Chai on the Mountaintop

Lost

My vision blurred as things came into focus. It felt like I had a bad hangover. I felt nauseous, disoriented and disconnected. I tried moving, but I couldn't. My hands and feet were bound with rope. I looked around, trying to make sense of where I was. It was a small clearing in the woods. The sound of a gushing waterfall echoed throughout. I noticed the mountain top, now above me and figured the captor must have brought me. That's when I remembered. Tara! I couldn't see her anywhere. Frantically I tried to wiggle out of the knot. 

"Quit moving, you're hurting my wrist!" 

"Tara?!" I asked, confused.

"No! It's god. Who else do you think nimrod?"

"Hey, cool it. I didn't know the powder was a sedative!"

"Well, there's no doubt about it now.." she muttered. I could get why she was angry. However, being angry at me wouldn't exactly help us.

"Do you have a plan to get us out before our friend comes back?" I asked with hope. 

"Yes...but it's gonna take two of us" She said. "Help me get the dress off"

"Umm..what now?" I asked nervously. 

"Just help me do it" came the impatient reply. With a lot of grunting, cussing and wriggling, the dress came off. Under her dress, she wore an orange tank top and a pair of shorts, with a small utility belt around her waist. 

"Now, be careful. There's a knife inside the belt, around the back. There's also a small smoke grenade in there, so BE CAREFUL!" she said in a very scary voice. Somehow the unknown captor started to look real friendly. 

Very carefully, I reached into the small pouch, trying to get at the knife. I started to lean to improve my reach. I leaned too much and we fell over on  our sides. 

"One thing...I asked for one thing" She said, disappointed.

"Wait...What the hell?" I said, noticing a small bonfire near us. In it, was a small black camera, with the film in the tiny inferno. "Whoever caught us is more interested in the camera.." I mumbled to myself. I tried once more to reach in and get the knife. I finally got hold of it and slipped it to Tara. She at once started to cut through the rope. The sun had started to set and the whole forest took on a more grim shade. Cold started to creep in. 

"Done!" She declared getting up. I did too and tried to get our bearings.

"If the top is north, then the village is-" she was cut short by a rustle in the distance, followed by the sound of sprinting. 

"We've gotta get outta here" she said, taking out the smoke grenade.

"We have to jump" I said, looking down the immense stretch of Tonga Falls, the same place where Isaac's body had ended up. 

"Down the falls?! That's suicide!" she screamed.

"We don't have another choice! He'll be here any second, we can't outrun him and we're unarmed. We've got to jump!"

"Screw this!" She said as she tossed the grenades into the fire and took a deep breath before she and I jumped into giant waterfall. 

The water was dark and icy. I heard a small blast up in the distance and bullets being fired. I made sure I didn't lose consciousness on the way down. The cold and the fall made it easy to lose reality, but I thought of one specific moment; my first climb up the mountain with Velu and rooted myself onto it, clinging onto it as if certain death awaited me on the bottom. I'd lost sight of Tara but I was sure she'd be alright. I looked down and there was the end, a large river which ran off into the distance. Then the cold reservoir hit me and knocked my breath out. The water stung me like a dagger, slowly dragging itself deeper and deeper and before I knew it, I was under. I swam up, but the void pulled me down. Just as my lungs were about to burst, I broke the surface and gasped for air and cherished each breath.