Much of Nothing
You let out a deep breath and reluctantly agree to turn back. "Let's just head back, my legs are killing me anyway," You tell her.
She looks relieved. She turns around and you start walking back the way you came. All the climbing you did up the steep hill has turned to a dangerous decent. Part of you is relieved that it is down hill, another part of you becomes increasingly nervous as your feet slip out from under you time and time again.
Far ahead you can see Dan stop to lean up against a tree. You laugh for a moment at him and your foot trips up on a root. Terri navigates the path with much less difficulty but you continue to struggle. You fall farther and farther behind.
To your left the path is lined with a wall of dirt where roots of ancient trees stick out of the side. To your right is a steep hill spotted with trees that ends in a drop off to the river. It is just as you consider the danger of this section of the trail that your foot catches under a root and you fall face first to the ground.
In the middle of your fall you attempt to catch yourself and end up landing on your side and sliding down the hill. You mutter curses as you try to slow or stop your decent, but nothing you do seems to work. You watch in misery as the river draws ever nearer.
You are reaching for grasses and roots, pulling them from the earth with alarmingly little resistance, even as you drop over the edge and into the river. The water is a cold shock that instantly sucks out your breath.
You bob to the surface as quickly as you can while the current pushes you down stream. You look around in desperation, searching for a possible safe haven. The shore is short swim, but the current seems to be pushing you away from it and you have never been much of a swimmer. Coming up ahead of you is a rock which sits in the middle of the river that you think you may be able to reach, but if the current sweeps you past it you will be trying to stay above the surface in the middle of the river.
You don't have much time, so it would be best if you made your decision quickly.
Seriously. Make a decision.
She looks relieved. She turns around and you start walking back the way you came. All the climbing you did up the steep hill has turned to a dangerous decent. Part of you is relieved that it is down hill, another part of you becomes increasingly nervous as your feet slip out from under you time and time again.
Far ahead you can see Dan stop to lean up against a tree. You laugh for a moment at him and your foot trips up on a root. Terri navigates the path with much less difficulty but you continue to struggle. You fall farther and farther behind.
To your left the path is lined with a wall of dirt where roots of ancient trees stick out of the side. To your right is a steep hill spotted with trees that ends in a drop off to the river. It is just as you consider the danger of this section of the trail that your foot catches under a root and you fall face first to the ground.
In the middle of your fall you attempt to catch yourself and end up landing on your side and sliding down the hill. You mutter curses as you try to slow or stop your decent, but nothing you do seems to work. You watch in misery as the river draws ever nearer.
You are reaching for grasses and roots, pulling them from the earth with alarmingly little resistance, even as you drop over the edge and into the river. The water is a cold shock that instantly sucks out your breath.
You bob to the surface as quickly as you can while the current pushes you down stream. You look around in desperation, searching for a possible safe haven. The shore is short swim, but the current seems to be pushing you away from it and you have never been much of a swimmer. Coming up ahead of you is a rock which sits in the middle of the river that you think you may be able to reach, but if the current sweeps you past it you will be trying to stay above the surface in the middle of the river.
You don't have much time, so it would be best if you made your decision quickly.
Seriously. Make a decision.