What do you do when a teenage movie star makes it seem as if you've kidnapped him? After working two summers at his father's health club as a towel boy, Peter Fisk saved enough money to visit California. He literally runs into Lance Hardwood in his...
I joined Scarlet and Derek for breakfast. We were all taking the Highlights of Yosemite tour. Lance had left us a note saying he'd chosen a different tour – something more hands-on and active. I'd left my sunglasses on my dresser and went to my room to retrieve them. The door to Lance's room was open, so I thought I'd rebuke him for breaking apart from us to 'do his own thing.' He wasn't there, but I picked up two things. On his bed was a brochure for rock-climbing – specifically, an expert-level climb of Half Dome. And in the garbage can, a mint wrapper from the Hyatt Regency in Thousand Oaks.
That brochure set off alarm bells. "James?"
"Good morning, Peter."
"Locate Lance, please."
"He is at Happy Isles, near an area called the 'Death Slabs.' He is with a group of college students. It appears they have loaned him some of their gear."
I met with Derek and Scarlet, who were about to board the tour bus. "Forget this, Lance is about to do something really stupid."
"Everyday stupid, or Ground-breakingly stupid?" sighed Miss Fever.
"Suicide-level stupid. He's going to climb the face of Half Dome with no experience at all."
"When I told that boy that he should get closer to nature, I did not mean by planting his face into a cliff!"
Derek came to the same realization that I had. "His inexperience puts them all at risk!" It took 6 minutes to walk to the parking lot. James greeted us with, "Driving to viewpoint within the closest range of Half Dome."
"James, you told us these earphones connect us to each other, right? Patch us all together."
"Lance – don't do this. I'm guessing you haven't told your new friends that you've never rock-climbed before."
"How do you know I've never done it? There was an episode of Biff Barkley where ..."
"For God's sake, you were 15 years old, and your stunt doubles did everything for you! There was even an article in the L.A. Times..."
"Oh, ho ho, Lover boy's been readin' up on me, huh? Then you know I can do anything!" he crowed, and the frat boys behind him joined in. Something was off about their speech. Suddenly I put two and two together – where we were, the fraternity, the exaggerated enthusiasm, the disregard for danger, and the total absence of common sense.
"You're high, aren't you? Your new college buddies...they shared a joint with you, didn't they? Your first joint, probably! And you're going rock-climbing...on Half Dome!" I was screaming, and tourists were staring. As if I were the chaotic one. Whatever. I'd be a nuclear bomb if only Lance would snap out of his ganja-induced insanity.
"I know! How awesome is this?! How hard can it be, boyfriend? I watch guys do it on the Nat Geo channel all the time. Besides, one of the frat boys is streaming this. He's calling it 'Is this Disney Star the Next Spiderman?' – cool, huh? Wait till Joy and Tucker see it!"
"Every one of those fratboys is putting their lives in your inexperienced hands, dude! You just got yourself a boyfriend – isn't that challenging enough?" Derek was so angry, he was shaking.
"You just gotta be Debbie Downer, don' cha? Disney would NEVER let me do something like this..."
"I'd never let you do something this reckless, something this, this – selfish!" I knew I was making a huge mistake as soon as I heard the words leave my mouth, but it was the truth. Derek, Scarlet and I all cared about him – even Tucker and Joy – each in our own way.
"This pathetic conference call is done! You and I, Pete, we're done too. Derek, Pete's all yours. Scarlet, screw you! I'd say wish me luck, but you don't, do you?"
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"Check your cell phone, Peter," James said, "Visual connection established." The three of us watched in horror as he pulled the earphone out and tossed it over the edge of the Death Slabs.
We watched for 15 minutes as the bus made its way to the lookout point and ran to the safety rail's edge as soon as the rear doors let us out. By this time everyone had the frat boy's stream on, straining to see the climbers. Suddenly everyone gave a collective gasp. A helicopter had flown dangerously close to Lance's line.
Seconds later, a figure was lowered into the air, and swung towards Lance. The intruder tied their two lines together. There was another kid at the far end, who started shouting for help. Unfortunately, none of the other climbers could get close enough, with the helicopter blades creating its powerful cone of air.
Lance swung wildly back and forth, trying to dislodge the intruder, and people watched in disbelief as the figure kicked Lance in the head, knocking him unconscious. After successfully tying the lines together, the intruder cut Lance's line. The young frat boy at the other end screamed, falling to what would have been certain death, if a group of hikers hadn't formed a human net far below him. A few people suffered broken bones, but they'd saved a life.
As soon as Lance's body dropped, the added weight yanked the copter downwards. A pair of hands pulled the unconscious Lance aboard. The person's helmet dislodged itself and fell to earth, revealing a familiar face as the helicopter sped westward and out of sight.
