Reader\'s Digest Australia & New Zealand - June 2018

June• 2018 | 125

READER’S DIGEST

is on; although the wall is at an awk-

ward45-degreeangle,thereisroom

enoughforthemboth.Andrew,inthe

half wetsuit that comes to his waist,

perchesinfrontofJasonsothathe

takesthebruntofthespray,hislegs

uncomfortablybracedagainstaledge

on the other side of the waterfall. It

is6pm.Ithasbeenthreehourssince

Zac left them.

here is no room on the ledge for

blameorsecond-guessing.Thisis

about survival. They settle in with

ropes and share the blanket. here is

no fuel left in the stove, because An-

drew used it all to heat the water to

warm Jason.

Andrewtriesajoke:“Ifwedon’tget

outofhere,ourwiveswillkillus!”

The water keeps rising, almost to

theledge,andthesheerforceand

fury of it cause a wind to come up.

With nowhere to go, it whistles and

keens.Thetwomenhuddleeven

closer together, trying to ind shelter

from the storm.

ZAC MAKES ITto the top of Bas-

tard’sCrawlat3.15pmtofindMatt

andArthurwaitingforhim;thetrio

wait another hour for Jason and An-

drew but there is nothing. Finally,

“Welcome back, buddy. Do you feel
readytogetoutofhere?”
Andrew is feeling the pressure –
andlotsofguilt.Becauseheisthe
expert,theonewhohasalways
promisedJason’swifethatherhus-
band would be safe. He had fig-
uredthetriptodaywasgoingtobe
straightforward.Butnow,theyhave
more than an hour’s slog back to the
entrance,andwithJasonsoaked
through, exhausted and depleted, he
fearsitwilltakeevenlonger.
heyneedtoleavenow.
Jasontakesadeepbreath,ready-
ing himself to tackle Bastard’s Crawl
again. hey collect the bags, the stove

and the blanket, and they start to
climb,continuallyightingthethun-
deringwater–orit’sightingthem,
crushing them, pushing them back.
Jasonhasbarelybeguntoclimb
whenhehastoscrambleontoa
ledge.hereistoomuchwater,and
he was too weak.
There are barely ten centimetres
ofairleftbetweenthewaterandthe
ceiling, not enough for them to keep
theirheadsuptobreathe.Untilitre-
cedes, they’re stuck.
Looking around for some shelter,
Jason spots a ledge above the one he

here is no room on the ledge for blame or

second-guessing.Itisaboutsurvival