The Walkers

Chapter 8

Nothing speaks more of romance and adventure than an abysmal gaping hole in the middle of nowhere, separating two slates of land like tectonic plates being pulled apart by the compelling force of nature. In other words, there was a huge hole in front of me. Is Christen sane? Can we jump that? I mean, I know the bear...Bruce... is fast and strong enough, but can he really do the trick? I am going to die, aren't I? Sweet dreams are made of this.

"Snap out of it!" Christen sounded so brave. At least she was helping in keeping my focus on track. Her auburn-colored hair, same as mine albeit lighter, was swaying with the wind as her hands tightly grasped the neck of the bear. I could've spent countless hours witnessing and indulging myself in such a heroic scene if my life was not in peril.

"Y-yes!" I answered with the little resolution that I could muster. Yuck. I think I swallowed a fly or something.

"Hold onto my hips! We're making the jump!" For real? Are you serious, girl?! We're going to die here! It was not the time and place to retort, so I just did as I was told. I thought that Christen was flabby, but, surprisingly, she has well-toned abdominal muscles. Another thing I got to change on my 'Personal Review of Christen'.

"Please, Bruce. Make the jump!" Christen talked to the animal as if pleading. I was pleading too! For my life! 

The crevice was getting closer. At that moment I realized the magnitude of the problem we were stuck in. Behind us were the not-so-very-cute deer and in front of us, a gaping hole of death and disappointment. Do I choose to be ripped to shreds or die from shock? There's no time to make a choice.

"Eep!" Again, it's not my fault that God gave me a girl's body that makes high-pitched, cute noises when surprised. 

"Jump! Now!" The valiant hero of our story strengthened her grip on the mount as it used its powerful hind legs to make a leap of faith towards nothingness. And here I was shutting my eyes and praying to some compelling force not to take away the life that was given to me.

Who would have guessed it? The bear actually was strong enough to cross the hole! It was pretty an amazing stunt! We even ended hanging up by the threads of fate when just the front paws of the mount reached the solid ground! I swear that my soul was going to leak out from my body! But here we are, standing tall and watching the deer yap at us from the other side of the crevice. They seem pretty angry. Should I flip them the finger? Better not.

"So, here we are. You should've trusted my abilities more!" Quit acting so smug, Christen! And stop sticking out your chest out! It's painful to see! I'm not jealous, okay!

"Where?" I asked with curiosity. I was still looking at the reptiles disperse back into the woods where they came from.

"We're in front of the stairway towards the Temple." As she said this, I turned around and was awed by what I saw. Those were...