddie tried to open her eyes again, and when she did, it was still nearly pitch black. Maddie could see her hands in front of her, but barely. The cacophony in her head was, at least partly attributable to a helicopter. Maddie couldn't see it in the dark, but she could hear the unmistakable purr of a modified engine, feel the spiralized wind whipping against her skin.
Maddie's head pounded, and her throat burned. Her eyes scanned her surroundings. There was no sign of the cabin, but Maddie couldn't imagine she'd relocated on her own. Maddie couldn't make out anything or anyone in the dark, and her heart began to pound as her mind processed what had happened.
Maddie reached for her face and tried to remove her oxygen mask, alarmed at the way her arms felt like rubber. Someone had wrapped both of her hands in several inches of gauze, and she could barely even get her fingers into the elastic strap.
"I've got that, Maddie," Logan said gently, as his fingers deftly reached up from Maddie's shoulders and removed her mask. Maddie tried to turn her head to assess the situation further, but a stabbing pain shot through her neck, and for a moment the pain was so bad she thought she would vomit.
"Easy there," Logan said softly, his hands moving in gentle circles on Maddie's shoulders. "You hit your head pretty hard. You definitely have a concussion."
Maddie groaned. At least this time she wouldn't have to hike through an Alaskan blizzard for two days.
They sat in silence for a few moments, and Maddie couldn't help but feel safer with her upper body leaning heavily into Logan's strong chest behind her. Maddie was too afraid to say anything. If she didn't ask the questions, maybe she'd never have to hear the answers. Maybe she could forget what she had just done. Maybe she could forget what she had just heard.
But Maddie knew better than most people that hiding from the truth wouldn't make it any different. So Maddie steeled herself and forced the words past her lips.
"My dad?" she asked quietly.
"He's going to be okay, Mad Dog," Logan said gently. "He breathed in a lot of smoke, and he has some pretty significant burns, but he's safe." Logan gently kissed the top of Maddie's hair. "You saved him. You saved both of us."
"And Rosalie?"
Logan sighed. "She's gone – not dead gone – just gone gone. She must have come to and slipped off into the bush while we were trying to take care of you and your Dad."
Maddie must have made a dissatisfied noise, because Logan said, "Don't worry, Mad Dog, they'll get her. She couldn't have gotten very far in this terrain, and this light, given the amount of smoke she inhaled."
A twig snapped to her left, and Maddie turned her eyes this time, rather than her head. Casey settled onto a fallen log near Maddie's side, and watched Maddie and Logan in silence. Gauze and medical tape covered a patch on her forearm, and soot streaked her face.
"You guys came for us," Maddie said quietly, holding Casey's gaze. "Thank you."
"Of course we did," Casey shrugged. "You're a Gallagher Girl, after all. It was Tiffany's idea, actually. She pretty much forced Goode to tell us where you were. Liv stole the chopper though."
Tiffany stepped gracefully over the log and sat down next to Casey. "Oh please," she rolled her eyes. "He basically handed it over the minute he realized how pissed we all were about Alice betraying us."
"Well, you're looking a lot better," Tiffany said, her eyes evaluating Maddie's condition. Then, turning to Casey, she added, "time to load them up and get off this mountain?"
"I'm in favor," Casey nodded. "Rosalie might not be coming back, but there are still way too many bears out here for my taste."
"Ready, Mad?" Logan asked. Maddie nodded, and he deftly lifted her into his arms and carried her toward the waiting helicopter.
Logan nestled Maddie into the corner of the chopper for support, but kept his arms wrapped tightly around her nonetheless. Maddie's father laid sprawled across the other bench, wrapped in what looked like a fire blanket, but he pushed himself upright when he saw her.
"Mad Dog," he said hoarsely. "Thank god you're okay." Maddie wasn't sure she'd ever seen her father look as vulnerable as he did when he reached his hand out to span the distance between them.
Tiffany and Casey climbed into the helicopter and sealed the door behind them. Maddie saw the faint outline of Olivia's profile sitting in the pilot's seat. She turned, counted the number of heads, and said "looks like we're all accounted for. Guess it's time to get this show on the road."
"Let's blow this popsicle stand, Liv," Tiffany said, climbing into the co-pilot's seat. "Next stop, Langley." Tiffany rustled around the cockpit section of the helicopter, searching for something. She lobbed what looked like a satellite phone toward Logan, who snatched it from the air just in time to keep it from smacking Maddie in the face.
"First Son," Tiffany ordered. "Now's the time to call your father and convince him not to have your girlfriend charged with treason."
"If you could mention the three of us too, that would probably also be good," Casey chimed in. "We did kind of steal a stealth chopper and break about 30 air traffic control laws to rescue you."
"And probably Goode too," Olivia chimed in. "That man annoys me to no end, but we wouldn't have made it here if he hadn't distracted the administrators long enough for us to steal this sweet ride, and I bet he's in some pretty serious trouble right now."
"I'm pretty confident I can handle that, Ladies," Logan said, rolling his eyes. His inner politician could always be counted-on in a pinch.
Maddie felt the helicopter slowly begin to lift off into the sky. She buried her face in Logan's chest and, finding that she couldn't hold her eyes open any longer, allowed the darkness to take hold.
