Ending ELE (ELE Series) by Rebecca Gober, Courtney Nuckels Page A

whisper so that only I can hear. “I plan on spending the rest of my life with you. Nothing will stop that.” He looks at me with such certainty and love that I melt, completely forgetting my argument. If Tony is as sure about this as he is, then who am I to question him?
    I give it a moment more before I speak. “Okay... I’ll do it, but only if you’re on the other end of that rope.”
    Tony places his hand on my cheek. “Where else would I be?”
    With that, I kiss him softly on the lips.
    “ Ewww, Wello! That icky!” Sebastian interjects.
    I laugh beneath the kiss and break away. Then I make a kissy face and run after Sabby, making smooching noises with my mouth. He giggles and his little head bobs above the powdery snow as he runs away from me. I catch up to him and cover him with kisses. He squeals with delight and I catch sight of my dad smiling back at us in my peripheral vision.
    ***
    Against my better judgment, I find myself dangling from a rope off the side of the cliff. “Don’t look down, don’t look down,” I mutter over and over again under my breath. The men rigged some kind of rope/pulley contraption and Tony is slowly lowering me down.
    The others are already at the bottom of the cliff and they ’re cheering me on. “You’re doing great,” I hear Claire and Marya yell from below.
    “ Wait-a-go, Wello!” Sabby yells at me. Lillie cheers for me too.
    I feel the rope give a little at a time. Tony promised me that he would go as slow as possible. Suddenly, there’s a gasp from below; I can tell it’s from my father. I make the mistake of looking down and all the blood rushes from my face.
    “ Tony!” My father yells past me; his voice is on the edge of terror.
    I panic, unsure of the problem, but there’s nothing I can do. I’m stuck, dangling in midair at least fifty feet above the ground.
    “ Willow, look up at me.” I see Tony peering down at me from the top of the cliff. “I’m going to swing you towards the cliff. There’s a ledge you need to grab onto.”
    Wait, what? I think to myself. No, this wasn’t the plan. Everyone else got down this way—why can’t I? Then I feel a strange sensation in my fingers and look back up. I can see parts of the rope fraying apart along the edge of the cliff. I fight the nausea that is overpowering my thoughts. A fall from this distance could be a death sentence. I don’t have time to think. I just act.
    The next few seconds go by in a blur as Tony uses all of his strength to swing the rope towards the cliff. I reach my hand out towards the rocky surface above the ledge but I miss it by three or four feet and go swinging back the opposite way again. I watch as more strands of the rope break away. He swings the rope again and the tips of my toes touch the icy snow on the ledge, sending small rocks and pebbles down to my grave. My heart is beating double time when the rope breaks a little more and I drop an inch.
    Screams and cries sound out below me. True fear bubbles up within me. I look up and can see in Tony ’s eyes that there isn’t going to be another chance. With a grunt, he swings the rope one final time. I use my legs to push myself along the cliff wall in hopes that our momentum together will bring me to the ledge. As I come upon it, I reach my hand upwards, brace my feet to land, and this time I make contact. I grip my fingernails into the ice and rocks above me as the rope gives a final crack and breaks. I let it fall out of my hands and I force my body to become one with the cliff wall. Small rocks and bits of snow fall down on my face and into my eyes as my fingers continue to search for a firmer grip. I finally clue into the screams of my friends and family below and their new cries of relief. The relief is short-lived as a new problem is presented. Bile forms in my throat as I realize the predicament I’m in. Now what? I think to myself in panic. I certainly can’t climb my way down. I can’t stay on this ledge for long