Scott stepped forward, his eyes combing the sharp slope, the remnants of an old streambed, and further down, the overgrown remains of fallen timber.
There was an inarticulate sound from Virgil and his brother was suddenly moving, his legs throwing him up the hill at a run.
Woah.
Scott darted after him. Three pairs of shoes pounded gravel behind him.
Scott should have been able to outpace his brother easily, but the trail steepened stealing his stride length advantage and Virgil's more powerful body gave him the brute strength to push himself faster up the incline.
"Virgil, wait!"
The sides of the ravine grew higher and loomed over them. The breeze grew colder and blew down the gully, trapped as much as they were.
"Virgil!"
But then his brother came to a halt so sudden, Scott nearly collided with him.
Virgil pointed up at the cliff. "There."
Wha-?
Several dozen metres up there was a small, fractured ledge.
Scott stared.
Shit. You have got to be kidding me.
And Virgil was moving again. Off the path, thighs pounding through undergrowth. Accelerating.
"Virgil, no!"
His brother took a leapt and grabbed at the side of the mountain. A grunt and he was climbing.
Virgil was a highly experienced rock climber. He had to be. But still…
"Virgil, what the hell are you doing?"
Alan skidded to a halt next to Scott, panting. "What's going on?"
"No idea." It was a lie. Scott stared up as his brother as he free climbed his way up to the ledge.
"That's where Mom fell?" Gordon was panting and showing all the signs of needing more regular out-of-water training sessions.
"I guess." But Scott couldn't look away. Virgil's form was perfect and his speed considerable. If he wasn't worried about his brother's state of mind, it would be a perfect example of how to rock climb.
"John, can you give me a read out on the stability of that cliff face?"
"FAB." A whisper into his comms and the smart response from Eos determined it was as safe as it could be beyond the scree they had passed on the way up.
Virgil made it to the ledge and hauled himself up onto it. He barely fit, his body lying the length of it.
Facedown, his head resting on one arm.
"Virgil!"
He was ignored.
"He's not okay, is he." Gordon stood beside him looking up, his body wound up like a spring, ready to move.
A single exhaled breath. "No. No, he's not." A swallow and he forced the terrified, upset big brother away and replaced him with Commander Tracy. Controls slipped into place even as his eyes blurred for just a moment.
"Okay. I'm going up. John, you're on overwatch, comms open." He flicked his on. "Gordon, you're spot and backup. Alan you're pod deployment, if necessary."
His little brother's eyes widened. "Really?"
"I hope not." But if Virgil didn't start responding, there may only be one way to get him down.
First things first.
"Virgil!" His brother didn't move. "Virgil, I'm coming up!"
No response.
Scott rubbed his hands together to get some blood into them. He ignored the fact that this ravine had once been full of cascading snow and debris, that fifteen years ago, his brother had to cower up on that same ledge.
And somewhere about where Scott was standing now, his mother had fallen to her death.
Blink.
Breathe.
His hands grabbed cold rock and he pushed himself up towards his brother. He chanted handhold to foothold to handhold. His own rock-climbing experience was considerable. He had to be as qualified as Virgil and they sometimes tackled Tracy Peak together just for fun. Virgil was all control, safety and professionalism to the point he could hear his brother's voice every time he climbed, running through the mantra of safety lines and securing pitons.
He'd be the first one to criticise free climbing and the risk involved.
Muttered under his breath. "If you've been free climbing behind my back, Virgil, I'm going to kick your ass."
Focus.
Handhold, foothold, hand, foot, up, up, step, fingernails filed by bare rock, breathe in on pull up, pause for release out.
Almost there.
He approached from the end of the ledge where Virgil's head rested. Black hair stuck out over the edge.
"Virgil?" Nothing. He heaved himself higher until he could see his brother. Virgil's shoulders were shaking. "Virgil, speak to me."
Scott reached out and touched a clenched fist.
Virgil's head shot up, red eyes wild, and his arm reached out and grabbed Scott's wrist in a steel grip.
The movement overbalanced the pilot and his feet slipped out beneath him.
For one horrible second, Scott clung to the cliff with his remaining hold, but gravity was a hard taskmaster.
"Virgil!"
And Scott was falling.
-o-o-o-