Priscilla Sum

Part 27--Crossing The Ravine

Once Tony was out of sight, Jordyn resumed studying the wide gully. "It doesn't look all that dangerous," she mused. "And it's at least shallow enough that we can see the bottom." She looked back at Kayce. "Could you at least rappel down if you had some rope?"

Kayce rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean, I could... probably..."

Jordyn's eyes glinted as her eyes wandered from one side to the other. "And then the other side... do you think you could get back up again?"

Kayce squatted at the edge of the crack and studied the opposite face. "Not too easily. It doesn't look like there are a whole lot of footholds, and I'd need some way to support the rope on the other side, the way one of you could do on this side, for my way down." His gaze stopped and he smiled. "But I've got a better idea." He rubbed his hands together. "Who's got a rope?"

"I do," said the frizzy-haired geology student.

Derrick watched Jordyn go for her pack. "You're telling me you have a rope still?"

I watched her pull a full cord of nylon braided rope out of her pack. "I grabbed one of these for each of us, and we didn't use all of them for the tent that got smashed by the tree," she said.

Kayce held a length between his hands and tested its strength. "Oh yeah, this'll do," he said.

Kayce tied the rope around his waist and thighs, harness-style, yanking on the knots to ensure that they would hold his weight. Jordyn stood at the edge of the cliff as his spotter, while Derrick and I positioned ourselves back further, as his anchor.

Kayce stood at the very edge of the cliff, with his back to the precipitous drop.

"Ready?" Derrick asked.

Kayce nodded. "Ready." He took his first step over the edge.

Derrick and I braced ourselves however we could, taking most of Kayce's weight on the rope. All he had to do was keep his footing to brace himself against the rock wall. Bugs flew against our faces, and I had to force myself to be content to just whip my head back and forth to keep them off.

Even then, the movement would cause the rope to sway, and Derrick would remind me through clenched teeth, "Pris! Don't move!"

Sweat dripped down my face and neck from my scalp. How long would it take Kayce to scale fifteen feet?

"He's halfway!" Jordyn announced.

Halfway; brilliant. I fought the urge to thrash my head again, as the rope slipped slowly through my fingers. In that moment, I felt a line of pressure points brush along my face--but no shape caught my eye. It wasn't droplets, but the sensation of fingers I felt, combing my matted, frizzy hair back from my face. A moment later, a chilly breeze swept across the cliff, passing right between me and Derrick, blowing my hair back from my face and cooling me fast enough to produce goosebumps along my arms. Instead of confusing me, it made me smile. The sprites are still at it! I thought. I felt my muscles ease somewhat, as the tension on the rope no longer strained them. It seemed about half the time later that the rope went very slack, and Jordyn cried. "He made it! He's at the bottom!"

The radio warbled, and Tony's voice crackled over the speaker. "Hey guys, I'm not seeing much over here. A lot of it is blocked by trees. I've made it across, but you guys would probably have a rough go of it."

I let Derrick deal with the rope, now that we weren't holding Kayce up, and grabbed the other radio to respond, "No big deal, Tony. Kayce is making a way across for us. Just find your way back to our position as best you can, and we'll wait for you on the other side."

"Copy that."

After Tony's response came Kayce's update.

"All right, people," he called up to us. "Here's how it's going to work: Keep that end of your rope anchored on that side. This rope is going to be our bridge across."