SMK King George V - Our Dangerous Game

Our Dangerous Game
By: Angela Teh Li Leng (4 ABK)

The desert that day was hot and the heat was beginning to be unbearable as our jeep came to a stop. The place was quiet except for the occasional cry of the eagles but our laughter over a joke broke the silence and as I suspected, scared the eagles too!

We stood from our jeep and looked up the steep cliff. It was a beauty. A solid red rock standing eighteen stories high; there were visible cracks on the walls and some uneven rock formation. We smiled at each other and could instantly guess each other’s our thoughts.

The music blared from the speakers of our portable radio below as we made our way up the wall. The sun was at its highest print yet it did not affect our goal. Ben, our leader, was at the top anchoring the hooks into the cracks as he made his way up.

Tiny red dust rained down as Jeanne, my sister, climbed higher. By midday, we had passed ninety-nine feet above ground level and were working our way higher. Ben, being the strongest too, was way ahead and his path was zigzagged up the cliff.

“Hey sis, you might want to quicken your pace up or it’s going to take us a year to get to the top!” I shouted from below.

“Yeah Josh, well that was what I planned!” she joked back as she secured her foot in a crack. Ben shook his head and smiled at our antics.

The sun set down slightly and hung voluntarily to our right as we continued our journey to the top. Ben, as I could see, had reached the peak and was further securing the hooks before scrambling to the top. He scrambled up and looked below, holding the rope tight. “Hey guys, get up here quick. It’s fantastic!”

“See Jeanne, he’s already at the top! Where are we?” my voice echoed throughout the dusty terrain.

“Well Josh, we’ll be up in no time. It’s just a quarter of the cliff to go. Hang in there!”

“Yeah sure, ‘hang in there’. You’ll probably have to pull my skeletons then.” I spat back.

“Blah…blah…blah, yeah right that would happen!” she said sounding rather annoyed.

At that moment as Jeanne reached for a higher crack, a hook, somewhere near the peak, gave way causing the rope to be loose. Jeanne lost her balance and dangled aimlessly.

“Jeanne, hang on!” I shouted as I made my way higher trying to reach her.

Another hook gave way then another. We travelled down the cliff fast, holding the rope as hard as we could but we stopped abruptly. Soon, Jeanne and I were dangling hundred and twelve feet above ground.

“Josh, stop moving! We’re down to our last two hooks at the top. Ben!!!” Jeanne shouted to the top. The rope kept sliding down, bit by bit.

“I’m trying Jeanne! Both your weight is too much!” Ben shouted down. I could hear the tension in his voice.

“Listen Ben, there are only two hooks left! We’ll try to anchor ourselves back in but in the mean time I need you to hold on.” Jeanne calmly shouted from below. She held on tight before looking down to me. “Look, Ben hasn’t the strength to hold us both. Do you see the rock down there? I’m going to swing you to it. Got it?” She asked breathlessly. I nodded in reply.

The temperature was beginning to fall and the sun was setting down the horizon. Everything was still. Jeanne carefully positioned herself but at every move she made, the hooks inched closer to the edge.

Finally, she was ready. She nodded and I held on tight. With all her might, she swung the rope. Close yet so far. She swung once more but I missed it by an inch. Suddenly, the highest hook came loose but caught itself at the last moment on the edge. Jeanne swung once more still failed. Frustrated, she tried once more and as I inched closer to the rock, the highest hook lost its grip causing another freefall for Jeanne and me.

I dropped and landed miraculously on the rock but my troubles didn’t stop there. The last hook was below Jeanne but on top of me at the time of the climb. Jeanne went freefalling down, pulling the rope that tied us together; rapidly pulling me down from the rock.

Desperately, I grabbed on to a crack. “Jeanne! Are you okay?” I shouted down ignoring the painful stinging at my fingers.

“Yeah, Josh. I’m going to try an anchor my hooks. Hang in there!” Jeanne shouted breathlessly. Slowly, I tried to pull myself up and crawl onto the rock. The last hook kept nearing the edge, making it closer to our doom.

Finally, Jeanne managed to anchor herself in before the last hook gave way. I crawled and sat patiently till my sister reached the rock. When we were safely on the rock, Ben telephoned the rangers at the gate and not before long a helicopter flew past us. Jeanne and I held our hands tight and with a smile, we both had the same question in mind. ‘When are we doing it again?’

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