*
After several hours of tedious walking, they finally came to a stop. Or rather, they were forced to stop by the new obstacle in their path. By some miraculous combination of events, life had managed to bloom along the dusty trail. Ordinarily, this would be a cause for celebration, but in this case, life had taken the form of a large, gnarled tree which had somehow managed to find purchase in the barren ground and grow from one side of the path to the other. When it met the cliff’s edge, it had merely changed angles and continued for several feet over the abyss. Climbing over it was impossible, and neither Kingston nor Barsch had the time or the energy to turn around and head back. Similarly, the sheer vertical wall to their left was not an option, leaving forward the only direction which remained.
Unfortunately, the tree had consumed the majority of the path, leaving a tiny strip of land on the cliff edge which they could hang from and shimmy around to the other side. It would not be an easy climb, but if they moved slowly and carefully, they could make it through without incident. After much protesting, Kingston agreed to let Barsch go first, on the reasoning that if anything happened, the younger man would be less at risk.
Barsch approached the tree cautiously, testing the root marred ground before placing his full weight on it. The trunk was old and withered, which meant that the tree had probably spent many years on the exposed rock-face, and what could two men do to change that?
With Kingston’s firm hand on his back -ready to pull him up in a moment’s notice- he lowered his body over the edge of the path. Far below him, the calamitous sea pounded against the jagged rocks, adding a natural soundtrack to the insane situation he had found himself in. Hanging over the drop, he could only see the greyish-brown rock that lay a few inches from his face. The granite span had become his world, as the only other sensation he had access to was the strain in his arms as his muscles took his weight. After only a few seconds of hanging on, his fingers were already growing uncomfortably numb, and he had started cursing his terrible luck.
“Are you okay, m’boy?” cried Kingston, from somewhere above him.
“I’m fine, I’ll see you in a minute!” he grunted. Reaching out, his right hand found a hopefully sturdy branch, and he used it to inch himself along the precipice. In this laborious manner he moved across the rock-face, placing hand over hand, carefully yet steadily making his way to the other side. They had estimated the trunk to be about five feet across, but with the tree now hidden from his view, it seemed much larger.
Pain soon blossomed in each and every joint he had, and more than once he had to rest while propping his legs on a piece of protruding rock. Barsch was not unfit, but there had been little time for fitness before the Great Sleep, and his father had always sought to train his son’s mind over his body. If he made it through without falling, he resolved to become stronger.
Awakening Page 48