Simon sucked in air through his teeth in concentration, and winced at the cold. His lips were chapped from the icy wind, but that was the least of his worries at the moment. He leaned back into his harness for a moment before launching his weight up onto his precariously placed right foot, and managed to grab onto a crack in the rocks that would have been out of his reach had he tried to grab it from his previous position. His hand found purchase on the jagged rock and he breathed a quick sigh of relief. His eyes turned up towards the top of the slab, that was now closer than ever.
"Matt!" he called out, glancing over his shoulder at his friend, who was a little ways below him. Matt looked exhausted, just like him. But together they would surely make it. "Almost there!" Matt's lips curled into a grin as he looked up as well.
"Shit yeah! We've got this-" Matt's words were cut short, as in his enthusiasm his focus had wavered for a split second: all it took for his foot to slip and a gasp to escape his lips as he slid down the rock face, his hands frantically grabbing at the cold, slippery surface. Simon's eyes widened as Matt's weight was suddenly caught by the rope that connected the both of them through their anchor a little ways up the wall, and he was lifted up with a jerk. Luckily he managed to flip his hand around and grab onto the crack in the rocks, stopping his ascent. Below him, he heard Matt cry out in fear as he, too, came to a stop. Simon let out a strained groan, his - well-trained, luckily - hand now pulling most of Matt's body weight.
"Are you okay?!" Simon called out blindly, his face pressed too close to the rocks for him to be able to look down at his friend. It was eerily silent for a moment before Matt let out a soft 'yes'. It took Simon a moment to register why his friend sounded like that.
"Matt, did you... did you fall past the overhang?!" Simon blinked his eyes open, meaning to look down, but they were caught by something else: the anchor that held their rope. It was sticking out of the rocks at an alarming angle. Below him, he could hear Matt straining to reach the rocks.
"Yes, but if I swing back and forth, I can probably get a hold of the wall again!"
"DON'T!" Simon immediately yelled back. He could see the anchor wiggling ever so slightly with any movement of the rope. "The anchor! Your fall must have wedged it loose!" At this, Matt went deathly silent again, as both his and Simon's minds started racing. Things had gone from euphoric to deadly faster than the blink of an eye. They needed help, but even if one of them could reach their phone, there was no way they had any signal all the way out here. Matt couldn't swing to reach the rocks again, or they would lose the anchor and both plummet to their deaths. They couldn't wait for help, Simon's strength would eventually fail him and that too would probably be enough to undo the anchor the rest of the way. Simon just stared at the metal pin still jutting out of the wall, his heart in his throat. There had to be a way out of this. There had to be.
After about a minute of silence, Simon could hear Matt's shivering voice.
"...S-Simon, I'm... I don't think this is going to end well," he said breathlessly. Simon squeezed his eyes shut.
"NO! No, we'll figure this out. Matt, can you... can you climb up the rope?" Matt bit his lips and wrapped his hands around the rope, but the second he tried to pull himself up - a method that was going to be near impossible to use for the distance he had fallen anyway - they could both hear a terrifying squeak from the anchor. Matt let go and took a shaking breath.
"...Simon, that thing is going to go in a matter of seconds."
"No, it'll hold! Climb!"
"Simon!" Matt exclaimed, and for the first time Simon slowly turned his head and looked down at his friend. He felt a chill run down his spine when he saw Matt's eyes were brimming with tears, but sharp and determined as ever. "When that anchor goes, you will follow me down." His voice left him for a moment, and when he found it again it was shaking with fear. "...I'm going down. You don't have to." Simon's bottom lip started to tremble and he shook his head.
"W-What are you talking about, Matt, climb, for fuck's sake! Climb!"
"Put your feet in a solid spot," Matt told him sternly. "Get a really good grip."
"No! Matt, what are you doing?!"
"DO IT!" Matt yelled up at him, his face desperate. Simon sobbed and shakily found a proper place for his feet. Matt gave him an encouraging nod. "Okay. Good. You got this, okay?" he said softly. "You're almost at the top. You can free climb the rest of the way. You'll survive. You will make it."
"Not without you!"
"That is exactly how," Matt said, and reached for his boot to pull out his knife. He closed his eyes, prayed, and put the blade to the rope.
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