Hestia
It doesn’t take long to reach the location of our emergency call, and we pull up to find a group of people huddled around a low stone circle. One of the men is crying on a blonde woman’s shoulder.
Orion and Charm approach the group while we unload our equipment.
I hear one woman say they haven’t had contact with their friend since he fell.
“Did you hear anything at all? A splash?” Orion asks.
“I don’t know. We had spread out during the hike, and Silas was ahead of us,” the blonde says.
“I was the closest to him, but I was still pretty far away. I barely saw him drop out of sight. If I had blinked, I would have missed it,” her friend adds.
They don’t have any more information, so Orion has Charm move in. He comforts the group while herding them away to give us space to work.
Magnus and Henri are already pulling out ropes and harnesses. Like any team that’s been together for years, they work with practiced ease, taking on different taskswithout needing to discuss it. Being packmates probably helps since they can tell what the others are doing through the bond, but still, it takes experience to do things so seamlessly.
Magnus tightens the harness straps around his thick thighs. I look away quickly and focus on my own gear.
Orion shines a flashlight into the hole. At first we thought it was an old well, but after seeing it in person, it doesn’t look like one.
There’s little snow on the stones, so whatever was covering it must have fallen in along with our patient.
“Can you see anything?” Henri asks quietly.
“No, it’s too deep for the light to reach the bottom,” Orion says. “It’s been an hour since Silas fell with no word from him. We’ll send someone down rather than waiting on a drone to check it out first. He likely needs medical attention as soon as possible. Magnus and Cato, you’ll be up here.”
Magnus nods and positions himself near the hole, clearing the snow away so he has a stable place to stand.
“Henri, they’ll lower you down slowly. Radio as soon as you see anything,” Orion says.
Henri nods, and Magnus hands him the end of his rope.
“Wait, I should be the one to go down,” I say.
“No,” Orion says immediately.
“I’m the best one for it since the hole is so narrow,” I say.
“I know you have the training to do this, but you don’t have the experience. I won’t be able to keep an eye on you down there,” Orion says.
He turns away like the conversation is over, and I hesitate only for a moment before continuing, “It’s a simpletask, I’ll just be going up and down. It will be a tight fit if Henri brings Silas back up.”
Henri stops tying himself in and waits. The others don’t say anything and I can’t tell if they’re against my idea or not.
Orion watches me, and I struggle not to back down or look away. I don’t think he’s trying to make me submit, it’s more like he’s trying to see if I’m serious.
“You’re sure you can do this?” he finally asks.
“I can do it,” I say firmly.
“Alright, we’ll lower Hestia down. Henri, you can help me guide her,” Orion says.
I swap places with Henri, and he helps me get the ropes on.
“Find Silas and stabilize him. If you don’t think you can get him up safely, radio us and we’ll swap you out,” Orion says, waiting to make sure I understand.
I agree and he nods. I have no problem with reassessing and admitting I’m wrong after getting down there. I don’t know what I’ll find at the bottom.
