That man is so freaking anal. It's moments like these that I can't imagine being with him long term.
Not that I'm considering it. Where the hell did that thought come from?
Jenna moves into the bushes.
"Careful, Jenna. Not so close to the ravine," I call, remembering the safety briefing warning about mudslides.
The rustling stops, and I wait. Five minutes pass. I pull out my phone to check the time. This really isn't the place for doing something other than peeing, but that's just me.
Another minutes passes.
"Jenna? You almost done?" I ask.
No answer.
"Jenna?"
Concerned, I push through the brush and frown. She's not there.
I hear some kind of sound, a squeak or muffled cry. Starting forward, I freeze. The mud here is even softer, giving out beneath my feet, sliding towards the edge of the ravine. I snatch a tree branch and haul myself back.
Panic stirs. I can't see Jenna anywhere. I circle around the tree and test the mud on the other side. It's loose but not as slippery. Stepping away from the trunk, I inch forward cautiously, freezing whenever the ground starts to give.
"I'm coming, Jenna," I cry. "Hang in there!"
No response. Please, please be okay! Desperate for a sign that she's alive, I risk moving away from the trees. Almost immediately, the mud beneath me begins to shift towards the ravine. I fall flat on my belly, and the shifting stops. Cold wetness sinks through my clothing. Carefully, I rise up to my knees and inch forward. A downed, rotted out tree has roots sticking out over the edge of the ravine, and I slide as close as I dare, hanging onto one.
"Jenna?" I lean over the edge.
She's a good ten feet below, hanging onto a tree root, sobbing and covered in mud.
"Oh, Jesus, Jenna!"
I'm feeling overwhelmed. The drop down the steep hill into the ravine is a good thirty feet of mud and branches. Seeing it makes me want to cry, because there's no easy way to get to her.
"Hang on, honey. I'll figure this out." I stretch back and grab my phone out of my back pocket. My hands are trembling. I pull up the contact information for the first person I can think of and text quickly. Need help. In the forest with Jenna. Mudslide.
Pushing send, I replace it.
"Can't … hang on." Jenna is crying.
"Yes, you can!" I can hear the hysteria entering my voice. I move closer. There are branches and roots between her and me that I can use to climb down to her. I stretch for the first and test it. It's a little too flexible for my liking. My hurt wrist aches, and I ease myself onto another one.