Page 50 of Fight
I creep closer to the inner wall, wanting to distance myself from any rocks with the potential to slip or cause a collapse.
My body shakes as I cling to the slab and use my right arm to brace against the mountain wall while I plan my next move. The top of the boulder pile comes to a point, and I straddle it, swinging my other leg over an angled rock that slopes away from the mountain and toward certain death.
“I will not lose my fucking footing,” I mutter.
Inching across laterally allows me to make it to the other side safely. However, I’m not exactly thrilled with what I find.
There’s a drop-off. A big one. The slab of rock I’m on overhangs the ground below. Something shifts below me, and the slab tilts even steeper. I’m suddenly acutely aware of what a precarious spot I’m in. I need to move—now. I’ve got no choice but to drop off the side. There are no more options, not from here, and with the amount of scree below, it’s only a matter of time before these giants start to act like marbles. Not to mention, Scottie is underneath this mess.
Cursing the wind, I roll onto my belly and ease my legs over the side. My biceps and forearms are shaky as I battle for muscle control. I peek over my shoulder, and the drop doesn’t seem so bad. I’m six feet tall, but my vertical reach is about eight feet, which means my drop is probably only around four feet once I’m suspended off the end.
I lower my torso over the side. I just need to dangle over the edge, extend my arms to bring myself as close to earth below as I can, and then… let go. Except this fucking slab veers again, so I shove off as hard as I can, turning my four-foot drop into something closer to seven. I fall into a patch of scree and shuffle back as the slab slides off the massive boulder and over the mountain ledge. The crack of it colliding with the rocky landscape echoes from below. Holy shit.
I tumble back but miraculously find traction underfoot. I feel nothing as adrenaline hammers through me.Scottie.
She’s in what appears to be an empty shaft between the boulders and the mountainside. Peering behind an almost three-foot tall rock, my eyes catch on one of her hiking boots. I wrap a hand around the heel and shake it. “Hey. I’m with you.”
“Cal.” Her sob is full of renewed hope. She’s a first responder, so the idea of death must have been in her thoughts for a good amount of time, and that’s bound to fuck up anyone’spsyche. If I hadn’t gotten here when I did, she probably would have been right.
“Are you hurt?”
“I-I’m c-c-cold.” Her teeth chatter and the words are stuttered. That could be from the cold or a concussion. “Really cold,” she repeats.
“As soon as I get you out, we’ll get you warmed up. Just sit tight.”
“Mm-hm.” She sounds sleepy.
“Don’t go to sleep, just keep talking to me. What hurts?”
Carefully, I roll a few rocks out of the way.
“Headache. Don’t feel much.”
Fuck, if she doesn’t feel pain, she might feel nothing. “Do you feel your legs?”
“Did before.”
“Keep your eyes open, hear me?”
“Mm-hm.”
How did she even get in here?
“You with me?”
“Mm-hm,” she squeaks.
Moving into position, I grip her ankles. “I’m gonna pull, yell if you need me to stop. The more you can wiggle yourself out, the better off you’ll be.”
She rocks her hips as I tug, wriggling her body in jerky motions. She’s fighting for it.Thatta girl.
She shouts with a hoarse voice over the wind.
“What is it?”
Nothing.
“Scott—”