BXBX NOVEL Chapter 83 - 83. Challenge
"What makes you think someone else could possibly find that off trail route you took?" Garnet was looking at Asher like he had just proposed a foolish idea.
"Well I am sure people won't just find it, they will ask me and I will show them." His smug smile made Onyx want to yell at him but it was a loss, there really was a way to get up the top of the cliff without real climbing.
"Fine. You can have the points. But you need to climb down the cliff on your own." Onyx was still pretty sour about the entire incident. He wanted revenge so he challenged Asher to climb down the cliff he had to carry Asher down before.
Asher made a move toward the way they had just come but found that Garnet and Onyx both moved to block him. "Don't think you can get away that easily. You started this."
Garnet was looking at him with the same smug grin he had had just a moment ago. 'Well, I messed up. This is the end for me. My gravestone will read Asher fell from a cliff and went splat.'
"You got down the cliff before right? You should be fine this time." Laura had not caught in that Asher had needed help. She only knew that she had not been able to get to the top.
The look Asher gave her was pitiful, if she knew the truth she definitely would not be so supportive.
"I'll give it a try with you. If I get back to my gardening books faster I will be happy." Jackson was the one who spoke up this time.
"I knew you were the best Jackson!" Asher still feared climbing down the cliff, but having Jackson spoke up and kept him from doing it alone made all the difference.
"I'm not all that great, I just think it would be better than doing it alone. I am not really a climber either but I should learn it at some point. I might as well tough it out now."
"Good attitude. You should learn from Jackson here. He isn't trying to be greedy and drag points out of every little thing." Garnet was still happy with the enthusiastic camper she had found. To her, Jackson could become her best camper yet, if he did what she wanted him to.
'This is perfect, I know where the footholds are that Onyx uses so I should be able to easily get down.' Asher went over to the cliff and looked at the side. This was the moment he realized that he had no idea how to spot the holds he was looking for. Onyx had helped him find them and he had even placed Asher's feet in to them so he could find them.
'Just you wait. When you beg for someone to help you climb down I will be right there to answer your call. Then I will let you give up all your points to pay for the help. That will teach you a good lesson' Onyx was silently cursing Asher. It was only fair because of the dirty tricks Asher was pulling to get more points.
"Yout alright over there?" Jackson had readied himself at the edge of the cliff as well and saw that Asher was frozen at the edge.
"Oh yeah, just waiting so we can start together. I figure we can partner up and practice together. It will just help us in the long run." He tried to sound as genuine as possible since his easy path seemed to be gone from beneath his feet.
"That sounds great. I will be much more comfortable having someone next to me." Jackson was breathing a sigh of relief. He was not afraid of heights but he did not want to risk being stuck and panicking all alone.
'Well, at least before I fall I will have a friend to talk to.' Asher was trying to look on the bright side and he and Jackson took the first move down the cliff.
Asher was able to use the strategy of sliding his foot down until he could a grip. This was the main point of his strategy. He could grip with his hands on the places he was able to hold with his feet as he moved down. If he couldn't hold with his feet he would just move side to side until he could find a grip downward.
Jackson had a much different strategy. His hands were strong due to his super power, he was able to grip on to some of the smaller notches in the cliff face with ease. "Don't be alarmed but I think I need to kick off my shoes so I can keep the grip on my feet."
"Won't your feet get all cut up?" Asher was looking at Jackson like he was crazy.
"Not really, they might be a little sore but since I got my power it's pretty hard for me to get any cuts or bruises, or really anything."
There was a large amount of jealousy building up in Asher as he heard this. He could only watch as Jackson kicked his shoes off and listen for the soft thud of them hitting the ground.
"Did you just hear that…" Onyx gulped as his mind went directly to the worst case scenario.
"It was such a soft sound, I'm not sure what it was." Garnet was not super worried since she had heard the sound of someone falling before. This was way too tame of a sound. However, the seed of worry had been planted in Onyx's head.
" I think I am just going to go down the side too. It's better to have an expert there." Onyx's voice was shaky as he stepped toward the cliff edge faster than he meant to.
As he looked down he told himself that there was no way one of them had fallen. He was nearly praying for this possibility to be just a nightmare. His heart dropped as he looked over the side.