Chapter 18 - No Place to LandAva saw the helicopter move farther offshore.
For the moment, Ethan could not reach her.
But the ledge continued crumbling beneath the repeated impact of waves.
A crack widened near her left hand.
A section of dirt broke free and vanished over the edge.
Ava dragged herself toward the cliff wall.
Her ankle could support almost no weight.
The harness restricted her movement, but removing it would expose her abdomen to further injury.
She searched above for a secure place.
Ten feet higher, a shallow hollow cut into the rock.
If she could reach it, she would be protected from rotor wash and falling debris.
A twisted root extended down from the hollow.
Ava wrapped both hands around it.
She pulled.
The root held.
She rose onto one knee.
Pain tore through her ankle.
Ava nearly collapsed.
Another contraction tightened across her abdomen.
She stopped moving and counted her breaths.
The pressure faded.
The baby shifted again.
Ava gritted her teeth.
“You are not being born on this cliff.”
She pulled herself higher.
Dirt slid beneath her low heel.
The ledge cracked behind her.
Ava climbed one foot.
Then another.
The torn blazer caught on a rock.
She ripped it free.
The hidden emergency housing remained strapped across her back, its metal frame striking the cliff each time she moved.
Halfway to the hollow, the root began separating from the soil.
Ava froze.
Below her, the ledge crumbled further.
She could not return.
She could not remain suspended.
She looked upward.
The hollow was three feet away.
Ava released one hand and reached for a stone protruding from the wall.
Her fingertips touched it.
The root tore loose.
Ava dropped.
Her right hand caught the stone.
Her body swung against the cliff.
She screamed as pain exploded through her shoulder.
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The ocean waited below.
👉 Ava was now hanging from the cliff with one injured hand—and the rescue aircraft had not yet reached her.
