Page 22 of Delta Mission
“Let’s pick up our pace so we can check that ravine before we run out of daylight.” He ramped up his speed, and I matched him stride for stride.
As we kept up our speed, sunlight was quickly absorbed by the night sky. But stars appeared like an act in a magic show andfortunately, the moon crept over the mountain, giving us enough light that we didn’t need our flashlights.
It took longer than I expected to reach the ravine, and the giant gash in the landscape materialized as a jagged black hole that appeared to have no beginning and no end.
“Hey, look, there’s a bridge.” Channing sprinted toward it.
“It’s broken.” I chased after him.
He stopped at the end of the bridge that spanned a hundred yards across the canyon. The bridge was constructed of tattered ropes that looked a century old. They probably were.
He adjusted his helmet and huffed out a breath as he inched toward the edge.
“Oh, my god. You were shot.” I pointed at the circular divot on the side of his helmet.
He removed his helmet and frowned at the dent. “Yeah. When we climbed out of the drug lab.”
“Jesus. You could’ve been killed.”
“Yep. But I wasn’t. Let’s check out this bridge.” Holding onto the ropes on either side, he pressed the first plank with his boot. “Seems okay to me.”
“It’s not. I’ve never seen a single person on this bridge. There’s a good reason for that.”
Crossing this bridge would save a traveler from walking about twenty miles to the next bridge. Yet I’d never seen anyone using it.
“Maybe you just missed them.” He inched further along, gripping the ropes at elbow height and testing each plank with his boot before he took the next step.
Goddammit.I shifted that kid’s rifle around to my back and clipped the holster holding my Glock down. I didn’t need my weapons tumbling into the river hundreds of feet below.
“I have a bad feeling about this.” I stepped onto the first plank.
“Hey, what are you doing?” Channing yelled over his shoulder.
“Following you.”
“No! Stay there until I check it’s safe.”
“No way. If this thing breaks, then we’ll be separated.”
“Well, maybe that’s a good idea.”
“Fuck you, Channing.”
“Right back at you, Goodspeed.”
A loud crack echoed about the canyon. The plank beneath my feet dipped. I froze.
“Don’t move,” Channing shouted.
I strangled the ropes. “I told you this bridge was—”
The right rope collapsed in my hand. The plank beneath my feet dropped a few inches.
“Hang on!” Channing yelled.
“I am!”
We froze in position. The air bristled. My heart thundered in my ears.
