Chapter 2

"Connor!" Even as he lunged forward, he knew it was too late. Ethan's fingers grasped at air and he almost followed Connor down the ledge. He managed to stop, mostly thanks to Will grasping his backpack and pulling him back.

"Shit!" Will cursed.

"Oh my god!" Natalie's hands were pressed against her mouth, eyes wide as she looked at the place where only a second ago their colleague stood.

Ethan wanted to scream, his chest feeling as if it would explode from the rush of adrenaline.

"Connor- is he-"

Ethan's head jerked sharply. He didn't reply. Instead, he got down to the ground, ignoring Natalie's worried yelp and shimmied himself to the edge, aware of the crumbling ground below him as well as two hands quickly and strongly wrapping around his ankles in an attempt to secure him.

He had to fight down the urge to crawl backwards, away from the unstable rocks. Instead, he very carefully moved forward, until he could peek his head over.

For a moment all he saw was dirt and pebbles, falling down in combination with the rain. Everything looked gray and brown and Ethan's gut churned sickly when he saw just how far the bottom of the hill they were at was. Easily five hundred feet, maybe more. That was a hell of a long way to fall if all there was to cushion you were rocks and dirt, with an occasional tree in the way.

If Connor fell all the way down...

Ethan swallowed, his teeth clenching hard.

He squinted and made another sweep with his eyes.

His heart skipped a beat.

Could it be they were lucky enough?

He inched forward slowly.

"Careful, Ethan," Will warned him and he could hear the edge in his voice, could feel the grip on his ankles become bruising hard. He ignored all that in lieu of confirming his find.

"Connor!" he called out, frowning and watching out for any sign of movement. The body of his colleague lay crumpled in a heap, half leaning against a tree stump that might've just stopped his descent. His right leg was dangling dangerously over the small ledge, but it would take an actual effort from the man to roll over and fall down further.

Still, there was no movement and Ethan's hope sunk just a bit.

"Connor! Can you hear me?" He bellowed, watching for a twitch. Perhaps there was one, but he wasn't sure. Not with the rain coming down steadily. He had to keep blinking the water out of his eyes, because reaching up and brushing it away could've caused another rockslide.

"Is he alive?" Natalie asked, taking a step forward. "Ethan! Is he-"

"Nat-" Will tried to warn her off, but it was Ethan who snapped.

"I don't know!" Taking in a calming breath, casting a quick glance at his surroundings and at the campsite far below, Ethan made one more attempt to connect with Connor.

"I'll be right there, Connor. Just stay still and don't move, okay buddy?" He didn't really expect an answer and didn't get one. He just hoped the man heard him and understood enough to follow the simple command.

Shimmying backwards, he was grateful for Will helping him up. His shirt and pants were soaked in mud, but it hardly mattered beyond the discomfort of cold seeping in.

"You saw him? Is he okay?" Natalie asked, not even cringing at how impossible that sounded.

"What did you mean by 'I'm coming'? You can't seriously think about going down there!" Will jumped in, his voice rising in a pitch.

Ethan shot him a glare.

"I can hardly leave him there now, can I?" he snapped back. Will opened his mouth to protest, but Natalie had enough. She grabbed Ethan's arm, invading his personal space.

"Can you get to him? Was he... moving?"

Ethan swallowed, his annoyance turning into gnawing worry and fear. Because he did have to do something, didn't he? It wasn't as if he could send Natalie or Will down the hill. That meant it would be him that Connor's life might depend on. Shaking off the disquiet that thought brought, he pulled away from Natalie and walked back to where they dropped the map. Luckily it wasn't ruined.

"Ethan!"

"He is about 100 feet down, on a ledge. He isn't moving, but... I couldn't see any open breaks or..." Ethan paused, thinking how easily Connor could've broken his neck. "He might be just knocked out cold," Ethan added, unwilling to think of the worst.

"100 feet?" Natalie paled. That was an awful height to fall off and survive.

"The hill side is steep, but there is a slight incline. Most likely it wasn't a clear drop," Ethan tried to reassure her somehow, although his voice was far from certain.

"Can you get down there safely though?" Natalie asked and Will blinked, shaking his head.

"Are you crazy? How will it help if he breaks his neck too?"

Natalie ignored him, her eyes set on Ethan.

"I will try," he said, then looked down at the map. He searched it, his finger tracing down a rout, he glanced toward the ledge to get a better look around, though he was careful to keep at safe distance.

"What's your plan then, superman?" Will asked, his voice tinged with disbelief.

"I will try to go down there and make sure he is alive and stays that way!"

"Wonderful! And what are we supposed to do? Stand there and watch? Plan a double funeral?"

"Will!" Natalie called out angrily, a heavy slap landing on the man's arm. "Stop this!"

Ethan expected the man to keep on going, but his face crumbled and he shot him an apologetic look. It was clear he was just lashing out out of worry.

Ethan shook his head, waving off the coming apology. They didn't have time for this. Connor didn't have time for this.

"I want you to go down to the camp and get help. Do you have that second cell phone?"

Natalie pulled it out of her jacket pocket, checking the signal.

"No reception... wait... nope. It's blinking in and out."

"Keep trying and call for help as soon as you get through. Tell them to send a rescue team."

"To where exactly?"

"Here," Ethan reached into his bag and pulled out a pen, circling a place on the map. "But I'm sure telling them to look at the only hill around would be enough."

Using the pen, Ethan also pointed to the trail they were currently on and highlighted it. "Try to stay on this path," he added with a hint of sarcasm.

"Sure, as if you knew where we were before," Will snorted. Ethan ignored him.

"How do you want to get down there?" Natalie asked the most poignant question and Ethan grimaced, looking around. He walked as close to the edge as he could, but as soon as the ground started to drool he stepped back. He still leaned over a bit and scanned the area until he spotted a possible route.

"Over there," he noted and walked up about 40 feet from where Connor originally stood. The ground below him was solid rock. And not that far from it was a large sturdy tree. Ethan pressed against the trunk just to make sure. It didn't budge or waver. Satisfied, he reached into his backpack and pulled out a pack of rope.

"What's that?"

"Military issued parachute cordage."

"Will it hold your weight?" Will looked at it dubiously.

"It should. But I'd rather just use it as a safety."

While the cord was sturdier than the ones sold in outdoors shops, Ethan knew it could be used for climbing as he got it from one of his old army pals. The problem was the rope was only about 100 feet long. That meant he would likely get to the end of it before he reached Connor. Not to mention he had no harness so it wouldn't provide all that much help. But looking at Natalie and Will, Ethan knew he had to at least pretend it was a good safety measure, otherwise they would try to stop him.

So he tied one end of the rope around the tree, made a strong knot and tied the other end around his waist with a bowline. It was far from ideal but if he fell, he could most likely untie the knot even under the load so he could free himself of it. Of course he also made sure he had his knife still within easy reach in his belt sheath. Statham might have brought up an argument about the need to play by the rules and not getting any advantages over the other team, but Ethan would not relinquish his bag for the world. He was taught early on in life, and the marines only bestowed it deeper, that being prepared could save a life. Ethan made sure to have some basics in his everyday carry, but going out into the wilderness? He made sure to pack some extras. While he hoped he would never have to use anything from his pack, he sure as hell was glad for its existence right now.

"You are serious?" Will asked, watching as Ethan finished tying the rope and checked its strength.

"And you are still here?" Ethan countered with a pointy glance towards the trail. "You better get that help, Will. I'm not sure how bad it is."

Will swallowed but didn't protest this time. He nodded and took a few steps back, towards Natalie who was eyeing Ethan with concern.

"Try not to die," Will said somehow drily and Ethan snorted.

"Try not to get lost."

With that, Ethan took a step back and vanished behind the edge.

His first thought was that he must've slipped in the shower and knocked himself out. The water trickling down his face was cool, and the pain in his head told him he had to have knocked it on something.

Connor let out a groan.

All he wanted was to get back to sleep or unconsciousness, but there was a nagging voice inside his head telling him to get up. That he might freeze if the water turned too cold, that he might drown. Or worse yet, his neighbor might notice a wet splotch on the ceiling and call in reinforcements. Just the thought of someone barging into his apartment and finding him naked in the shower was too mortifying to let him fall back into sleep.

Connor let out an irritated huff.

The water was becoming too much of an annoyance as it trickled down his neck. His clothes were getting wet and the fabric felt tight around his chest...

Connor's brow furrowed in confusion.

Clothes?

His fingers twitched.

Even at that miniscule motion, a sharp pain shot up his arm, to his shoulder.

It was as if his brain finally caught up with the rest of his body. What Connor felt just like a numb pressure had turned into a myriad of complaints, screaming at him all at once.

It was overwhelming, like being dunked in a fiery pit. The shock of it was almost too much as Connor whimpered, trying to get a hold of himself.

What the fuck was wrong with him?

He tried to take in some deeper breaths to calm down what now felt like an adrenaline fueled heart, but his ribs protested. The water kept coming and as Connor tried to control his breathing, hissing through clenched teeth, the rest of his senses had awakened as well.

It was like being pulled out from under water.

What at first sounded clogged and far away became sharp and clear.

The sound of the wind and rain. The swishing of leaves from above. His own harsh breathing and pained grunts he was trying to hold back.

He was outside that much he knew.

His brain still couldn't process the where and what, but now he knew being found by his neighbor was probably the least of his issues.

Something happened, but he didn't know what and his brain seemed too slow on the uptake. Finally he realized that perhaps opening his eyes might give him an answer at least to one question.

Now if only his eyelids didn't weigh a ton and if there wasn't that pesky rain running down his face. Maybe brushing it off would help...

Connor attempted to raise his left hand to do just that.

Something was wrong though. His wrist throbbed at the slightest movement and his forearm felt like it was on fire. Maybe if he tried with his right one... he just needed to roll over a bit to free it from under himself.

His body moved only several inches when he felt something digging into his back. It pushed against what was surely a bruise and Connor stopped, puzzled.

Where the hell was he?

The curiosity was stronger than the weariness and his eyes finally opened. He had to blink for a moment to clear off the water and even then the world looked a bit fuzzy around the edges.

It wasn't making sense.

All Connor could see was brown and grey, with an occasional splotch of green. Was it a tuft of grass?

He knew he was outside, but why was there a wall of rock only inches from his face?

Confusion was battling with discomfort and Connor once again attempted to move. His left foot slipped a bit and suddenly Connor could feel it was hanging in the air. His ankle was still resting on hard ground, but his foot was dangling.

The feeling jolted something in Connor's brain and he had a disconcerting flashback to the ground falling down from under his feet...

Falling.

He had fallen down a hill-

Connor went stock still, even his breathing coming to a halt.

The rock in front of his face made much more sense. The thing digging into his back though... suddenly it felt as if the slightest movement could make it vanish. And Connor didn't want to think about what was behind.

Swallowing the urge to scream, Connor closed his eyes only for a second. Wishing to wake up somewhere safe. Wishing that all of this was just a very bad, very livid dream.

It wasn't.

When he opened his eyes, the rock wall was still there, along with the rain. Occasionally, something a bit larger fell down on top of Connor. Dirt or pebbles, he didn't know.

What he knew though, was that he had to find out his situation. Preferably before it somehow became even more dire.

Steeling himself, ever so slowly and carefully Connor started to move.

He didn't know what was behind him, but he could see there was a little space in front of him, offering some margin of safety.

While his ribs and limbs protested, his left arm was somehow being the most vocal of the pain. He looked at it momentarily, trying to figure out the problem. He could see a jagged cut through the fabric of his jacket but his arm was at too awkward of a position to see the real damage and he had no energy or will to pursue it, not until he knew he was on stable ground. He could tell his sleeve was soaked through, but had no idea how much of the moisture was blood or rain. Biting down another pained whimper, Connor slowly rolled over onto his stomach.

For a moment he only laid there, forehead pressed against the rock, puffing out air and trying to stay awake.

It might've taken a minute or ten, but finally he convinced himself it was imperative to look.

Opening his eyes once again, he turned his head to the right.

Then blinked.

For a second, all he could see was dark grey.

Then the blurriness cleared and he could make out the clouds.

Underneath... there was space. So much space, until he caught sight of the camp site.

Down below.

Closer then when he first spotted it on the hill.

Still a long way down though.

Connor's stomach rolled as he took in the depth below... and the very small space that divided him from the edge and a much deeper, deadlier fall.

The sound that escaped his throat sounded unfamiliar to his own ears. A mix of a gasp and whimper, even as his body physically recoiled from the edge. His back hit the wall, sending a wave of pain through his spine and ribcage. Connor still pressed his body against the unyielding rock, knees locked together in stupor as he was trying to take up the smallest amount of space.

How the hell did he manage to get into this mess?

Was this even real?

Connor used to have some vivid nightmares as a kid, some of them involving falling, especially after his mother's death. While those dreams were always vivid and real like, he could feel his stomach dropping and his scream catching inside his throat, he always woke up before the landing. And there was never such physical pain as now.

Connor swallowed, trying to sooth his too dry throat. Blinking didn't help either. His vision was still a bit blurry, but he could see clearly enough that he was actually lying on a ledge of a rocky hill. As if that wasn't enough misery, the rain kept falling, making him feel cold and wet.

After the initial shock had passed, Connor tried to jog his memory a bit. What was the last thing he remembered? Besides the sensation of falling... Connor cringed.

Arguing... no, it wasn't an argument. A discussion perhaps?

Frowning, Connor moved his right arm and brushed the irritating rain from his face. He was a bit dismayed when his hand came off splotched with reddish water. Even more dismayed was he at the fact it took him a second to realize it was actually blood.

'Wonderful,' he thought with a groan then carefully touched his face again, trying to figure out where it was coming from.

It seemed an impossible task though. Everything felt tender, but his fingers were a bit numb from the cold. He found a small gash on his forehead, though he doubted that was the only source. His head throbbed too much. Trouble was he couldn't really move his hand to run over the back of his head, not without risking losing his balance somehow. He didn't know how safe the ledge was. Also, his joints definitely protested the movement.

Still, he couldn't just stay lying there, waiting for rescue. He remembered the team building weekend and a trip to the woods that involved lots of arguing and rain, but he wasn't sure about the details. Perhaps he got lost and wandered off? Someone did get lost, he was sure of that.

What if no one even knew he fell down?

After all, wouldn't there be someone calling his name? Unless they thought he was dead... but no. Surely, he would have heard some voices?

The thought of being forgotten or abandoned here sent a wave of panic through him. It was strong enough to cause a rush of adrenaline, which in turn helped to clear his head. A little at least.

"Focus, Connor," he muttered under his breath. "You aren't dead yet. You just need to... figure this out," he added breathlessly as the ridiculousness of it hit him.

He was a cardio-thoracic surgeon. Not bloody Indiana Jones! He had no place being stuck between a rock and... and empty space.

A snort escaped him and Connor bit down on his lip, realizing he needed to get a hang of himself. Otherwise he would dissolve into a puddle of fear and nothing else.

A plan. He needed a plan.

Well, first thing would be to find out his situation.

'I'm on a bloody ledge,' Connor thought, crossing that one off.

"Yes, but you are ignoring the details," a voice that sounded eerily like his father popped up in his head.

Connor rolled his eyes.

Of course. Who better to be stuck on the ledge with.

Connor squinted suspiciously, hoping he wouldn't actually see his dear old dad sitting there in his suit, legs dangling in the air. Nope, no sign of him.

Connor let out a relieved breath.

"Details, son. You can't make a successful business deal without all the details. Same goes for most things in life," the voice informed him and Connor wished he could actually see his father and perhaps nudge him over the edge after all. If he was a hallucination, it couldn't hurt him one bit, right?

There was still no one there. Besides the voice keeping pestering Connor, until he snapped out an annoyed "Shut up!"

Surprisingly, it did help.

Connor was almost sad about it, as his only companion now was the sound of rain and his own thoughts trying to figure out how it would feel if that ledge suddenly gave way. Or if no one ever came. Would Connor starve first? No... thirst would be quicker. Though who was he kidding. Hypothermia and whatever injuries he did sustain would take care of him fast if he got stuck there during the night. It was midst of those happy thoughts when his ears caught a different sound.

Rustling, that grew into a little avalanche of pebbles and mud. Connor raised his head, wide eyed, expecting something to hit him on the head or the ledge crumbling down, but nothing happened. He spotted movement but that was almost ten yards from him.

Though what caused that rockslide?

Brow furrowing, Connor risked moving a bit more. He hissed as his body protested, but he thought he saw more movement above.

"Connor? Stay put, I'm coming!"

"Ethan?" Connor asked, unable to believe his ears. There was no response, only the sound of grunting and more pebbles falling down, bouncing on the rock wall and vanishing down below.

He had to see.

He had to make sure this wasn't just another hallucination and that he wasn't giving voice to his hopes.

Scrounging up whatever courage and strength he had left, Connor ever so slowly rolled onto his stomach.

The ledge held and after several very long seconds Connor dared to let out a breath. He was still there. He squinted to his right, eyes taking in the old trunk of a tree. It had broken off, looking as if it had fallen victim to a strong wind or perhaps a struck of lightning, but the trunk left behind was solid and what most likely saved Connor's life and kept him from falling to his death.

"Good tree," Connor mumbled then shook his head.

What the hell was he doing? Talking to a damn tree, while he was supposed to be doing other things. Like trying to see if Ethan was real.

The possibility alone gave his limbs some strength to move and Connor used it. At least he attempted to.

While his right arm throbbed in discomfort, muscles bruised and pulled, the moment he put pressure on his left arm it buckled under his weight. Connor yelped at the pain and loss of balance. He wanted to roll onto his back, grasp his arm and writhe around for a bit, but his self preservation kicked in and instead he went still, turning all his focus onto breathing and counting. Trying to forget anything like his arm even existed. Ignore the rush of blood inside his temples. Or the way the world around him seemed to swim if he opened his eyes.

Finally, after what felt like ages, Connor's senses calmed down. He heard his name being called once or twice, but he didn't react until now, too lost in his own pain.

"Am here," he muttered barely audibly when Ethan's voice came floating through the space. It sounded somehow closer, yet still not right there.

Connor decided he needed to try again.

However, this time he knew he needed to proceed differently.

Because something was seriously messed up with his left arm.

Under different circumstances, Connor might've realized that addressing the injury might've been a good idea. Right now though he knew there was little he could do. But if Ethan was there, that meant help was there and that hope gave him strength. So grunting and maneuvering with a grace of a freshly admitted car crash victim, Connor did his best to raise himself into a sitting position, using only his right arm.

It was tricky. It hurt. And it most definitely wasn't worth the dizzy spell he got hit by once horizontal. But by some miracle, Connor managed to lean his back against the wall and stop himself from toppling over.

"I swear to God, Connor, if you fall down now, I will haunt you for your next three lives!" came the angry but also concerned admonition. "Didn't I tell you to stay put?"

Connor couldn't help the smile touching his lips.

"I didn't know you were a Buddhist, Ethan," he said and opened his eyes.

"Yeah well... if I don't make this last stretch... we might discuss it in... afterlife," Ethan grunted and Connor finally spotted his colleague.

The smile slipped off his face as he took in the precarious position of the man making his slow and incredibly dangerous way over to him.

Connor wanted to do many things, mostly tell Ethan to get his ass back into safety, but he didn't have the chance. Just as he opened his mouth, Ethan's left foot slipped on a wet rock and the ex-marine's body lost balance.