Chapter Five

A Chapter by SybilMelton

On the Edge

The last training event consisted of a survival test. Groups of four went up the mountain close to the training center. The objective was to follow the Carvins Cove trails and return to the facility with the provided provisions in two days. Volunteers from SIS and the Police Force camped out halfway into the trails, in the case of an emergency. Each recruit wore an emergency locator so if a group strayed too far, Nicholson used an ATV to find them and steer them back on the right track.

An awful lot of people volunteered that year, which made me nervous. Who would want to camp out in the woods in the December cold? I contemplated staying at one of the checkpoints myself.

Near the end of the second day, two groups were not back yet. I arrived at base camp with Nicholson before dusk.

"There's something wrong. This group is close, only a mile or so away," I said, pointing at the locator screen. "But this other one is what worries me. Three of them haven't moved and one is off on his own, heading this way." The system was not sophisticated enough to assign names. And my main concern - Ari was one of the flips on the screen.

Nicholson huffed. "Why didn't the volunteers realize that a group did not go through the checkpoint yet?"

"I don't know. They are not answering on the radio. Maybe they forgot to charge it."

"I'll leave Hughes here, so the group on the way can check in with him. Let's go find the straggler."

I nodded. We climbed into a small ATV and headed up the mountain. A half an hour later, we came upon Ward.

"Captain. An accident. He gasped for breath. "The first night, we tried to keep moving in the dark, so we could be first. But two of us fell. Down a cliff. Mason is unconscious or dead. Bennett, he got his leg stuck in a hole. It kept him from falling all the way down. Thomas stayed."

A feeling of dread grew in the pit of my stomach. Nicholson handed me the handheld locator.

"I will bring Ward back, and then return with paramedics. Andrews, take the climbing gear from the back and hurry up the mountain."

He did not have to tell me. I pulled the gear out and ran off without saying another word.

Within twenty minutes, I arrived at one of the checkpoints. The wind cut through my clothes like needles. My eyes teared up and my breath formed a cloud in front of me. Rain started to fall, plunking on my waterproof jacket. Each freezing droplet rolled down and soaked into my pants.

Beer bottles strewed the ground. A couple of volunteers passed out in sleeping bags around a fire. Someone stumbled out of a tent. He froze when his eyes fell on me.

"What in the world is going on up here?" I demanded through clenched teeth.

"Well, we were just having some fun..." he said.

I snatched the beer bottle by my foot and pitched it against a tree. The glass shattered and sprayed the ground with shards. "Just having some fun?" The few sleepers woke up and clambered to their feet. "Someone is injured. Another one might be dead. And you did not even notice that one of the groups did not make it down." I walked over to the tent and ripped it down.

Three others cowered inside. An unopened case with the unmistakable orange and yellow Anxo Ale label laid in front of them. Brewed and bottled in Charlestown. I chucked it as hard as I could. No one muttered a word. It hit the ground and the sound of breaking bottles echoed with each bounce.

"Get out of my sight. I don't want to see any of you again," I said.

"Do you need some help?" the one that stumbled from the tent asked.

I walked over to him and pushed him. He tripped over a tree root and landed on his backside.

"Are you kidding me? You've been partying all day and you have the nerve to ask me that?"

He cringed and pulled his body into a ball. I wasted enough time and hurried off without saying anything else. A flush of warmth spread through my body, but the wind burned my face and ears. I hoped I was not too late. We expected a group to stray from the path or show up late but nothing like falling down a cliff. What angered me the most was there would be no repercussions. The good ole boy network protected them. I had to reach the cliff as soon as possible. That was more important.

Darkness covered the mountain when I arrived. Thomas looked so relieved I thought he was going to hug me. The rain turned to freezing rain. I yelled down the cliff to let Ari know I was on the way down. A nearby sturdy tree created a perfect for an anchor. Expeditiously, I gave Thomas a lesson on how to use the gear.

I repelled down with large jumps. My feet slipped on the rock on almost every landing. When I got to Ari, he shivered uncontrollably. Besides the fact the hole swallowed his leg, he looked OK. Not far below, Mason's body laid still.

"Do you think your leg is broken?" I asked.

"No, I don't think so."

I connected him to the cord. "Well, let's pull your leg out of that hole."

Ari clutched my shoulder and worked his leg out of the hole. The pant leg tore on the way out. Blood soaked the cloth and spread rapidly. I did the best I could to put pressure on it.

"I am going to climb up first," I said. After a quick glance up, he wiped his hands on his pants and shook his hands out. "What's wrong?"

"I've never done this before and I am afraid of heights," he replied, not looking at me.

Great.

"If you slip, I'll catch you. You need to be more afraid of dying on this cliff. Don't think about it. Don't look down. Just keep moving up. It is a little harder than the climbing wall. Everything is cold and wet. Find your hand and foot holds and go slow. All right, Thomas," I yelled. "We're coming up."

The rope tightened and we started the slow climb up. Halfway, Ari slipped. It took a few minutes to steady him. I kept reminding him to keep his eyes up. After what seemed like an eternity, we made it to the top. I flexed my half-frozen fingers to circulate the blood.

"Where are the provision bags?" I asked.

Thomas sprinted off to the edge of the trees. He came back with an armful of cloth scraps and plastic bags.

"Uh, well, a bear came, I guess because it smelled the food. I climbed up a tree before it caught sight of me."

"That was quick thinking. I am sure your teammate appreciated that you stayed," I said. "These should still help you keep warm for the time being." I wrapped a sleeping bag around Ari. "Thomas, can you gather some firewood?"

Without a word, he scurried off. The rain turned into snow. I worried about Mason laying on the cliff side.

"I am glad you came. I have never been so relieved in my whole life. Thanks for coming," Ari said. His teeth chattered. "I thought I would die as soon as I slipped down that cliff."

I dressed his leg properly to apply pressure. "But you did not die. It was a miracle how you got stuck in that hole," I said.

His face grew pale. There was no telling how much blood he lost. Thomas came through with the firewood and we soon had a crackling fire.

They made small talk while we waited. It didn't take the Captain much longer to arrive with two more ATVs. The paramedics examined Ari's leg and deduced he could make the trip back. They would clean out the wound in the hospital.

I repelled down once again with one of the paramedics and a stretcher.

Amazingly, Mason was alive but unconscious in the early stages of hypothermia. We rigged him up and ascended. I wished I had my cyber-band. The extra strength would have helped tremendously.

Back at the top, I wanted to collapse. My legs trembled as I made it to the ATVs. I barely felt the cold any longer. Thomas and Ari already headed down the mountain.

The remaining paramedics stabilized Mason and strapped him on the back of one of the vehicles with a heated blanket.

I rode back with Captain Nicholson. "Did you go through the checkpoint camp?"

"Yes, yes I did. And the scared men on the way," he answered.

I thought of the guy I pushed down. "I don't know what they are scared of. I did not threaten them. Or hurt any of them."

"That's good."

"You must not think much of me either, Captain."

"Not at all. Reputations usually stem from somewhere. I don't want to see you get in trouble over something like that."

I huffed and folded my arms across my chest. "I would not have hit them. I have never hit anyone outside of the training ring. I threw a case of beer down the mountain and told them to leave."

"I think everyone knows what you are capable of in that ring. I'm sure that is why they were scared."

In the moonlight, I saw a smile. I sensed he did not really believe I would have done anything bad, which made me feel better.

My eyelids grew heavy. I was relieved that Ari would be OK. Boot camp was almost over. I wondered what would happen between us after that. I stopped myself. I had thought "us" like there was an "us". I had no idea how he felt about me, but I knew I liked being around him. Soon it was back to the old routine but I didn't want it to happen yet. The look on Brent's face if I had a boyfriend, that would be priceless. I wasn't very experienced in the romance department. He had approached me first, but I didn't know what that meant. I had a week until the end of boot camp. One week to figure out what to say.

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