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“We did what was needed to convince him to open the doorway for us,” Declan panted.

“And aren’t you glad you did,” Alex said sarcastically, certain that since every part of her was throbbing, the physical strain he and the others must be feeling had to be equal—if not worse.

“We weren’t going to leave you two to face all this on your own,” Declan said firmly. “Don’t even try to tell me you would have done anything differently in our place.”

He had her there.

They fell into silence again as their journey continued to grow in difficulty, only pausing when it became clear that those ahead of them had halted, but not because they’d reached a safe rest stop.

“What’s the hold-up?” Alex called, her eyes on her fingers where she was struggling to maintain a grip in a shallow break in the rock.

“Look for yourself,” Declan said from beside her, and something about his tone had her glancing upwards, past Bear and Kaiden, past Jordan and D.C., to what lay ahead.

It was an overhang—a massive, almost horizontal hunk of rock jutting out from the side of the mountain. To go around it would take them hours of spider-crawling sideways, hours that their exhausted bodies wouldn’t be able to handle without some kind of break, and for as far as Alex could see across, there was nowhere that they would be able to rest during that time. Their only option was to climb up and over the outcropping and hope to find a survival stop on the other side.

Shoulders aching, legs aching, every inch of her aching, Alex heaved herself upwards, moving swiftly around Kaiden and Bear and coming into line with Jordan and D.C.—the latter of whom Alex feared was going to pass out at the sight of the overhang.

“How’re you doing, Dix?” Alex asked quietly, already knowing the answer.

“I was coping enough to remain in a healthy state of denial until now,” D.C. whispered through trembling lips. Like the rest of them, she was covered in sweat and dust, her features lined with exhaustion. “Alex, I can’t—Ican’t—” She wasn’t able to finish, all she could do was flick her eyes upwards and then cling even tighter to the rock.

“You can do this,” Alex said, her voice gentle, encouraging. “You’ve come so far, Dix. Just a little further.”

“And hey, this time it’s actual horizontal crawling,” Jordan said, his attempt at helping negated by his strained, anxious features.

“Horizontal crawling while hanging upside-down doesn’t count as horizontal crawling,” D.C. said, her breath coming out in short, sharp pants. It was clear to Alex that the longer they hung from the side of the cliff, the more shock would set in and the harder it would be to get her friend moving again.

“We’re going to do this together, okay?” Alex said. “I’m going to go first, and you’re going to be right behind me, following exactly where I climb. I won’t let anything happen to you, Dix. You know I won’t.”

D.C. tore her eyes from the overhang until she was looking only at Alex, her pupils wide with terror. Alex made sure to keep her own expression as calm as possible, despite the fact that she was quivering on the inside at what they were about to tackle.

“I promise, Dix,” Alex whispered, holding her gaze as she repeated, “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Alex could see that it took everything D.C. had, but she finally nodded.

The fear swirling inside Alex kicked up to extreme levels but she continued to mask her trepidation as she called out so everyone could hear, “See if you can place your weight mostly on your feet for a few minutes and give your hands a break.” She nodded towards the outcropping and explained, “We’re going to be relying on upper body strength to get past this, so try and be as rested as you can.”

She was asking a lot, since they were literally hanging from the rock, but her words were true: they would need all their strength to survive the journey across the jagged cliff face.

When her legs started cramping from taking as much pressure from her hands as possible, Alex knew it was time to continue on. Again using a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, she called, “Stay close, and follow right where the person in front of you climbs. Put your handsexactlywhere their hands were.” She glanced at them all and schooled her features intosomething she hoped inspired confidence. “Three minutes, guys. Maybe less. That’s all this’ll take and we’ll be up and over. We can do this.”

When she received nods—or, in D.C.’s case, a moan— in response, Alex started upwards again, climbing until she reached the point where the rock jutted out at a nearly perfect right angle.

Fortunately, it was just as jagged as the rest of the cliff— meaning there were ample places for grip holds. But the overhang meant they would need to tackle it in a hand-over-hand manner, like swinging across monkey bars.

“Ready, Dix?” Alex asked as her friend moved shakily to her side.

She didn’t wait for a response, knowing D.C. was incapable of communicating anything in that moment, and instead Alex reached upwards and anchored her fingers around a stable handhold, doing the same with her other hand while her feet kept her secured to the mountain.

Trying to keep her shaking at bay, Alex fought every self-preservation instinct inside her and, with a silent prayer to whoever was listening, released her foothold on the cliff face until she was dangling solely by her hands, hanging with nothing but air beneath her feet.

Knowing time was of the essence and that she would be in more trouble if she remained stationary, she panted out a quick reminder, “Exactlywhere my hands are, Dix,” before she released one of her holds and swung forward, feeling for the next.

Once she was two holds ahead, she paused to look over her shoulder, carefully monitoring D.C. as she took her first swing onto the overhang. Her friend was as white as a ghost, but still she was following Alex, just as she always had. Trusting her, no matter what they faced.

“You’re doing great,” Alex choked out, emotion clogging her throat as pride and gratitude overwhelmed her. “Just one move at a time.”

Following her own advice, Alex swung forward again. And again, and again, and again. She glanced back every few handholds to check the progress of her friends as they followed one by one after Alex and D.C., first Jordan, then Bear, then Kaiden, with Declan at the rear. By the time Alex came to the edge of the outcropping, all six of them were hanging from the rock, and she had a bizarre moment of wishing they’d brought some otherworldly equivalent of a camera with them. Not that she would ever forget this moment—but still, having it captured in time would be something worth framing.