Trek For Survival

Gia was keeping a close watch on Mikey, who kept wanting to stop and let Sprout see the rainbows, too.

"Mikey, keep Sprout in his pouch until we"re on the other side of the waterfall, or he may get lost and fall into the waters. You don"t want to lose him, do you?" asked Gia, frustrated that he wouldn"t keep moving.

"Gia, he"s just as excited as the rest of us, at being in such a beautiful place," said Tom, admiring another rainbow.

"Dad! This isn"t the place or time to be excited about beauty!" complained Gia. "This is a very dangerous place! If anyone slips, they will fall into the waterfall and die! We need to keep going!"

"She"s right, dear," panted Carla, as she rested against a wet and slimy rock. "These rocks are very slippery, and none of us are very good at climbing with heights."

Tom"s head snapped up as he realized she was afraid of heights, and quickly made his way to her side. "I"m sorry! I totally forgot. Are you doing alright?"

"Not really, but I haven"t stopped yet," she said, a shake to her voice as she tried to smile at him.

Mikey sighed and slipped Sprout back into his pouch, before reaching for the next rock to keep climbing. The pouch swung out, away from his body, and banged against a rock. His head jerked back and Gia barely managed to catch him as he crumbled, falling back away from the rocks they were climbing.

"Mikey! Vonn, something"s wrong with Mikey!" she screamed, clutching her lifeless brother in her arms as she clung to the rocks.

"Gia, calm down," said Vonn, moving over to see what was wrong. "I"m sure he"ll be fine. Here, let me have him."

She gratefully let Vonn take the boy, and followed close behind as he finished the last of the climb to the top of the falls. Concern had Tom and Carla reaching the top at the same time. The dark colored lizardfolk was watching from a distance, having reached the top a long time ago and was lazily waiting for them to make their way to the top as well.

Vonn lay Mikey down and checked his breathing.

"Did something bite him? Like a snake or a spider?" asked Carla clutching her shirt.

"No, there"s no marks on him," said Vonn, examining the boy"s fingers and hands.

"Did he b.u.mp his head?" asked Tom, rubbing Carla"s shoulders.

"Not that I recall," said Gia, shaking her head. "I told him to put Sprout up and to get back to climbing. The pouch hit the rock when he did, and then he fell. Do you think it"s because Sprout hit the rock?"

"There"s one way to see," said Vonn, gently opening the pouch and pulling the limp green Limcheez from its pouch.

As he turned it over, they saw a small b.u.mp protruding from the back of its head.

"Could he really be bonded to it that closely?" asked Tom in wonder, his eyes darting back and forth between the small creature and the boy.

"The elves seemed to think so," said Vonn, gently sliding the small furry body back into the pouch and tucking it into Mikey"s shirt. "I"m going to carry him, and we"ll see it he gets any better. I don"t think there"s really anything else we can do."

Gia nodded and watched as Vonn picked the boy up in a princess carry, being careful not to harm the Limcheez further. It terrified her that any injuries the thing received could carry over to her brother. What if it was killed? Would he die as well?

"The water rushes very fast across the rocks, making them slippery, but it is very shallow. If you go slow and carefully, you should be able to make it across the falls without any problems. I have two ropes. One I will tie here, to this large rock, and take the other end to the other side to attach to that large rock over there. The other rope I will cut into pieces and tie around each of you, so you are attached to the first rope. We do this to our young when it is time for them to learn to cross the falls for the first time. If you slip, rather than falling to your death, you will be caught by the ropes and can be pulled to safety," explained the lizard as she tied the first rope around the rock, and then tied each of them to it.

"Whoever comes last, will need to detach the rope from the rock and tie their rope to the end of it. It would be best if it were someone smaller, so if they slip, we can pull them up easier," added the lizard, eyeing Gia.

With a sigh, Gia nodded her understanding, and watched as the lizard tied her end of the rope to the loop of rope that went around the rock. She didn"t like the idea of going last, and possibly not having the safety of the rope to stop her from going over the falls, but she wasn"t going to volunteer anyone else for the job. It was already going to be hard enough for her parents and Vonn had Mikey to carry.

They all watched as the lizard seemed to skip across the waters, not being bothered by them at all, and then tied the rope to the rock on the other side. Vonn nodded to himself, and took a breath before stepping out into the water. It immediately rushed over his boots, pushing against his feet and dragging him closer to the edge.

"We should take off our boots," suggested Carla, watching as Vonn fought back several times before finally making it to the other side.

"That looks like a good idea," agreed Tom, as the rest of them all got to work taking off their boots and socks.

The rock under her feet was warm from the sun, and slightly damp from the mist, but Gia didn"t mind. She knew that water was going to be very cold, and wasn"t looking forward to it.

Carla and Tom chose to go together, to help hold each other up as the water pushed and tugged on them, trying to throw them off the top of the falls. A large fish, half as long as Carla was tall, came swooping along the waters, hitting her feet out from under her, and knocking her off the edge.

Tom gave a shout as she was ripped from his grasp, and stood there in shock, staring at the edge where she had disappeared. Gia screamed at him, and he shook his head, grabbing the rope that was attached to her. Gia went to run out and help, but was jerked back when she realized she was tied to the end of the rope.

Vonn waved at her, and stepped back out into the water. Gia could barely see the splashing from her mother fighting against the stream of water, as Tom struggled to pull her up without getting swept over himself. As soon as Vonn reached them, he helped pull her up, soaking wet and sputtering. Gia watched in relief as they all made their way to the other side and fell down in exhaustion. It was her turn.

Pulling the loop of rope off the rock, she double checked to make sure her rope around her waist was securely attached to it, before starting her way across the water. It was every bit as cold as she expected, almost making her jerk her foot back when she initially touched the water. Gritting her teeth, she forced her other foot into the water, and began to make her way across the waterfalls.

The loud churning of the water far below called to her as she reached halfway. The extra rope was being pulled by the lizard, and being wrapped around the rock on the other side. That way if she fell, she wouldn"t fall as far. Keeping half an eye on the river to her left, in case another big fish came to swoop her off the edge, Gia made sure to plant each foot firmly before easing her weight onto it.

She was so focused on making sure she didn"t slip, she almost screamed when Vonn grabbed her and pulled her into a bear hug when she reached the other side.

"You all did well," said the lizard, taking off all of the ropes. "We always loose at lease one young one when we attempt this, as the ropes around the middle don"t always hold well. The strength of the water can often cause the ropes to untie."

As the lizard turned away to place the coiled ropes in a hollow formed specifically for that purpose, their eyes all met in horror. Gia was glad the lizard hadn"t told them that before they went to cross the waters. None of them might have tried it otherwise.