13 – Despair

Chloe is shocked and gazes into the mist and listens intently. Can it be true or is this her wild imagination? Did they really tumble over the edge and survived? "Chloe... hloe... oe... ” Her heart jumps. There it is again! It’s Lyle’s voice that echoes from the cliffs. She inhales deeply and yells on top of her voice. "Lyle!” She listens to the echoes and feels endlessly thankful for the service they provide. "Chloe... hloe... oe...” He lives! What about Zoey? It’s only Lyle who screams. Why is she silent? She’ll have to use only basic words to communicate with him due to the echoes that mix and confuse messages. "Zoey ..?” The cliffs echo her question and she listens with bated breath. Lyle cleverly answers in single words with silences in between after the echoes subsided. Chloe anxiously listens to every word she can decipher. "Help... Abyss...Hang... on... mer... cy... Zoey... bad... Hurry... Help...” Then silence follows. She yells back: "Going... get... help...” Like a