Author's Note: Prompt suggested by CrismonChaos.
H is for Hilltop
Maru really should have learned that listening to the smokejumpers was a bad idea…but somehow, they kept on suckering him into their plans.
"Come on!" Drip hollered down to him. "We are almost there!"
Which was so easy for the little skid steer to say. The smokejumper was several decades younger than the mechanic and more importantly, he was not afraid of heights. When the smokejumpers had suggested that they celebrate their day off with a hike, Maru had thought they would have picked one of the chill ones by the river…but no, apparently, they had their hearts set on climbing Angels Landing. And they had decided to make Maru's life a living hell by dragging them with them.
"Aren't the views incredible!" Pinecone actually sounded delighted enough that Maru allowed his eyes to flick up from the spot of rock directly in front of his tires that he had been fixated on…which proved to be an absolutely terrible decision as it forced him to acknowledge just how close he was to the cliff's edge and just how tall that cliff happened to be.
Maru swallowed hard as he felt his breaks lock and his systems lock into place. He tried to force himself to breathe as he felt panic trying to drown him. Every fiber of his being was telling him to turn around and roll full speed back down the rocky pinnacle to the safety of the valley floor, but his brain was telling him that bolting like that would be an absolute death sentence.
"YOU'VE GOT THIS." Maru could feel Avalanche come up behind him and pressed his blade gently against his back bumper. "YOU CAN MAKE IT, JUST YOUR EYES ON THE ROCK AHEAD OF YOU AND KEEP ROLLING FORWARD ONE FOOT AT A TIME."
Maru was tempted to make a snarky comment back at Avalanche, but his words were caught in his throat, so the mechanic did the next best thing he poured all of his focus on the ground in front of him and rolled forward.
Avalanche to his credit, stayed right there with him for the rest of the journey upward. Every time that Maru's eyes strayed towards the cliff's edge, and he started to freeze the dozer was there to give him a quick nudge to keep him moving. Eventually, Maru ran out of trail, and he heard a cheer from the smokejumpers that told him that he had successfully made it to the summit.
"Isn't this so spectacularly beautiful!" Pinecone practically gushed as she rolled over to Maru forcing him to look up which only served to emphasize just how far up, they were.
"Yes…it is beautiful." Maru blurted in a way that told the smokejumpers that he did not in fact find it beautiful. "Can we go back down now?"
"Photo first." Dynamite smiled, as she waved down one of the other park visitors to take a group picture of the team. Maru did his best to smile, he really did, because he knew that if he didn't the jumpers would drag him back into yet another photo instead of letting him head back down. Finally, after a torturous eternity, Dynamite was satisfied with the photos and Avalanche volunteered to escort Maru back down.
The journey back down to the valley floor was worse than the hike up had been, because he was forced to constantly realize just how far up, he was. Finally, Avalanche had taken pity on the poor mechanic and at Scout's Overlook took the lead which allowed Maru to focus on the dozers bumper instead of the emptiness just a few short feet beyond the edge of the trail.
The relief that Maru felt when he finally made it back to the trailhead was so immense, he was almost ready to kiss the rocks beneath his tires. He didn't even care that he was stuck waiting for the rest of the smokejumpers to choose to come down from their rocky perch. He was now finally safe and determined that he would never let the smokejumpers drag on him on a hike again.
End Note: I am totally with Maru on this. I am a scaredy cat when it comes to heights and there is no way I would willingly hike Angels Landing. But I know that not everyone has a fear of heights. Are you someone who would go hiking with the smokejumpers or someone who would prefer to stay safe on the ground with Maru and me?
And while we are asking questions...what are your prompt ideas for the letter I?
