     Then I heard the Flier cries, and Destiny started shooting. Warm liquid sprayed my face. Something brushed my leg. I snuck a peek. Ten or more Fliers wheeled around us. Destiny kept them at bay with an economy of shots. But it was only a matter of time till one knocked him off the ledge or Molas's demons reached us.
     Sneaker grasped my wrist with her free hand.
     "Let go," she said. "I can climb up."
     Looking her in the eye, I relaxed my grip. My heart skipped as she took all the weight. Quickly, uttering a loud grunt of effort, she lunged and grabbed me just below my elbow. I bent my arm to give her a better grip. She rested a few seconds with her eyes closed.
     When they opened, they opened wide, and she let go with one hand. She reached for her gun, swung it up till it was by my head, and fired. The compression felt like a spike in my ear. The Flier she shot crashed into Destiny, knocked him over. He tumbled on top of me. I lost my grip on the rock.
His weight pressed my body against the gritty ledge. I didn't feel any pain. I did feel Sneaker's hands slide off my arm. For an instant she seemed to float, her hands reaching out, inches from my bent arm.
     NO! I screamed in my head. I lunged after her, disregarding my tenuous attachment to the rock. Our fingertips caressed. Then she fell. Her receding eyes told me she didn't blame me. The sudden emptiness in my chest told me that I always would. I barely felt Destiny pull me back to the relative safety of the wall trail.
      My eyes never left her.

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