Chapter 90 second quarter

Still alive, but for how long?Decker asked himself dejectedly.Esperanza may not find me.If I stayed in the rain any longer, I would freeze to death from hypothermia.He rolled over, facing the dark sky, enjoying the sweet rain, breathing hungrily, trying not to notice that he was shaking or the pressure on his bound limbs, I fell How long have you been down?Is McKittrick gone?Did he hear me moan when I hit the ground? He waited anxiously to see a dark figure crawling towards him down the steep slope, to see McKittrick turn on his flashlight and aim his gun at him, grinning.Suddenly, Decker actually saw the bright beam of a flashlight on the top of the hill, and the beam moved toward the grocery store, shined on the guardrail, and back to the grocery store.Decker's confidence suddenly increased, and he couldn't help shouting, or trying to shout, "Esperanza!" His voice was hoarse, as if swallowing a handful of gravel.He called again, harder: "Esperanza!" This time, the beam of the flashlight fell on the railing.Then, the beam of light came downhill.Decker saw clearly that the place where he fell was a slope, full of bushes and rocks, sticking out one by one, and finally the steep wall fell straight down into the river.

"Here!" Decker yelled.The light beam quickly swept towards him along the rock wall, but missed him. "Here!" Finally, the light beam shone on him.But was that man Esperanza?Confidence, Decker thought, I must have confidence. "Decker?" Thank goodness it was Esperanza!Decker felt his heart beating less violently as the familiar lanky figure scrambled down over the guardrail. "Be careful," Decker said. Esperanza's cowboy boots slipped on a rock. "Ouch—" He steadied his body, climbed down quickly, squatted down, and carefully looked at Decker's face by the light of the flashlight. "Your face is covered in blood. Are you all right?"

"I must be fine." Esperanza quickly cut the rope that bound Decker's arms behind his back, and just as quickly cut the rope that bound his feet.Despite the tingling in his muscles, Decker moved vigorously. "Hold on, I'll untie the knots," Esperanza said. "Damn it, the rope's soaked and swollen. I can't—" "We're out of time," Decker said. "We've got to get to the car. The homing signal is only good for a mile. Help me get up." Esperanza struggled to get his feet on his feet, then yanked him to his feet. "I've barely got circulation in my hands and feet. You've got to pull me up," Decker said.

They grunted and struggled up the slope with great effort. "I parked on the shoulder of the interstate 100 yards north," Esperanza said, "and didn't see any lights to turn toward the observation deck. After midnight, I started to think he wasn't Will show up, but suddenly the pointer on the receiver starts moving—the homing device is engaged. I'm backing up along the shoulder of the interstate to get to you as quickly as possible." "McKittrick is hiding on a ledge." Decker grabbed the railing, gasping for breath, and rolled over. "He must have run away from the woods. His car must be parked south or somewhere further north than yours. Quick."

Esperanza waded through puddles to Oldsmobile ahead of Decker.He grabbed the receiver from the front seat. "There's still a signal," he said excitedly. "The pointer says he's heading north." Decker slumped into the front seat and slammed the door shut.When Esperanza slammed on the accelerator, his body fell back in the seat.The Oldsmobile kicked up the gravel, swayed in the rain-soaked parking area, and sped toward the rain-shrouded headlights on the interstate.