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he mark of my sexual insanity. I could imagine his pants coming down a little while he was pushing himself past his endurance.
It was unheard of for me to have these unusual attachments. Growing up, guys my own age seemed immature. They couldn’t get out of their own way to save their life. Stumbling over their words and trying desperately to attract the attention of the opposite sex was an effort in futility. It was comical to see them struggle but it was cute to see them break through the fear holding them back.
I didn’t recognize Daniel as being the athletic sort and he projected this air of overconfidence. In high school, he would’ve been the one glaring example of a man willing to do and say anything to get some. Singing the praise of a woman wasn’t easy for some but it was almost like breathing for him.
“I appreciate how far you are willing to go to harness that inner warrior. Throwing you into the deep end was necessary to see how you would respond. It remains to be seen what will shock you. I guess I’m going to have to try a little bit harder. This is just the first salvo and you can expect me to up my game. My blood runs cold seeing you keep up with me but you can always use the safe word.” It was thoughtful of him to be concerned and he was purposely teasing me with visions of doing something particularly naughty, which is what he brought to mind when he mentioned a safe word.
I reached for the next handhold barely adhering to it by a fingertip. I swung precariously on that fingertip holding up my weight with a guilty thrill of excitement coming over me in waves. I had learned from experience that I could be my own worst enemy. Being sheltered from life made me restless and those voices forced me to go outside of my comfort zone.
I turned my body and I was facing the blue encompassing sky, void of any cloud coverage. My other hand came in contact with a crevice in the rock. One of my nails broke but I wasn’t going to cry over spilled milk.
I was never a girlie girl, more of a tomboy, completely comfortable in the great outdoors. This was just another extension of what was natural. My athletic body was toned in all the right places. The agility and ability to stretch my body to the maximum came from a strict regimen to mold my body and my mind into a fighting force.
“You’re not going to hear the safe word from me. I’m too damn stubborn to give up without a fight. It doesn’t feel like we’re making any headway but every inch matters,” I stuttered, realizing there was an underlying component of sex in my statement.
He did bring about those kinds of thoughts without doing much of anything to encourage my bad behavior. Daniel was the image of perfection. I was reminded, if it was too good to be true then it probably was. He did make me suspicious of his motives but he had proven to be the distraction I was looking for. It was almost like he knew I needed some way to get out of my head and the best way to do that was to concentrate on something dangerous, to put my life on the line.
“I’m not even going to dignify that with a response. It’s interesting to see where your head goes when facing your mortality. I’m guilty of the same thing and it’s probably not the best time to tell you how smoking you look.” Seeing those clothes in the back of the limousine and realizing they were my size wasn’t what I was expecting.
“Daniel, I can assure you my mind isn’t in the gutter. It’s not my fault you take an innocent comment and twist it into something ugly. A man usually has just one thing on his mind and it’s a wonder any of you get any work done with that thing doing most of the thinking for you,” I teased and his smile informed me that he was happy to take the lighthearted jabbing.
“It’s not a good idea to take shots at the one person between you and a fall from your lofty perch. I feel I need to tell you….” He lost his balance and plummeted past me in a blur of motion.
He disappeared and the sound of bones breaking echoed in my ears. It happened so quickly that I didn’t have a chance to react. There was no way he could survive falling from that dizzying height.
His rope had, apparently, snagged and snapped when he tried to wrestle it free, evident by the frayed end of the rope right in front of me. It didn’t look natural and I investigated further to see that his equipment was sabotaged. The knife used was surgical, somebody had gone to a lot of trouble to kill him. The result was undeniable and I was afraid of what I was going to find when I climbed down with my heart in my throat.
The rope was made of sturdy material woven into something that I could trust with my life. I slowly descended bouncing on the balls of my feet. There was no point in panicking, it wasn’t like I could change anything. The possibility of him surviving was slim to none but I was holding onto the hope, regardless of how futile it might be.
I had to stop when the wind picked up, afraid of becoming just another victim as he did. Even a few feet could be detrimental and the awkward landing would prove how fragile the human body was.
I was just getting to know him. It didn’t seem possible but accidents happened all the time. This was no accident, somebody was playing a dangerous game. There was no doubt in my mind, he had his fair share of enemies wanting to see the king topple from his throne.
I wasn’t going to rest and the person playing master puppeteer had just met his worst enemy.
The chalk on my hands made it easier to cling to those fibers. I saw something from about a hundred feet above. There was a form lying prone and motionless but I couldn’t get a good look at it. I turned my attention back to the task at hand. There was an unspoken grief choking me but I tried to stuff it down into the darkest corner of my soul. Remaining steadfast and calm was the key but in the back of my mind, there was the whisper of concern for my own safety.
I swung the remaining few feet to the ground and stood there with my hands on my knees afraid to turn around. The remembered sound of bones breaking made me cringe with my eyes closed. It would have been merciful for him to die on impact. I couldn’t think of a worse fate than living in constant pain.
Taking a deep breath, I swung to face the inevitable but there was nothing there. No blood and no body! This was impossible unless he was able to crawl away. The cautionary tale of this hobby wasn’t lost on me. The right equipment was the difference between life and death. There was no landing which would have saved him from internal injuries.
There was a droplet of blood near the scene. I was going to have my work cut out for me to track him down.
Chapter Seven
I was working on the premise of surveying about a hundred yards in either direction but there was still no sign of him. The blood trail had stopped a few feet away from the first droplet. I knelt in the packed earth to touch the imprint of his hand. He was alive but I didn’t want to think about what condition he was in. It seemed unfathomable for him to survive but I felt it was my responsibility to render aid.
I followed into the brush and the thick forest ahead of me, forgetting about how stupid it was to go off alone. Calling for help would have been easy from the radio in his truck. The limousine couldn’t navigate the terrain and there was a four by four truck waiting for us, gleaming in black. We had to trek a couple of miles from the truck with our gear in tow. I certainly wasn’t expecting to haul a twenty pound pack over my shoulders.
“Daniel… I need you to call out if you can hear me. It’s not a weakness to ask for help. There’s nothing to be ashamed of and it wasn’t your fault. Somebody tried to kill you. The rope was cut on purpose and nobody could have known.” I wasn’t trying to be condescending but my tone was one of visible concern.
I stopped and listened intently but there was nothing to indicate he was in any shape to call attention to himself. We were in the middle of nowhere and we hadn’t seen a soul for miles, which was by design. He wanted things to be private and I had this fleeting thought of a serial killer dragging me out to parts unknown to kill me.
“I’m really starting to worry Daniel. I hope this isn't some kind of game to get my pity. You don’t want to be on the receiving end of my wrath. I don’t like these juvenile tactics,” I bellowed at the top of my lungs wanting him to know how disappointed I would be if this was some kind of joke at my expense.
I paused in my tracks when I saw a piece of his clothing bloody and sticking to the ground. I swallowed hard and operated on the notion that he was somewhere licking his wounds. I picked up the cloth and could smell the overpowering aroma of blood in the air. My senses were honed but no amount of training could give me that kind of natural ability. It did enhance it and I was able to recognize how different I was from everybody around me.
My heart was pounding and my pulse was racing with my palms sweating off the remnants of the white chalk. The sun was setting and I would have about one hour of daylight before I was going to have to call off the search. I could, hopefully, make my way back to the truck and call for help but that wasn’t going to bring him any kind of comfort.
