Megan's Men by Tessie Bradford

came around a large rock formation. He was limping badly, and there was no rider in his saddle. “What the hell?” she exclaimed.
    “Help, help!”
    The plea sounded as if it came from far away. Megan kicked her heels against Howie, and they took off at a dead run toward the cries, into an area she was unfamiliar with. The landscape changed, and dense, twenty-foot tall vegetation and massive rock formations made it impossible for her to keep up the brisk pace. Her heart thudded wildly when moments passed, and she didn’t hear anything.
    “Where are you?” she screamed out.
    “Here, hurry!”
    The reply and following sobs now sounded extremely close, but Megan couldn’t see anyone. Without her direction, Howie came to an abrupt halt, and she barely held her seat by wrapping her arms around his neck. In front of her, partially camouflaged by rocks, was a hole in the ground, probably fifteen feet in diameter. Megan jumped down and inched her way closer until she could peer over the edge. A teenage girl was standing in thigh high mud, shivering.
    “Are you hurt, honey?”
    “I-I-d-don’t-t-think so,” she said through chattering teeth. “But I-I-c-can’t-c-climb out, and the water’s getting deeper!”
    Megan hit the emergency button on her communicator, which opened a channel to all three men while sending them her location.
    “Megan, what’s wrong?” Garfor answered immediately.
    “A young girl has fallen into a sink hole that’s filling with water. She’s uninjured, but I’m going to need some help to get her out.” Megan kept her tone even and smiled at the girl, knowing the worst thing she could do was act as panicked as she felt.
    “We’re on our way,” Rork answered.
    “Who is the child?” Loban asked, sounding as if he was running.
    “What’s your name, honey?” Megan recognized her from the gala, but it was going to take time for her to learn who everyone was.
    “L-Leena.”
    “Everything’s going to be fine, Leena.” Garfor’s calming voice came over the communicator.
    “See? There’s nothing to worry about.” Megan watched the water rise to Leena’s waist. “Are there rocks that you can stand on down there?”
    “I keep slipping off.” Tears streamed down her cheeks.
    “Okay, okay,” Megan said, scanning the ground to see if she could find anything to lower into the hole for her to hold onto. She saw nothing. “I’ll be right back.”
    Megan rushed to Howie and removed his bridle. She returned to the edge of the hole and dropped to her knees. After wrapping the headgear around her arms, she held onto the bit, lay down on her stomach and flung the reins to Leena. “Grab onto these. Try and stand on a rock now.”
    Leena was able to, but Megan was shocked at how quickly the muscles of her shoulders and arms began to burn as she steadied the girl. She prayed the guys got there soon. “Do you know how long you’ve been down here?” Megan asked, figuring talking was better than focusing on their current predicament.
    “Since right after dawn. I was so mad I forgot to take my communicator when I left home. And now I’m endangering our leaders’ mate.” She bowed her head, and her shoulders shook with her sobs.
    “Nonsense, Leena, I’m perfectly safe. What happened at home?”
    Leena looked up, and Megan was encouraged by the fire in her eyes. “My fathers told me I’m too young to pilot a hover car, but I’m not! All of my friends are learning!”
    Megan couldn’t help smiling. Obviously teen angst was a universal condition.
    “I’m almost fifteen. They let my brothers drive when they were barely fourteen!”
    “It’s difficult sometimes for dads to deal with their little girls growing up, honey.”
    “Yeah, and I’m pretty sure this isn’t going to help with them giving me some space,” she replied with a shy grin.
    “How about I tell them how brave and level-headed you been in the face of a crisis?”
    “You’d do that for me?”
    “Absolutely, we