Boone
I hurdle over fallen trees, I jump over giant boulders, and I leap over massive ravines to get to where the scream is coming from.
There’s a huge amount of ground to cover, but I’m up for it.
I’ve trained for this type of emergency. My body knows exactly what to do.
In my fire fighting days, I was one of the best. If they needed someone to go inside a burning building, they would get me to do it. Nothing was impossible.
Of course, I would never put my team at risk. And yet, I lost members. The knowledge still haunts me to this day.
It happened during a rescue mission of a burning fifty-six-storey building.
What really grates on my nerves is the entire thing could have been avoided, from the start of the fire to the attempted rescue and subsequent failure. I got out, but I wasn’t able to get my members out with me.
A branch of a low hanging tree smacks me in the face. Tiny droplets of blood trickle down my cheek, but I ignore it.
My feet fly across the ground. The scream is getting louder, I must be getting closer.
Even from my distance, I can see a massive rockslide ahead of me.
Fuck.
Don’t tell me someone’s trapped in that!
Rockslides can be worse than avalanches. While they don’t increase in size the way an avalanche does, they’re lethal. With the speed of the loose rocks, pebbles, and debris ever increasing, if you’re caught in it, you may as well kiss your life good bye.
My eyes scan the grey side of the mountain. The area is particularly unstable as a result of the recent snowmelt.
The snow lingered longer than usual. But now, all of it is gone. Unfortunately, things haven’t hardened up enough to provide much needed stability to the face of the mountain.
Whatever has disturbed the surface, it’s done a good job. It’s so steep here, and not much grows, leaving a very unstable environment. To make matters worse, a bush fire ravaged the area severely a few years ago and destroyed some of the trees.
Those trees provided extra support for the mountain. With the trees gone, so went the support. So far, no one has offered to help replace the dead trees or offer a different solution to stabilize the side of the mountain.
Up here in the wilderness, you realize how small and insignificant we, humans, really are. Nature is wonderful, powerful, and amazing all at the same time.
Something in the middle of the steep slope catches my eye.
It looks like a person.
Camera-like, I zoom in on the point of interest. Definitely human, not very big though. Was it female? Quite likely.
There was something strange about the stature though.
As I process the information I’m picking up, I realize two others things. First, there’s a huge load of shale, rocks, and small boulders heading straight for the poor person. Second, it hits me like a fly hitting a windscreen—the “person” is actually an adult and a small child.
The knowledge that there’s a small child in danger has me doubling my efforts. I increase my stride and pick up my speed.
My brain is working overtime to fine tune my rescue plan. Any rescue requires an excellent plan and perfect execution. Obviously, this rescue just sprung on me, and I haven’t had time to prepare, but I’ve trained out here on my own for the last few years.
I’ve trained for any eventuality.
I may not have trained specifically for a potential woman and child needing to be rescued off the moving mountain face. But I’ve trained to cross a rockslide and drag a bear cub to safety.
Only last year, a wayward baby bear caused his poor mother a ginormous headache when it played too close to the path and tumbled down this very embankment. From memory, there’s a large rock protruding from the ground some distance below where I sought shelter with said baby bear.
By now, I’m running so fast my eyes are watering. I’m now only a few feet away from the edge. As I approach it, I get ready to jump.
I need to make it a good one. I can’t go back and do it again, to catch up with the woman and child. By now, I can see it’s a woman. I must get there as fast as possible.
In my mind, I count one, two, and three and then jump as if I was a ski jumper taking part in the Olympics, and going for gold.
As I fly through the air, I scan the area. The rock I used last year is still there. From where I am, it still looks like my best option. With more shit coming down, the woman and child will be crushed unless I get them into a safer spot. I land feet first slightly to their right and skid, leaning hard into the mountain the rest of the way.
The woman can’t see me; she’s huddled into the child. Looks like a little girl.
By now, the scream has stopped.
For a second, I debate my next move. When a football-sized rock hits my shin, I know it’s time to get a fucking a move on. If I keep standing here, we’ll all be crushed by rocks.
“I’ve got you,” I mumble and grab the two of them.
There’s no resistance. The woman doesn’t even turn around to look at me.
All of her attention is focused on the little girl. I’m assuming it’s a girl because of the pink top, the pink cap with a unicorn on it and the pink hiking boots.
I have to shake my head.
Pink hiking boots are a first. I’m not sure if I approve or not. At least they stick out and draw attention to her position.
The woman isn’t dressed as brightly as the girl and, therefore, harder to spot.
For a micro-second, I hover on the spot. My next move is risky. But it’s really the only viable option I’ve got.
If we stay where we are, we’re going to get crushed for sure. Okay, so I would probably be alright, but I doubt that even I could provide enough shelter and protection to these two from what’s about to come.
I take a deep breath and then join the debris plummeting downward. Precision and timing are now going to be everything. The giant boulder I’m looking for is approaching faster than I had anticipated. It also looks like I’m too far to the right of it.
I need to get us closer. If I don’t, I’ll slide right past and take my two protégés to their certain death. With all the strength I can muster, I start to move sideways. Rocks, slate, and dirt hit my feet. But I’m not deterred.
Like a bulldozer, I plough across the mountain face.
I glance to my left and vow that no lives will be lost here today, at least not while I’m still standing and breathing.
Just when I think I’m going to take these two to safety, I feel my right foot lose its footing. Now, all my weight and that of the woman and her child are supported on my left foot.
The boulder is so close now. I think I might even be able to touch it if I straighten out my arm and reach for it. But the smooth surface makes it impossible to grab. I’ve not recovered from being unbalanced. I’m dangerously close to falling.
It’s decision time.
I take another deep breath and then shove the woman and the small girl away from me.
Now that I’ve got less weight behind me, I’m able to regain my footing and follow the moving bodies.
Of course, I’ve timed the pushing almost to perfection, and I see the woman and the child huddle behind the large rock, where the surface is a little more stable.
With two large strides I’m behind them, and once again, I wrap my arms around them to keep them protected from loose missile coming over the top.
We stay huddled like this for a long time. It seems like hours, but in reality, I know it’s only about twenty minutes. Around us, the rocks pile up, eventually drowning out some of the sunlight.
Nature has a way of turning disasters off as fast as it turns them on.
When I’m confident it’s safe, I take a step back from the huddled figures. There’s not much room to move. We’re closed in by stones and debris.
“You’re okay now,” I say and try and put some warmth into my voice.
I don’t want to frighten the woman nor the child. Slowly, the figure unfurls, and I feel a lump form in the back of my throat. Those features are familiar.
The minute she starts to turn her head, I hold my breath.
Holy shit.
Fuck.
I can’t believe my eyes.
It just can’t be true. Maybe one of those loose rocks hit me in the head, and now I’m suffering from a hallucination. Because what I’m seeing can’t be what I’m seeing. The woman looks like Margot, and, therefore, I know I’m completely fucked in the head.
As she looks directly at me, our eyes meet.
And as I look at herhair, body, and clothes covered in dust; scrapes, and bruises covering her bare legs, arms, and face, I’m falling in love with her all over again.