Opet and the Tales of Heroes

Chapter 11: The Third Day of October 2349

"One more rock....." Raavi said with a grunt as he pushed himself up. "Come on......come on!"

His hand had purchased as his barefoot clamped down to the edge of the protruding rock on the stone wall. The augmented foot acted like a vice to the stone. It wouldn't disengage unless he pushed himself up. He looked around at his surroundings. There was no fear in his face as he gazed at the environment of Aphadus.

The great mountains of Aphadus dotted the entire planet. One side was always hot, and the other side in dark and frost, the area between the two regions allowed just enough lighting for him to see where he needed to go. The fact that the sun barely moved made it just as easy to associate where he was. Raavi knew that he was born in the right environment to do rock climbing. The mountains never shifted much, and it was pretty to look at. The reddish hue of the sun produced the calm purple to the distant lakes. The only thing that he had to worry about was the winds and storms that may come to impede his progress.

He shifted his foot and pressed it to another rock. The fact that he was hundreds of feet off the ground and stuck to a wall didn't scare him. What would scare most human beings was nothing to him. As a rock climber, he felt that he was close to divine as possible. He wore a unique red and blue spandex suit that covered most of his body. He only had a climbing pick in one hand that he used to drive into the rocks. He preferred to have his other bare hand touch the stones to find the perfect areas to grab a hold.

"Yeah....." he said to himself. "One step......at a time." He pulled the rock climbing pick and slammed it into the rock face as small chunks of dirt fell to the ground below him. The pick was in securely as he saw another rock to grab with his other hand. His feet moved up and touched another set of jutting pieces of stone.

The mountain itself was a steep solid wall that must have been one of the highest jutting platforms in Aphadus's soil. As he continued to climb, he could look over to the left and see the distant colony of his former home planet. He kept his breathing steady as he looked at the giant military base dome. Climbing the mountain was bringing back pleasant memories as he felt the obligation to continue.

His eyes looked back at one of the rocks as he then pulled the climbing pick, pulled his hand back, and then stabbed it higher up above him. He then pushed his feet up with a good purchase and then used his free hand to grab another rock.

Suddenly, the stone that he grabbed started to feel loose as he quickly grabbed another stone. His other hand already had a good grip of the pick, and his feet seemed to anticipate the climbing effect that his body was feeling. The loose rock came free from its confines as it slipped off and fell down hundreds of feet below him. It did not deter him as he kept moving up. He kept his breathing steady and calm. The lack of oxygen was one that he was used to. Climbers he knew would risk hyperventilating or passing out if they overexerted themselves as they climbed. Doing it while they climbed risked certain death.

"Almost there......" he said as he continued upward. He slammed his pick into the wall and could see a sizeable flat crevice in which he could rest and stop. A few more steps upward, and he would reach a flat area. There he would pull himself to stop and rest.

The temperatures were perfect as expected. The occasional breeze would hit him, but he was used to it. He took his time as he paused and took in whatever cool air he could take. A little bit of sweat ran down his brow, but it was nothing more than from the workout of doing it. His fingers were beginning to ache. He devoted what he had left to get up the side of the wall. He pulled the pick out and drove it a foot below the edge. He noticed that there was only a small rock that was barely enough for both his feet to be pressed upon. He decided to take the risk and use his augmented right foot to press it against the wall. It emitted a blue glow to it as it clamped to the side with ease. There was enough now for him to reach with his left hand at the edge. Using his strength, he pulled himself enough that he used his pick one last time to drive it up the surface of the aperture. His augmented foot disengaged, and he pulled himself over the edge and into the crevice.