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The mountain walls were high, and Kendra had trouble finding decent paths up the slopes. With the pack on her back, Kendra was twenty pounds heavier than usual, a substantial portion of her weight, and this made ascending the mountain slopes this much harder. At several locations, she had to break out the climbing gear that the officers had insisted that she take with her.
It took her several hours to get up a few hundred feet, and evening was starting to come forward, dark shadows already stretching their arms in her direction. She was scaling a cliff-face that rose another two hundred feet above her present location. She hung by a rope, secured to the rock face by a piton, and her arms and legs were really aching. She started to consider scaling back down from here, and finding a decent place to camp. But no, she was already halfway up this particular face. She would get up this one, before she found a safe place to bed down.
She afforded herself a few moments to look swivel around, to look the the she had come, back toward the colony. There it was, a growing set of high-tech structures housing over one thousand souls, including her friend, Matthew, who she was starting to miss already.
Why didn't I let you come with me? she wondered. I really am alone now. Will I ever see you again?
She had a communicator strapped to her waist, and figured she would make a quick call to her friend despite being warned only to use it in an emergency. Since when have I followed the rules, anyways?
Only pausing more a moment more, Kendra twisted herself back to face the cliff, and started feeling around for finger holds, using her meager strength to start her ascent yet again.
It took forever. It was another half hour before she finally rolled onto a small ledge at the top of the rock face. She was breathing heavily, and took a few moments before she angled to get the pack off her her back, pushing it against the back of the ledge. The last thing she wanted was for the pack to fall over the cliff, and to have to go back down and get it.
It was getting dark now, and Kendra took a glow-stick from her belt, cracking it, and providing light to her surroundings. There was an overhang a little further on, and that looked like her best bet for bedding down, getting a little shelter from the weather. It was shrinking, and with the cold air it wouldn’t be long before this petite girl was shivering. She took a few more breaths, and then grabbed her pack. It would be just a few more minutes before she could close her eyes.
It was thoroughly dark before she tossed her pack down on the floor of the ledge again. She backed up against the cliff-face, using the overhang to protect her as best as possible from what now was a strengthening rain. Taking out a plastic raincoat, she pulled it over her head, and activated a switch to provide power to the heating elements. Immediately, the raincoat started to heat up, and soon she was no longer freezing, but just a little uncomfortable.
Looking into the distance, she could see where the colony was clearly, all of the lights about it coming to life. Somewhere out there...
Kendra pulled the small radio out of her a leather pouch strapped to her waist. She was not really good with electronics. It wasn't only her body that had rejected modern technology, but her mind, her imagination as well. She fumbled with the controls with her numb fingers, punching in the access code for Matthew's com-unit. Would he be awake still?
A series of beeps emitted from the communicator, and then a tone indicating it had established a link with Matthew unit.
"Hello?" It had only been a few seconds. "Kendra, how are you doing? Is everything okay?"
"Hi Matthew," hearing her own voice surprised the young lady. It was small, afraid, and was being carried away by a wind that was picking up.
"Is everything okay?" Matthew repeated, a bit of fear in his voice. Kendra took a few seconds to gather herself.
"I'm fine," she said in a much stronger voice. "I'm up in the mountains now. I can see the colony. It is really bright from up here, even through the rain."