The Third Man

Chapter 4 - The Fall

Listening to his team member's voice gave Peter much needed encouragement. He remembered all the motivational videos he used to watch in his leisure time, of people who survived the impossible. He made notes of things he always wanted to do but didn't do.

He thought of his wife, Mia. The first time he saw her at a friend's party. He remembered how they started talking and within months he had won her over and they were married. How he used to open his eyes every morning, and find her awake, observing him. He used to pull her closer into a tight hug, fitting her snugly within his arms. He couldn't imagine his day starting in any better way.

And now she wasn't in his life anymore. He lost her.

All his fault.

It was 5 years now, but not a day went by when he didn't think about her or wanted her back in his life. He remembered after they got separated, how he used to spend hours standing outside her house, just to get a glimpse of her. His mind in conflict whether to go inside and talk to her, request her to take him back, apologize to her, fall in her lap and cry for hours for what he did or just stay out and let time heal all the wounds and his pain. And he always chose the latter.

'How life can suddenly throw you off track, not even giving you a chance to get back' he thought ' when I had time I was reluctant to do what I should have done, and now this day could be my last....'

No.

"This is not how I die" he shouted loudly. And with a new strength he started hiking.

After about an hour, he again tried his radio. He secured one axe in the ice and grabbed it while removing the radio with the other hand. But the radio slipped out of his hand. He stretched his free hand to catch the radio instinctively, making the axe lose its grip from the ice. Everything happened so fast it took Peter a good five seconds to understand the situation. He was sliding freely down the slope. He tried to stop himself, digging his crampons and axe in the ice but he couldn't find a hard point. He kept sliding for a while, when suddenly his body lost contact with ground.

He was air borne.

Within seconds he was slammed into the ice, this time it was flat. He wasn't sliding anymore and luckily his bag took most of the force of the fall. He moved all his body parts to check for any damages.

None found.

He looked around, but couldn't see anything clearly. His vision was blurry. He felt his ice axe right by his side but his radio was missing. His heart sank, he let out an involuntarily heavy breathed cry. He was as good as dead without his radio. He had to find it.

He started getting up, his vision not fully restored. Suddenly he realised something strange, the place was very dimly lighted. He looked up, sunlight was coming through a hole.

He was confused.

He forced his eyes shut for ten seconds and blinked them rapidly to adapt it to the surrounding and clear his vision. When he opened them back, he was stunned. He saw ice walls on two sides and sunlight coming from some four meters above him. His worst nightmare as a climber was realised.

He had fallen into a crevasse.

"No, no, no, no, no, this can't be happening" he said in slow terrified voice, looking around the vast crevasse he had fallen into. He had learned about crevasses in his class. Traps in glaciers, sitting right in front of one's eyes, hiding its presence in plane sight by a top snow layer. Swallowing its victims without any warning, and he had fallen straight into one of them.

He started to devise a plan to get out of it, when suddenly he felt ice beneath him move. It only took him a moment to realise that he was actually standing on a false snow bridge.

Before he could do anything, the bridge broke off.

He was falling again.

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