Cretaceous Sea

Rick's search for an easier route off the mesa proved fruitless. Con, enchanted by the scenery, did not seem to be aware of the true purpose of his inspection. As they walked about the cliff edge she was in a happy, playful mood. 'We simply must picnic here. Guide,' she said imperiously, 'go fetch the hamper and the cooler.'

'Yes, miss,' answered Rick in mock subservience. 'Soon as I evolve two more arms.'

'Shall it take long?'

'A thousand generations or so. 1 pray you're not hun-gry'

'I'm always hungry,' said Con. 'If you're going to be pokey, I'll climb down myself.'

'You ready to leave?' asked Rick, hoping he sounded casual.

'I guess so,' replied Con reluctantly.

'I'll go first so you can watch.'

'Can't we climb down together?'

'It's safer if only one person is in the crack at a time,' replied Rick. He hoped that he wouldn't have to explain how a person falling from above would take out the climber below. Con didn't press him for a reason, but a shadow of fear passed over her expression. 'You'll do fine,' said Rick, hoping he sounded convincing. 'The trick is not to rush things. Move down in small incre-ments. Lock your knees to rest whenever you need to.'

That was all the instruction he could give. He walked over to the fissure and sat down on one side of the crack. Then he placed his feet on the side of the crack opposite him and, gripping the edge with his hands, pushed his torso out over the void and lowered it about sixteen inches. Pushing with his legs, he wedged his body be-tween the walls of the fissure. The rocks below were inches closer. Con studied Rick's descent. In purely mechanical terms, it was simply the reverse of ascending, but psy-chologically, it was utterly different. Ascending focuses the mind above, to the goal that gets ever closer. When the danger is the greatest, safety is closest at hand. De-scending is cousin to falling. The focus is downward, and every descent starts at the point of greatest peril.

Watching Rick's climb downward, Con became op-pressed by the emptiness below—the five-story drop. She waited for her turn as Rick gradually got smaller and smaller. It seemed to take forever for him to reach the ground. By the time he called to her to start down, Con was gripped by a fear that approached terror.

As Con sat on the edge of the fissure and placed her feet on the opposite wall, she tried to force herself to remain calm, to subdue the trembling in her legs. There's no other way down, I have to do this, she told herself. She became aware of her fatigue from the climb up. She began to worry that her muscles would betray her. She imagined a horrible moment when gravity snatched her . . . the rush of wind . . . the snap of cracking bones.

'Con, are you okay?' Rick's voice sounded far away.

'I think so,' she called back.

'It's okay to be scared. Take some slow breaths. There's no hurry.' Con exhaled and breathed in slowly. / can do this. She pushed her torso away from the ledge and out over the yawning emptiness. A second later, she was wedged in the crack. Her instinct't'j survive took over, washing her mind clean of everythir, g not necessary to continue liv-ing. Her attention was focused by fear upon balance, fric-tion, and gravity until existence consisted only of these things, as—inch by inch-—she made her way downward.

After an eternity, it was over. Rick lifted her from the wall before she could touch the floor of the fissure. He set her feet on the ground, but continued to hold her for a moment, as if to convince himself she was truly safe. When Rick eleased her, Con thought he was trying to hide the depths of his concern.

'That was some climb,' he said.

'You didn't think I could make it,' replied Con, as she slipped her thongs on her sore feet. Rick looked away and said nothing for a while. Even-tually he asked, 'You getting hungry?'

'Starved.'

As they walked down the slope, both felt the exhila-ration that follows a perilous climb. It heightened their senses so they more keenly appreciated the rugged beauty about them. The rocky landscape, brilliant beneath the cloudless sky, contrasted with the deep blues and soft turquoises of the surrounding sea. A gentle breeze dis- sipated the heat. The prospect of food seemed very in-viting. Rick carried the hamper and the cooler down to a rocky part of the shore. There, they ate their lunch while Con cooled her feet in the water.

Rick fell under the spell of their idyllic setting and Con's exuberant mood, which had redoubled following the climb. He found her gaiety disarming and contagious. It was impossible to brood around her, and his forebod-ings about Green and Joe faded as they talked and joked. / was wrong about her, he decided. She isn't spoiled, just self-assured. Even Con's quick tongue, which Rick had found so sharp earlier, began to seem spunky and forth-right to him.