Paradise Thriller

Don't Look Down

When they reached the end of the trail markers, Brogan was not there waiting for them. No one was. But there was a sheer rock face that reminded Alison of the climbing wall back at her gym in New York - only a good distance higher, and without the obvious colored rubber foot and hand holds.

And there was gear. Lots of it.

"Well I'll be damned," said Billy Ray.

"Where's the instruction book?" Jolene asked, giving a nervous laugh.

The rest of the group stood there looking at the ropes and harnesses and other equipment as if not quite knowing what to make of them. Alison sighed. Instead of having a chance to get to know some of the production staff and maybe figure out who she could pump for information, it looked like she'd be giving a class in climbing 101.

"Come on," Alison said, picking up one of the harnesses and straightening out the ropes. "I know something about rock climbing."

"You think we ought to wait?" Miranda asked. "I mean, isn't somebody supposed to show up and film us, or something?"

"Yeah," Jolene said. "Don't these shows usually have a host who like, talks to the contestants?"

Miranda looked thoughtful. "I don't know," she said finally. "Some of them do, where they have competitions and challenges, but this seems more like one of the ones where they just throw a bunch of people in together and see what happens. So maybe there's already cameras set up someplace." She looked around, then shrugged.

"I'd say we go ahead and figure out a way up there," Travis said, and Alison nodded.

She looked up the face of the rock, using her hand to shield her eyes from the sun. There wasn't any top rope set up, and unless they wanted to spend the next few hours looking for an alternate path to the top of the rocky abutment, she was just going to have to carry it with her. She started sorting through the pile of equipment, pulling out an assortment of long metal spikes and shiny carabiners. She stepped into a harness and slung the large coil of rope over her shoulder. Travis seemed to be watching her with interest, but said nothing. A second rope went into the backpack that was among the supplies, along with the gear she wanted that she couldn't carry at her waist for easier access. After a moment, Daryl came over, squatted down beside her and helped sort out the equipment.

"I did one of those summer adventure camps when I was in high school," he said. "Spent a week scrambling up and down some mountain in Colorado. Can't say I saw much point in it, though. Kept thinking the whole time how much I'd rather be playing football."

"I heard about them programs," Billy Ray said. "Take a bunch of inner city juvenile delinquents out in the wilderness and try to knock some sense into 'em."

Daryl looked over at him. "I went there with my church group," he said. "The summer after my parents died."

"Hey," Billy Ray said. "I didn't mean nothin' by it." He looked around at the others, his face reddening. "I just heard of those programs, that's all."

Clarice muttered something, and Billy Ray looked over at her, scowling.

"O –kay," Alison said, standing up. "Any of the rest of you done any climbing?"

Clarice spoke up. "Does the climbing wall at the "Y" count?"

"Can't hurt," Alison said, then turned to the rest of the group.

"I wouldn't call myself an expert, but I've done enough climbing to get us through this one just fine."

She looked over at Miranda, whose face was pale beneath her brightly colored hair, and smiled reassuringly. "Pay attention and do exactly what I tell you, and nobody's going to get hurt."