Chapter 4
Gordon awoke to a sensation of motion. At first he had no idea where he was. Every breath hurt as if the snow wasps’ blades were slicing into his chest. His right leg throbbed with a dull, steady ache and the jolting motion added to his misery. Where am I? What’s happening?
The cobwebs in his mind cleared by slow degrees, finally returning enough clarity he could recognize he swung in some kind of litter, apparently borne by four of the members of the unit. They’d rigged something with sleeping bags and shelters to protect him and carry him. Why was he not walking, though?
Then he recalled the fall, the shocking jolt of pain when he landed on a jagged ledge. It had broken his fall, and also broke his body. Somehow they had dragged him up and out of that hellish hole. How many
