“You enjoy your roller-coaster ride?” Marcus asked.
Rob nodded. “You guys are like angels.”
A snort escaped Marcus. “Well, that’s a new one. I’m usually called the opposite.”
“Relax, Rob. We’ve got a ways to go, but you shouldn’t have to spend the night on the mountain.” Devon squatted beside the stretcher, adjusting straps.
“Thanks to Colin. He was awesome.” Rob’s words slurred as he closed his eyes. “I thought I was fucked. Of course, the mountains wouldn’t be a bad place to die. I wouldn’t mind it, you know, being buried here, but not for another eighty years or so. . . .”
Xavier landed beside them, unknotting and moving back into position to check Rob. “You aren’t dead, you aren’t dying. Please, my artistry is so underrated.”
He glanced at Becki and winked, lowering his voice. “He’ll be either out in a few minutes or singing to the forest elves. I gave him a painkiller to take the edge off.”
Becki nodded, stepping away as Anders and Xavier relocated the stretcher to the side of the clearing to rig a carrying system. She swayed, the euphoria of having made it this far making her light-headed.
Marcus brushed her cheek with his fingers. “I’m going to gather gear with Alisha and Devon. We’ll be heading out in less than ten. Take a rest. You did great.”
She smiled and nodded, but there was something not quite right with her legs as she returned to her place against the wall. The torn-up sections of her palms burned, and her fingertips were cold, so she sat and tucked her hands under her arms.
. . . wouldn’t be a bad place to die.
Rob’s words echoed in her head. Becki’s heart gave a giant thump, and she jerked upright, searching the scene frantically. Anders and Xavier were barely visible now, hidden by the trees. The only thing visible in that direction looked like a body lying flat out on its back.
. . . the mountains wouldn’t be a bad place to die.
Her breathing sped up. Blood rushed to her head. Becki pressed against the rock and fought to stay alert, but a rush of blackness swept over her and everything went dark.
She was nearing the edge. The point of no return. Becki clung to her knife blade even as she scrambled frantically to find a way to avoid sliding toward the cliff.
As suddenly as it started, everything stopped, the heavy weight of Dane’s body at the other end of her rope no longer dragging her.
She wanted to scream in delight. To cry and laugh and celebrate that she’d survived. Only there was no way to know exactly why they were no longer moving. If Dane was tangled on an unsteady rock, their reprieve could be short-lived.
She scrambled to set a real anchor, using her hammer to pound in a long screw. She set a quick emergency rope before taking the time to make a bombproof one. Only then did she stop to breathe and rejoice a tiny bit.
“Dane,” she shouted. “Can you hear me? We’re going to be okay. We made it. I’m coming to get you.”
A quick sip of water, a bite of an energy bar to get some strength into her shaking limbs. She sucked back a power gel, set a rappelling rope, and willingly went over the edge that had nearly killed her.
She was strong. It had been the most frightening experience yet in her climbing career, but they’d avoided fate. They were going to make it.
The clouds were still there. The wind, the moisture. A few drops of rain hit, and the idea of a downpour made her happy. It would make things miserably cold, but the cloud patterns would change.
They were going to make it.
Over her right shoulder she spotted him. “Dane, I’m coming.”
He didn’t move, his body a long line collapsed on the brink of the ledge. The platform was wide enough to be safe, and he was roped to her safety rope, so she wasn’t worried about him rolling away before she reached him. Becki down-climbed cautiously, her fingers and arms protesting. She didn’t give a damn how much she hurt. They were both alive.
She could put up with a few aches and pains.
Another base. Another anchor. Becki wasn’t leaving anything to chance. She rearranged ropes to make sure she was attached to the wall, Dane still attached to her, before she even moved to his side.
She stroked Dane’s hair from his face. “Hey, wake up. Nap later—it’s your turn to carry me.”
His eyes fluttered open, and he groaned. Pulled himself up on one elbow. “Crap, I thought I was dead.”
“Rock fall.” She wouldn’t bother to tell him right now what else had nearly happened. That was a story to share over beers in a warm bar once they were completely off the mountain. “How you doing? Any injuries?”
He shook his head. “I’m fine. Fuck. How did that happen?”
She helped him up and stabilized him until he was no longer rocking on his feet. “This all happened because you were supposed to go first. I’m sure of it. Hey, where you going?”
He’d stepped to the edge to peer over. She joined him, a rush of nausea hitting at how close a call they’d had. If the three-foot-wide ledge hadn’t been there, the steep cavern at their feet would have been their grave.
“It’s so unfair,” Dane whispered, turning back to her, staring at the wall behind her as if he weren’t seeing anything. “People come out here all the time. To the mountains. They drive past in their cars, and they point up and say, ‘Look how beautiful. I’m so glad we came.’”
Becki caught Dane by the arm, pulling him farther from the cliff edge. He sounded . . . confused. “We do get a better view from here, don’t we? Although their cars seldom fall off cliffs.”
“It wouldn’t be a bad place to die.” Dane breathed the words slowly, and Becki’s gut tightened.
“Dane? What’s wrong?”
He pulled off his helmet and tossed it aside, the streaks of dirt on his cheeks and his tangled hair making him look a little mad. “Nothing. Everything.”
Shit. He’d gone into shock. “Come on, I’ll make us something warm to drink; then we can—”
“I’m dying, Becki,” Dane blurted out. “Some weird-ass form of muscular dystrophy. A stupid genetic thing that isn’t any fault of mine, but it’s going to take me away from here. Put me in a car until all I can do is look up and say, ‘Oh, aren’t they beautiful’ from there. Never climb again.”
Nothing made sense. “You’re dying?”
“Found out when I met my birth mom. Did some tests.” He shook his head in frustration. “All my muscles will shrivel up. Until I can’t breathe on my own. And it’ll happen so slowly, I’ll know what I’m losing.”
“Oh God, Dane, I’m sorry.” Becki caught him against her. The time for talking this through was once they were away from the mountain, but now she understood why he’d been acting strangely.
Dane held her tight, like he was never going to let go. When he finally released her it was to lift his fingers to gently stroke her cheek. “It sucks. Not your fault. You’ve been great.”
“Let’s go. Get out of these cold wet things. We’ll talk, okay?” Something jerked her waist harness, and she glanced down to discover he’d taken his knife and cut the rope between them. “Dane? Let me untie you. You don’t need to cut it.”