Sam came out first, a minute later. He didn’t have the life jacket on, but he did have the harpoon gun slung around his neck. He began slowly climbing up the short rope, pausing at each of the knots Danny had tied. We could tell it wasn’t an easy process for him, but he seemed to have just enough strength to hold on. The rope’s tightness definitely helped the climb. Eventually he neared the top and flashed a thumbs-up towards the truck. The rope suddenly cut loose from below and Sam began his zip-line descent towards us. We positioned ourselves to cushion his landing, and he arrived safely in our arms. He handed Cameron the harpoon gun before Blake and Kate rushed him off to Jenna. The rest of us turned our focus back to the river.
Apparently Danny had cut the bottom end of the rope away from the truck with a knife, because there was no longer a carabiner attached to it. Cameron attached the harpoon to that end of the knotted rope and detached the carabiner on the other end from the zip line. Cameron only had one shot at this, and admittedly it wasn’t his best one. As the harpoon sailed back over the water, it overshot his intended mark and stuck into the wall well above and behind the truck. The bottom of the rope dangled about eight feet from the top of the truck, well out of Danny’s reach. Dang it! Nothing we could do about it now though. Danny was going to have to make it work.
As the water level continued to rise, the truck’s stability worsened. It was twisting back and forth in the river surges now, barely held by the two boulders that initially had secured it.
Blake had rejoined Cameron and me. “Isaac’s in terrible shape,” he said. “Sam thinks he has several broken ribs, and his face is all cut up from smashing a window with his head. He was conscious but couldn’t hold himself up. He would’ve drowned without Sam keeping his head out of the water.”
That was much worse news than we were hoping for. Danny wouldn’t be able to hold Isaac up and try to reach the rope. I had no clue how he was going to do this.
Danny lifted Isaac out of the truck and onto the roof of the cab. The frigid river had surely numbed him to an extent, but even its ferocious roar couldn’t blot out his screams. I continued to watch them through the binoculars and then saw Danny gesturing wildly at us. His lips were easy to read this time. “What the hell?” He was pointing up at the rope now.
“What’s he saying?” Cameron asked me.
“What the hell,” I replied.
“What?” Cameron repeated.
“That’s what he yelled,” I answered. “What the hell?”
It was at that moment Cameron figured out what was wrong. I heard him mutter, “Son of a bitch.”
“What?” I asked. He explained he was supposed to keep the carabiner end of the knotted rope attached to the zip line when he fired the harpoon back. The knotted rope was useless now. Even if Danny could reach it, the rope wasn’t attached to the zip-line. They’d have no way to get across to our side.
“Son of a bitch,” I heard Cameron say again.
I watched helplessly as Danny looked up at the rope hanging above him, back down at Isaac, and then up at the rope again. He had to be trying to figure out what to do. Cameron was watching him through the scope of his rifle now. “Shit,” he muttered. I suddenly was aware of someone’s hand in my own, and looked away from the binoculars to see Kate standing beside me, her eyes locked on Danny. I squeezed her hand and whispered, “He can do this.”
“I know,” she replied, her rapid assurance giving me even more hope.
But what the heck was he going to do?
The water level continued to inch up, and the truck was surely going to break away from the rocks at any minute. Danny knelt down and put his head by Isaac’s, presumably telling him something. He then maneuvered Isaac into the life jacket. Danny stood back up and pointed at us, holding his hand up in the shape of a gun. He pointed it up towards the trees above the canyon and mimicked shooting it.
“He’s telling you to shoot something,” I said, realizing I was stating the obvious.
“The rope,” Cameron replied. “He wants me to shoot the rope.”
I looked at Cameron. Seriously?
Blake had joined us and I heard him say, “Just a second.” He ran towards one of the trucks and fired it up. I watched him back it up a few feet, causing the zip line to sag.
“Blake, what the hell are you doing?” I yelled.
Cameron lowered his rifle and gave Danny a thumbs-up. “He’s easing the tension so that when I shoot the rope it will drop closer to Danny,” Cameron explained calmly as Danny motioned for him to hurry up. Ah. Of course. Cameron took aim at the knot Danny had tied to the trees above the canyon. He took a breath and slowly released it as he squeezed the trigger. The first shot missed, hinting at his nerves. “Damn it,” he mumbled. His second shot hit its mark though, splintering the rope.
As the rope snapped away from the tree and fell towards the river, it was immediately clear that it still wasn’t going to land anywhere near the truck. Danny glanced down at the river and stepped to the edge of the cab roof. He shoved Isaac off the roof of the car and leapt for open water, as the rope continued to fall.
The rope landed a good ten yards ahead of Danny, and he paddled feverishly towards it. The current aided his strokes, and he reached it quickly. Blake had gotten out of the truck and yelled for us to help him. As we ran towards Blake, Danny searched the water for Isaac. He wasn’t hard to find, coming directly at him. Blake told us to grab ahold of the rope, but not to pull yet. We watched as Danny grabbed Isaac and then Blake screamed, “Now!” We began pulling Danny and Isaac towards our side of the river. Kate ran down to meet them, and as soon as Danny was able to stand and step out of the water the other three of us ran to help with Isaac.
Cameron and Blake carried Isaac back towards the trucks while Kate and I helped Danny. Isaac was barely conscious. Danny was freezing cold and completely exhausted, but otherwise unhurt. “Good thinking loosening that rope,” he chattered.
I nodded. “That was all Blake.” I’ve got to remember to thank him.
“Pretty sharp,” Danny added. He wrapped Kate in a long wet hug. “Remind me not to do that again,” he said. I laughed and patted him on the shoulder. Crazy amazing!
Yes, we definitely should have lost more people that morning, any number of ways, but thanks to Danny, some resourceful Boy Scout basics, a surprise reaction by Captain Eddie, and some convenient Special Ops training, we limited the number of casualties to one. A significant one, but just one…and it could have been so much worse. Gratitude and sorrow filled us all, although I couldn’t properly speak for Isaac or Sam. Wes would be happy wherever he was, knowing his boys were safe. I would treat his sons as my own. “I’ve got them,” I whispered. You’re in a better place, my friend. But we’ll miss you.