Chapter 27 #2
Benson is next by my own urging. I watch him take the same path as Auggie, not ashamed to admit I enjoy the view quite a bit. Benson moves slower up the vertical rock than his brother, but each of his movements are sure and steady. He makes it up over the top with a hand from the guide.
Last up, I follow the directions to clip in and start my climb.
Having watched the others, I have a fairly good idea of what to do.
Which is good, considering the wind up here makes it harder to hear the guide as he calls the same directions down to me.
My fingers slip halfway up, but I catch myself before I can fall.
My heart still hammers as I try again, getting a good grip this time and inching further up the mountain.
I feel triumphant as I reach the ledge. The guide has his hand outstretched, ready to assist me over the final rock. I swing my arm upward, reaching for him.
Only to miss by half an inch.
My momentum has me swinging free of my hold before I can counteract the mistake.
Air whooshes past my face as I fall downward, something snagging against my helmet and arm.
Sound cuts out in an instant, and I jerk to the side, my backpack tugging against me before I’m free once more.
I thud into the hard mountainside, coming to a stop as my rope pulls tight.
I catch my breath and watch as items fall from my backpack. My water bottle. My trail mix, scattering like dozens of pebbles. A quick check at the side of my head confirms my CI is gone, having been yanked off when I got caught up in the tree branch at the edge of the rocks.
I glance upward to find three concerned faces looking down at me, mouths moving fast.
“I’m all right,” I call up. “Lost my CI. And my backpack broke open.”
Auggie frowns deeply, his hands moving somewhat awkwardly over the edge of rock. ‘Are you hurt?’
“A scrape maybe,” I say, checking my arm. My sleeve isn’t ripped, at least. “Think I’m fine.”
I work on regaining my balance, finding footholds and handholds so I can stop hanging in the air. It takes a minute, but finally I’m moving back up the mountain.
Benson is beside our guide this time as I reach the top rock.
Once I have the guide’s hand, Benson grabs my other arm, helping to tug me up.
I fall on top of the ledge with a heavy breath, my now-empty backpack nearly weightless behind me.
I’m not all that worried about the contents, but I hope I can find my CI.
I have an extra at home, but the devices are not cheap to replace.
Benson’s hands move swiftly as soon as I look his way. ‘Are you okay? Does anything hurt?’
I squeeze his arm, speaking aloud so our guide understands. “Got a little banged up, but I’m fine. I just need to figure out where my CI went.”
Benson nods, signing simultaneously as he asks the guide if it’s okay to head back down. The man nods, Benson interpreting his directions for me to rest for a minute first. Auggie hands me his water bottle, and I take a sip as he gets clipped in to start the first descent.
We go in reverse order, apart from the guide. Auggie first. Then Benson, although he looks upset to have to leave me. I follow, taking a look around as soon as my feet hit flat rock.
‘Don’t see it yet,’ Auggie signs, having been scouring the ledge.
I’m not surprised. It likely made it all the way to the ground, same as my trail mix.
Benson is looking in the brush near the base of the wiry tree growing out of the mountainside. He shakes his head when I step his way.
“It’s fine,” I assure him. “We’ll find it.”
He stretches upright, taking my face in gentle hands. My lips quirk as he appraises me, tilting my head to the side and running a finger along the top edge of my cheek, close to my ear.
‘Small scratch,’ he tells me before checking the other side. He presses a quick kiss to my cheek, the sadness on his face making my heart ache.
‘Ben,’ I sign gently. ‘I’m fine. Promise. It was a surprise, not to mention jarring, but I’m not seriously hurt.’
He nods, but he still doesn’t look happy. I grab his hand off my cheek and give it a swift kiss.
Our guide reaches the ledge, and the four of us move on again, descending in twos down the second stretch of rock. I don’t expect to find my CI on this ledge either, as far to the side as it is from where I fell, so I try not to feel disappointed when we once again come up empty.
After clipping in a third time, I start heading down the final stretch, the acute angle making it easy to walk backwards on my hands and feet.
I see a piece of trail mix stuck in the rocks beside my foot and huff a laugh.
Although I suppose that means I should check the rockface more closely if my CI isn’t down below.
It’s that thought running through my head when I catch sight of wild movement in my peripheral vision.
I look over sharply to find Benson staring at me with panicked eyes, his cheeks bright red as he leans against the mountainside, hands in the air.
He signs, ‘Stop, stop, stop,’ in rapid succession before shaping a word that has my blood running cold.
He points downward, and I follow the line of his finger until I spot it not fifteen feet away.
‘Bear.’