THE CAPTURED

CHAPTER 10 ✔️

Miranda turned resolutely and began to climb. Trevor kept the rope taut so that her weight would be supported as much as possible.

"Just keep looking for the handholds, one at a time," Allixon called after her.

“Don't look down at the ground or get your mind too far ahead of yourself." Miranda moved slowly up.

When she was about six feet off the ground, Allixon started to relax. Miranda would probably throw up when she reached the top

and realized how high she'd climbed, but with any luck, it looked like she'd be able to make it.

When Miranda reached the first ledge she didn't stop as Allixon suggested, but kept going. Probably a good idea. Not giving herself a chance to get cold feet. She kept going until she reached the smooth section where Allixon had tried to rappel and fallen, then she froze.

"Just hold onto the rope, Miranda!" Allixon shouted.

“Remember what I told you. Just brace your feet against the wall and Trevor can pull you over this part." Miranda hung onto the handholds and didn't move.

Trevor pulled on the rope, and she screamed,

"No! Stop!" She was frozen against the side of the cliff.

"You're more than half-way there, Miranda,"

Allixon called. "You have to go on."

Miranda didn't answer, but she refused to move, and she screamed whenever Trevor tried to urge her up with the rope. She looked down once when Allixon shouted to her, but that only seemed to make matters worse,

because she pressed herself flat against the cliff wall and stayed that way.

"Well, hell," Trevor said.

“I can't drag her up there if she doesn't at least use her hands and feet to keep herself from scraping against the rocks. And I can't lower her as long as she's hanging on like that any slack I put in the rope just makes it more likely she'll fall."

Allixon saw Luke stoop down and pick something up off the ground, apparently oblivious to what was going on. He studied the object for a moment, then slipped it into his pocket. Crap. No help from that quarter.

Apparently Allixon was going to have to find a

way to help Miranda herself. She looked around the pile of gear, but there was no other rope. If she could free climb up to the ledge, maybe she could coax Miranda down. Going as high as Miranda was without a rope - and

trying to deal with a hysterical climber - would be suicide. She'd just have to go as far as the ledge, and then hope for the best.

She started toward the rock face, when she heard Daryl shouting.

"Hang on, Miranda - I'm coming down for you."

Daryl had hooked his harness on the same top rope.

He was walking slowly down the rock face, rather than rappelling. Allixon moved closer to

Trevor - if Daryl fell he'd take Miranda with him, and hopefully she could lend her weight to Trevor's and keep the two of them from slamming onto the shelf below or Trevor being hauled up the side of the cliff like an overbalanced counterweight her, with his own feet braced against the rock face, pried her fingers lose.

With one hand working the rope and the other arm firmly around Miranda's waist and gripping the rope for support, he was slowing walking her up the side of the cliff.

After what seemed like forever but was probably really only ten minutes or so, the pair reached the top. Allixon saw Clarice reach over to pull Miranda to safety. Daryl gave a cocky wave - and Allixon couldn't begrudge him a bit of bravado after that feat - and pulled himself over the top edge of the cliff. A moment later he tossed the end of the rope down to them.

"So who's next?" Allixon asked, looking from Trevor to Luke.

"You," Trevor said, and Allixon, suddenly tired, didn't argue. Trevor had proved himself competent enough for a novice, and she was certain Luke had experience climbing. Let the two of them figure out how to get themselves up the cliff.

Allixon hooked herself back in, and had an uneventful climb. She looked back down to see Trevor climbing up cautiously, but surely, with Luke as his belayer. Nice to know the guy was capable of doing something more than look off into space and ignore the rest of them. She wondered what Trevor had said to him.

Once Trevor reached the top she started to set up a belay from there for Luke, but Trevor stopped her before she could throw the rope over, pointing. Luke was already halfway up, free climbing. The guy either had balls or he

was an i***t. She had to admit, he seemed to know what he was doing, and she noticed, startled, that he was removing her chocks as he climbed. An environmentalist? Maybe he was one of those free climbing purists who took

"clean" climbing, as well as pushing the boundaries of safety, to the extreme. With the top rope in place, they wouldn't need the chocks anymore if they had to climb back down. But as she kept watching she saw that instead of carrying the chocks and carabiners with him, he seemed to study each one for a moment after removing them, then toss them on the ground below. So much for the environmentalist theory.

He detoured neatly around the sheer section, then removed the last few chocks, following the same procedure as before, and pulled himself over the top. He stood then and took in the same panoramic view Allixon had when

she first reached the top, and she had the sense he was looking for something other than the scenery. Whatever it was he apparently didn't find it, because he shrugged and turned away.

He seemed to notice her then, once she sat down next to Miranda, letting the girl lean against her shoulder. Luke reached in his pocket and pulled out a shiny aluminum ring, glinting in the sunshine. He tossed it to her and she caught it, and examined it. The spring lock was broken, and the gate hung loosely.

"Every damn one of them," he said.