“Take my hand!” I shouted, stretching it toward her. Then I saw it, and hope ignited in my mind like a match. “There’s a foothold! Down and left!”
She was watching me, her eyes wide with fear, before she tipped her head forward.
“No!” I yelled. “Don’t look down.”
She didn’t move.
“Focus, Isabella. You have to.”
She closed her eyes and nodded. The wind was getting stronger. We didn’t have long before a storm came in.
“Down and left! You can do it, Isabella. Then, reach for my hand,” I yelled over the wind.
I couldn’t feel anymore as I watched her take a deep breath.
Then, with nothing but trust, she dropped her weight and caught the foothold hidden in the cliffside. My arm was on fireas I stretched to reach her, and somehow, despite the odds, her hand closed in mine.
A quiet whimper of relief sounded beside me as she leaned heavily against the rocky wall, her chest rising and falling rapidly.
“You did it,” I said, trying to catch my breath.
I looked up the cliff again. We were nearly there.
“Come on, we have to keep going,” I said breathlessly.
She didn’t move.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
She tried to shake her head, but it was more like an eerie twitching.
“I don’t think I can do it,” she whispered. “We’re so high.”
“We’re almost there,” I snapped, far more harshly than I meant to. “One last push.”
She stared into the cliff face, unmoving. How long had it been? Did we already miss the two hour window? No. Surely, we still had time.
“We’re going,” I said flatly. “Ready?”
The longer she stood there, the more likely she was to pass out and fall. We had to move.
I tore my eyes away. I had to get a grip, or we were both dead.
Calm. Control. Focus.
Steeling my nerves, I scraped along the cliffside until I felt a flat surface.
Reaching down, I shouted, “Take my hand!”
Nothing.
Then, finally, her frozen hand locked into mine. With a final jolt of adrenaline, I helped her up and over the edge. One last pull, and we were both over, slamming against the rock.
My chest ached as I panted, desperate for air.
I glanced at Isabella to confirm she’d made it. She was already looking at me, her expression weary.
“Thanks,” she muttered between breaths.
