Escaping Trepidation
Chapter 1
Darko trudged through the already crowded streets of Inverness. It was not even 9:00 A.M., but it was a Saturday, and a gorgeous Saturday at that, so citizens and tourists alike were out enjoying the fresh air. On almost every street, there would be a vendor offering goods to those passing by, and after getting stopped three times, Darko decided to walk closer to the road. He was in a bit of a hurry as he scanned the street signs looking for the Copeland and Zeiger intersection. In his hand, he carried a black suitcase that matched the business suit he wore.
Darko was no stranger to Inverness, but it had never been to that part of the city. In his head, he visualized the map he had to memorize. Having a physical map made him look like a tourist, and he did not want that image. After walking towards the old village square for half an hour, he finally found the intersection he was looking for. Right on the corner stood the Brebner Café.
He crossed the busy street and smoothed his dark blond hair before entering the building. As promised, Andy, a dark skinned and muscular man, sat at a booth at the back of the café, drinking a cup of coffee. At the sight of Darko, he motioned for the waitress. "What can I get you?" She asked.
"Another cup of coffee for my friend." She smiled and nodded when she saw the other man approach.
"You know I hate coffee," Darko said, sitting down.
"I am just trying to keep up appearances." Andy took another sip.
"I can see that." He thanked the waitress when she returned. "Right, now down to business; I thought you said you had a partner?"
Andy nodded. "I do. I have made arrangements to pick him up at Essich, if that is all right with you."
Darko agreed since the town was on their way to Annan Mor. "Make sure he is ready when we arrive."
"He will be." Darko had never worked with Andy before, but the man had an honorable reputation, so he found it easy to believe the man's word. "Do you have the money?" His voice became low so that the people around him could not hear.
"It's in the suitcase."
Andy stood up when he finished his coffee. "Then we should be going." Darko followed his companion out of the café and stopped at a silver sports car.
"So much for blending in," Darko said, admiring the car.
"Don't worry about it; no one will be paying attention to the car with the Fire Festival going on. Besides, this is a rental."
The men settled themselves in the car, Andy in the driver's seat, and drove off, leaving the city behind.
Rob looked at his watch. 12:01 P.M. He was leading the way through the mountainous trail as his five friends followed behind. They had left early in the morning in order to finish the hike by evening. Already they had covered almost ten miles. Sitting down on a boulder, he took off his pack stuffed with rope, water, granola bars, and a map. "We should stop and eat lunch here."
"I think that is a great idea." Jenny looked at her husband, smiling.
Alex nodded. "I like the location; the rocks make a great makeshift table."
One by one, Jenny handed out the sandwiches she had made. "Enjoy."
"What is this?" Ed looked at the enclosed food.
Alex, who had already taken a bite, replied. "Smoked mackerel."
Ed became a little pale. Speaking for him, Emma said, "He hates fish."
"Oh," Jenny felt terrible, wishing she had asked the group what they had liked before making the sandwiches. "I'm sorry. You could try swiping out the mackerel and eat the bread. You also have an egg."
Ed looked at the bread, and cringed. "No, I can't do that. It's been tainted."
"You remind me of my daughter; you're such a fussy eater, which I find surprising at your age."
Emma laughed sarcastically, "You have no idea."
"Fuck it; I've got chocolate." Ed grabbed his candy and took a bite.
A few birds chirped above them, lightening their mood. The rain had cleared up by morning, the sun breaking through the clouds, making the area look lush and greener than the day before. Their path was a little muddy, but the scenery was worth the grime. Emma took a deep breath, smelling the fresh scent of pine. The trees were much closer together and more vegetation grew at their trunks at the lower altitude. The trail they had chosen descended the mountain at a reasonable slope.
In moderate silence, the group ate their food. Several minutes later, Ed broke the silence. "I've gotta pee." He got up and began walking away from the ring of boulders.
Emma rolled her eyes at his indiscretion. "Must you give us a commentary?"
Fueling his mood, he continued. "I found a cracking spot, while unbuttoning my fly, and pulling it out…" He was messing with his friends.
"Shut up wanker!" Rob yelled across the woods.
Emma rubbed her temples to refrain from yelling at him as well. "I'm sorry guys."
Alex shrugged. "Not your fault. I know a few guys like him; always seeking attention."
"Mhmm." Emma sighed and took a drink of water.
Still looking for a place to urinate, Ed continued walking. A sudden muffled noise caught his attention, making him halt. When he heard the noise again, he became alarmed. "Hey guys, I heard something!"
"What?" Rob asked, uninterested.
"I don't know; it's something."
"Mate, I'm not falling for that!" Rob shook his head, chuckling.
"I'm serious. Come check it out! I'm serious!" He scanned the wilderness trying to find where the sound was coming from.
Emma looked at Alison before standing up. She knew when her boyfriend was being serious, and, at the moment, he was no longer joking around. Alison followed her friend, curious what had changed Ed's demeanor in a matter of seconds. "What is it?"
"Shh!" He placed his fingers to his lips. Off in the distance, the noise presented itself. "Do you hear that?"
Looking baffled, Alison nodded. "I hear it too," Emma whispered.
"What do you think it is?"
"An animal?" Alison was only guessing.
"No, it sounds more like…." Emma trailed off.
"A person," Ed finished his girlfriend's sentence.
"Hey guys, get over here!" Alison urged the rest of her friends to join them.
Carefully, Emma headed towards the sound. Behind her, the group followed, quietly. As the sound became louder, they were convinced that it had to be coming from a human being. The land flattened out, the tree's thinning a little, until they came across a small clearing. Emma paused several feet away from a metal pipe protruding from the ground.
"What is that?" Alex asked, afraid of the answer. He was standing next to Emma, staring at the pipe as well.
Rob walked exceedingly close to the pipe to examine it. He became rigid once he discovered what it was. "Shit, it's a breathing tube. Someone's down there!" He immediately ran off before anyone could respond.
Gaining some courage, Emma approached the pipe. "Hello?" She stumbled backward, hyperventilating as soon as the noise, a voice of a young girl, responded in a foreign language. Ed wrapped his arms around her in comfort as she began to shake.
"Oh my God," Jenny said, looking sick.
Alison and the others stood silent, waiting for Rob to return. When he reappeared, he had his pack and two mini collapsible shovels. Keeping one for himself, he threw the second shovel at Alex. When he did not do anything, Ed let go of Emma and took the shovel from Alex. "I'll help Rob then."
Jenny looked questioningly at Alex. "What?" he asked, defensively. "We do not know what is down there."
"Don't you mean who?" Ed could not believe how Alex was acting, especially since he was a father. Rob and Ed tore at the ground with their shovels until the tip hit wood. "Come on, help us find the sides!" The girls bent down to help, the moist dirt staining their hands. Within moments they found the sides of the wooden door and with a great deal of effort, managed to lift it off. Cowering in the far right corner sat a small girl who covered her eyes. Eventually, she lowered her arms, allowing her dark brown eyes to adjust to the light.
The hikers stood around the edge of the hole, staring at the young girl. "Jesus Christ…" Emma said, trailing off.
Recollecting himself, Ed kneeled down and reached out towards the girl. Frightened, she bit his hand and retreated to the opposite corner of the hole. Rob tried to reach for the girl like Ed, but retreated when his hand was bit as well. "Ouch!"
"Stop it, you're scaring her," Emma chastised.
Trying a different approach, Jenny slowly climbed down into the hole, calming talking to the girl. "It's ok. We are not going to hurt you. It's ok." The girl tensed at the woman's approach, warming up when she convinced herself that the woman was not a threat.
Jenny embraced the girl, still chanting her comforting words. The girl gripped Jenny's shirt, tightly. The two remained locked in each other's arms until the girl was calm enough to move. "Ok, honey," She looked at her husband, "help." She hoisted the girl up towards Alex, who grabbed the girl and placed her gently on the ground. Jenny held the girl again as soon as she exited the hole.
"Water." Rob handed Jenny his water bottle. "Slowly, slowly, slowly," Jenny coaxed as the girl began to drink the water quickly. When the water was gone, Jenny asked, "Sweetie, can you tell me your name? You're name? Jenny. I'm Jenny." She gestured at herself.
Finally understanding the woman, the girl quietly said, "Anna."
"Okay." Jenny thought for a moment, and then asked, "Anna where you are from?" The girl suddenly began to ramble in a language that she did not understand. Unsure what to do, Jenny nodded. "Okay." Looking up at her friends she asked, "Does anyone know what language that is?"
Rob shrugged. "I don't know. Russian, maybe?"
"It might be Croatian," Ed retorted.
"How do you know that?" Alex asked, unconvinced.
"I had an ex-girlfriend who used to swear at me in Croa whenever she got pissed off at me."
"Are you sure?"
"She used to swear at me a lot."
"It's true." Emma said.
"Can you understand what she is saying?" Alison asked.
Ed shook his head. "No, not really. It's just that the accent sounds familiar."
Jenny sighed and returned her gaze to Anna. "Who would do something like this?"
"Whoever did it didn't want her to die, otherwise, there wouldn't be an air pipe." Alison stated.
"I don't know who did this and I don't know why; I just want to get her out of here before they come back." Alex said, becoming nervous. The discovery of the girl had placed all the hikers on edge, but Alex was beginning to reveal his emotions more, making him short-tempered.
"Listen, she is our responsibility now," Jenny began. "We've got to get her help; we've got to get her off these mountains as soon as possible."
"I agree," Emma said.
Rob took out his map and examined the routes. "Well we're here, twelve miles south-southwest of Antilla. The nearest village is Annan Mor, so here, if we head east along the Semitar Ridge until we get to the river, then we can double back to the village. That's about fifteen, maybe twenty, miles all in."
While discussed a possible path, Alison explored around the area, finding a dented, empty, water bottle in the hole. When she found nothing else, she headed back. "I found this in the hole," she tossed the water bottle at Rob, "She must have been down there for days."
"Did she have any food?" Jenny asked, concerned.
"It didn't look like it."
"Poor thing, she must have been starving down there all by herself."
"Well, there is always my mackerel sandwich," Ed said, handing over the bag, glad that some good came from his fussiness.
Alex looked at Rob, and said, "Can't we use your cellphone to call for help?"
"Up in these mountains?" Rob, scoffed. "We won't even begin to get a signal until we are closer to the village."Alex sighed. "Well, there is a faster route. We are only about two miles away from Devil's Drop."
"What's Devil's Drop?" Jenny asked.
"It's the only way to breach the ridge. It's a sheer cliff face about five hundred feet straight down, but from there, it's only a four mile hike to the village." Emma said, shuddering. Devil's Drop was known to be a climber's worst nightmare, even experienced climbers have refused to climb the cliff. The main problem was no the height; it was the lack of belay points. Devil's Drop alone has claimed almost as many lives as Mount Yager.
"How do we get a child down Devil's Drop?" Alex questioned.
Before Emma could reply with her objections, Rob said, "We don't. Two of us climb down and run to the village to get help while the rest head along the Semitar Ridge." He paused for a moment, and then added, "I will be one of the climbers."
"Whose are you going to take with you?" Emma asked?
"Alison. I'm sorry, Emma, but I need the best."
Taking no offense, Emma nodded. Next to her, Alison sighed. "It's a massive face Rob; we don't have enough rope."
"We'll multi-pitch it and we'll be fine." Alison refused to argue, thinking about the girl, and agreed to go with Rob. He grabbed his pack and stood up, giving his map to Alex. "Once we get to the village, we will have a rescue team sent up. As long as you stick to the route I've outlined, they will find you."
With that, the two groups wished each other luck and said their goodbyes before branching off in opposite directions.