Chapter 1: The Summit.
A forceful wind blew mockingly across the inhospital mountain that had claimed so many lives before, as a pair of climbers pressed on against the elements.
It had been a boyhood dream to finally conqeuor the collossal peak of the lead climber who plunged his ice axe deep into the solid wall of permafrost, turning his head slightly with a quick glance backwards towards his partner.
His partner was dressed warmly in a green artic coat with the hood pulled up, with a reinforced scarf covering the face and tinted goggles covering the brow, her long vuluptious red hair blew uncontrollably in the wind, clearly struggling a little more than her partner, she dug her crampons in heavily and pushed on to try catch up.
"Come on were almost there, I can see the peak!" The man shouted back to his partner with a hint of excitement to his voice as he began to pick up the pace, swinging his ice axe with renewed vigor to anchor himself with every other step.
"Slow down, wait for me!" His partner shouted back in a paniced reply, as she attempted to pick up the pace but was noticably tiring, taking several swings of her ice axe to successfully breach the thick wall of glacier to anchor herself for the next few steps.
The man continued to race ahead despite the protest, climbing with increased haste, his goal was so close that he could feel the rush of excitiment, everything he had ever dreamed of since childhood would soon become realised..
"STEVE....HELP!" the voice rung in the mans ears as he shuck his head and turned around to face an unfathomable horror. His partner had slipped and was dangling by the tip of her axe precariously as the permafrost it was anchored to began to crack under the extra weight, dropping his axe he ran towards her with every last ounce of strength, and launched himself forwards managing to grab her hand just as the anchorage point buckled and gave way.
The wind blew fiercly as the man gripped tightly to his partner's gloved hand, trying with every last ounce of his being to try pull her up, the more he tried the further away she seemed to become as his grip was failing.
"Come on Veronica, give me your other hand..we can do this!" The man pleaded to his partner his voice shaken by the emotional stress and the biting chill of the hostile elements.
"Just let me go, I cant, I'm not strong enough" she replied with a choke to her normally softly spoken voice as the two began to slip further apart.
"I cant let you go Veronica, were a team! YOUR MY WIFE!" The man yelled with raw emotion as he tried in vein once more to pull her to safety, using his free hand to grip tightly to a nearby snow-covered rock.
The woman looked up at her husband, despite the goggles it was clear she was looking him in the eyes, as she reached up her dangling hand and pushed her hand out of the glove, muttering "I love you, but I have to do this" as the glove slipped off her hand and she plummeted down and out of sight.
The man watched on in horror, as everything seemed to go in slow motion..left gripping his wifes glove as she fell to her death...he could do nothing to stop. As the wind continued to batter down upon him he sobbed loudly and clutched tightly to the glove, the only thing he had left of the love of his life.
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Chapter 2: Shattered Dreams
After an hour, Steve picked himself up, still clutching tightly to his wife's glove, his glance still being fixated on the point where his wife had fallen to her death shaking his head in utter disbelief. Pocketting the glove he finally turned his gaze back to the summit of Mt. Everest and began to boil with unfathomable rage.
The place of his boyhood dreams, the place he had always wanted to conqueor had been the undoing of a lifelong dream, and of the only woman he had ever loved. A sickly feeling crawled across his stomach and rose to his throat, as he clenched his fists and shook in anger.
"This is your stupid fault, stupid damn mountain!...Why did you have to take her from me!?" He shouted irrationally as if the mountain was at fault, or if it could reply, or even appolgise for what had transpired.
Gazing at the peak one last time, Steve turned his back in anger and began to make his way back down, by now the strong wind had become a snow storm, raising one arm in front of his eyes to shield himself from the dazzling white of the blizzard, he pushed on in an attempt to return to the nearest basecamp.
Exhaustion, dehydration and emotional depravity began to take its toll as Steve began to feel his body slowing down, willing himself constantly to press on as the elements continously battered away at his body as if to mirror the scars upon his soul.
But it was all too much, alone and fatigued, the relenting and unforgiving weather Steve eventually felt his legs could not take anymore as he collapsed and his vison began to fade to black, The last thing he saw was a siloutte through the whiteout coming towards him....and the last words he muttered before he lost conciousness were "Veronica...how?"
Stirring slowly, Steve's eyes once again opened as he found himself facing skyward, looking directly at the undercarriage of a helicopter, trying to move at first he then began to realise he was on a Stretcure and was being winched into the helicopter.
Turning his head he glanced once more at Mt. Everest and the realsation of what had transpired once again washed across his mind, His dream had cost him everything that mattered, before he blacked out once more.
A forceful wind blew mockingly across the inhospital mountain that had claimed so many lives before, as a pair of climbers pressed on against the elements.
It had been a boyhood dream to finally conqeuor the collossal peak of the lead climber who plunged his ice axe deep into the solid wall of permafrost, turning his head slightly with a quick glance backwards towards his partner.
His partner was dressed warmly in a green artic coat with the hood pulled up, with a reinforced scarf covering the face and tinted goggles covering the brow, her long vuluptious red hair blew uncontrollably in the wind, clearly struggling a little more than her partner, she dug her crampons in heavily and pushed on to try catch up.
"Come on were almost there, I can see the peak!" The man shouted back to his partner with a hint of excitement to his voice as he began to pick up the pace, swinging his ice axe with renewed vigor to anchor himself with every other step.
"Slow down, wait for me!" His partner shouted back in a paniced reply, as she attempted to pick up the pace but was noticably tiring, taking several swings of her ice axe to successfully breach the thick wall of glacier to anchor herself for the next few steps.
The man continued to race ahead despite the protest, climbing with increased haste, his goal was so close that he could feel the rush of excitiment, everything he had ever dreamed of since childhood would soon become realised..
"STEVE....HELP!" the voice rung in the mans ears as he shuck his head and turned around to face an unfathomable horror. His partner had slipped and was dangling by the tip of her axe precariously as the permafrost it was anchored to began to crack under the extra weight, dropping his axe he ran towards her with every last ounce of strength, and launched himself forwards managing to grab her hand just as the anchorage point buckled and gave way.
The wind blew fiercly as the man gripped tightly to his partner's gloved hand, trying with every last ounce of his being to try pull her up, the more he tried the further away she seemed to become as his grip was failing.
"Come on Veronica, give me your other hand..we can do this!" The man pleaded to his partner his voice shaken by the emotional stress and the biting chill of the hostile elements.
"Just let me go, I cant, I'm not strong enough" she replied with a choke to her normally softly spoken voice as the two began to slip further apart.
"I cant let you go Veronica, were a team! YOUR MY WIFE!" The man yelled with raw emotion as he tried in vein once more to pull her to safety, using his free hand to grip tightly to a nearby snow-covered rock.
The woman looked up at her husband, despite the goggles it was clear she was looking him in the eyes, as she reached up her dangling hand and pushed her hand out of the glove, muttering "I love you, but I have to do this" as the glove slipped off her hand and she plummeted down and out of sight.
The man watched on in horror, as everything seemed to go in slow motion..left gripping his wifes glove as she fell to her death...he could do nothing to stop. As the wind continued to batter down upon him he sobbed loudly and clutched tightly to the glove, the only thing he had left of the love of his life.
===============================================================
Chapter 2: Shattered Dreams
After an hour, Steve picked himself up, still clutching tightly to his wife's glove, his glance still being fixated on the point where his wife had fallen to her death shaking his head in utter disbelief. Pocketting the glove he finally turned his gaze back to the summit of Mt. Everest and began to boil with unfathomable rage.
The place of his boyhood dreams, the place he had always wanted to conqueor had been the undoing of a lifelong dream, and of the only woman he had ever loved. A sickly feeling crawled across his stomach and rose to his throat, as he clenched his fists and shook in anger.
"This is your stupid fault, stupid damn mountain!...Why did you have to take her from me!?" He shouted irrationally as if the mountain was at fault, or if it could reply, or even appolgise for what had transpired.
Gazing at the peak one last time, Steve turned his back in anger and began to make his way back down, by now the strong wind had become a snow storm, raising one arm in front of his eyes to shield himself from the dazzling white of the blizzard, he pushed on in an attempt to return to the nearest basecamp.
Exhaustion, dehydration and emotional depravity began to take its toll as Steve began to feel his body slowing down, willing himself constantly to press on as the elements continously battered away at his body as if to mirror the scars upon his soul.
But it was all too much, alone and fatigued, the relenting and unforgiving weather Steve eventually felt his legs could not take anymore as he collapsed and his vison began to fade to black, The last thing he saw was a siloutte through the whiteout coming towards him....and the last words he muttered before he lost conciousness were "Veronica...how?"
Stirring slowly, Steve's eyes once again opened as he found himself facing skyward, looking directly at the undercarriage of a helicopter, trying to move at first he then began to realise he was on a Stretcure and was being winched into the helicopter.
Turning his head he glanced once more at Mt. Everest and the realsation of what had transpired once again washed across his mind, His dream had cost him everything that mattered, before he blacked out once more.
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