The Nibiru Effect

Memory 71

I have fallen more times than I care to admit in the past few minutes, but I have yet to grow accustomed to the feeling of my heart leaping into my throat as gravity slams me downward. And now that nothing stands between me and certain death, the feeling of weightlessness is accompanied by an overwhelming terror. The only upside is that it will be quick.

It is.

I fall for less than a second before hitting something. For a brief moment, I think the end has come, and my demise is imminent, but then I realize my plummet lasted a fraction of the time it should have. I was over fifteen metres off the ground when I fell. It should have taken at least a few seconds before I reached the bottom. Then why did I hit something after a mere fraction of a second? For that matter, why am I still alive?

I hesitate for a moment, then glance down.

My legs are still intact. That's the good news. The bad news is the ground stands far beneath them, and the mere sight of it compromises my balance. I instinctively reach out and grab hold of the first thing I come into contact with. As it turns out, that's the cliff. Its smooth nature makes it difficult to get a grip, yet I manage to use it to steady myself.

I take a few deep breaths, eyes closed to keep my vision from blurring. It takes a while, but I eventually manage to slow my racing heart. When I open my eyes again, I'm calm. Well, as calm as I can be given the situation.

I hesitate for a moment, but my curiosity outweighs my fear. Making sure not to pay attention to the ground that lies far beneath it, I focus on the surface upon which I'm standing.

It's small—less than thirty centimetres in width by roughly one metre in length—but sturdy. The black, polished nature of the protrusion tells me it's stone, but it's not until I remember the similar stone fragments that litter the base of the cliff that I realize what it is.

It's a step, one of the few that survived the destruction of the staircase. I can't believe how lucky I was to land on it. I guess not all situations end in disaster. Then again, it's not like I'm in the most secure of positions. Fortunately, it's only a matter of time before Kara comes to my rescue. Sure enough, she appears moments after the thought occurs to me.

"Wow!" she says. "You're lucky."

I nod, still too stunned to speak.

Kara guides her snail toward me and urges it to a stop by tugging hard on its eye stalks.

"Hop on," she says as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Of course, it's a lot simpler than pretty much everything I just went through, but it still takes me a while to work up the courage to leave the safety of the stone step.

"Hang on," says Kara once I'm seated behind her. Under normal circumstances, I would be nervous about wrapping my arms around her, but I don't even hesitate before encircling her frame in a powerful bear hug.

"Don't worry," she says. "You're safe now."

I have no desire to laugh, yet I can't help being overwhelmed with joy.

"I'll believe that once I'm back on solid ground," I say.

Kara chuckles. Unlike me, her outburst is caused by genuine amusement. I wish I could be so relaxed. But I guess Kara has been trained to handle stressful situations. I'm kind of envious. Maybe I'll ask Jonn to train me once this is all over. That is if he's still alive.

It seems to take forever, but we finally reach the top of the cliff. It's not until we're a dozen metres from the edge that I find the strength to release Kara and dismount the snail.

The first thing I do is drop to the ground and kiss the grass. I've never been so happy to be on solid ground.

"I can't believe we made it," I say.

"It wasn't that bad," says Kara. "Actually, it was kind of fun."

At first, I think she's serious, but then she starts laughing, and I realize she's only kidding. I feel kind of stupid, but I'm all too happy joining in on the fun. The best cure for stress is laughter, and given what I've just been through, I'm in desperate need of relief.

It takes a while, but the laughter eventually dies out. Kara and I sit in silence for a moment before she finally speaks.

"We should get going," she says. She seems sad, and I don't have to ask to know she's thinking about her father.

"You're right," I say, "but you must promise me something first."

"What?"

"Promise me we'll never ride another snail."

Kara chuckles.

"I promise, but only if you swear not to keep secrets from me."

"Deal," I say, offering ahand for her to shake. She doesn't shake it, but she helps me to my feet. Itake a moment to fix my shredded shoe—the one the Velociraptor ruined. Meanwhile, Kara checks our supplies—given allthat's happened, it's a miracle I managed to retain possession of the satchel. Evenmore surprising is the fact that our supplies weren't damaged, but it just goesto prove I'm not completely out of luck. Once we're both ready, we head off.I'm not sure what awaits us, but I hope it doesn't involve heights.