Part 4
"You know, it's not really all that cute close up," Kylie said, watching the bunny ball through the bars of the cage Burt had rigged up for it. "Kind of a pointy little face and beady little eyes." It yawned. "And pointy little teeth. Maybe it's part bat."
Burt glanced over at it. "The face is shaped like an armadillo. Now will you put the cage down?"
Kylie put the cage on the floor beneath her and propped her feet on it.
Burt turned the truck off the marked trail to a barely discernable track.
"Where are we going?" Kylie asked.
"Shortcut," Burt replied.
"Nicer scenery this way," Kylie noted with a happy smile, after they'd rounded a hillock and dropped into a canyon. They drove next to some striated cliffs until the canyon widened, then dropped again until there were cliffs all around. Here and there a ridge stood, testament that the canyon had once been flat ground. At the center of the deepest part of the canyon was a thin ridge slanting upward from the canyon floor, climbing skyward, almost to the level of the clifftops above.
"Wow! Check that out! I bet the view is spectacular from up there!" she exclaimed. "Too bad we can't get up there to see."
Burt glanced at her. "My Power Wagon was capable of any kind of terrain. It's been up there many times."
"Is the view impressive?" Kylie asked.
He nodded. "You can see almost the whole canyon from there."
"Can we go, Burt?" she begged eagerly. "Please?"
He put on a show of reluctance, but turned toward the ridge anyway.
The ground fell away a couple yards on either side of the Power Wagon as Burt carefully navigated the thin, curving trail toward the top. A few dozen yards from the top, the trail widened a bit but grew too rocky for the truck. Burt pulled to a stop and turned off the engine. "From here, we walk," he announced, getting out.
He climbed easily out of the Power Wagon and watched Kylie leap agilely to the ground. She wasted no time climbing up the trail as it thinned even more, but Burt stopped her when the trail grew rocky. "These rocks are loose and slippery. Watch your step."
She fell back, allowing him to take the lead. He stepped over and around rocks as if he'd gone that route before, not gracefully, but adeptly, pausing a few times to reach back and take her hand, helping her over the worst of them. Once over the rocks, they were on a platform high above the floor of the canyon.
She loved it up here already. Looking over the shades of the desert, she thought she could live here. Right here. Build a house, put in a pool... Maybe learn to knit. "It's breathtaking," she said at last.
Burt glanced her way and nodded silently.
She turned to him, sure he couldn't appreciate the savage beauty of the vista. He was standing, hands in pockets, relaxed now that he was out in his own environment. Away from people, and civilization and all the incivilities that went with it. He just seemed to... breathe better out here. She sensed a calmness in him she hadn't sensed before. She thought she understood. The Valley seemed to affect her the same way. She cocked her head, pondering that. He was such a complicated man.
"So..." Kylie began, turning her eyes to the horizon. "Did you find it?"
He looked at her. "Find what?"
She turned back to him. "Whatever you were looking for."
After a moment's puzzled frown, he turned away. "Bunch of nonsense."
She noticed, though, that he didn't deny he'd been searching for something. "Perhaps you--"
Their sizemos went off then, cutting off that thought. Kylie stepped away from the edge, nervously looking around.
"It's all right," Burt said. "El Blanco can't get up here. We're on solid rock."
"Good," Kylie said, but she still scanned the ground for signs of the giant worm.
"There," Burt said, pointing at the telltale signs of El Blanco's approach.
The ground began rumbling then, as El Blanco made for their outcropping. The trail came straight to the base of the rock, then disappeared underneath.
As one, Burt and Kylie's heads turned to the other side, looking for the continuation of the graboid's path. Sure enough, in a moment, the trail resurfaced and headed off into the distance.
Their sizemos stopped buzzing, but the rumbling in the ground continued.
Kylie looked to him nervously. "Ah, Burt... Shouldn't this stop now?"
He nodded, hands coming out of his pockets, going into a balancing act now that the ground was shaking more violently. He half-reached for her hand, backing away from the edge, then turned. "Get to the truck. Now." He instructed, and suited action to words.
She started after him, but he threw an arm out suddenly, stopping her. While she watched over his arm, the ground between them and the truck gave a lurch and started to break apart.
Burt backed them away, watching the ground beneath them, looking this way and that, while Kylie clutched at his protective arm.
When the shaking stopped, they found themselves separated from the Power Wagon by an even thinner ridge of rock. "You all right?" Burt asked over his shoulder.
Slowly she loosened the death grip she had on his arm and took a deep breath. "I think so," she said, expecting the ground to start shaking again.
"We'd better get to the truck," Burt said, unnecessarily. They started for it, but the ground gave one last rumble.
Suddenly the rock beneath Burt's feet grew soft and crumbled. He started sliding with with it as it fell.
With a shrieked "No!" Kylie grabbed his arm again and pulled, landing on her back, with Burt thrown across her legs. He dangled over the very unsteady edge and was losing ground. He held her arm with one hand while clawing the ground with the other, scrambling for purchase. She dug in her heels and heaved, muscles working, and helped pull him slowly up over the edge.
First one leg then another swung up and he rolled, Kylie still dragging at him.
They rolled together, away from the edge, then came to a stop clutching each other desperately. When the ground stopped rumbling, their eyes met, waiting for the ground beneath them to turn to dust again.
"I think we're safe, for now," Burt announced at last and tried to pull away.
Kylie released the hold she had on his shoulders. Reluctantly.
He stood and carefully explored the extent of the rock island they stood on. Only a few yards in any direction. The ground fell away to crumbled and jagged rock on all sides. The ridge between them and the Power Wagon was now a thin uncertain bridge.
"I don't understand this," Burt said, pacing. "This ridge was stable. I've been up here dozens of times."
Kylie just sat on the ground, arms wrapped tightly around her knees, slightly rocking. "I think I did that reading wrong, Burt," she said ever so softly. He strained to hear her. "The Tower usually means change. Always. Usually. Most of the time. All the readings I've done, it does, but-- But I guess that doesn't mean it can't be taken literally. I mean, here we are, two people - two people on the card. They fell to a horrible gruesome death, and here we are, falling to a horrible and gruesome-- Any second now, this whole place could go. I should have seen it. If I'd been thinking, I would have, but-- And now we're both going to die, and it's all my--"
"We are not going to die!" Burt crossed to her and squatted in front of her, grasping her shoulders and giving her a little shake. He held her eyes with his own until he saw reason reassert itself in hers. "We still have options. The ground has stabilized and we're safe. We'll just call for help and wait."
She nodded, attempting a smile. "Good girl." He gave her shoulders a rough pat and let her go then reached for his radio.
It wasn't there.
He stood, scanning the area, but it was nowhere in sight. He went to the edge he'd nearly followed down and looked over.
He found his radio.
It was about thirty feet below, wedged between two good-sized rocks. He thought he saw the circuit board a few yards away. There was no sign of the antenna.
He looked over his shoulder at Kylie, careful to school his expression to something reassuring.
She was still sitting with her arms around her knees, but she wasn't rocking anymore. That was a good sign.
"I lost my radio," he said. "Let me use yours."
She pointed to the truck. "I thought, since you had one..."
"Didn't I tell you--" He shook his head. "All right, well... That makes things a little more difficult." He went to the edge again, and looked down. It was a sheer cliff with sharp rocks at the bottom. He followed the edge around but the story was pretty much the same. Their only hope was the remnants of the ridge, a thin rock bridge stretching from their rock island to the larger one with his Power Wagon.
He examined it first from one side, then the next. If it was stable, and solid, it might support his weight. Briefly.
He returned to the edge. Maybe there was something he'd missed. They might be able to climb down. There could be handholds...
Kylie watched Burt's circuit of the pillar. He'd get them out of this. He would. He was Burt. Her white knight. He had to get them out of this. He walked a few steps, looked over the edge, then walked a few steps more. She wanted to tell him to watch his step, get away from the edge. Just watching him so close, peering over, made her hands sweat and her feet tingle. He was going to fall.
She concentrated on watching Burt instead of his distance from the ege. He had a very mannish stride - more lurching and efficient than the lithe and polished style of the guys in LA. Definitely not the most graceful man she knew. Had to be those big feet, or maybe the combat boots.
She hoped he didn't trip over one of them and go sailing over the edge.
She turned her mind away from that line of thought.
"I'll just have to go to the truck," he said, back at the bridge at last. "I think it will hold my weight."
Kylie blinked at him, coming to her knees. She looked at the thin bridge and back at him. "It'll fall."
He shook his head. "Negative. It's sturdy enough. It'll hold long enough for me to get across. I'll radio for help and we'll come get you. No problem." He turned away from her, studying the bridge, first from one side, then the other.
She crawled a couple feet closer to the bridge, studying it as well.
It was so narrow. Maybe a foot or so wide in places, and not nearly thick enough to hold even Burt's lanky weight. It got wider close to the truck, but so very thin on their side.
He came and squatted next to her. "I want you to wait right here. I may have to drive for help, but you stay here. Just wait, and we'll figure out a way to get you down." He studied her face. "Understand?"
She nodded her head, twice, quickly, too afraid to speak.
He smiled that reassuring smile he used when she was being a coward. "Good girl," he said, and patted her roughly again.
He stood and turned, taking a deep breath.
He didn't think he'd make it either.
It wouldn't hold him, she knew it. Her mind conjured visions of Burt's broken and bleeding body laying at the base of the cliff. She shook them away. He'd make it. He had to. Burt would never fail at anything.
But he was so big and that bridge was so very thin. And too narrow in places. Could his feet even fit on that? He couldn't balance all that way. He's not graceful, he's not...
He stopped at the bridge and turned to her, his look saying something she couldn't decipher, then turned, put one foot on the bridge.
She called out, softly, trying not to startle him. "Burt... Wait."
She couldn't believe she was doing this.
He stopped, turned. Impatient and irritated. Not terrified, like she was.
"You can't," she said. "You'll fall." She got to her feet and took a step toward him, then another.
"It's got to be done," he explained softly. "It's the only way off this rock."
She nodded. "Yes, yes... Just..." She swallowed. "Just not by you."
He put his hands on his hips and gave her That Look. "Who would you suggest, out of the many options available to us?"
She swallowed again. It was harder this time. "That would be me. I'll have to do it."
"Absolutely not." He turned to start again.
"No!" She ran to him and caught his arm. "No, Burt, you'll fall!"
He set her back by grabbing her shoulders, picking her up and putting her where he wanted her. "Kylie, this is the only way."
"Burt, you're about as graceful as a pregnant rhinoceros! And you're too big! It has to be me."
"No. You're just a girl."
"Burt, you male chauvinist! It has to be me, and you know it!" Now she was getting stubborn.
"Kylie, you can't even drive my truck."
"But I can get across that bridge."
"It might crumble under you as easily as it would me."
She found herself doing that Burt nod/headshake combination he used when he wasn't quite sure what he wanted to disagree or agree with. "That may be," she said. "But you outweigh me by a hundred pounds. I've got the better chance." Her voice was starting to shake with emotion. He had to let her go before she lost her nerve. "You know I do."
"No."
"Then find another way - you're not getting on that bridge!" There go the tears, she thought. He let go of her shoulders and turned away. She hated it when he did that, like he was ashamed for her. Well, let him think she was a weak-spirited little girl. She couldn't let him die on that bridge.
Burt paced away to the opposite side of the rock they were on and peered over the edge. He hated it when women cried. It made him willing to do whatever they asked if they would only just stop. Didn't help that the last thing he wanted to do was try to cross that bridge. But he couldn't let her do it. She was only a little girl. She'd never make it. He thought of her body broken on the rocks below and shook his head. He couldn't let her do it.
He looked over another side, hoping to find inspiration. There had to be a way, if only he could--
Something alerted him. He spun.
Kylie was on the bridge.
"Kylie, no!" He sped toward the bridge. "Come back!"
She stopped her slow progress, but didn't turn. "Don't," was all she said. Quietly.
He stopped, cautious. Their combined weight was sure to take out the bridge.
She took another step. "I took gymnastics in high school, Burt. I can do this." Another step. Did she wobble that time?
"Did you pass?" Quiet, calm, he told himself. Too late to stop the headstrong girl. Had to keep her focused on what she needed to do now.
One more careful step. "I got a C+."
He could hear the tremble in her voice. She was scared. "That good?" A C+ was hardly enough to risk your life with.
He heard a rumble and she froze. Was that the bridge?
"Keep moving, Kylie," he advised, voice low and steady.
She took another sliding step, and then another.
"Don't look down."
"Why do they always say, 'Don't look down'?" she complained. "If I don't look down, how do I know I'm not walking off the edge?"
He put his head in his hands. "Just keep moving."
He heard another rumble and looked up. Dust was falling from the bridge. He felt his heart thudding faster with every breath. "Hurry," he said. Her steps came faster, but still not fast enough. She was just over halfway but if the bridge started to go, she'd never make it. "Go faster."
"Workin' on it, Burt," she ground out. "It's a little scary out here."
"If you weren't such a headstrong little girl, you wouldn't be out there."
"If I wasn't such a 'headstrong little girl,' I'd be standing where you are, looking down at your dead body right about now. And wondering what the hell I was going to do next."
Just a few more yards. She could make it. "Worry about what you're doing, will you?"
"You started it."
They both heard an ominous rumbling.
She stopped, looked back at him. "Burt..."
He looked at her. "Kylie..." That rumbling again. Louder this time. "Run!"
She ran.
The bridge crumbled.
It started falling closest to his side. "Run!" he shouted again. Louder this time, as if that would help.
The bridge was disappearing under her feet. She jumped.
She landed at the point where the bridge met solid land. She tucked and rolled, taking her a couple more yards away from the crumbling edge.
Burt sank to his knees, watching her lay there staring at the sky. He was shaking.
"Kylie!" he gasped out at last. She was probably having one of her panic attacks again. He could hear her crying softly. She was on her own this time - he couldn't help her from here. "Kylie!"
She took a few more gasping breaths, and broke into full-throated... laughter?
She was laughing!
"Whoo-hoo!" She jumped to her feet with a shout. "Burt! Didja see that! Ha! Take that Sister Mary Katrina!" She jumped, fist in the air, then staggered, bent over with laughter.
He stood, frowning. "Celebrate later," he called, pulling something from his belt. "You forgot the keys!"
