Her shoes felt stiff and tight as she pulled them on. She warmed up her body by doing some shoulder pushups, a few leg swings and stretches. She tried wiggling her toes in her shoes and slowly she felt the leather start to warm and mold to her feet. After a little while she took her shoes halfway off, leaving her toes inside to keep them warm.
She concentrated on the boulder one more time, mentally climbing the problem first from start to finish, visualizing herself doing the moves successfully. After she had successfully topped out the climb in her mind she pulled the shoes back on completely, and sure enough they felt perfect.
The first contact with the crimps felt a little cold but the solid rock felt amazing to her hands. Teagan felt the rock lightly at first and then once she found the perfect place to crimp she pulled onto the rock, her feet resting on tiny footholds. She moved into a small under-cling with her right hand and then set herself up for the dynamic throw with a scrunched drop knee. She focused on the pinch, quickly calculating the amount of power she would have to give as she visualized herself sticking it.
She launched herself, letting out her breath and tightening her core, the wave of extension starting from her left toe and flowing through her body in one clean motion. The moment of contact with the hold was empowering. She absolutely loved the feeling that big moves gave her. She felt strong and in control of her body. Being in control was important to her.
The pinch was wide in her hand and the texture was rough. Her right foot cut as she hit the pinch—it would have been impossible to keep it on with her small size—but her left foot stayed on as she stretched to full extension and kept her core from collapsing from the strain. The hold to the right wasn’t the best for a hand, but it made a nice heel hook and she quickly took advantage, giving her right foot a home.
Teagan locked off on the pinch, drawing her body up and close to the rock face as she pulled down on the heel to gain the large sloper. She cupped the top of it with first her right hand and then matched with her left. She kept her body under the hold as she pulled straight up, trying to maintain the best friction with the smooth hold. As she moved up she transitioned her heel to a toe as she stood up to gain the next smooth ledge above her. It was worse than she had hoped for, but good enough to keep going.
The sun fell further and shades of gray sliced through the light. With the gray came wisps of fog sliding like fingers toward her. She glanced up the mountain toward the highest peak where the mountain was always encased in mist. Now, the mist had crept down so that up above, where the cave was located, the fog appeared so dense it looked impenetrable. She didn’t want to be on the boulder when mist came in that thick.
The next few moves she executed swiftly, and she was happy to find her assessment correct in that the holds got better toward the roof. It was a little daunting coming up underneath the roof thinking about going over it and committing to the slab above it, but seeing those large holds gave her the confidence she needed. As she made her way up she tapped on the larger holds to make sure they were safe.
The last thing she wanted was to go flying to the ground because she pulled on a hold that was too fragile. The moves might be easier now, but the risk was far greater. Caution was now her main priority and each move was executed with more care and more precision than the last. She took her time, feeling around for the most solid holds, using as little force as needed, and planning her strategy over the roof. Her caution paid off and soon she stood above the roof, feeling satisfied. Only a few more moves to go to reach the summit.
She glanced up and saw nothing but gray mist. Her heart stuttered. The fog couldn’t have come in that thick, or that fast. There wasn’t even a wind. She became aware of the utter stillness. There was no drone of insects. No cries of birds. No slight movement anywhere around her.
This wasn’t good. She was clinging to the side of a boulder, a good sixteen feet in the air. She felt cautiously for her next hold. She had practically memorized the climb in her mind before she’d started and she knew where it was, her body just had to pull the information from her head.
The first fingers of mist reached her, touching her hand when she reached for the small pocket she knew was there. She jerked her hand back and nearly lost her footing. Gasping, she caught at the rock again and flattened herself against it. The moment the fog had touched her skin, she knew it wasn’t normal fog.
The vapor was sticky, clinging to her, sending prickles of fear through her and a chill down her spine. Worse, something moved in the fog. She knew it. Whatever the entity was, it was using the spreading mist as concealment.
She bit her lip and tried to calm her breathing. She had to think. Was it better to take a chance and bail, or climb the last foot into the fog? Her skin crawled, and the dread grew to full-fledged fear. Something was coming toward her and it felt wholly evil. She had to make a decision and she had to do it fast.
8
Teagan made a quick decision to down-climb while she had the chance. Getting back over the roof was going to be difficult, but once under it, it would help shelter her from the fog. Her skin hurt as if burned from the small exposure to the unnatural droplets of mist. She knew it didn’t make any sense, and maybe it was another hallucination, but if so, it was one that was all too real.
She swore out loud, words her grandmother would have washed out her mouth for, as she looked at the skin of her hand. There were blisters. Actual blisters. She sucked in her breath. Real or not, she was getting the hell out of there before the fog enveloped her entire body.
Reversing her moves back over the roof, especially with her body trembling and her heart going crazy, was unthinkable, but sometimes life required the unthinkable. Going up into the blistering fog would be a far worse fate. She turned her focus on her breathing and tried to steady her mind to the task at hand. She moved cautiously but swiftly down to the roof. As she made her way to the roof’s edge she tried hard not to look up at the fog or down at the ground. Relax. She had to relax.