"Here we are!" I said after a few more minutes of walking.
We walked in and asked the lady at the front desk if we could climb.
"Sure! But we are closing early today, you won't be able to get a whole hour in if that's okay with you. I can, however, offer a discounted price," the lady said.
"That's okay, when do you close?" Jack asked.
"At 5:15."
"Okay, here." Jack said while giving the lady money.
We got bracelets to give us access and made our way to where the harnesses were.
"Jack, I've never been rock climbing before. Maybe we should ask someone for help." I said.
"No worries, I used to rock climb before I moved here." He grabbed harness for himself and quickly put it on. I reached for a harness and Jack snatched it out of my hand.
"Hey!" I said.
"Here, use this harness, it is better for beginners," Jack said, grabbing a different harness.
"Are you calling me weak?" I questioned.
"No, but you said it yourself, you've never been rock climbing before." He pauses while he unbuckled something. "Come here."
I walked over.
"Here, put your legs in these holes." Jack said, holding out the leg holes. I grabbed his shoulder for support and put both my legs in. He helped me pull the harness over my shoulders and buckled something in the back.
"Okay, now I have to tighten it." Jack said, pulling the straps.
"Feel good?" He asked.
"I think so, I don't really know how this works so…" I said.
Jack led me to the rock walls and showed me all the different levels. "Do you want to try this one?" Jack asked pointing to a fairly easy wall, not the easiest however.
"Sure! How do I do it?" I asked.
"Well, I'll hook you up, and then you climb using the nobs. If you fall or reached the top, the rope will slowly lower you. Make sure you kick away from the wall as you go down." He explained.
"Okay, got it." I said, studying how I wanted to get up to the top.
Jack brought me to the chain. He grabbed the loop on the front of my harness and without warning lifted me up 6 inches off the ground.
"Jack! What was that for?!" I said, shocked.
"Well, I had to make sure your harness was secure!" He defended.
"Whatever," I said rolling my eyes.
He finished strapping me and I started to climb. I got to the top of my first try and heard Jack clapping from below.
We raced each other to the top a few times and Jack showed me some tricks he learned. It only felt like 5 minutes before everyone else had left and an announcement came on saying they were about to close.
"Dang it!" I said. I was at the top of a wall, while Jack was down about to start with another one. I saw Jack take off his harness and I started to descend.
When I got to the bottom I looked for Jack but didn't see him. Maybe he went to the bathroom? I took off the hook and tried to take the harness off. I stopped right away when I realized I didn't know what the heck I was doing.
"Jack!" I called. "Jack?"
I walked to the bathrooms but the men's room was empty. I walked back to the main area and there was still no sign of Jack. I pulled my phone out when suddenly the lights turned off.
"Jack?" I said. I started to feel panicked. I saw a muscular body and assumed it was Jack. I started to walk over, relieved.
"Kim!" I heard. It was Jack's voice, but it came from somewhere else.
"Jack?" I questioned. The lights turned back on and I saw the person in front of me was not Jack. I quickly turned to run but a man with a covered face was right there. I turned back around and saw I was now surrounded by 4 men.
"Jack!" I desperately yelled. I heard him run down a hallway and stop when he saw me.
"Leave her alone!" He yelled.
One of the men tried to punch me but I sidestepped it. Another tried and I blocked his punch and kicked him back.
"Oh, she's a feisty little girl!" One said. I punched him in the gut and he took a step back. They kept attacking me and I tried to fight back. One of them kicked me and I fell to the ground. He picked me by my neck and Jack jumped into action.
He took out on guy and then went on to my captor. He released me and I rubbed my throat. I kicked another guy and flipped him using one of his own punches. By the time I was done Jack had been watching me with a smug smile that I can only imagine was teasing me for not dealing with the on man as fast as he had dealt with two.
"Come on let's get out of here!" Jack said as one of the men started to wake up. He grabbed my hand and we ran out the back door.