Page 21 of Little Girls Sleeping

“It’s okay, buddy,” she whispered, more to herself than the dog.

Her phone rang. It seemed surreal under the circumstances, as if she was waiting for the director of the movie to yell, “Cut!”

“Jeez, can’t really come to the phone right now…” she mumbled, trying to release some of the anxious tension.

The ringing stopped, and she realized that Cisco had fallen quiet and the crumbling hillside had subsided.

“Cisco?”

There was no indication that he was above her anymore. He was trained to get help, but any first-responder assistance was miles away.

“Cisco?” she said again.

Determined to get out of her predicament, she managed another foothold a couple of feet above the previous one. She kept working until progress was made, but now she was exhausted to the point of collapse.

When she next looked up, she could see a paw a couple of feet above her. Cisco barked and began to climb down to her.

“Stop!”

The dog dug his front paws downward, causing more dirt to rain down on Katie.

Racking her brain trying to figure out the best way to get back to the trail, a thought occurred to her. It was a crazy idea that just might work.

Leaning against the hillside with her cheek pressed to the dirt, she carefully took her right hand away from the cliff and began to untie her hoodie. Once it was free, she grasped the end of a sleeve, arched her arm and swung the sweatshirt upwards. It didn’t make it far and slid back down to her.

Breathing heavily, and with dwindling energy, she pitched the hoodie once again. This time it stayed above her.

“C’mon, Cisco, get it, get it,” she ordered.

After a few grumbles and whines, the dog managed to lower himself toward the sweatshirt.

More dirt slithered down the hillside.

“C’mon, get it,” Katie urged.

Her burning biceps ignited into an inferno that wouldn’t subside. She tried to adjust her position to relieve the pain.

That was when she felt it: a tug, light at first, and then harder.

“Pull!” she yelled, sounding like a banshee in the wilderness. “Pull!”

Cisco tugged hard in short bursts, jerking her upward. She managed to find a more stable area where she could use her left arm to pull herself up. At one point she lost her footing, kicking and striking the hillside until she saw Cisco’s face. The dog’s teeth held firm to the sweatshirt.

Katie let out a sigh that was part moan, realizing that she was almost at the top.

Only a little bit further.

“Pull!”

With one final effort, Cisco pulled Katie onto her belly before letting go. She rolled onto her back and he ran to her, dropping down next to her and licking her face in frantic bursts.

“I’m okay, I’m okay…”

She lay where she was for a few minutes, gathering her energy. She looked at the sky, which had now become overcast, watching the buzzards fly around her in formation. It made her shudder to think about being a carcass for them.

Finally she sat up, aware of every scrape, cut, and bruise plaguing her body. Grabbing a water bottle from her backpack that luckily hadn’t burst during her fall, she drank with enthusiasm. It was the best beverage she could ever remember. Turning to Cisco, who was now sitting next to her staring out across the horizon in watch mode, she offered him some of the water. He wasn’t as interested in drinking as she’d thought he would be, but she remembered that in Afghanistan he knew how to ration his water intake when they were on a mission.

Rolling slightly to her right, she pushed herself upright and stood up. Although she was wavering a bit, she steadied herself and made her way to the trail, Cisco following. With each small step, there was a new pain radiating in her body, but she pushed past the discomfort and kept walking—something that she had become accustomed to both in the army and at the police department.