Off a Cliff

Off a Cliff

By Dorian Paquette

Dedicated to my friends, who this story is very loosely based on, my family, who pushed me to meet deadlines, and myself, who I couldn’t have done this without.

Maple Leaf Writing Project

Brattleboro, VT

©2018.

1. Ryan Pierce

I really never should’ve introduced my best friend Mason to Neil Serra. I should've just called off the whole thing. Because when they did meet, it resulted in disaster.

See, Mason was the star of the baseball team at school, and was known as the “Jock Jerk.” I don't know why they called him that. For one, it wasn't clever. Also, he only plays baseball and hockey. Not much of a “jock” if you ask me. And even if he was totally ripped, I knew him to be a huge fan of Dungeons and Dragons. He even had a collection of 8-sided dice. And as for being a jerk, he can be rude when provoked, but he's not a bully.

Neil however, was this wiry kid I was assigned to help in school. He whined non-stop. He had been homeschooled all his life, but when his dad got a job as a teacher in town, he had to start 7th grade with us at Valley Middle in our small town of Harrington, Connecticut. He had longish blond hair that rolled lazily over his right eye, and he constantly slouched.

Somehow, my mom found out about Neil, and invited him to our house without even asking. Unfortunately, it was the day that Mason and I had planned to venture into the woods outside of town. We had built a treehouse the previous summer, and we had fun exploring.

The only problem was that the woods came right out on a cliff face. Mason had nearly fallen off last year when we were chasing each other through the woods.

So of course I already knew it was going to be a bad day.

2. Mason Baker

I can't believe Ryan's mom is making us hang out with this new kid.

As we load into the car, he starts talking about these ¨weirdos¨ in his old town who played D&D. Weirdos? D&D is half my life! (The other half being baseball, of course.) Ryan shoots him an annoyed glance. I start to look out the window, trying to ignore this kid who is about to totally ruin my day.

As I turn my head I see that we've already made it to the woods. Ryan's mom pulls over and stops the car.

She turns to us from the driver seat. “See you in an hour, kiddos! I have a couple errands to run!”

As we start up the trail, Neil starts a non-stop whine session. “Why did my Mom make me come here? I don't need to make friends. This is stupid…” You get the idea.

After about three minutes, we crest the hill. Our treehouse sits in a strong thick oak tree that must be older than my great-grandfather. It has a rope ladder that Ryan's mom made for us, and, honestly, it's pretty darn big. Of course, within seconds, Neil decides to insult us.

“Ha! That's your treehouse? It looks like a pile of twigs! Who made that? Your mother?”

¨Jerk,¨ I mutter.

Then Ryan surprises me. He replies, “Yes, in fact, my mother did make that. She helped us build it this summer. And who are you to question us? Just because you're some spoiled brat who gets away with everything, you can’t just go around saying whatever you want!¨

For a second, Neil is speechless. His eyes show no emotion, and his mouth hangs slightly open. Then he turns and runs, bawling, away.

Ryan looks straight at me, a look of panic in his eyes.

¨The cliff!¨ We yell in unison, and we take off into the woods.

3. Neil Serra

Jerks.

Everyone's a jerk.

My Mom's a jerk for making me come with that other jerk Ryan. Who is he to talk back to me? I mean, me, of all people! The nerve!

And who's that other jock-kid? Probably some jerk too!

I can't believe I had to come into the woods. This dump must be some mosquito tourist trap! I can imagine the signs: Come for the blood, stay for the Neil!

I can't even bear to see those kids faces. I can hear them chasing me through the woods, probably because they think I'm an easy target to pick on. At my old school, I was bullied constantly. It was so horrible I don't like talking about it with other people. “Homeschooled,” we had lied. My only way to get out was to run. No one I've ever met can beat me in a fair race.

Suddenly, I see something that catches my eye. I skid to a halt. There, on the side of the path, is a black morel, my favorite kind of mushroom. And sure, this seems like a random reason to stop, but I love mushrooms. Whether their poisonous, medicinal or edible, I like them. At my old school, the book of mushrooms was my one solace.

Suddenly, their footsteps grow louder. I look back. I can see shadows coming up the path. I turn and run.

My feet slap against the hard soil, and I can hear their footsteps fading away. I turn around to see if I can spot them. I see movement, but it could just be a falling leaf.. I squint a little harder…

I look one minute too long and suddenly, I feel my foot snag on a root. My foot flies out of my brand new Nike Air. Ugh! That cost like, $100! I turn to try to stop myself on the ground. But it doesn’t come.

I'm in free fall, and I can't see the ground.

4. Mason Baker

How can someone so small move so fast?

I crash my way through the woods, absolutely desperate to catch this “Neil” kid. If we lose him, My parents will ground me for a century. Alright, probably not, but this kid’s life is still at stake!

I head forward. I hop over a log, spring over a rock, and leap over the stream. Suddenly, I come up to the cliff. Ryan stops, panting behind me.

¨Where is he?¨ Ryan gasps, relaxing comfortably on his knees.

¨I don't know.¨ I reply. “I can see where his feet padded into the ground, leading to about-¨

I stop. Something’s on the ground at the edge of of the cliff. I step forward to take a closer look.

¨Hey, what're you looking at?¨ Ryan says, following my eyes. ¨No way. No way.¨

I look, but I don't need to reply. Because there, stuck underneath a tree root, is Neil's shoe.

5. Ryan Pierce

No way.

Neil fell. He actually fell.

¨Neil?¨ I call. ¨Is this some sort of joke!?¨

No reply.

¨NEIL!¨ I call, louder. ¨This isn't FUNNY!¨

I stare down at the emerald canopy, unbelieving. It must be a 200, no 300 foot drop. Maybe less. I've never been down. Probably 100 at the least. No one could survive that.

I look back at Mason. “I could’ve saved him.” He says, shaking his head. Then his voice takes a turn I’ve never heard before. “God, I’m so dead.”

“We have to get him.” I reply. “He might still be alive.”

“It’s all my fault,” Mason says, staring at the ground.

I look at the hill the cliff drops off of. A thin slanted path runs down it. “We can get him. If we hurry we can get back before my mom comes.

Mason looks up. “That looks like a death trap. And even if we get down, how will we get back up?”

“We'll burn that bridge when we come to it.”

“I don't think that's the phrase.”

“Whatever. Let’s go.”

We start down the cliff, step by step. It's surprisingly easy, considering it must be a 60 degree angle, meaning we are practically sliding down. We make good progress, and we're almost at the bottom when we hear a hissing noise from behind us.

“W-what was that?” Mason asks, nervously glancing around.

“Mason? Are you alright?” I ask, turning back to face him.

The hissing comes again. This time, louder.

“I don't like this. I really don't like this.” Mason says. He starts to bite his fingernails, a habit he broke long ago.

Suddenly, something green and long slithers out of the brush to our right.

“S-s-s-SNAKES!!!” Mason bolts unsteadily down the hill.

“Mason! Wait! We need to stick together!” I yell, as I take off down the hill after him.

6. Mason Baker

I hate snakes. I know. It's stupid. Most snakes won't hurt you, so there really isn't anything to be afraid of. But when I was three, I learned how to read, so I checked out a non-fiction book about snakes from the library. There was a picture of a snake eating this big mouse. For some reason, I thought it was the scariest thing. The picture haunted my dreams. And it grew festering inside me, until I was so scared of snakes that I didn’t even want to go in the woods.

Then, when I was seven, it got worse. In April, we went to Washington DC and visited the zoo. We visited all the exhibits, and the only one we hadn't gone to was the reptile room.

Reluctantly, I entered. When we got in, a worker came over and said we had to be out in 5 minutes, because it was about to close. We went in, and finally, I came to the snake room. I turned to leave, but the door in front of me closed. I turned. The other door closed. I grabbed the handle. It wouldn't move. I shook it, and it still wouldn't budge. I was trapped in a room full of snakes. It was a while ago, so it's hard to remember, but I still know the feeling. Muscles freezing up, sweat pouring. I hated it.

I was finally let out when my parents got a worker to come and unlock the door, but it was still one of the most traumatic moments of my life. This is why I couldn't let the snake of death get Neil. It was just wrong.

And this motivates me, pushing me down the hill. I must find Neil.

Years of running around the bases and skating had peaked my balance, so I make my way down the hill in good time. At the base of the cliff I look up. Seems like a long way to go. I glance around, but strangely, not a sign of Neil is anywhere near the cliff. It doesn't make sense. Did he get launched far out somewhere? I start to go a little farther out. No sign.

Finally, in some mud, I see the impression of where Neil’s body hit the ground. Relief washes over me. He survived!

Then it strikes me- if he survived, where did he go?

7. Neil Serra

My sock makes a wet SCHLOCKing noise against the fresh mud. The fall off the cliff just made my day worse. Now I’m slick with mud. The one puddle in the forest and I’m bound to hit it. Luckily, I hit a couple trees which broke my fall a little. But my ribs hurt, and I think one might be cracked. It's as bad as one of the days at my old school. I can still hear the kid’s taunts. “Oh look. It's Neil Nye the mushroom guy.” I shudder. For some reason, kids just don't know how to be kind.

I wipe my forehead. Sweat is pouring from it. Why am I sweating so much? It's not that hot out. I kneel, stopping for a moment. Suddenly, something on a nearby branch catches my eye. I realize it’s blood. Odd- no one else is near me.

Then it hits me. I'm bleeding! But where? Head? Torso? Arms? Nope. Legs?... A large scratch runs from the inside of my left knee to my ankle.

“Gah!” I step back, but pain rockets up to my knee, which shudders, and then collapses. I fall backwards, narrowly missing a rock, and land in a pile of dead pine needles and leaves that coat the forest floor. My head feels like it's on fire. Sweat rushes out like a stormcloud just opened up, ready to drench whoever is lucky to be underneath.

I remember my Mom saying something about feed a fever, starve a cold. Or is it starve a fever, feed a cold? I do feel pretty hungry right now. Why didn't I bring any snacks?

Suddenly, the pain doubles. “Help! Help! Augh I'm DYING!” I scream. Please! Ryan, hear me! “Help! C'mon, PLEASE!” No answer. I try again. No luck. I close my eyes. They aren't going to find me. Oh, why did I ever move? My stomach growls. I need to get some food, and fast!

I turn around, searching for a possible food source. I remember my Mom saying something about edible mushrooms she uses as a doctor. Something about one that grows on a tree- what was it- chaga? I look for a birch tree, remembering they grow on the wounds. I spot a couple and start to head over. I look up and- there it is. A big black lump on a tree, about 20 feet up.

Sure, I'm sick. But I need food, and this might just save me.

Here goes.

8. Ryan Pierce

I'm about to give up when I hear something. Neil's whiny voice comes from off in the distance. “Help me!” I turn towards the noise. Neil is alive, and in trouble!

“Did you hear that?” I yell to Mason, who's searching 20 feet away.

“Hear w-” Mason is cut off as Neil's voice comes again.

“C'mon! PLEASE!”

Mason points towards the voice. “Let's go!”

We turn and run through the woods. Mason pulls ahead into the woods until I almost lose sight of him.

I'm flooded with relief. Neil is okay! But at the same time, he seems to be in distress. We need to find him quickly.

Mason slows down until he's running next to me. “Do you think your mom is almost here?”

“Probably.”

“We have to hurry.”

And with that, he speeds farther off into the woods.

9. Neil Serra

One hand at a time, I scale the tree. I shimmy up the trunk to the mushroom. My head pounds and my vision swirls. It's like someone set up a forge in my head.

Finally, the pain subsides, but only barely. My head still lightly thumps and I still ache whenever I move, but it's better. I rip at the chaga, and small pieces come off in my hand. I eat them.

I nearly throw up. I hate eating raw mushroom, but I think of the benefits. I look back at my hand and quickly down the rest of the fungus.

Suddenly, a sound comes from behind me. “Neil! Neil! Where are you?”

Help has arrived! I'm about to jump down from the tree when I realize how high I've climbed. My head pounds. 20 feet doesn't seem like much until you're actually that high.

“Help!” I yell “Up here!”

I hear running, and then, Ryan running through the woods towards me, closely followed by Mason. Ugh. I guess I'll take the help I can get. But as I watch them approach, they blaze right past the birch. “Wait!” I yell. “I'm up here!”

Mason wheels around and looks up. “Wait! Ryan! He's over here in this tree!”

Ryan turns around. “Why did you climb a tree? That's a stupid idea!”

Mason turns to Ryan. “Actually, it might've saved his life.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“By climbing the tree, he got access to chaga, a mushroom that strengthens the immune system.”

“What?” I ask, not believing what I just heard. “How do you know that?”

“I have a book on mycology at home.” He says looking up the tree. “Why?”

“Mushrooms are like, my favorite thing!”

“No way!”

“Yeah!”

I'm about to launch into a full-fledged mushroom talk with Mason when Ryan says “Look. I know that this is all fine and dandy, but we're gonna need to get you out of that tree.”

“I can climb down.” I say. “Just give me a second.”

I grab the tree and slowly make my way down. When I get to the bottom, my head feels the worst yet. It feels like a construction crew is breaking out the biggest jackhammer ever on my skull. Shadows swarm my eyesight. And then, for the second time today, I pass out.

10. Mason Baker

The trip back up the hill takes about 15 minutes.

Because Neil is unconscious, Ryan and I have to carry him up the hill, which is not only awkward, but the hill is severely sloped and the path is thin, causing us to have one of us facing down the hill and the other facing up in single file in order to successfully get him to Ryan’s mom’s car. When we finally make it to the entrance of the woods, Ryan's mom's car is sitting there.

Ryan's mom gets out and runs over. “Oh no! What happened?”

“Neil here took a dive off a cliff,” Ryan responds.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Get him in the car! We have to get to the hospital!”

We put Neil in the car, buckle up and hurry to the hospital. The car ride seems to take forever. I occasionally feel Neil's head, and it slowly cools down during the ride. I think of the chaga.

I look over at Neil, unconscious, and I realize he isn’t that bad! Who knew that a kid who seemed like such a jerk was into mushrooms? So as we drive to the hospital, instead of feeling upset about today, I feel like all the trouble we went through just may have been a blessing in disguise.