The wind screamed against the sheer face of the Eiger, whipping ice crystals into Elias’s goggles. At sixty five, this was his final guided ascent. His knees burned, but his knots were still perfect. Behind him, clipped to the same eighty meter dynamic rope, was Arthur. The man had been silent for six hours, moving with a mechanical indifference that Elias had misjudged as focus. Now, they were stranded on a three foot ledge. A sudden whiteout had blocked the route.
"We anchor here and wait it out,"
Elias yelled over the gale, hammering a piton into a granite crack.
“Clip into the anchor, Arthur!"
Arthur didn't move. He stood at the edge, staring into the swirling abyss where the valley lay thousands of feet below.
"I didn't hire you to get me to the top, Elias,"
Arthur said. His voice was eerily calm against the roaring storm. Elias paused, his hammer frozen mid air and asked.
“What are you talking about?"
"My son spoke about you before he died,"
Arthur turned slightly, his eyes hollow.
“He said you were the best. That you never lost a client. But you lost him on the Matterhorn three years ago."
Elias felt a sudden sense of despair. He remembered the boy. Gabriel. A fraying rope, a sudden snap, and a fall Elias had relived every night since.
"I tried to hold him, but the rock sheared. I couldn't—"
Elias whispered but before he could speak further, Arthur cut mid sentence.
"And now I'm going to show you what that feels like,"
Arthur said, stepping closer to the void. He unclipped his safety lanyard from his harness. Only the rope connecting him to Elias remained.
"Arthur, listen to me,"
Elias pleaded, dropping his hammer. He gripped his end of the rope.
“Losing Gabriel destroyed me. I retired because I couldn't trust my hands anymore. I blamed the equipment, but it was my fear."
Arthur looked down at the rope. The tension between them was pulling it taut against a sharp, jagged edge of the ledge. With every shift of Arthur’s weight, the nylon fibers began to buzz and fray against the rock.
"If you go, I go. I won't let go this time. I failed him, but I won't fail you."
Elias said, locking his boots against the granite. Arthur stared at the fraying rope, then at Elias’s tear streaked face. Slowly, the he stepped back from the edge and said in a flat tone before dragging Elias down with him.
“You know what? I actually thought about this scenario and how good it will feel to take you down with me.