Rocky Relationships

I continued down the path, being sure to dodge the branches and stones. The group leader happily bounced between large stones on the side of the trail, leading the way forward. Fourteen other people were in the group, each had a backpack filled with gear and a walking stick. They were on a long hike across the Rocky Mountains, trying to enjoy the view below them. Almost everyone had been going for about three days at this point and almost everyone regretted it because they were all tired. We were supposed to be at a log cabin enjoying a Christmas party but the trip was taking longer than expected.

One member of the party began to whistle a tune but was quickly hushed by their travel buddy. Everyone came with at least one other person except for me. Emmy had cancelled on me because she fell ill right before we were about to leave. I missed the company but was too nervous to try and talk to the other people so I stuck to the back.

The road looked down on a large forest and a mountain stood on our right. I glanced up but was met by a dark grey stone that loomed above me. There was a soft blanket of silence that covered us, broken only by the soft sound of our steps. Something cold and wet fell on my arm, followed by another. It was beginning to snow and a group of dark clouds began to cover the sun. Thunder sounded in the distance and a flash of lightning soon followed.

The trail guide began to usher us down to a small clearing in the forest to wait through the storm. The snow quickly began to get harder, and more thunder sounded, getting steadily closer. However before I was even halfway down the slope, a loud rumbling ensued behind me. I spun around to look as a large chunk of the mountain side began to fall down upon us. Most of the people in the group ran and I sprinted along with them but saw that one was frozen in place. I managed to quickly grab him and forcefully pull him along. The rest of the group was several yards ahead of us now and the rumbling continued. Dust was being thrown into the air, making it difficult to see. Suddenly, something collided with my head. Everything went black

A soft groan escaped my lips. I had landed on my stomach and when I tried to get up my leg screamed in pain so I quickly laid back down. Managing to glance over my shoulder I could see my leg was in a small hole, trapped in between several large boulders. The landslide had formed a really small and tight pocket around us. My ears were ringing and I had a dull headache, but otherwise, I was fine. Shifting my weight as best I could I moved into a more comfortable position.

“You all right?” The young man that I had grabbed earlier was also stuck in here. His light blond hair was covered in dust and his skin was an ashen color. He had bruises and scrapes along his arms and legs, however seemed unfazed.

“I’m stuck under some rocks, but otherwise I’m fine.” I stammered out. He cautiously examined the crevice that held my leg hostage. He tried to stand up but hit his head on the rocks above us. “Careful.” I coughed out.

“Thanks.” He said sarcastically as he moved to the other side and sat down. “I don’t think we can get out of here by ourselves so we are going to have to wait for rescue services to come.” I sighed as the realization that I might be stuck here for hours or maybe even days hit me. The alternative of not getting out at all was too grim to think of right now.

“My name’s Matt,” I said, trying to spark a conversation to pass the time. “What’s your’s?”

“Anthony, but everyone just calls me Tony.” Tony began to run his hand along the walls behind him, feeling it’s rough, bumpy texture. He looked up and saw a thin gap between the rocks. He jammed his index finger into it, but quickly yanked it out, wincing as a scrape appeared.

“Is it still snowing out there?” I asked. I was unsure how long I had been out but if the storm was still going then it couldn’t have been very long.

“Yeah, but it feels like it slowed down a little.” He plopped back down and put his head in his palm. He began to trace random shapes in the ground. “Do you know how long it will take people to get here?”

“No, but hopefully they’ll be here soon.” I responded. “The best thing we can do is wait. So what do you do for work?”

“I’m a pilot for Dodo airlines. I fly mainly commercial aircraft.” He smirked as some good memories flooded into his head. “What do you do?”

“I’m a sergeant in the army.” I said. “I get redeployed in about two months.”

Tony followed up by saying, “Thank you for your service.” Tony leaned back against the wall and ran his hands through his hair. “I wish we could have met under better circumstances.” He chuckled slightly and I nodded in agreement.

“Could you take some food out of my pack?” I asked. Tony slid my backpack off me and rummaged around till he pulled out a granola bar and handed it to me. All of a sudden a group of rocks slid into the empty space, filling the room with dust. Tony began to cough and I spit out a mouthful of granola. “How long have we been down here?”

Tony grimaced and replied, “Almost an hour. You were unconscious for about half that.” The rocks began to slide once more, this time the ones above my legs grinded into it. I screamed in pain as a sharp point pierced through my jeans and into my calf.

Suddenly, dogs barking filtered through the small crack. “That’s the rescue dogs.” I spat out through gritted teeth. Dust began to fall and small pebbles tumbled to the floor.

“Down here.” Tony shouted, waving his arms frantically. A dog’s nose peaked through and the gap continued to widen. Before long the crack had grown to about a meter. A pair of arms reached down and Tony was pulled through. Then a pressure was lifted off my leg.

“We lifted the rock slightly. Can you pull your leg out?” I pulled it out and was soon lifted out as well. I was rushed to an ambulance that was on a nearby road. They said something about a concussion and an injury to my leg, but the last thing I remember before being hauled away was Tony sliding a piece of paper with his number into my shirt pocket.