Cliffhanger (4 page)

Chapter Three

IT TOOK AGES
and ages to get up to the top of the hill. And all the way up I kept thinking about what it would be like coming
down
.

The others raced ahead, desperate to get there first.

I was jolly determined to be last.

Jake kept yelling to Biscuits and me to hurry up. We went as slowly as possible. And then even slower. And then we slowed almost to a standstill.

‘Come
on
, you guys! We're all waiting!' Jake shouted.

He had the others gathered round ready to learn about abseiling. Biscuits and I had to gather too, puffing and panting.

It was like being on the edge of the world. I took one look at the steep drop and started shaking. Kelly and Giles were pushing and shoving each other, arguing about who had got to the top first. They didn't even seem to notice that if they took six steps the wrong way they'd be pushing and shoving in thin air.

‘Hey, hey! No messing around now,' said Jake. ‘This is the serious bit. OK. Abseiling for beginners!'

He got all the ropes out of his backpack.

‘Who's going to go first?'

‘Me! Me!' said Giles.

‘No, me! Pick me, Jake.
Please
,' said Kelly.

‘You two are always first,' said Jake.

He put his arm round Laura and
Lesley
, who were hanging on to each other.

‘How about you, Laura? Or Lesley?' said Jake.

‘Lesley can go first,' said Laura.

‘No,
you
can go first, Laura,' said Lesley.

Jake laughed. Then he looked at me.

‘How about you, Tim?'

‘No!' I squeaked.

Biscuits suddenly stepped forward.

‘I'll have a go,' he said.

We all stared at him, stunned.

‘Great!' said Jake, giving him a pat on the back. ‘OK. Come and step into the harness, Biscuits.'

‘That's going to be a bit of a squeeze!' said Giles.

‘Why do the boys always go first? It's not fair,' said Kelly.

‘You lot pipe down,' said Jake. ‘Watch carefully and listen.' He was helping Biscuits get the ropes sorted around him. ‘We'll hitch this up and tighten it . . .'

‘It's tight already,' said Giles.

‘Giles! Shut it!' said Jake. ‘Now, we tie up all the buckles and clip this gadget here – tighten it up, see, so it can't be opened. That means you can't fall out.'

‘Are you sure?' said Biscuits.

He was starting to sound as if he was regretting his decision. He shifted from one foot to the other, helplessly trussed up like a turkey.

‘I'm one hundred per cent certain, pal,' said Jake. ‘Now, you go down at your own pace —'

Biscuits screwed up his face.

‘What if I get dizzy?'

‘Any time you want to stop you just pull the ropes apart. OK? Now, I'll just secure myself, right. And then we're ready for your big moment, Biscuits.'

‘Good luck, Biscuits. I think you're a hero,' I said earnestly.

Biscuits beamed at me – though his teeth had started chattering.

‘OK. Start walking backwards
towards
the edge, Biscuits,' said Jake.

‘Er. This is when it starts to get a bit . . .' Biscuits wavered.

Even Giles and Kelly looked relieved that they weren't going first now. The thought of stepping backwards into space made my legs tremble inside my tracksuit.

‘You'll be fine, I promise,' said Jake. ‘When you get to the edge stick your bottom out, legs and feet at right angles to the cliff – and don't let go of the rope! Especially not with your left hand. You walk yourself down. You're in control. Your bodyweight helps you down.'

‘Then Biscuits' bodyweight is going to whizz him down mega-fast,' said Kelly.

‘Shut up, Kelly,' said Jake. ‘Come on, Biscuits. Over you go. I'll buy you
a
chocky biscuit for going first, OK?'

‘How about a huge great
bag
of biscuits?' said Biscuits.

He started shuffling backwards to the edge – and then – OVER IT!

‘That's it. Good boy!' said Jake. ‘Don't let go with your right hand. Down you go. Easy does it. Great. Absolutely perfect! One foot after the other. Are you watching, kids? Biscuits is doing a grand job.'

I couldn't watch. But everyone suddenly cheered – which meant Biscuits had made it right to the bottom of the cliff.

I didn't dare look all the way down but I shouted ‘Well done, Biscuits,' into the wind.

‘There! I told you it was easy,' said Jake, hauling the ropes and harness back after Biscuits had unscrewed
himself
. ‘OK, Tim. You next.'

‘No!'

‘Yes,' said Jake, coming over to me.

‘No,' I said.

‘You've all got to go sooner or later,' said Jake.

‘Later,' I insisted.

‘No. Sooner,' said Jake. ‘Get it over with.'

‘I can't,' I said.

‘Yes you can, Tim,' said Jake, holding my hand.

‘He's scared,' said Giles.

‘We all get scared,' said Jake. ‘Especially the first time.' He bent down and looked me straight in the eye. ‘But you'll see it's easy, Tim. Trust me. Now. Into the harness.'

I found I was being strapped in before I could get away. Jake was telling me things about this rope in this hand, that rope in that, but the wind was whipping his words away. I couldn't listen properly anyway. There was just this roaring inside my head.

‘Don't let go of the rope, right?' said Jake.

I felt as if my head was going to burst right out of my personalized safety helmet.

This couldn't be real. It couldn't be happening to me. If I closed my eyes maybe it would all turn into a nightmare and then I'd wake up in bed at home with Walter Bear.

‘Tim?' said Jake. ‘Open your eyes! Now, your pal Biscuits is down there waiting for you. Come on. Start backing towards the edge.'

I backed one step. Then another. Then I stopped.

‘I can't!'

‘Yes you can,' said Jake. ‘You'll see. Over you go. Don't worry. You can't fall. You just have to remember, you
don't
let go of the rope.'

I stared at him and started backing some more. Then my heels suddenly lost contact with the ground. I slipped backwards and suddenly . . . there I was! Suspended. In mid-air.

‘
Help!
'

I reached forward, desperate.

I had to hang on to something.

I grabbed at the rock.

I let go of the rope!

Suddenly I was sliding backwards, backwards, backwards.

I screamed.

I caught hold of the rock, though my fingers bent right back. I clung to it, sobbing.

I heard them shouting up above me.

‘He's fallen!'

‘He's let go of the rope.'

‘I
knew
he would!'

‘Trust Tim to blow it.'

‘He's
stuck
.'

‘Don't stop, Tim!' Biscuits called from underneath me.

I turned my head and tried to look at him. The whole world started swerving and swooping. Biscuits seemed a tiny blob millions and millions of miles below me. I was hanging by my hands in whirling space.

‘Help!'

‘It's OK, Tim. Don't panic,' Jake called down.

‘Don't panic, Tim, don't panic!' Kelly yelled. ‘He's panicking, isn't he, Jake?'

‘Sh, Kelly. All of you. Just back off, eh?' Jake said. ‘Now. Tim. Listen. You've let go of the rope.'

‘I know!'

‘But it's OK. You can't fall. You're safe, I promise.'

‘I don't feel safe. I feel
sick
.'

‘Well, you can get yourself down in a couple of ticks. All you need to do is grab hold of the rope.'

‘How???'

‘Just let go of the rock and —'

‘I can't!' Was Jake crazy? The rock was the only thing stopping me swinging through space. I
couldn't
let go.

‘You're safely strapped into your harness,' Jake called. ‘You don't need to clutch the rock. You've just got to take hold of the rope and then you're back in business. See the rope? Tim! Open your eyes!'

‘I can't look down.'

‘Look up. At me,' said Jake.

I tilted my head and dared peep out between my eyelashes. Jake was leaning right over the edge, not too terribly far away. He gave me a thumbs-up sign.

‘That's the ticket. Now. It's OK. Have a little rest if you like. It's not so bad now, is it?'

‘Yes!'

‘You can dangle there all day if you really want,' said Jake.

‘No!'

‘Or you can get hold of that old rope and walk yourself down, one foot at a
time
, easy-peasy. Mmm?'

I peered up at him.

‘Can't you pull me up?' I begged.

‘We're trying to get you down, pal, not up!' said Jake. ‘You can do it. You're being ever so brave.'

He had to be joking!

‘Stay there long enough and you'll get such a head for heights you'll become a trapeze artist,' said Jake.