by Lynette Noni
It was exhausting work and the hours flew by, yet the real challenge remained ahead, for they had yet to reach the vertical climb. But whoever—or whatever—was monitoring them wasn’t without compassion. At regular intervals, Alex and her friends stumbled upon rest stops complete with survival kits containing water, food and basic first-aid supplies. As their aches and pains began to grow and they developed blisters on top of blisters, Alex knew they all would have given anything for some laendra, but the kits only provided bandages and gauze for their scraped and raw skin, nothing to actually mend their wounds.
Soon enough, the incline became so great that they had to create their own rest stops more frequently than The Powers That Be offered supplies, their fatigue increasing exponentially with their relentless uphill battle. Even Alex was feeling the struggle, enough that she again wondered if she was battling some illness, for there were times when only her Meyarin blood coupled with Niyx’s ruthless training kept her on her feet.
When they finally reached the vertical cliff face, the expressions worn by all those around her ranged from grim to horrified.
“Let’s take another break before, uh…” Alex just pointed upwards, rather than finishing her sentence.
No one argued with her. And thankfully, they’d come to a place where there was a pack of supplies waiting, so Alex quickly handed out canteens of water and what she presumed were the Tia Auran equivalent to energy bars. Whatever they were, they tasted good, not that Alex and her friends cared. They needed the fuel, no matter what form it came in.
Unbeknownst to everyone else, Alex had been quietly hoping that when they reached the cliff, there would have been climbing gear left for them. But there was nothing other than the supplies they’d received at every other stop.
Seeing the dispirited faces all around her as they each kept throwing glances up the sheer rock face, Alex sought to try and distract them from the coming journey.
“You guys know Athora? The man in the Library who brought you here?” she asked. Kaiden, of course, already knew what she was about to say, so her question was more directed to the others. When they nodded, she continued, “I don’t know how much he shared with you, but he’s been training me for a while now, preparing me for the trip here. Or so he claimed.”
Alex wasn’t sure anything could have prepared her, even if she’d had more time with Athora before venturing to his world.
“Before he agreed to take me on as a student, I had to do three tasks,” she went on. “Three tests.”
“Like the Gates?” D.C. asked, wiping sweat from her brow. She was doing remarkably well, making sure not to look out at the impossibly high view of what they’d already climbed and keeping her attention focused solely on Alex.
“Not exactly, but I’m guessing he drew his inspiration from these tests,” Alex said, Athora’s odd tasks beginning to make a small amount of sense. “One of the first things I had to do was walk across an unending lake, jumping from one floating rock to another until I reached the end.”
“Of the lake?” Jordan frowned slightly, swigging more water. “Didn’t you say it was unending?”
“I did.”
Alex went on to explain the test in its entirety, including how she’d been suffering from a stab wound in her leg and had also plunged into the icy water upon arrival, thus wasn’t in the best physical condition to face the challenge. But she also shared that she’d refused to give up despite her pain and exhaustion, and how it was only once she had reached the end of herself, not the lake, that she’d passed the test.
“Ten hours, fifty-four minutes and thirty-two seconds,” she told them quietly. “That’s how long I was out there jumping over those two floating rocks across that water, feeling like every painful step was getting me nowhere.”
Alex fiddled with her canteen, swirling the contents within and taking another drink before continuing, “Athora told me afterwards that the point was to test the strength of my character in the face of what appeared to be an impossible, unending quest.” She looked up at the mountain still rising too high for her to see its end. “I have to believe this task is similar in nature. That from the outside, it may seem impossible and unending. But we have to remember that nothing is ever as it seems—not when it comes to things like this. And together, we’ll get through it.” She looked at Kaiden and finished by repeating his earlier words, “One step at a time.”
Her story had the effect she’d been hoping for. She hadn’t been seeking their pity, nor had she been wanting to highlight her own strength or tenacity. What she’d wanted was to encourage them, to let them know that if she could make it through that, they could all make it through this.
“Right,” D.C. said, standing to her feet. “Today seems like a great day to do something I’ve never, ever wanted to do.”
“You’ve never wanted to go free climbing up an endless cliff on the side of a mountain?” Jordan asked her, a grin on his face as he stood as well. “I’ll have to take it off our list of future date options.”
D.C. grinned back until her eyes flickered past him to the scenery far, far below, before she shut them tightly and took a visibly steadying breath.
“It’s just like crawling across the ground, Dix,” Alex said softly. “Only vertical.”
D.C.’s eyes snapped back open and she hissed out, “Not helping, Alex.”
“Vertical crawling,” Bear mused as he wrapped some fresh gauze around a cut on the palm of his hand, making sure to keep his fingers bare for gripping purposes. “Put like that, it almost sounds fun.”
With a garbled sound in the back of her throat, D.C. let Jordan lead her to the flat face of the cliff, and they slowly— ever so slowly—began the arduous climb upwards. The stone was jagged, with plenty of places for them to put their feet and hands, but there was no denying the danger of what they were doing. They had nothing securing them to the mountain, nothing securing them to each other. And if any of them fell…
Alex refused to let her fears fester, instead waiting her turn while Kaiden and Bear set off, before she and Declan began their ascent.
For the most part, what they were doing required all of their concentration, allowing little chance to speak other than to encourage each other onwards, offer warnings about loose sections in the rock, or suggest better hand and foot placements. Every so often they would arrive at a flatter overhanging section where they could guzzle down food and water as they rested their aching bodies. But no matter how far they continued upwards, still Alex could see no sign of any summit, even as the air around them began to thin and the temperature cooled. The others didn’t notice the change, but her heightened senses were able to note the difference, and she was growing more and more concerned the higher they climbed.
During their third tackle at the cliff after having just left another rest stop, Declan decided it was the perfect time to strike up a conversation with Alex around his panting efforts upwards.
“So,” he puffed, hoisting himself over a sizable boulder jutting out from the rock, “is this the part where I ask about your intentions?”
Alex’s grip almost slipped. Her gaze snapped across in time to see Declan’s mischievous grin as his chin jerked up to indicate Kaiden, just in case she’d failed to miss his meaning.
“Do that, and I’ll push you off this cliff myself.”
Declan barked out a laugh. “Still a touchy subject, huh?”
“Seriously,” Alex growled. “Stop talking, or I’ll make it so the only sound anyone hears is you screaming as you fall.”
“So melodramatic,” he said, still grinning.
Of course, she would never hurt him, so her threat was empty. But she also didn’t want to risk him continuing his line of conversation. Mostly because it would distract him from the dangerous climb, but also because she feared his voice would carry up to Kaiden. He and Bear were only a few body lengths ahead, after all.
“Remind me again why you’re here?” Alex ground out. “Why you came through to Tia Auras with
the others?” She paused as a thought came to her. “Why did Athora let any of you through, for that matter? Kaiden and I are one thing; we trained with him for stuff like this.” She nodded towards the mountain, even if she’d never faced anything like it with Athora. “I find it hard to believe he just let you guys step across worlds.”
“We never said he did it willingly.”
Alex frowned as she heaved herself up higher with a quiet grunt, ignoring her protesting muscles and the fatigue she felt throughout her whole body. “What do you mean?”
Declan didn’t respond straight away since he was busy navigating a challenging stretch between handholds. Once he was secure again, he admitted, “After he explained who he was and how he’d been training you both, we figured there was a reason no one else knew about him, and why you and Kaid kept quiet about his existence, even to your closest friends—who, by the way, all knew something was going on, even if neither of you ever said anything.” There was no reprimand in his voice, just a statement of facts. “It became clear that Athora was the type of guy who’d want his secrets kept secret.”
Alex read between the lines of what he was saying and an astonished laugh wheezed out of her with what little breath she had in her lungs. “You threatened to out him?”
“We did what was needed to convince him to open the doorway for us,” Declan panted.
“And aren’t you glad you did,” Alex said sarcastically, certain that since every part of her was throbbing, the physical strain he and the others must be feeling had to be equal—if not worse.
“We weren’t going to leave you two to face all this on your own,” Declan said firmly. “Don’t even try to tell me you would have done anything differently in our place.”
He had her there.
They fell into silence again as their journey continued to grow in difficulty, only pausing when it became clear that those ahead of them had halted, but not because they’d reached a safe rest stop.
“What’s the hold-up?” Alex called, her eyes on her fingers where she was struggling to maintain a grip in a shallow break in the rock.
“Look for yourself,” Declan said from beside her, and something about his tone had her glancing upwards, past Bear and Kaiden, past Jordan and D.C., to what lay ahead.
It was an overhang—a massive, almost horizontal hunk of rock jutting out from the side of the mountain. To go around it would take them hours of spider-crawling sideways, hours that their exhausted bodies wouldn’t be able to handle without some kind of break, and for as far as Alex could see across, there was nowhere that they would be able to rest during that time. Their only option was to climb up and over the outcropping and hope to find a survival stop on the other side.
Shoulders aching, legs aching, every inch of her aching, Alex heaved herself upwards, moving swiftly around Kaiden and Bear and coming into line with Jordan and D.C.—the latter of whom Alex feared was going to pass out at the sight of the overhang.
“How’re you doing, Dix?” Alex asked quietly, already knowing the answer.
“I was coping enough to remain in a healthy state of denial until now,” D.C. whispered through trembling lips. Like the rest of them, she was covered in sweat and dust, her features lined with exhaustion. “Alex, I can’t—I can’t—” She wasn’t able to finish, all she could do was flick her eyes upwards and then cling even tighter to the rock.
“You can do this,” Alex said, her voice gentle, encouraging. “You’ve come so far, Dix. Just a little further.”
“And hey, this time it’s actual horizontal crawling,” Jordan said, his attempt at helping negated by his strained, anxious features.
“Horizontal crawling while hanging upside-down doesn’t count as horizontal crawling,” D.C. said, her breath coming out in short, sharp pants. It was clear to Alex that the longer they hung from the side of the cliff, the more shock would set in and the harder it would be to get her friend moving again.
“We’re going to do this together, okay?” Alex said. “I’m going to go first, and you’re going to be right behind me, following exactly where I climb. I won’t let anything happen to you, Dix. You know I won’t.”
D.C. tore her eyes from the overhang until she was looking only at Alex, her pupils wide with terror. Alex made sure to keep her own expression as calm as possible, despite the fact that she was quivering on the inside at what they were about to tackle.
“I promise, Dix,” Alex whispered, holding her gaze as she repeated, “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Alex could see that it took everything D.C. had, but she finally nodded.
The fear swirling inside Alex kicked up to extreme levels but she continued to mask her trepidation as she called out so everyone could hear, “See if you can place your weight mostly on your feet for a few minutes and give your hands a break.” She nodded towards the outcropping and explained, “We’re going to be relying on upper body strength to get past this, so try and be as rested as you can.”
She was asking a lot, since they were literally hanging from the rock, but her words were true: they would need all their strength to survive the journey across the jagged cliff face.
When her legs started cramping from taking as much pressure from her hands as possible, Alex knew it was time to continue on. Again using a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, she called, “Stay close, and follow right where the person in front of you climbs. Put your hands exactly where their hands were.” She glanced at them all and schooled her features into something she hoped inspired confidence. “Three minutes, guys. Maybe less. That’s all this’ll take and we’ll be up and over. We can do this.”
When she received nods—or, in D.C.’s case, a moan— in response, Alex started upwards again, climbing until she reached the point where the rock jutted out at a nearly perfect right angle.
Fortunately, it was just as jagged as the rest of the cliff— meaning there were ample places for grip holds. But the overhang meant they would need to tackle it in a hand-over-hand manner, like swinging across monkey bars.
“Ready, Dix?” Alex asked as her friend moved shakily to her side.
She didn’t wait for a response, knowing D.C. was incapable of communicating anything in that moment, and instead Alex reached upwards and anchored her fingers around a stable handhold, doing the same with her other hand while her feet kept her secured to the mountain.
Trying to keep her shaking at bay, Alex fought every self-preservation instinct inside her and, with a silent prayer to whoever was listening, released her foothold on the cliff face until she was dangling solely by her hands, hanging with nothing but air beneath her feet.
Knowing time was of the essence and that she would be in more trouble if she remained stationary, she panted out a quick reminder, “Exactly where my hands are, Dix,” before she released one of her holds and swung forward, feeling for the next.
Once she was two holds ahead, she paused to look over her shoulder, carefully monitoring D.C. as she took her first swing onto the overhang. Her friend was as white as a ghost, but still she was following Alex, just as she always had. Trusting her, no matter what they faced.
“You’re doing great,” Alex choked out, emotion clogging her throat as pride and gratitude overwhelmed her. “Just one move at a time.”
Following her own advice, Alex swung forward again. And again, and again, and again. She glanced back every few handholds to check the progress of her friends as they followed one by one after Alex and D.C., first Jordan, then Bear, then Kaiden, with Declan at the rear. By the time Alex came to the edge of the outcropping, all six of them were hanging from the rock, and she had a bizarre moment of wishing they’d brought some otherworldly equivalent of a camera with them. Not that she would ever forget this moment—but still, having it captured in time would be something worth framing.
Shoving her inappropriately timed thoughts away, Alex called back, “Nearly there, guys. I’m right at the end.”
Her body was screaming in
agony, the pain heightened by having to turn around and check on everyone after each swing forward. Her muscles were begging for a reprieve, her shoulders feeling all but pulled from their sockets, and yet she continued onwards, knowing they were so close.
Hope welled within her as she started to ease her way up the curved lip of the overhang, already able to see that the top surface veered straight back towards the cliff, offering a flat area where they would be able to recover. She could have cried as relief overwhelmed her, knowing that in just a few more seconds, they’d all be able to rest.
She wanted to rush, to hurry forward to the awaiting respite, but she deliberately kept her pace slow enough for the now lagging D.C. to keep up.
“Only a few more swings,” Alex encouraged, pausing to look back at her again. “You’re doing so, so well.”
And she was… until she wasn’t.
Because as D.C. swung forward, her fingers visibly fumbled for the next hold.
Alex wasn’t sure if her friend’s arm cramped or if she simply slipped, but a petrified scream left D.C.’s mouth when she lost her grip.
And then, suddenly, she was falling.
Seven
Never before had Alex been so thankful for her Meyarin reflexes.
As if watching D.C. fall in slow motion, Alex instantly dropped one of her arms and clamped her hand around her friend’s wrist.
As D.C. was brought to a sudden halt, the drag of her dead weight nearly pulled Alex right off the overhang with her. Fingers slipping dangerously, Alex ground them into the rock, heedless of the pain as the rough surface tore into her flesh.
“Hold on!” she screamed as D.C.’s weight made them swing back and forth—making it even more difficult for Alex to maintain her grip.
Tears streamed down D.C.’s face, leaving dirty trails from the dust on her skin, but she nodded desperately in agreement— too terrified to speak—and raised her free hand to latch onto Alex’s arm, strengthening the grip between them.
The boys were crying out, their panic clear as they rushed almost recklessly closer. All of them were still hanging so precariously, and the only way any of them would survive was if they made it over the outcropping. But handicapped with only one free arm, there was no way Alex would be able to haul both herself and D.C. up over the edge on her own.