Cameron

Cam shone the flashlight into the tree hollow. Other than Siena's rope disappearing into darkness, she saw nothing else.

Emmett must have decided angsting next to Isaac wasn't everything he'd hoped for, and came hulking back. It wasn't worth the elbow fight needed to keep her spot near the tree, so Cam stepped back and let Emmett crowd the space—his version of manspreading.

"What do you see?" he shouted into the hole. So subtle.

"Nothing, yet," Siena called back. "Give me some slack so I can push forward a little."

Emmett turned toward Cam. "Don't—"

She let out the rope. "You need to relax."

"Be careful!" Emmett shouted.

Cam sighed and turned toward Isaac at the edge of the clearing. The kid's mouth hung open as he gaped upward at the tree, but Cam couldn't tell if it was because he was surprised, about to say something, or totally spaced out.

Isaac finally snapped out of it and returned to his sketchbook, scribbling intently.

"Shit," Emmett hissed, sticking his head into the hole. "I can't see her. She's too deep."

Cam held up the rope as it slowly slid through her hand. "At least we know she's alive."

"That means nothing."

"For fuck's sakes, Emmett. Go take a soil sample, will you?"

"Someone has to watch her, and you're distracted."

"By what?"

"You're always goofing off, Cameron."

She tilted her head back and laughed at him. "Is it cathartic for you to control everything all the time? Is that why you're not sitting pretty at your cushy corporate job right now?"

"COtwo sponsored half this trip. Don't forget it."

She hated the way he said coh-two like a tech bro, and she hated even more that he made four times the amount of money she did—though she'd never sell out to a bunch of carbon capture goons in Silicon Valley. Emmett didn't even have the decency to finish his PhD.

"We shouldn't have applied for that funding." Cam sat back against the tree. This conversation was tiring her. "Not worth managing the conflict of interest."

"Didn't think you'd be one to put your ego above the environment."

She shook her head. "God, you're such a shill."

"Excuse me?"

"Your bosses are trying to monetize carbon—they're just lucky they found an efficient way to suck it out of the air before anyone else did. Do you honestly think they give two shits about climate collapse?"

Emmett said nothing, staring at the fissure in the tree as though he were trying to melt it with his eyes. Cam took pleasure in the vein popping from his forehead.

"Just admit the only reason you haven't resigned from this project is because you want Siena back."

"Fuck you, Cam."

She knew it. "You're wasting your time. Let her move on."

Emmett finally tore his eyes away from the hollow and glared at her as she sat defenseless beneath him. Would he throw a punch if she were a man?

"And you think I'm controlling?" Emmett said.

"There's a difference between control and my fury with you on her behalf."

"Sure, Cam. You're the one who's always pretending you know what's best for her."

"I am very cognizant of the fact I don't know what's best for anyone, including myself. But what I do know is what you did to her was unforgivable. Jesus, if you wanted to hurt her so badly, you should have just slept with another woman. At least you'd have a better chance of getting her back."

His expression told her one thing: he hated her. For a moment she was worried—not for her own safety, but about making things unbearable for the rest of the trip, especially for Siena. This trip was all Siena had been looking forward to after the wedding had been called off, and too much shit going sideways had already marred her experience.

Cam pushed her luck. "You don't deserve her forgiveness, you know. If it were me, you'd no longer have testicles. Or a job, for that matter."

Emmett bared his teeth, but before he could utter another word, Siena released a bloodcurdling scream.

Emmett was quicker to react than Cam was, ripping the coil of rope from her hands. "SIENA!" He wrapped the rope around his ungloved hand and yanked.

Cam jumped to her feet, her pulse thundering in her ears. "Let me climb in after her!"

As she leaned in toward the hollow to climb through, Emmett shoved her away.

"She's my best friend, you fuck! Move out of the way and let me find her!"

"I'll knock you unconscious, Cam. I swear to god." Emmett yanked on the rope once more and swore as it slipped through his hand. Cam geared up to shove him out of the way again, but on his third try, Emmett gained ground.

Siena was crawling back toward them.

Isaac rushed over. "What's going on? Is she okay? Why is she screaming?"

"I don't know!" Emmett and Cam yelled at the same time.

Isaac tore his fingers through his hair. "Let me help! How do I help?!"

"She's here. I got her." Emmett reached both his arms into the hollow, groaning as he hauled Siena out by her armpits.

Siena fell onto her back in the dirt, gasping for breath.

Emmett crawled over her and cupped her face. "Are you hurt? Did you get bitten? What happened?"

"Back up and let her breathe!" Cam yelled, but Emmett didn't listen.

Siena lay on the ground, shivering. She blinked a few times, her eyes darting around at the three of them. "I'm—I'm f-fine. I just..."

"What?" Emmett brushed the hair from her eyes. "What did you see?"

Cam suppressed the urge to kick him over.

"Nothing." Siena lifted a dirty hand, wiping away a tear forming at the corner of her eye. "Nothing real. I had an episode. That's all."

Emmett craned his neck to stare at Cam, and Cam knew exactly what he was trying to communicate.

I told you so.

"Goddammit," Cam muttered.