Part 5
Kylie ran for the truck, swarming over the rocks she'd had such a hard time with earlier. She had to hurry. She just knew if she took too long, the whole tower Burt was on would fall to the ground, burying him in tons of rubble.
She climbed into the truck and grabbed the radio. "Tyler! Tyler come in! It's Kylie!" She waited, impatiently. "Tyler! Come in Tyler!"
"You got Tyler. What's up Kylie?"
Thank you Goddess!
"Burt's stuck on a rock, you have to come out and get us."
There was a lengthy pause.
"'Burt's stuck on a rock,' you say?"
"All the ground fell off, and there was a bridge, and it fell and--" She shook her head. "You just need to get out here now!"
"Is he hurt?"
"No, not yet, but if you keep playing twenty questions he might be." She took a deep breath. "I'll explain everything when you get here. Just hurry."
"Okay. But-- Where are you?"
She keyed the mic but paused. Then stood up on the seat and waved an arm. "Burt! Where are we?" She could fell his eyes roll at her even from this distance.
"Tell him Dead Man's Canyon," he shouted.
"Dead Man-- Oh!" She glared up at Burt. "Dead Man's Canyon," she repeated into the mic.
"I'll come right now," Tyler said.
"Hang on," she said into the mic. "He's talking again."
"What?" She shouted back.
"Tell him," Burt shouted very slowly and carefully, "to bring the harpoon!"
"He said to bring--" She stopped. "Bring the what?" she shouted back.
"The harpoon!"
Had to be some kind of code the guys used to confuse the girls. Men and their stupid little games. "He said to bring 'the harpoon', if that makes any sense."
"Oh yeah. That makes sense," Tyler said. "I'm on my way."
"He's on his way!" Kylie shouted, then settled down to wait.
She noticed that the bunnyball had gotten loose and left Burt some presents on his seat. "He's going to love that," she murmurred, flicking them off the seat with a fingernail. "If he ever gets off that rock."
Kylie saw the dust tail that broadcast Tyler's approach long before he arrived. She grabbed Burt's binoculars and felt a jolt of surprise when she recognized the apparatus in the back. "Frell me blind," she muttered. "It is a harpoon."
Tyler stopped his jeep at the base of the cliff she was on, unable to come closer to the pillar for all the rubble.
"I can't mount it in this!" he shouted.
Burt shook his head. "You'll have to get the Power Wagon," Burt shouted back. "Bring it down there!"
"Can't Kylie drive it down?" Tyler shouted.
"Negative!" Burt bellowed, while Kylie shouted, "No!"
Kylie and Burt suffered through yet another interminable wait while Tyler hiked the winding trail to the Power Wagon.
"How in the hell did he get this up here?" Tyler asked when he finally arrived. "And why?"
Kylie shrugged. "The trail seemed wider on the way up. And..." She looked around at what was left of their parking area. "There was room to turn around when we got up here." She looked at him, a worried frown between her brows. "You can get it down, can't you?"
Tyler nodded. "Won't be fast, though." He got into the driver's seat and turned to her. "Got the keys?"
The Power Wagon was finally in place, thanks to Tyler's not always legal knowledge of a vehicle's inner workings - or how to hotwire a truck. Kylie helped Tyler get the harpoon in place in the back of Burt's truck, proving that while small, she was not necessarily weak. With many shouted instructions from above, they even got it secured, mostly.
"Need some rope," Tyler said, digging around in the back of the truck. "Burt has everything else."
"There's some in the back of the cab," Kylie said. "I'll get it."
"No," Tyler said, jumping off the side of the truck. "I'll get it. You sort out that line." The harpoon's line had gotten tangled and Kylie had been set to the tedious but no-skill-required task of sorting it out.
Tyler dug around under the seats and found the line, no problem. He needed an extra bolt, though, or at least something that could act as one. He found a likely-looking small paper bag and looked inside. "What the...?" He pulled out a blue bra and panties. "Not even going to ask," he told himself, stuffing them back in the bag. He cautiously opened another bag and found a handful of bolts, just about the size he needed. "Burt is certainly prepared for every possibility."
When the harpoon was secured as best as they could make it, they were ready. "Aim it right here!" Burt shouted, indicating the cliff face directly below him. "Don't aim too low!" He stepped back, to the other side of the pillar, out of their sight.
"Don't miss," Kylie told him.
"You want to do this?" Tyler muttered, taking careful aim.
"No, I just want you not to miss." She stood behind him, checking his aim. "And don't hit Burt."
"I'll try to avoid that."
Tyler fired, the bolt went flying.
It didn't go too low.
It went too high.
"You missed!" Kylie cried, slapping his shoulder. "You hit Burt! Where is he?"
"I didn't hit Burt!" He looked worried, though. "He'd've screamed or something." They exchanged a glance. "Right?"
Burt appeared at the cliff face holding the harpoon.
Kylie threw her arms around Tyler. "You didn't hit Burt!"
"Try again!" Burt shouted, and Tyler reeled in the harpoon.
"Don't miss this time," Kylie advised, patting Tyler's shoulder.
"It's not like I've ever fired one of these before," Tyler muttered.
Tyler aimed again, a little lower this time, and fired.
It thunked home in the cliff, just a foot or so from the top.
Kylie hugged Tyler again.
Burt reappeared at the edge and shot Tyler a salute. He had his shirt off and had tied several knots in it. He knelt at the edge of the cliff and wrapped the shirt around it.
"Oh goddess," Kylie said faintly, watching him. "He's not going to do what I think he's going to do." She turned to Tyler. "Is he?"
Tyler, also watching, nodded. "I think he is."
"I can't watch." She put her hands over her eyes. Her feet were tingling again.
"There he goes."
Kylie parted her fingers and watched, horrified, as Burt held onto the shirt and swung himself over the side. He swung wildly a moment, but didn't lose his grip as she knew he would. He slid down the harpoon line, gaining momentum as he went. "Oh goddess," she breathed.
He got closer and closer. Then, just as his feet seemed to almost brush the ground, the harpoon came away from the cliff. He was almost close enough by then, but not quite. The line dipped, and Burt's feet touched down. He stumbled, then slammed into the side of the Power Wagon.
Kylie and Tyler winced.
He crumpled and fell, laying on his back, gasping for air.
Kylie and Tyler leaped off the side of the truck and came to stand over him.
"Are you hurt?" Tyler asked.
Burt sucked air in, trying to answer. He shook his head.
Kylie squatted down near him, his Hawks hat in hand. She used her other hand to gently brush his forehead, concern in her face evident. "Poor Burt," she said.
With one last gasp, Burt got up up his elbow and took his hat from her, settling it on his head.
"Hey Burt..." Tyler said, kneeling down next to him. He looked toward the younger man. "That looked like fun. Can I go next?"
"No!" Kylie said. "I thought we said I could go next!"
Burt looked from one to the other.
"Hey Burt," Kylie said. "I bet we'll have matching Power Wagon bruises now! We'll have to compare later."
