The Unknown Realm #4 (Waverly Stump and The 7 Realms)

XLIX

The maddening, endless ache that trickled through her shoulders and fingers almost drove Waverly to tears, but even if she cried, the wind would dry up her tears as fast as thought. There was no form of shelter from the blistering cold even when she nestled her face in gaps on the rock face.

The air was thin.

Her lungs felt shrunken; the inside of her head seemed to be congealing, growing too heavy for her neck to support. She could not feel her fingers within the woollen gloves, her knees were so wobbly that she lost her footing with almost every step. Her breaths came laboured, and her bones felt limp. The inside of her eyelids could have felt the same as an iceberg, and an occasional shiver from head to foot made her grit her teeth in frustration.

From where she was, she could see everything – some white here, blue and grey there, a little green, and several black spots that danced before her eyes. She glanced up at Judson, who was about forty walking steps away – if one would measure the distance that way – and seemed to be in no better condition than she was, rooted to a spot until whenever he felt the urge to continue. In the few instances she had called out to him, he did not hear because of the angry winds. They whooshed and whistled, piercing her eyes and nostrils as they blew all over.

When they left the ground, she had counted the number of times her hands moved during the climb and lost interest at some four hundred and sixty something – the point at which they had run out of rope. On she went, until the ground was a painfully minute sight. Whenever she glanced down, she remembered the fire mortal and imagined him cackling in pleasure, repeatedly yelling that they would never reach the top. As a growing child, she always hated being told that something was unachievable, or that she could not do something because it was undoable. It drove her to want to do said thing, and she felt that it was the same motivation that got her involved in danger one too many times.

She grunted and climbed six steps higher, then halted when a sudden loud crack came from overhead. Her eyes traveled upward and she glimpsed loose stones falling off around Judson. They sailed past her, and as she stared at them, she wondered what exactly might have caused them to dislodge.

Peering up a second time, cold fear splintered her insides – Judson was sliding downward.

The moment was chaotic.

Waverly's head went blank as she witnessed the most terrifying scenario unfold. Like some heavy object, he disconnected from the rock face and keeled headlong.

Without thinking, she lurched forward and made a grab for him, willing Calaire to elongate into a whip.

When realization dawned, she found that she was dangling upside down. Her one hand was closed around Judson's forearm and her left leg was tightly bound by something that, apparently, kept her from falling. Heavy gasps and shrieks left her as she tried to maneuver in an attempt to find any kind of balance. Judson's weight was impossible and, together with his belongings, threatened to pull them both. She struggled to reach him with her other arm, but with each movement, Calaire also threatened to come loose around her leg.

She was barely able to breathe. Her heart pounded, drummed and tightened. Certain death was what waited below should either of them fall to the ground. Tears leaked from Waverly's eyes as she tried nonstop to grab Judson's arm with both of hers. His head slumped forward and he seemed to have fallen into unconsciousness thus, rendering his whole body flaccid. She tried to move a leg and found that the weight of the attempt alone near blinded her.

She panted, unable to focus on a particular source of the aggressive pains that could sever at least two parts of her body within minutes. The building panic in her chest collided with fear and immersed her into a shiver.