Page 32 of Chasing Sunrise

Chapter Seven

After they’d finishedshooting in Colorado, Kasey and the crew flew to Machu Picchu to film him hiking the Inca Trail. This journey had the most varied and beautiful terrain of any in the world. There were bustling villages, deserted ruins, mountain passes, and lush jungles. Today, he was climbing the steps to Dead Woman’s Pass. The sight from the top should be spectacular. Yet, since it loomed so high, the weather would undoubtedly partially block the view.

A constant drizzle accompanied him as he scaled the wet steps carefully, but swiftly. Two cameramen were above him and two below. On the way down, he’d stop at different lookout points and explain the landscaping. Right now, his goal was to see how quickly he could climb to the top. A stopwatch with his time would show in the corner when the episode aired.

This part of the hike, well known as the most dangerous, had steep stone steps carved into the mountainside with a sheer damp wall of rock on his right and a straight drop into the Urubamba River on his left.

“Kasey, stop! There’s a snake five steps up,” his cameraman, Simpson, yelled from above him.

He froze. This wasn’t the first time he’d encountered a snake and undoubtedly wouldn’t be the last. They seemed to inhabit most of the places he explored.

“We’re checking if it’s venomous,” Harper said over his earpiece.

He glanced upward. The head of a snake zigzagged back and forth.

The running clock ticked in his head. He needed to get going.

“Are the spots gray or black?” Harper asked.

“Black. It’s yellow with black spots.”

“Shouldn’t be poisonous.”

He darted upward and to the right, sticking close to the rock, stepping as far away from the snake as possible.

“Shit!” Beau, a retired Hollywood stuntman they’d hired when Kasey began doing dangerous stunts, shouted. “He got your right leg.”

Kasey didn’t feel anything. He wore jeans and hiking boots. His steps never slowed. “Must’ve hit my boot.”

“Or you didn’t feel it,” Beau warned. “Stop and check.”

“Damn it.” He sat on the steps next to Simpson and lifted his pant leg. His boots came up just above his ankle. He examined his leg. “Nothing.”

“I don’t see anything either,” Simpson reported.

Kasey shot up and continued on.

“Thank goodness.” Harper’s voice echoed in his ear.

“This is why you wear protective gear.” Beau sounded relieved.

As the rain continued to fall, Kasey’s adrenaline waned and his steps slowed. The climb became grueling. It couldn’t be the danger of the ascent taking a toll on him, he’d done riskier stunts. The physicality wasn’t the problem, he wasn’t even breathing hard. So, why did this feel so taxing?

He hated to admit what he knew was happening. Disappointment of Harper’s refusal and the Star Breeze piece had placed a shadow on doing the show. Or maybe he couldn’t overcome the embarrassment of it all. If only the press would find something else to obsess about. And they would. He simply needed to be patient. Although his friends and fans had been supportive, he just wanted the attention to go away.

He proceeded to the top where a level rock crested the mountain summit. The rain had stopped minutes ago, and only a couple of patchy clouds were left in the sky. Lush foliage spread below him. The river ran this way and that. Old ruins, with grass-covered steps, were visible in the distance, and Dead Woman’s Pass was right in front of him. The mountain shape resembled the silhouette of a woman lying down in the peaks of the mountain. He could see it because he’d studied exactly where to look.

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