Where The Blue Thorns Grow

by Maya Riley

  “To send something means you get to the top of the route all in one go. Without having to take, or stop for a rest where the belayer is holding your weight. You get up there, to the top, all on your own.”

  “And 5’12 is one of the hardest types of routes in the gym, right?” he inquired.

  I smiled and nodded. He was catching on. It was pretty impressive, and I wasn’t impressed often.

  “Excuse me, uh, do you work here?” a female voice asked, interrupting our conversation, and we turned to look at her.

  Me, being the smartass that I always was while here, looked down at the nametag on my shirt. Then I looked up at her, and then back to the nametag.

  Granted, it wasn’t even my real name because I could never seem to stop losing mine and always had to use another name, but still. It had the Rayel’s logo. The Rayel’s name. Hell, the tag even said employee. I knew that question was more of an attention-getter, but it was still one of my biggest pet peeves here. And I had a lot of them.

  I must have ticked her off, because she gave me a look of utter disgust, pulled her purse strap higher up on her shoulder so it was practically on her neck, and waddled away. Once she was out of earshot, I busted out laughing. Pete, always the gentleman, chuckled lightly beside me.

  I slapped a hand to my stomach. “Oh, that was great.” I let out a sigh, then pondered, “Pete, why do I work with people? Remind me again.”

  “Because it was the best way for you to make money while having a flexible schedule, so you could still complete all your activities,” he answered without missing a beat.

  “That’s right. That’s why I’m here,” I said, as though it caused a light bulb to go off inside my head.

  Pete chuckled. It was a soft sound, one that would lift your soul on a rainy day. A chuckle that escaped through his perfect, deep pink lips. And his brown eyes that shone through his glasses. He really did have the prettiest eyes.

  I coughed, needing to get my brain back on track. “Alright, let’s bust out these returns, then it should be about time to call it quits,” I chirped, as I picked up a sweater and moved over to the section it went in.

  Together, we finished off the cart with plenty of time to spare. I was able to get into the HR office and let them know I was leaving. After doing an impromptu exit interview without much fuss, I managed to slip out of there without running into Sam.

  Happy with how well it went, I jumped up and skipped out of the office. Only five minutes to spare, and I wanted to at least say goodbye to someone first without actually saying goodbye. He was my biggest supporter, but I couldn’t live with myself if that support cost him his life.

  I peeked my head into the various offices and break room on my way to the main part of the store, before I found Pete in the last one. He was getting his stuff together, almost ready to clock out as well. “Hey, Pete,” I called, and he spun around on his heel to face me. “Have a good night, okay?”

  “Yeah, of course.” His dark eyes pierced me, as though searching for something. “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah, just saying goodbye. Can’t a friend do that?”

  He looked skeptical and not at all convinced. I looked at the time clock, and it was exactly 7:00 p.m. I quickly punched in my employee number and clocked out. Turning around, I threw my arms around Pete.

  He wrapped his arms around me and whispered into my ear, “I’ll see you tomorrow though, right?” he asked.

  I nodded my head. “Yeah, I’ll see you later. Have a good night.” I let him go, and walked out the employee exit and into the night.

  A buzzing sound jolted me from my sleep and my eyes flew open. I knew what would happen today, and I could barely sleep the night before, the anticipation was still coursing through me like crazy. I rolled over and hopped off the bed.

  I quickly changed into gray hiking pants and a black tank, threw on a light jacket, and hurried down the hall to the kitchen. Opening the fridge, I took out the pre-prepped ingredients and whisked them together, then poured it into a pan on the stove to make an omelette. It didn’t take long for the eggs to solidify into a near perfect omelet, and I turned off the stove and slid my breakfast onto a plate. I took out the final contents of the fridge—strawberries and a small carton of mango juice, and gobbled it all up.

  Doing all my last-minute morning business, I picked up my pack, slung it onto my back, and attached the connector straps around my chest and waist. I knotted my favorite light blue bandana around my neck and tied my hair up in a ponytail. I pulled the locket out of my shirt and opened it up, looking at the faces that gazed back at me. On the left was a family picture taken a year before Clif’s death. We’d just completed our hardest climb yet, and the chalk and dirt that covered our hands and faces attested to the adventure we’d been through. We wore our harnesses and we were all tied into our ropes. Our arms wrapped around each other in love and victory, our faces full of triumph of the past and hope for the future.

  On the right side of the locket was one of Clif and me. It was taken the day we’d decided to go after the Carbolitas climb. The day we’d made a pact that we would one day complete that climb together, no matter what. We’d promised each other to climb it, and not even death could stop us.

  This locket was mine. I’d moved it onto a chain so I could more easily play with it in times when I needed my brother. I still had Clif’s locket that I’d grabbed when he fell, the only part of him I could save that day. Wearing it around my neck always crippled me, the emotional pain making it difficult to move, so I tucked it away safely inside the side pocket of my pack.

  While most people I encountered in life wanted to bury their faces in the sand and pretend it was okay to forget about him, I refused to. Today, I would take another step closer to making sure our dream came true.

  With a flick of my fingers, I snapped the locket shut and tucked it back down into my shirt after pressing a kiss to the cool, silver exterior and whispering, “I will never forget,” while my thumb grazed the metal surface of the one in my pocket.

  I turned to face the front door, took a deep breath, and walked outside. The door closed behind me with a thud.

  I’d prepaid the rent for the next two months, so if I didn’t come back within that time, everything left inside was for the taking. All that remained was furniture and other unimportant belongings. I had all I needed currently on my back, and if I needed something else, I’d figure out how to acquire it. It was only a seven-hour drive from here, but it would be far enough.

  I stepped out into the dark, early morning, placed my pack and belongings in the trunk of the car, hopped into the driver’s seat, and started up the engine. At three-thirty in the morning, I left every part of my past in the broken rearview mirror, except for the locket around my neck.

  I’d been driving for a few hours when the fuel light came on. Pulling into the first gas station I saw, I got out and inserted the pump. I leaned my back against the car and waited, listening to the steady sound of the gas flowing.

  The noise of an engine of another vehicle pulling into the gas station caught my attention, and I turned to see an SUV pulling up alongside the pump on the other side of mine. The engine shut off, and two guys and a girl, who had light blue hair, got out. One of the guys began messing with the pump while the other two hurried inside the small convenience store.

  Once he got the nozzle in the gas tank, he leaned his back against the door, crossed his arms, and looked over at me. He threw me a smile, and I grinned in return with a nod of my head.

  “Good morning,” he greeted.

  “Good morning,” I replied.

  “You look like you’re ready for an adventure.” He tilted his head at my hiking attire, hiking boots, and bandana around my neck.

  “Heading to the Carbolitas for some climbing.” I shrugged, not wanting to get into the same old ‘climbing is dangerous’ comments that I was too used to.

  His eyes got wide. “No kidding?” He crossed his arms and continued
, “So are we. The Taos section part of the west side.”

  “Guess I may see you around there,” I mused. It wasn’t uncommon for random climbers to meet and continue a climb together. I’d always loved meeting others from around the world, speaking the universal climber language of adventure.

  “You have climbing partners with you, right?” He glanced at the noticeably empty car.

  “Yeah, they’re meeting me there.” They headed there a day early to get things set up while I worked my last shift. I had no idea if I would ever see that place again. When it came to the Carbolitas, I had tunnel vision. There was a certain freedom in being able to escape to the mountains and never look back, without having any idea of what awaited ahead.

  It was my only goal. The only reason I didn’t have Internet, cable, a TV, a microwave, or buy anything I didn’t need for climbing or basic survival. Not that I was ever home to even use any of those things anyways, I was always out working or climbing. This was my life, and the last seven years had been dedicated to this, the biggest climb of my existence.

  My pump nozzle clicked, signaling the end of the gas flow, and I set it back in its holster before replacing the gas cap. “Well, I guess I’ll be seeing you there.” I gave a wave and headed into the small convenience store.

  After visiting the bathroom, I was washing my hands when the girl from the SUV went to the sink beside me. Getting a better look at her in the mirror, I noticed her fair skin. Her light blue hair shone bright under the fluorescent lights.

  “Hey,” I greeted, my attempt at a conversation. Since we’d be hiking in the same area, we were bound to bump into each other at some point soon anyway.

  She looked up and the light reflected off the stud in her eyebrow. “I hear you guys are headed in the same direction I am.”

  She smiled, showing a mouthful of perfectly white teeth. “Oh? You’re going to the Carbolitas too?”

  “Yup,” I answered with a smile.

  “That’s great, we haven’t found anyone else willing to try it.”

  “Neither have I,” I told her with a laugh. “Everyone else likes to jump right into lecture mode every time I mention it. So, I stopped mentioning it.”

  “Girl, same. But people tend to fear what they don’t understand.” She shrugged and turned off the water, before reaching for some paper towels. As she began to dry her hands, her jacket sleeve lifted up and I caught sight of a small pawprint tattoo on her wrist. “Most people prefer to live their lives with their feet on the ground. Others, like us, live to fly.”

  I turned my own water off and proceeded to dry my hands. “Right? I couldn’t even tell most people I was coming out here. I just put in a last minute notice at work, and then up and left.”

  “I get it,” she said. “I was so close to doing that too. Sometimes, I would love nothing more than to run away and climb. Hell, sometimes I do do that. Then show back up later on like nothing happened.” She wadded up her paper towels and tossed them into the trash can. “The important thing is that you don’t let them bring you down. Living your life on the ground is the worst thing that could happen to a climber.”

  I nodded in agreement and tossed out my own paper towels. “I’m Cam,” I introduced myself as I thrust out my hand.

  She grabbed on and shook it. I liked a girl with a firm, calloused handshake, and I was already looking forward to running into them again soon. “Carrie,” she replied. “Well, Cam, guess I’ll see you again soon.” She turned with a smile and left the bathroom.

  Once I was back in the car, I got on the highway and continued the journey.

  A few hours later, making the trip around seven or so hours total, I’d arrived and pulled into the small area where I was supposed to meet the others. As soon as I parked and turned off the car, Jenna came bounding up. I managed to get the door open just in time before I was engulfed in a tight hug.

  “Eeep! I’m so excited,” she gushed with a wide grin. I laughed and hugged her back.

  “Hey, you made it!” Carson’s voice rang out and I tilted my head to see him and J.D. approaching us. J.D. nodded in my direction.

  “Yup. Where’s Ryan?” I asked, trying to look around the mess of blonde hair that was still in my face. I coughed and spit some out in the process. Fighting the strands from getting into my mouth was a losing battle, but I finally managed to free myself from Medusa’s hair and step away from the car.

  Right then, arms wrapped around me from behind and I squeaked as I was lifted into the air.

  “You rang?” Ryan’s minty breath brushed my ear and reached my nose.

  “Hey, you.” I squirmed, bothered by the inability to grab onto anything since my arms were pinned down at my sides. I settled for gripping my pants at my thighs. One thing with climbers, we didn’t like to be up in the air without something to hold on to, even if that something was completely useless in holding us up.

  These guys had been my main climbing partners for four years now. Most people had come and gone, but they’d stuck around. Most of the time the guys climbed shirtless, which was a distraction. I had to force myself not to react. While my heart has been so focused on this one goal in my life, my eyes still noticed. I was goal-driven, not blind. They’d been the biggest part of my life for so long though, that I was sure we’d certainly passed up the window for possible dating. I’d noticed girls eyeing them at the gym, but always tried to tamp down any possible jealousy bubbling up. We’d all tried dating other people, and no one ever worked out. Now that my lifetime goal was so close, I was more focused than ever. But I still saw them. I just didn’t know if they really saw me too.

  “You about ready to make all your dreams come true?” Ryan asked.

  “I’m so excited. So nervous, but so excited. Now put me down so I can grab my stuff,” I told him, lightening my demand with a laugh.

  He set me down, and I immediately missed his warmth as the cool air stung my skin where his arms had been moments before.

  “Alright, well, I’m ready,” I declared, antsy to get the hike started so we could make it to our first stopping point.

  “Are you sure? You don’t want to take a few more minutes to think it all over? We have everything routed and planned out, but you never know,” Jenna asked, always the one most focused on safety and organization. We were always safe in general, but we were safely reckless. That was a real term, I coined it.

  I laughed. “I’m ready, really. This is all I’ve thought about for years. Nothing is going to stop me now.”

  The sound of tires on the gravel sounded in the quiet space we were in, and I turned right as a familiar looking white jeep pulled up beside my car. I stood there, staring, with my mouth hanging open, as the driver’s side door opened and Pete stepped out. What the...

  “Hey, Pete, man,” Carson greeted, as he stepped up to him and held out a hand, which Pete took for a handshake. “It’s good to see you.”

  Pete gazed over at me and I looked back, confused and obviously speechless. “What are you doing here?” I asked with a slight accusatory tone. He was the only non-climber I’d told specifically about the Carbolitas. Well, I didn’t tell him the date exactly, so I was baffled. He climbed with us several times, but I didn’t think he was ever fully into it as anything more than just an occasional fun activity.

  “I had a feeling you were going to disappear on me. It’s your twenty-fifth birthday, so yeah,” he stated, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

  “Did you tell anyone else I was going to be here?” I questioned, natural panic threatening to bubble up.

  “Nope. I know how private you were about everything and this. Basically, your whole life in general. I overheard you in HR. I know you left work indefinitely.” He looked at me. “I was worried about you.”

  My heart clenched at that. Well, damn. I’d never had anyone actually worry about me before. Steve was... yeah. And my mom only cared that I didn’t climb because of what happened to Clif. Not because of anything actual
ly having to do with me.

  “Hey, Pete,” Jenna called from behind me. She walked over to greet him. “Come to cheer us all on?’

  Pete was our biggest climbing cheerleader. Well, he didn’t actually cheer, but he was the only non-climber to ever continuously hang out with climbers and watch while we climbed. Maybe that made him a climber after all. This was hard math.

  We’d managed to get him up on some walls here and there for some easy routes, but mostly he just liked to hang out. No idea why, but if I was honest with myself, I really liked his presence. I was even a little excited to see him here. I knew he wouldn’t try to talk me out of this, he’d support me, but I really didn’t expect him to actually show up. He had his own life.

  “Nope, I’m here to climb with you guys. Can’t let you guys have all the fun,” he declared.

  “Hey, what about you though?” I asked.

  “What about me?” he echoed my question back to me. He placed his thumbs in his jean pockets as he looked at me.

  “I mean you, your life. You didn’t just up and leave, did you? What about Rayel’s, and everything else?”

  “I did the same as you. I took an indefinite leave. If I still want to work there again after we finish this climb, then I’m welcomed back, same as you,” he replied, like it was something that happened every day. “So, what can I carry? I have a pack with my harness, shoes, and general light camping gear. I have some extra room if I can lighten anyone’s load. When are we heading up?” He walked over to my car and peered in the back windows, before opening the rear door and reaching inside. He pulled out my rope bag and slung it over his shoulder. He really was a good guy. Ropes were heavy, especially one this length.

  I smiled at him and popped the trunk open. Pulling my pack out, I slung it on my back and fastened the straps around my chest and waist. “Alright, are you guys all packed up? Ready to head out?” I addressed the group.

  Gary walked over. “Hey, hot stuff,” he greeted Pete, before placing a kiss on my cheek. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me in for a hug. “How you doin’?”