Chapter Three
Descent into Madness
Erin
––––––––
“I WONDERED WHAT YOU were going to say to her then, mate!” Miles laughed, dropping his enormous backpack to the floor.
“Why?” James snorted, slapping Miles on the shoulder. “Did you think I was going to say her tits?”
Watching the interchange between the two purported men, shock resounded. How could Chelle be in love with someone who talked about her that way?
“Well, that’d be nice.” Miles’s grin knotted the growing disgust in my belly. They were talking about my friend as though she were nothing but an animal. “I’m sure she has a decent rack.”
“Her tits are the best.” James’s smile stretched wider. “Maybe if you’re lucky, you’ll—"
“Are you going to let him talk about you that way, Chelle?” In the end, there was no choice but to interrupt their diatribe.
Chelle had asked me to give James a chance, but even if she was okay with the public derision, I couldn’t abide his disrespect.
“He’s only joking.” Chelle flushed, somehow able to make excuses for the rudeness inflicted upon her.
“Yeah, lighten up.” Miles sighed. “Just because no one wants to see your tits doesn’t mean you have to have a tantrum.”
“You’re pathetic!” I prodded a finger in Miles’s direction. “There’s nothing funny about this.”
“You do need to lighten up.” James leered. “It’ll be the last time Chelle invites you on one of our little getaways.”
“Thank God for that!” Dropping my bag to the ground, adrenaline galloped through my system. “But Chelle deserves respect whether I’m here or not!”
“Oh, settle down.” James feigned exasperation. “It’s just banter, and Chelle’s all right with it, aren’t you, love?”
His stare drilled into Chelle’s reddening face, encouraging us all to look her way.
“Are you, Chelle?” I prompted, struggling to believe she found anything about James’s performance acceptable.
The woman I knew had clear boundaries about respect and how she deserved to be treated, but it appeared that being with James had eroded them.
“Erm.” Chelle’s gaze flitted between us all, the panic flashing in her eyes suggesting she wished the ground would just open up and swallow her. “I’d rather we just all change the subject.”
“I said, a quick break.” Eli’s voice permeated the rising tension, and glancing behind me, I found him leaning against the nearest tree, his pack deposited by his feet.
He hadn’t said anything overtly to criticize or condone James’s behavior, but I had the distinct impression he was getting fed up with him too.
“If all you’re going to do is argue,” Eli continued, “then we might as well keep going.”
“No way.” James shook his head. “I want pictures! Chelle, where’s the camera?”
“I’ll grab it.” Opening her backpack, she searched around inside.
Perturbed at her lack of response to James’s blatant misogyny, I did the same, rummaging around in my bag in an attempt to avoid eye contact with anyone. Finding my water, I pulled out the bottle and slowly unscrewed the lid.
How was she okay with the way Miles and James had spoken about her? Even if she enjoyed being lusted after by idiots, then surely, the public humiliation should have caused offense. I couldn’t comprehend how simply she’d dismissed the so-called jokes.
Crouching by my pack, I took a sip of water as Chelle passed the ridiculously expensive camera to her lover. He took it from her without a word of thanks, flashing it in front of Miles as he explained the alleged features. I didn’t understand their choice of hardware, either. Why anyone would drag a piece of equipment like that all the way along the hike when the cameras on our smartphones did a perfectly adequate job was beyond me. But I supposed the camera was James’s style—superficial and seemingly pointless.
“Are you okay?”
Pulse racing, I glanced up to find Eli standing beside me. I must have been so caught up in my resentment that I hadn’t even heard him move, but there he was, every inch of the dark, rugged tour guide apparently at my disposal.
“Yes.” I compelled my lips to tug upward. “I just need a drink.”
“I expect hanging around with those two would drive anyone to drink.” Lowering his tone, Eli gestured to the other men who appeared to be arguing over which angle would produce the perfect shot.
“True.” I rose to my feet beside him, although he still seemed to tower over me. At least Eli had acknowledged what asses James and Miles were being. “But I don’t hang around with them. I’ve only met James a few times before today and I don’t know Miles.” My murmur mirrored his hushed tone. I had no desire for yet another confrontation if anyone else overheard our chat.
“I’m pleased to hear it.” Eli shifted to face me. “But it seems your friend is rather smitten with her beau.”
“Yeah.” I let out a long breath, resisting the urge to dwell too long on his face. He truly was a good-looking guy, and I was willing to bet he was hiding a muscular body beneath all the gear he was wearing. “I’m afraid so. Thank goodness you’re here to dilute the insanity. I’d probably go mad, otherwise.”
He smirked at my quip. “I think you’d be fine, Erin. You held your own in the ‘discussion’ with James.”
“Th-thanks.” I was oddly giddy as his praise washed over me.
I wasn’t used to receiving compliments from strange men, but something about his approval was especially enticing. It had been a long time since I’d sensed a tug of attraction to any guy, but Eli was managing to tick multiple boxes for me without even trying. I liked that he was so physically capable, but I’d also enjoyed the way he’d put James and Miles in their places by the bridge earlier. That was the kind of man I could respect, and it didn’t hurt that he was remarkably easy on the eye.
“Someone had to say something,” I went on. “And—"
“I said , try again!” James’s frustrated bellow broke my train of thought, urging my focus back to him.
He and Miles had backed toward the edge of the waterfall in a feigned pose of triumph. His irritation appeared to have been triggered by a delay on Chelle’s part.
“I am!” Chelle insisted, clicking away at the unnecessarily large camera. “Keep posing!”
“I want as many shots as possible.” James hugged Miles closer. “Something for the family album!”
“Move away from the edge, gentlemen.” Eli stalked in their direction. “It’s not safe there.”
“Oh, don’t you start with all the health and safety bullshit,” Miles moaned. “We’re big boys. We’ll be fine.”
“Shall I carry on?” Chelle twisted between James and Eli as though she couldn’t make up her mind who was in charge, which only went to show how impaired her judgment had become. Even a year ago, she’d have heeded the warning and withdrawn, but standing there gripping the camera, she looked utterly overwhelmed.
“Yes!” James insisted. “Get more shots of our guns!”
Untangling himself from Miles, James shrugged out of his hoodie and T-shirt to reveal the body he seemed so proud of. Flexing his arms, he crowed, “Check out those biceps!”
“For God’s sake.” I lifted my head to the heavens, seeking spiritual support. How was I going to survive another hour of male ego, let alone an entire day of James’s drivel?
“You’re not listening.” Eli’s tone was clipped as he strode past Chelle. “I said, move away from the edge or this will be the end of the tour.”
“Enough with the threats!” Miles barked, moving to imitate his friend. Yanking his jacket over his head, he took several small steps backward. “We’ll have our fucking pictures, and—”
Time shifted in protracted pockets as I watched what happened next. In the frenzy of insulting Eli and determining to strip, Miles seemed to have forgotten just how close he was to the precipice. One tiny move in the wrong direction was all it had taken for him to topple over it.
“Shit!” Miles’s voice emanated from over the ledge. “Help me!”
“Miles!” James leaned over the edge and peered at his hapless friend as Chelle rushed to his side. “Don’t worry. We’ll get you!” Spinning toward Eli, he jabbed a finger at him. “He’s caught on a ledge. We have to help him.”
Placing down my bottle of water, anxiety furled in my stomach as I wandered closer. A glance over the brink confirmed what James had said. Miles had experienced the immense good fortune to have landed on a rocky ridge around eight feet below where we stood. The raging waterfall, however, was now less than a meter from where he was clinging on, spilling water over the already loose nearby pebbles and shrouding him in spray.
“Quick!” James roared. “He’s in trouble!”
Eli cast an eye over Miles’s predicament. “Erin.” The full weight of his attention landed suddenly on me. “Run and grab my pack, please.”
“Sure.” Heart hammering, I moved, wanting to do what I could to help while preferring not to see Miles’s precarious fate for longer than I had to. A brief look had told me what I needed to know. One shift in any direction would see him tumble to the water below and hit God knew how many rocks along the way. It was a miracle he’d survived the initial slip over the edge.
Collecting the straps of Eli’s bag, I tugged, sensing the thing weighed a ton. Deciding to save my strength, I dragged it the short distance to where he was standing. “Here.”
“Thank you.” Eli crouched to open the pack. “I told you both to move away, James. Why didn’t you listen?”
“What?” James yapped, his eyes wide with panic as he looked between Eli and the edge. “What does that matter now? Miles needs us!”
“It matters because I can’t trust you.” Pulling out a length of rope, Eli rose to his full, foreboding height. Not for the first time, I was stunned at how tall the guy really was. “It matters that you choose to please yourself without a thought for the consequences.”
Glancing around, Eli headed toward the tree he’d been leaning against, wrapping the end of the rope around it and securing it into a knot.
“Chelle,” he called to my shell-shocked friend. “Over here, please. I need you to keep an eye on this knot and shout if you see it starting to unravel.”
“Okay.” Chelle threw me a worried glance as she walked to join Eli. “I can do that.”
“What’s going on up there?” Miles sounded desperate. “I’m getting soaked!”
“Miles.” Eli paced to the edge with the remaining rope in his hands and shouted down to him. “I’m going to throw down a line and see if it’s long enough to reach you.”
“Fine.” Miles stared up from the ravine, and fleetingly, my gaze locked with his. Drenched by the showering waterfall, he could scarcely move an inch in any direction without potentially plummeting. “Just do it!”
“He’s right!” James shifted frantically from one foot to the next. “Drop the rope.”
“We need to do it slowly,” Eli warned as he lowered to his stomach and peered over the ledge. “A sudden drop could risk knocking him off balance. Get ready, Miles!”
We waited in stony silence, watching Eli slowly lower the rope. Its descent was suddenly pivotal, as though it was our lives that depended upon its successful journey. Only Chelle remained by the trees, unable to witness the rope’s descent.
“What’s happening?” she called, momentarily drawing my attention from Miles.
“Miles has the rope,” I confirmed when he grasped the end.
“Thank God.” James looked ashen as, shoving me aside, he joined Eli on the ground.
“Hey!” I countered, irritated that even then, with his friend in peril, he was still being a dick.
“Try and wrap the end around you, Miles,” Eli commanded.
“I can’t!” Miles whined. “It’s not long enough.”
“Shit.” Eli’s eyes closed for a fraction of a second.
“You should have secured it to a closer tree,” James protested.
“There is no closer tree!” Gesturing to where Chelle stood, my jaw tightened. James was utterly insufferable. Once we were through the turmoil, I’d definitely speak to Chelle about her life choices.
“Then we’ll have to work with what you have.” Ignoring our spat, Eli remained calm. “Get a good grip of it, Miles, and wrap it around your hand and wrists. James and I will pull you up.”
Eli was on his feet in seconds, followed soon after by James.
“Are you ready?” James cried.
“As ready as I’ll ever be!” came the hollered reply.
“Let me lead,” Eli suggested as he collected the rope in his large hands. “I’ve been involved with this sort of rescue before.”
“He’s my friend,” James retorted. “It’s my face he wants to see when he makes it to the top.”
Eli exchanged a glance with me, his thinning patience dancing in his captivating gray eyes.
“Fine.” He passed the rope to James. “I’ll go behind you, but we have to work together.”
“Sure.” James wrapped his hands around the rope’s girth as Eli got into position to his rear. “Miles, we’re about to pull!”
“Do it!” Miles screamed from below.
“Ready?” James peered over his shoulder for a moment. “On three. Three... Two... One!”
I swore time stood still as they took the strain, both men edging backward inch by inch until finally, Miles’s voice grew louder. Tension seeped into my body, contorting my muscles until it was difficult to take another breath. I didn’t know Miles—and didn’t much like what I knew—but the idea of him falling to his fate on our so-called adventure was too much to process. Eli and James had to save him.
“That’s it!” Miles cried with excitement. “I’m climbing. Only a couple more feet and I’ll be up.”
“How’s that knot, Chelle?” Eli asked without turning to face her.
“O-okay...” She sounded on the brink of tears, and I considered going to hug her but decided against the move. Better that I was available to help Eli if he needed any new equipment from his pack.
“That’s great.” Eli’s jaw stiffened as he pulled harder against Miles’s weight.
Moving tentatively toward the edge, I saw the top of Miles’s light brown hair come into view, the sight only escalating my peaking trepidation. He was so close to the top, so close to accomplishing what had seemed at first glance to be near impossible, yet the apprehension inside me counseled caution. Something could yet go wrong. He wasn’t safe until he was on terra firma with us.
Anxiety hung in the air like moisture from the nearby waterfall, ratcheting every second until it seemed unbearable. Only James seemed able to see the bright side.
“Miles!” James beamed as his friend neared. It was the happiest I’d seen him. “It’s going to be okay. Just hold on.”
“I’m slipping.” Miles’s frowning countenance came into view. “My hands are wet, and now, so’s the rope.”
“Here.” Releasing one hand, James edged forward and offered Miles his palm. “Take this.”
“No, James!” Eli yelled. “Hold the rope. That’s how we help him.”
“Take my hand!” James shouted, dismissing Eli’s caution. “Come on!”
“James, don’t!” I pleaded as Miles released his grasp on the rope and reached for James’s hand.
“Damn it, James!” Anger burned in Eli’s voice as he struggled to take the strain. “Listen!”
“Quick!” James shouted to Miles. “You’re so close.”
“Wait, I...” Miles reached for his friend’s hand, clutching first at his fingertips, and then his entire right palm. “I have you! I think I have you!”
“Thank God!” James let go of the rope and grabbed Miles’s hand. “You’re all right!”
“James!” The twang of desperation in Eli’s usually so composed voice was the most disturbing sound so far. “I can’t hold the weight alone.”
“I’ll help!” I ran toward the rope, watching as time started to move in the same strange pockets of slow motion it had lurched into when Miles had first slipped and fallen.
Only inches from the rope, I watched James clutch Miles’s hand, only to see his grip loosen against his friend’s wet skin.
“No!”
James’s panic echoed around the clearing, and then and there, I knew what was going to happen. My heart was pounding so fast that I thought I might vomit.
“Shit!” Miles was the first to articulate their doom as, losing his grasp of James’s hand, he toppled backward.
“Miles!” James went next, lurching forward like a man deranged in a crazy attempt to catch Miles.
Reaching the rope, I clasped its width, but it was already too late. James had let go of the cord to save his friend, and Miles had already abandoned it in favor of James’s hand. I tumbled back into Eli, and we landed on the dirt with a thud as the two hapless fellows plunged to the rocky depths below.