Mother of the Moon - Chapter 104 - On the Ledge
Lunaya.
“This next part of the mountain is dangerous and requires your full and undivided attention” Elaine said sternly as we gathered in behind her. We were about four hours into our hike and had come to a stop at a cliff that appears completely impassable. The thick snow had been left behind us a while ago, though the air was still cold and held a hint of moisture. I looked up at the rocky cliff. We couldn’t go back up, that would defeat the purpose. I walked to the edge of the of the small flat that we were currently on and looked down. Unless Elaine brought rock climbing equipment, there is no way that we can go this way.
“I don’t remember coming this way on our way up” Alyse said quietly, intended for my ears only, as she stepped up beside me.
“You wouldn’t have” Elaine responded over her shoulder,
“This section of the path is obscured from view on the ascent and not easily found by accident when hiking down. Only a select few know how to access it”. Elaine turned to face us with a ‘shut-up-and-listen’ kind of look on her face.
“I will go first, followed by Alyse and then Lunaya, the rest of you will bring up the rear. The path allows for only one at a time, so do exactly as I say, stay in line, stay close and no messing about”.
With that Elaine turned around and walked to the furthest side of the cliff face and disappeared behind a large boulder. I rushed over to see where she went and found her standing on a narrow path, if you can call it that. The path looked completely uneven and scattered with loose rocks. It ran along the edge of the cliff, carved out of the side of the mountain like natures perilous staircase. This can't possibly be a good idea.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” Alyse gasped behind me.
“Apparently not” I said with an equal amount of shock.
“Let’s go ladies, I said stay close” Elaine called. I looked along the path and over to Elaine. She had her back pressed up against the cliff face, taking slow side steps.
“Don’t look down and follow Elaine’s lead. Back against the wall with slow and steady steps. I’ll be right beside you” I said pulling Alyse in front of me. She responded with an obviously strained swallow, and a shaky nod of her head. Heights have never really been her forte. She stepped out onto the ledge and I followed closely beside her. One of the warriors was right beside me, watching my every step closely. We shuffled along, catching up to Elaine quickly. The tiny path, no, the tiny ledge, was eight inches wide at its widest section. The rocks were still wet from melted snow, making them slippery as well as unsteady. Small groves in the side of the rockface allowed for slim hand holds but our backpacks weren’t exactly helping.
“How long does this go for?” Alyse shouted to Elaine,
“You don’t have to scream at me, I’m right beside you” Elaine responded with annoyance.
“Sorry” Alyse shouted again, she cleared her throat and spoke a little softer,
“Sorry, how long does this go on for?”
“About six hundred metres”.
Alyse froze and turned to stare at me with panic and fear in her eyes. Her eyes grew three times in size and her face turn a shade of pale green. Her mouth hung slightly open, and an uncomfortable squeaking sound fell from her lips.
“Hey, hey. It’s okay, you got this. It’s not that far and you’re killing it. Just keep going one foot at a time. We’re all good” I tried to speak as encouragingly as possible, but I don’t think it was too convincing. Alyse closed her mouth and slowly nodded her head but her colour didn’t change, and a sweat had now broken out on her forehead.
We kept going, nice and slow. All six of us, one after the other. It feels like we have been up on this damn ledge for an hour already, but probably more like twenty minutes. My legs were starting to get shaky, and my fingertips were feeling raw from gripping the rockface so tightly. I avoided looking down as much as I could but seeing as I had to look where I was putting my feet, looking down was nearly impossible. The cloud cover around us had started to clear a little more, giving us a beautiful view of the New Zealand landscape. To say it was breathtaking, would be the understatement of the century. Huge snow-covered mountain tops reached up to the clear blue sky, while rivers of crystal water weaved around the valleys below. Fields of lush green spotted the landscape in the most beautiful way. It was awe-inspiring.
“Look at that” I whispered to Alyse without taking my eyes off the view.
“Oh wow” she gasped beside me,
“It’s beautiful” she said softly.
“It really is” I agreed.
There was a cracking sound, a scattering of rocks, followed by a high-pitched shriek. I looked to Alyse, but she was no longer beside me. It took me a moment to realise that the shriek had come from her. I snapped my head down towards the shrieking sound and in what felt like slow motion, I saw Alyse’s body falling. Her face twisted in terror and her arms outstretched for me. Just like a movie in freeze frame, the picture of Alyse falling down the mountain side seared itself into my brain forever. I just about launched myself off the ledge to grab at her slowly descending hand. Her fingers grazed along my own and disappeared. I’d missed her. Her harrowing scream came to a sudden halt as a set of hands pulled me back against the wall. I glared at the woman holding me back. Looking back to Alyse she was gone, in her place was Elaine. Hanging from the narrow ledge by one hand. I ran my eyes down her body to her other arm. There holding on with knuckles turning white, was Alyse. The sight of her hanging by the balls of death snapped me back to reality.
“GRAB MY BAG!” I screamed at the woman behind me, and she obeyed immediately. I crouched down and forced my fingers into a small grove on the ledge. If there was any skin left on my fingertips before, it was all gone now. I began to lower myself off the ledge but was met with a scream from Elaine.
“Don’t you fucking dare!” she growled. I snapped my eyes to her and snarled. How dare she try to forbid me from saving my Mate. I looked down at Alyse again and she looked to be on the verge of passing out. Her face had lost all colour and her eyes were rolling around in her head. I continued to lower myself down, getting closer to Alyse.
“Cleo!” Elaine yelled. I was instantly hauled back up the cliff by my bag and forced up against the rockface.
“Let me go” I said with a deadly venom to my tone.
“I have her” Elaine snapped back with equal ferocity.
“Alyse” she called, no answer.
“Alyse!” she called again with added volume. Alyse grunted in reply and groaned a fear filled sob.
“Alyse, I want you to climb back up to the ledge, okay?” Elaine demanded.
“I-I can’t”
“You can and you will”
“P-Please” she sobbed. I tried to get back down to the ledge and reach out for her but the grip on my shoulders was not letting up.
“Alyse. You are a Were. You are a strong she-wolf. You can do this! Use my body as a ladder and climb the fuck back up to the ledge” Elaine all but yelled. She tried to be encouraging but it came out strong and too hard. After a minute of not moving, Alyse looked up to lock her eyes with mine. I tried again to reach for her, but I risked falling myself if I struggled too much against the vice grip on my shoulders. I nodded and pleaded through my eyes for her to do it. She ripped one hand from Elaine’s hand and threw it higher up her arm. She did it again with her other hand and gripped onto Elaine’s shoulder. She continued with these movements until she was only inches from the ledge.
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