Milo

I always trusted my gut and never ignored it, and when I felt a strong kick in my chest, I paled and stopped talking to the guys. The pain was sharper than ever, and I felt like I was going to puke what I had for lunch. I looked at Theo and Arlo with panicked eyes, and they grew silent. I took a deep breath and then exhaled audibly. "Something's wrong," I said so everyone would look at me. And they did. Latoya was the first to stand by my side and gently pat my back.

"What do you mean?" she asked calmly, and I closed my eyes. I just prayed to God that I was wrong.

"I have a bad feeling that something has happened, and I believe that Lexi's involved. I can't stay put. I need to see her." As I stated, I began walking toward the race, but Theo stopped me.

"How sure are you?" he asked. His grip was tight, but I did not care.

"I know my gut feelings are always spot on! Theo, I know something's wrong," I declared, and then Jude started walking beside me with a worried expression. I arched my eyebrows at him and then waited for his explanation while walking fast.

"I feel uneasy and on edge too. I think you are right," Jude said without looking me in the eyes. I suspected he was secretly in love with Lexi, but I let it slide for now. I will confront him about it later. As we continued walking, we saw Leo, Lexi's horse, dashing towards us. But what freaked me out was that Lexi, our baby sister, was not on it.

"Guys, where's Lexi?" I yelled, and everyone started running and followed me. Even the race judge tagged along with a worried expression on his face.

We followed the way that the horse came from and reached a cliff. I was afraid to even think about the thought, but I had to look. I just had to make sure she was not on the ground. I sauntered to the cliff and then dropped to my knees. My eyes widened, and my blood ran cold. I felt dizzy but kept my tight grip on the rocks so I would not fall. The group waited patiently behind me; they waited to hear good news, but as I looked down, I knew that I could not provide them with the relief they were hoping for.

"Lexi!" I shouted at the top of my lungs at sight. My baby sister lying lifeless on the ground below us while her own blood covered her tiny body. My brothers rushed to my side and looked down. I saw their faces. I saw the fear and the horror in them. I saw what I wished I would see never again after we found her being tortured.

Guilt and terror.

"No!" Arlo yelled and tried to jump, but Holden caught him from behind. I looked left and right to see a way down, and I did. I found a gap in the ground that could fit one person at a time. I did not waste another second and rushed to her rescue.

"Girls, call for help, and boys, come with me!" I ordered in an authoritative voice, and they all nodded in silence.

"I already did. Help is on the way," Jess assured me, and I nodded. At that moment, I only saw Lexi in front of me. We still did not know if she was still alive or not and how this happened, but I prayed to God that He would not take her away from us. Why was it always her? She did nothing wrong in her life and was the purest person alive.

I was hiding what I felt, but I had had enough of holding it in my heart. I screamed as soon as I stood next to her motionless body. I cried. My tears were falling down my face like a waterfall. My knees buckled down, and I dropped next to her head. My hand reached her neck to check for a pulse, but I was trembling inside and out. I saw her in bad shape in the past because of Edmund, but not this bad.

Edmund... He had something to do with this.

"Milo, get a hold of yourself and tell us if she's still alive! I'm not ready to lose my baby sis!" Theo wailed, and I snapped out of it and finally got the courage to check for a heartbeat. I sighed in relief as I felt a beating rhythm in her neck and nodded my head for my brothers and best friends.

"Thank you, God!" Jude exclaimed. My doctor instincts kicked in, and I started checking her body. Her chest was oozing with blood, and that explained the unconsciousness. She had lost a considerable amount of blood from her chest and head.

I removed my shirt and made Arlo and Jude put pressure on the wounds. Jude was next to her head and Arlo on her chest. I looked around for a pointed object and found a big thorn on a small tree. I took it off, and then I removed her shoes very carefully.

"No one moves her — she might have a spinal fracture," I demanded in a firm tone, and all of them nodded and gulped. I grabbed the thorn and stuck it in her toe, I waited for a reflex, but nothing happened. I did it again to her other leg, but still nothing. That was a horrible sign, and we needed help ASAP. I slowly dug my hand under her back and pressed on her vertebrae, yet my eyes remained on her facial expressions. As I applied a little pressure, her eyebrows narrowed, and her eyes twitched.

"That's not good. Jess, where is the damn help?" I yelled as I looked up. I then saw three men dressed as paramedics rushing down the gap we had crossed. I took a deep breath and stepped aside so they could do their job. I also saw the other contestants waiting in silence with worried expressions.

"We are here now." One of them put his hand on my shoulder and assured me with a tight smile.

"She has two severe wounds: chest from the right side and her head. And she might have a spinal fracture — I'm not sure." I filled them in, and they nodded and got to work. After five minutes, one of them stood up as soon as he heard a helicopter approaching.

"We have to consider the possibility that she might have a broken back, so we called the air ambulance. Young man, thank you for your quick analysis." The eldest of the three paramedics said.

"I'm in my last year as a med student," I replied, and then one man came down from the helicopter with a stretcher. After we put her on it and secured her, two paramedics went with her, and the other went to the ambulance.

Theo, Arlo, and I tagged along without giving the paramedic the time to object. Jude, Holden, and the girls followed us by cars.

Please, God, wake her up and heal her quickly. She's just a baby.