letting Mark climb, then he finding a safe position and drawing her up the rock towards the moon as it sailed over their heads.
Halfway up the mountain, it all changed.
From some hiding place, clouds appeared and crept long, gauzy fingers across the moon. Above her as she belayed, Mark cursed and she heard the metal equipment dangling from his harness clattering. He swore again and something dark plummeted past her. “What’s wrong? What was that?”
“My lamp. Do you have one with you?”
“No,” Ardeth admitted. There was a long silence.
“Don’t worry. It’ll be all right. We’ll just move when the moon comes out.” The words were calming but she caught the undercurrent of tension in his voice and shivered.
From then on, he moved only when the moon cleared. The stops and starts wore on Ardeth’s nerves. Even resting in her harness, safely clipped into the belay bolts, her fingers on the rock and the rope felt slick and thick as if full of thoughts of betrayal. Tremors begin to insinuate themselves into the spaces in her spine, between the muscles in her legs. She looked down into the sharp branches far below and thought of stakes, waiting to impale her unnatural heart.
“I’m moving.” Mark’s voice brought her gaze back up to watch as he stretched out for the next holds, reaching into the momentary moonlight. She did not see what happened then, only heard his wild gasp and the hiss of rope through the metal carabiners as he fell toward the forest’s spiky embrace.
The rope snapped tight in her hands and her muscles clamped down, her mind forgetting belay technique and weight ratios, her body compensating with unnatural strength, ignoring the fact that the belay plate at her harness had long ago prevented the rope from moving.
Then it was over and Mark was dangling above and to her left. He had fallen at least ten feet before the rope and the last protection he had placed had caught him. She could hear the ragged grunts of his breath, see the wash of chilly sweat over his white face. “Mark?”
“Yeah. I’m OK. Don’t be scared.” She heard him mastering his own fear in the silence between the words. For a moment, she thought she could feel his heartbeat, a quick echo of her own, pounding through the rock. “Just hang on. I’ll climb back up when the moon comes out again.”
Ardeth put her forehead against the stone and willed her fingers to loosen their savage grip on the rope. She glanced up at the traitorous moon and watched the heaviest clouds shred slowly away, leaving a faint caul across the moon’s face. She heard Mark begin to move.
It took several long, careful minutes to climb the ten feet to his former position. When he reached it, he hung for a moment against his harness, breathing hard. “Jesus. I knew I should have brought the bivvy sac. We’re going to be out here all night.”
“It’s only one o’clock. The clouds will disappear soon.” She saw him sift a little to look up at the moon.
“If we’re lucky. We’ll be here for a while yet. I’m anchoring in here. Don’t worry,” he added, catching her uncertain look, “you’re clipped in securely there. The harness will hold you.”
Ardeth nodded and relaxed a little, resettling her balance on the thin ledge at her feet and leaning back in her harness. Her arms were aching with tension that seemed to radiate out from her bones and she forced herself to let them drop away from the rope and dangle loosely at her sides.
“So, how’re you liking it so far?” Mark asked casually and she laughed, glancing up at him. He had relaxed in his harness, feet bracing himself as he looked down over his shoulder at her.
“Wait till we get to the top and I’ll tell you.”
“You’ve got to admit that most people would not go to this much trouble to get a girl alone in the moonlight.”
“Don’t tell me you staged that fall,” Ardeth countered.
“No. That was real.” She caught his brief glance downward. He
Halfway up the mountain, it all changed.
From some hiding place, clouds appeared and crept long, gauzy fingers across the moon. Above her as she belayed, Mark cursed and she heard the metal equipment dangling from his harness clattering. He swore again and something dark plummeted past her. “What’s wrong? What was that?”
“My lamp. Do you have one with you?”
“No,” Ardeth admitted. There was a long silence.
“Don’t worry. It’ll be all right. We’ll just move when the moon comes out.” The words were calming but she caught the undercurrent of tension in his voice and shivered.
From then on, he moved only when the moon cleared. The stops and starts wore on Ardeth’s nerves. Even resting in her harness, safely clipped into the belay bolts, her fingers on the rock and the rope felt slick and thick as if full of thoughts of betrayal. Tremors begin to insinuate themselves into the spaces in her spine, between the muscles in her legs. She looked down into the sharp branches far below and thought of stakes, waiting to impale her unnatural heart.
“I’m moving.” Mark’s voice brought her gaze back up to watch as he stretched out for the next holds, reaching into the momentary moonlight. She did not see what happened then, only heard his wild gasp and the hiss of rope through the metal carabiners as he fell toward the forest’s spiky embrace.
The rope snapped tight in her hands and her muscles clamped down, her mind forgetting belay technique and weight ratios, her body compensating with unnatural strength, ignoring the fact that the belay plate at her harness had long ago prevented the rope from moving.
Then it was over and Mark was dangling above and to her left. He had fallen at least ten feet before the rope and the last protection he had placed had caught him. She could hear the ragged grunts of his breath, see the wash of chilly sweat over his white face. “Mark?”
“Yeah. I’m OK. Don’t be scared.” She heard him mastering his own fear in the silence between the words. For a moment, she thought she could feel his heartbeat, a quick echo of her own, pounding through the rock. “Just hang on. I’ll climb back up when the moon comes out again.”
Ardeth put her forehead against the stone and willed her fingers to loosen their savage grip on the rope. She glanced up at the traitorous moon and watched the heaviest clouds shred slowly away, leaving a faint caul across the moon’s face. She heard Mark begin to move.
It took several long, careful minutes to climb the ten feet to his former position. When he reached it, he hung for a moment against his harness, breathing hard. “Jesus. I knew I should have brought the bivvy sac. We’re going to be out here all night.”
“It’s only one o’clock. The clouds will disappear soon.” She saw him sift a little to look up at the moon.
“If we’re lucky. We’ll be here for a while yet. I’m anchoring in here. Don’t worry,” he added, catching her uncertain look, “you’re clipped in securely there. The harness will hold you.”
Ardeth nodded and relaxed a little, resettling her balance on the thin ledge at her feet and leaning back in her harness. Her arms were aching with tension that seemed to radiate out from her bones and she forced herself to let them drop away from the rope and dangle loosely at her sides.
“So, how’re you liking it so far?” Mark asked casually and she laughed, glancing up at him. He had relaxed in his harness, feet bracing himself as he looked down over his shoulder at her.
“Wait till we get to the top and I’ll tell you.”
“You’ve got to admit that most people would not go to this much trouble to get a girl alone in the moonlight.”
“Don’t tell me you staged that fall,” Ardeth countered.
“No. That was real.” She caught his brief glance downward. He
Similar Books
