Page 40 of Calla's Boys

I look toward Billy and Doc, both of whom look hesitant, but also keen, and I sigh in resignation.

“Alright, but at the first sign of trouble, we call it and go back down,” I reluctantly say.

Calla puts her hand on my knee and squeezes it reassuringly. I place my hand on top of hers and lightly rub the skin on the back of it.

I’d do anything for her, we all would. So long as she feels confident enough that we’ll all be okay, and thatshe’sokay, I’ll trust her judgment.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Billy

My hands are throbbing, and I think they’re all insane for wanting to continue—apart from Doc—but I have to admit that I do want to finish this journey as well.

It feels right, even with everything that has gone wrong since we began. With the majority of us in agreement about continuing, we finish our coffees and break camp. After a quick sweep of our little campsite to make sure we’ve packed everything, we set off.

The pace is slow, grueling, and gets more difficult as we begin the next stage of our mountain hike. We barely talk except to communicate about minor obstacles or tricky-to-navigate stretches of path ahead of us.

This time, we stick a lot closer together, and despite the eagerness of our group to reach the end, we’re all feeling the intense burn. I know deep down we’re all worried about whether we’ll make it, especially Calla after what happened to her yesterday.

I’m glad it wasn’t more serious than it was, though it scares me to think about how much worse it could have been. The deep rope burns in my palms are a painfully vivid reminder.

I haven’t said anything to the others, but it feels like the wounds have reopened, and the ache is only getting more intense as we climb. I mask the pain as best I can, but I’ve caught Jesse checking on me when I’ve let out the occasional hiss of pain when the skin pulls tight as I put weight on them.

A part of me feels like I should have been more vocal about my reluctance to continue, but the other part of me wants to see the same views as the rest of our group when we finally reach the peak.

I know this isn’t the biggest mountain in the range, or even in the country, but it’s our challenge, and we’re going to rise to the top and face it.

The air is even thinner at this point, and as a precaution, we’ve made sure the oxygen canisters are easily accessible in case we need them.

Clyde is leading the group again, and Doc is at the back, putting Calla, me, and Jesse in the middle of the group. It makes sense, considering that currently the three of us are the weaker members of our team.

I don’t know how much time has passed, I haven’t been paying much attention, suspecting that it would make it seem so much longer to know exactly how long we’ve been going.

Clyde eventually comes to a stop, and his voice is filled with a breathless awe as he speaks. “We’ve made it.”

We’ve come to a ledge, similar to where we made camp, but it's clear that the path has ended and we’ve gone as high as we can safely go without scaling the cliff face of the peak.

“Wow, it’s beautiful,” Calla says, looking outward at the country below us.

“Stay away from the edge,” Jesse warns her, pulling her closer to the walls.

She glances down and wobbles slightly, and all four of us move to grab hold of her in case she faints on us again.

“I’m okay, I just need to remember not to look directly down,” she giggles, looking embarrassed.

Her face is pale, and she slowly sits down on the ground with her back against the rocky cliff.

Doc pulls out one of the oxygen canisters and hands the mask to her. “Use this if you need to, okay?”

She nods and takes it from him, setting it beside her as she gazes outward.

Satisfied she’s fine—at least for now—I turn my attention to the view that’s captivated the rest of them.

It really is amazing to witness. The rise and fall of the land, the lakes and snowy mountains sparkling under the sunlight, and the small speck that is the village and resort we’ve been staying at.

I’ve never seen anything like this before in my life, and I consider myself lucky that I’m getting to see this with my own eyes and not just in the pictures Calla showed us when she picked this country for our trip.

We stay here for a while, just admiring the view and committing it to memory.

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