Chapter Three

Slim rolled on impact with the ground, his body striking an icy patch that helped move his body swiftly away from the debris. When his leg met a stationary rock, he quit rolling and placed his hands over his head until the noise subsided. With only remnants of the earth still sliding downward, Slim stood and turned to face what was left of the wagon. Just as Jess had shattered the frozen ball of dirt with his quick draw, the boulder destroyed the wagon, its remains strewn across the battered road and down into parts unknown.

Slim turned a grateful eye towards the team of horses. They stood a short distance away, frightened, but unmoving as they were partially blocked on three sides by the melting mountainside and two large boulders. His eyes roamed over the surrounding area, assessing the damage, but what he really was looking for was nowhere in sight. Something vitally important in his life was missing. Jess.

Slim stepped forward, noticing only slightly that his knee didn't want to cooperate as he frantically searched the ground around him for any sign of his partner, but only pieces of the wagon stood out amongst nature's cruel marks. He found the little that remained of the wagon seat and crouched in the dirty snow, tracing the odd shaped marks that were there with his finger and then his eyes followed the remainder of the haphazard trail to where the drop off began to see gloved fingers moving ever so slightly in the snow.

"Jess!" Slim covered the distance quickly, ignoring the sharp pain that seared through his knee and down his leg as he ran.

He heard a groan as he reached the edge, but just as he reached for the glove, it slipped away from his grasp. Slim leaned forward until he could see Jess' body dangling over the snowy landscape below, the only thing holding him to the cliff side was that one gloved hand. Slim dug his spurs into the ice, inching downward one step at a time until he felt there wasn't much underneath him anymore and there he crouched, but he was still too far above Jess' hand to do any good.

"Slim," Jess looked up when the snow stopped dusting into his eyes. "I reckon you musta made a clean jump. Are you still in one piece?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Slim lied. What was the use of complaining about his injured knee when his best friend was hanging by a thread of ice?

"What about Robin and Clem?" Jess asked, the worry lines on his face weren't hard to miss. "Did the horses make it?"

"They're fine, Jess," Slim answered with truth, instantly seeing Jess' features lose their anxious look. "Scared, but they're strong and healthy, thanks to you."

"Good," Jess attempted to nod, but with his neck craned upwards looking at Slim, it was difficult to do so. He sighed gently with relief, knowing that even though they hadn't made it all the way through the slide unscathed, he'd done the next best thing, staying in control long enough to ensure the safety of Slim and the horses. To him, nothing else mattered.

Slim gauged the distance between his hand and Jess' and knew he needed to be in a different position if he was going to haul his partner up the snowy edge of the cliff. He grimaced as he tried to move his knee, as the injured limb didn't want to bend, but he wasn't going to be stopped by its demands. With a forceful jerk that sent enough pain throughout his entire leg that normally would have brought a sharp retort from his mouth, Slim refused to acknowledge the pain and dropped to his belly, reaching his hand towards Jess.

"What in tarnation do you think you're doing?" Jess had his usual tone of grit as he watched Slim drop into the snow and precariously crawl in his direction.

"Trying to save you," Slim answered with a grunt, inching his way closer to Jess' hand.

"How? There ain't any way possible," Jess tried to get his fingers to dig deeper into the snow to prolong the inevitable, but even through the gloves his fingers were so cold they could barely move. It was only a matter of time, a very short time, before they could hold on no longer.

"There's always a way," Slim let out a noise that almost sounded like a wheeze as his knee screamed out the sound he really wanted to make as he stretched out to his limit.

"No, Slim, don't do it!" Jess shook his head hard, watching as Slim pushed himself beyond any measure of safety, reaching his hand out to Jess. He felt his fingers slipping and his body started to sway as he was about to be released from the frozen cliff but before he could plummet, Slim's hand grasped a tight hold onto Jess.

"I've got you, Pard," Slim breathed heavily as the entire weight of Jess was now attached to his own. "I'm not going to let you go."

"Yeah," Jess peeked down below them and then turned his eyes back towards Slim. "So you can make that your grave too."

"No," Slim frowned, not liking Jess' dismal tone, "I'll pull you up." How, he had no idea.

"Slim, I reckon you're stronger than most men, but strength ain't what you need right now," Jess said quickly.

"Jess, just let me think for a minute, I can do it," Slim's voice held a nervous tone that was usually never there.

"Look at what you're laying on," Jess instructed, but when Slim refused to take his eyes off of Jess, his bark became louder. "I said look!"

Slim dropped his eyes to view the ground underneath him, but there wasn't any true ground at all. In his haste to reach Jess, he hadn't noticed that he had well passed the edge of safety and hadn't been perched on anything solid. His entire body leaned out over a ledge of ice crusted snow, but because of repeated daytime melt and nighttime freezes, the snow had created a shelf of its own, with nothing underneath but the air that Jess dangled in. The only thing that held Slim's body in place was a thin layer of ice, which was now rapidly melting and cracking from his body weight, made even worse by the two hands that were clasped together at its furthest edge.

"Let me go, Slim, save yourself," Jess anxiously watched the crack in the ice start to spread.

"I can't do that, Jess," Slim answered, the thickness in his throat being portrayed in his voice. Letting go would mean an instant death for his partner. Snow made the landscape below them somewhat obscure, but Slim could see the details of the misshapen ground as if he were viewing it on a summer's day with every one of its sharp peaks and deep trenches that twisted and mangled the ground, calling out to all that passed by that it was a way to instant death. Slim had even heard some old-timers call that area "Suicide Trail" because it was the surest way to find an end if someone wanted to take the leap.

"If you didn't have a hold of me so dad-gum hard, I woulda already found the bottom by now," Jess said, knowing by the way Slim stared beyond him that he was seeing what awaited him on the lengthy drop down. "If you don't let go soon, we're both gonna be on the bottom together."

"I'm not going to let you go, Jess," Slim said, although he was beginning to get the sense that Jess' words were an ugly reality as he felt his own body slipping slowly towards the edge. With Jess attached to his hand, it took every ounce of his strength just to hold them in place, and even that wasn't done solidly. There was nothing he could even attempt to do to pull Jess upward, getting them both to safety. Even if he could give a mighty heave and toss Jess behind him, there was a great chance that his own body would be hurtled downward instead.

"You've gotta, Slim, there ain't any other choice!" Jess didn't want his voice to sound as rough as it was, but there was no stopping the emotions coursing through his body as his very life dangled in thin air making each word a sharp retort, as if he was angry at Slim. But Jess was only afraid, not for his own life, he'd been down death's road before and hadn't shirked away in fear, but he was afraid that Slim wouldn't be able to save himself before the snow crumbled away underneath him if he continued to fight against the odds to save him.

"It's Christmas, Jess," Slim softly said, the emotion of the moment bringing an overwhelming urge to cry. "It's time to celebrate a birth, not mourn a death."

"A man's end comes in all seasons," Jess answered, his voice finally dropping to a level that matched the growing peace that was rising inside of him. "I've been skirting mine my entire life. I reckon now's a good as time as any to die."

"Then I'll die right alongside of you, Pard," Slim said, sincerely meaning every word. "I'm not letting you go."

"You have to, Slim," Jess kept his voice calm as he tried to get his words to hit Slim right between the eyes. "We both can't die. One of us has to walk outta here. We can't leave Daisy and Mike alone. You're the only one that can escape."

"Jess," Slim's voice cracked, "I can't …"

"Listen to me, Slim," Jess looked as deeply into his partner's eyes as he could, hoping that Slim could see the brotherly love that sparkled in his own. "I'm willing to die so that you can live, to live for Mike and Daisy, for Andy in Missouri, for the ranch that your Pa left you and for so much more."

"But I'm not willing to let you die," Slim tried one last attempt to pull Jess up the melting snow, but only more whisked away, disappearing into the depths below. "I can't let you die."

"Slim," Jess used the little strength that remained in his fingers to squeeze his partner's hand. "It's all right. I'm ready to go."

"Jess," Slim said, knowing the tears were brimming in his eyes but didn't blink them away. "Jess, I can't let you go like this. There's so much to say."

"There ain't time for any fancy speeches," Jess replied quickly, "and since you know I ain't never been one to say that final word out loud, I reckon this is gonna be it."

"God help me, I can't do this," Slim fought his emotions, but as Jess had said, there wasn't any time left for any fight of any kind. He knew just as well as Jess that their time had run out.

"Look at me Slim," Jess pleaded, knowing both of them had only seconds to live if Slim didn't move. He saw the blue eyes in his partner's face come in direct contact with his own and Jess gave one final request. "Live, Slim and let me go."

If time could suspend in the air, in those last few moments, it did. Slim held his breath and let go.