Wild Child by Katie Cross

Author:Katie Cross [Cross, Katie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: KC Writing

"It'll take a while to safely work our way down that slope," Ellie said with a ring of authority that took me back to our childhood, "but we can make it down. We'll have to be very careful. If we hike as a group, we can make sure that rocks don't dislodge and fall down the slope onto someone else. No one can twist an ankle, though, because going down this scree field with an injury is a recipe for disaster. Got it?"

She stood at the top of a shale field of rocks that looked daunting enough to me. The three of us stood back a few paces in a half-circle that faced her. After locating the cabin, she scoured a bit further and found this scree field to take down. With every word Ellie said, Kimball nodded eagerly, hands rubbing together with eagerness to crash down the volley of rocks ready to bruise our bodies. The cabin waited at the bottom.

We were at least forty-five minutes away, at best. The ridge hovered so high over the canyon below it already started blocking out daylight. Shadows crept up in the crevices. Steve's pale expression meant he wasn't too excited about our foray down the rocks either. With all that brawn, he'd fall hard.

Ellie readjusted her backpack and nodded. "Then, let's go. Everyone with me."

She started down the slide, nice and cautious, and nobody spoke. Each of us kept close to her tail and focused on where to step next. Not even Kimball had a word to say. All our attention focused on a path to boulder down, stop for rocks, hold our breaths, and eventually crawl toward the weird cabin. Any attempt to keep track of our surroundings was nearly lost. I stopped a few times to keep an eye out overhead, but someone would inevitably slip and draw my attention back. Whether it was Kimball's strange excitement, or Steve's even greater withdrawal and apprehension at every step, something wasn't right.

That cabin wasn't just a cabin.

But I couldn't stop our descent now, nor could I rule out massive paranoia after my deployment. In my mind, enemies waited at every shadow. Ever since I stepped off Afghani soil and back onto the terra firma of the US, I wasn't sure what part of my instinct was real. I'd honed my instincts to the sandbox of Afghanistan, but now I had to figure them out again in real life.

Ellie kept pressing toward the cabin and I could always trust her. Last night, the affection and the warmth in her tone had been real. No denying that. Ellie never falsely represented herself.

We inched our way down the scree field with quiet, painstaking care. The occasional call of birds rang through the air, followed by the shudder of rocks as they skittered by. Even I felt the eerie silence all the way to my chest.

Finally, an hour later, the four of us fanned out in a line. We slowed to a stop on dirt ground again.

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