Page 126 of Lion’s Den

“Give me a minute, and I’ll come get you. You’ve got this.”

“I won’t have this much longer,” she said tartly. “I think I sprained my wrist on the way down here. I’m holding my body weight with my left hand.”

Alarm raced through him. Sedona was right-handed. “Wrap your right arm around the tree limb, Sedona. That will help distribute your weight more evenly.” It might help her hold on a few more minutes.

“I’ll try.” A moment later, she called out, “It worked.”

Thank God.

“You still need to hurry, Cam. I can’t hold on much longer.”

“You’ll hold,” he said, voice firm and sure. “If you need to, think of that as an order.”

She laughed. “Do you think that will work?”

Dario and Isaac established a redundant anchor using a large tree with deep roots, and built a main line, Cam’s rappel rope, and a belay line, his backup safety rope. At the same time that was happening, Rhys set up the lowering system or haul system for extraction later.

While his teammates built the system, Cam put on his harness, helmet, and gloves. Forcing himself to follow the safety protocols, he checked his buckles and straps, and clipped into the main line. Spencer double-checked the device threading and knots.

The mission clock beat loudly in his ears as he tested the rope with a weighted lean.

Dario and Isaac became edge attendants and lay prone near the cliff’s edge. Their job was to manage rope friction, prevent snags, and keep visual contact with Cam during his descent.

Dario said, “Rope clear. Line’s good. You’re set, Cam.”

“Copy that.”

Cam backed toward the edge of the cliff, keeping weight on the rope. His teammates controlled the belay line from above. He went over the lip smoothly, legs braced, brake hand locked.

Despite the pounding need to get to Sedona before she fell, he moved deliberately, scanning constantly for hazards that would delay or hurt him or Sedona.

As he continued to move down the side of the cliff, Dario and Isaac fed him the rope and called out hazards.

“Loose rock below your left,” Dario snapped.

Cam adjusted the path he took to prevent kicking loose rocks that could cascade down the cliff and injure Sedona. He navigated over ledges and overhangs and maneuvered around vegetation. “I’m coming to you, Sedona. Stay still, and hang on, all right?”

Seconds later, Spencer’s voice came through the comm device in Cam’s ear. “Trauma kit, hypothermia gear, and splints are ready.”

“Copy. Hold.” He would assess Sedona’s injuries. If she needed medical help before moving her, Spencer would rappel down the cliff face. Otherwise, Spencer would treat her at the top of the cliff or at the foot.

After what seemed like forever, but was in reality only a few minutes, Cam stopped his descent beside Sedona.

“Hi,” she said, voice soft.

“Hi.” He found a comfortable stance and locked off his rappel device, then clipped into a secondary anchor so he could work with Sedona hands-free. Much as he longed to touch her, he waited until she was safe from a further fall.

Spencer’s voice came over the comm. “Rescuer stable. Proceed with the assessment.”

“Copy.” After helping her into a spare harness, Cam attached Sedona’s harness to his system and clipped her into the main rope so she couldn’t drop. “I’ve got you, Tiger,” he said. “You’re secure. There’s no way you can fall.”

She glanced down at the harness and rope, then took a deep breath and relaxed against him. “Thank you for coming to get me.” Her voice sounded choked.

He cupped her chin with his gloved hand and tilted her face up to his. “I will always come for you.”

Cam performed a rapid medical assessment. Her airway and breathing appeared normal. No major bleeding that he could see. He wasn’t a medic like Spencer, but he was trained to do the SAR neuro check. She passed with flying colors. Amazingly, her only problem appeared to be her wrist.

He tapped his comm device. “Suspected wrist fracture, Spencer.”