âIâll pull her up!â Alyssa cried. âIâm lightweight, so it should be safe enough!â
There was no other choice right now.
âYou canât!â Elias cried, shaking his head. âI promised Mr. Forrest I would keep you safe! Let me go save her!â
His team cried, âYou know the rock wonât hold your weight, sir!â
âIâm not some prissy little miss, Mr. Parker. Iâm a qualified park ranger, just like you! Now stay there and let me save her!â
Alyssa then hooked a latch around the safety rope around her waist and slowly climbed toward the injured hiker.
Unfortunately for her, the rain only added to the smoothness of the mountainâs rocky surface, making climbing even more difficult.
âIâm here! Youâre safe!â
Finally, Alyssa reached the injured hiker, quickly grabbing her by the waist.
âMy leg⦠It wonât moveâ¦â The womanâs face was covered in rainwater and tears. She was so weak and limp that she could barely speak.
Alyssa could instantly tell that her leg had fractured. She hurriedly tied the safety rope around the womanâs waist.
At that moment, the ground beneath them started to tremble and disintegrate.
âShit! The rockâs coming apart! Hurry and get them back up!â Elias cried, pulling on the rope with the rest of his team.
Yet, no matter how hard they tried, the slippery ground beneath their surfaces only made them slip forward even more.
âWe need to hurry, sir!â
âWe canât hold on much more!â
âWe can only save one of them, Mr. Parker! We need to leave quickly!â
The landslide had already begun, rock and soil falling in great clumps down by their feet and past the Elias used all his strength, a cry tearing from his lips as he and his team pulled with all their might.
Finally, they managed to rescue someone.
âMr. Parker, the hiker has made it! Sheâs alive!â
âBut Ms. Alice isnât here, sir!â
Eliasâ breathing caught at the realization that Alyssa hadnât been pulled up. His vision swam, turning dark in an instant.
The team had to return the injured hiker to the base camp to treat her injuries.
âHalf of you take the hiker back. The rest of you come with me! We need to find Ms. Alice!â Elias cried.â
Dispatch the search and rescue team right now! We need backup!â
âMr. Parker, could she have been washed away by the rubble?â
âWhat if⦠What if she fell down the cliff?â
The team stood there dejectedly, not an ounce of hope in their chests.
âDonât you dare spout nonsense like that! Ms. Alice is safe and sound, waiting for us to rescue her right now!â Elias yelled. Still, he had to bite his cheek to keep the tears from falling.
He had lost a teammate to one of these accursed landslides three years ago, so he knew just how much danger Alyssa was in, bravado or not.
âLook there, sir!â someone called out.
Ð Elias turned to look. Amid the rain and wind, a man in green camo hiking gear marched right up to them.
âMr. Jasper?â
âIt really is him!â
Jasperâs face was pale. He was drenched in rainwater, but his gaze remained steely and determined.
âWhereâs Alice?â He nearly barked out.
âShe⦠was swept away in a landslide while saving a lost hiker. We donât know if sheâs safe or in danger right now,â Elias bit out. There was no use hiding the truth right now.
Jasper seemed to grow even paler. Pain tore at his heart in an instant.
âNo. She canât be. Sheâs going to be okay!â Jasper growled madly.
Alyssa still owed him answers. She hadnât gotten her revenge on him, and he hadnât made things up to her yet for all the pain and suffering he caused her. So she couldnât be dead. He wouldnât allow it.
Wait for me, Alyssa!
With that burning thought in mind, Jasper turned and ran back into the torrential rain, heading for the mountain trail.