Page 43 of A Little More Forgiveness

Leo

Gradually opening my eyes, I squinted against the dazzling white all around me, and tried to figure out where the hell I was, and how I ended up on this ledge halfway down a gorge. Racking my brains, the last thing I recalled was walking through the forest and traversing around a rocky boulder along a narrow section of the trail. After that, my memory became extremely hazy, with only quick bursts of images slipping away almost as fast as they appeared, giving me nothing tangible to hold on to.

Carefully assessing my surroundings, the disturbance in the otherwise pristine snow above me, where I’d fallen off the path, was clear to see. Oddly, I did remember Mitch telling me the path would lead into town. Scanning around for a possible route out of my situation, I miserably concluded there’d be no easy way for me to physically climb the mountainside. Any attempt to scale the steeply angled slope would more than likely end with me making my current situation even worse.

Looking down didn’t offer any better solution, either, as the slope below me appeared just as dangerous. Knowing my luck, I’d end up slipping over and crashing headfirst into a tree on my way down, breaking my neck. So what now? I struggled to concentrate on finding a solution to my predicament, as being trapped here left no way for people to see me or possibly hear my calls for help.

The lethargy washing over my limbs made any type of escape plan suddenly feel like way too much effort, anyway, so in the end, I gave up. I did idly wonder if Mitch and Gabe would be out looking for me, and if they were, how exactly would they find me? Maybe use the bloodhounds? Would the men even bother to try after I had obviously left them, or would they simply let me go, thinking I’d made it home in one piece?

Which brought up another question, I didn’t remember the answer to: Why on earth would I leave the comfort of a warm cabin, in the first place, to go stumbling about in the snow on an insanely narrow path in the butthole of nowhere? Why leave Mitch and Gabe at all? My thoughts became even more scattered and jumbled the more I tried to reason my thinking out, so again, I gave up trying.

One thing I did know, I might be stranded out here alone all night in the freezing cold with no one the wiser. I took a long, deep breath as I desperately tried to keep calm. My heart beat so fast I went dizzy, and the panic I’d so far managed to keep at bay dug its claws in deeper, as the distinct possibility of dying out here before being rescued became a stark reality.

Pulling my cheap winter jacket more snugly around myself didn’t help one iota in keeping me warm, and my ice-cold damp hair had now matted into frozen clumps when I managed to lose my woolen hat after falling off the path. But rapidly turning my legs and back into a human block of ice were my saturated jeans, sweater, and T-shirt, all soaked from sliding down the slope. The wet snow had gotten underneath my jacket and spread everywhere, letting the coldness permeate deep into my bones. If that wasn't enough, my hands were also turning pale blue, as for some reason, I wasn’t wearing gloves.

A pulse of anger instantly spiking my adrenaline shot through me, making me frown as I fought to discover the reason for it. Why would I have such an adverse reaction to not wearing gloves? It didn’t make any sense to me at all.

I wiped my face to get rid of the powdery crystals on my lashes, but the heavy snowflakes continued to fall on and around me, covering me bit by bit, the way they had the rest of the landscape. I frantically brushed them off, making sure my bright-red jacket remained as visible as possible. I had absolutely no clue what else to do, except sit here and hope and pray Mitch and Gabe might stumble across me before nightfall.

Releasing a breath, the air fogging in front of my face, I squashed down my fears, recognizing they wouldn’t help me now. My shivering intensified as I tried to keep warm and figure out how to get dry. Then I remembered I had dry clothes in my duffel. If I changed into those, I’d feel much better. I’d already unzipped and removed my jacket and had just pulled off my sweater and T-shirt before it dawned on me I’d lost my bag.

Tossing the soaking wet layers aside, uncaring of where they landed, I pivoted around and frantically scanned the snow, not seeing the damn thing anywhere in the vicinity. Fuck. My phone, my car keys, house keys, my life, the damn bag contained everything. Fuck, fuck, fuck. In my frustration to locate it, I turned too fast and had to thrust both my hands into the snow to steady myself and calm the giddiness that was making me lightheaded.

Whoa! What’s happening to me?

My body was rapidly going numb now my wet, bare torso was exposed to the elements, so I grabbed my jacket and hastily put it back on. The lining, though not as wet as the rest of my things, was still damp and freezing cold against my skin. Zipping up, I shuffled around a bit to try to generate some heat, but I was fighting a losing battle, as my core remained a block of ice.

“Leo!”

What was that? Had someone called my name? I remained as still as a statue, straining my ears to listen in the silence of the forest.

“Leo!”

I cocked my head to the side toward the path I’d fallen from.

“Leo!”

There. “Help!” I screamed, this time ignoring the dizziness from my increased heartrate. “Help! Please! Help me!” Adrenaline pumped throughout my body as I waited to see if they replied, but I couldn’t hear anything above the blood roaring in my ears, so shouted again and again until I grew hoarse, and my throat felt raw.

“Leo, we hear you.”

Oh, thank God. The fear I’d refused to release surged forward and tears stung my eyes. They’d found me. I was safe.

“Hold on.” Mitch, it was Mitch. “I’m coming to get you.”

Coming to get me? How on earth would he manage to do that?

“Okay,” I shouted through a sob. “Okay.”

After an interminable length of time, I heard a slapping sound to my left and watched as a lime green rope hit the snow. I stared at the rope blankly for a few moments, fixated when it began to wriggle. Looking up, I didn’t see anything at first as my eyes scanned the ridge, but there, at the top and to the right, Mitch peeked over the edge of the path.

Right now, I didn’t care that I barely remembered anything past two minutes ago, let alone the hours I must have been stuck down here. Or the reason why my anger had risen so swiftly for no reason I could discern. All I cared about was being rescued. The rest I’d deal with later.

It took forever as I watched him calmly descend the snowy rock, walking backward, careful where he stepped, until finally, he landed on the ledge beside me. I whimpered when he removed his gloves and his hot fingers stroked along my cheek. I leaned into his warmth, relief at being rescued engulfing me.

“You okay?” The fear, clear as day in his voice, made me ashamed to be the cause. Needing to look away from his penetrating gaze, I stared past him down the gorge, unable to maintain eye contact.

“I-I’m not sure what’s happening to me. I just feel really weird. I can’t stop shivering and feel so listless and uncoordinated. I’m not sure I can stand, let alone climb. I’m sorry, Mitch, I’m so sorry.”

---