To Face The Past

by Karen Abbott

  An amiable chorus of, “Yes, sir!” and high-spirited whoops and hoots answered his question.

  Neil then began to read out the names, first Matt’s group … then Eva’s. “Andy, Daniel, Claire, Ben, Rachel and Gemma.”

  At the last name, Eva felt Matt’s eyes swing in her direction. She didn’t dare turn to meet his gaze, though she knew she would find compassion there. She felt as though her smile was slightly brittle and tried to pick out which of the six youngsters were the ones named as her group.

  Once Neil had indicated that the meeting was over, Eva stood and waited to see who would approach her. Three lads ambled over.

  “Hey, babe! You a cool chick?” one asked with a grin that spread from one ear to the other. His short red hair was gelled into spikes.

  “As cool as they come!” Eva assured him. “And you are?”

  “Andy at school … but call me Red!”

  “Okay, Red. At least that will be easy to remember!” She turned to a fair-haired boy. “And you?”

  “I’m Ben … and this is Danny.”

  “Hi, Ben and Danny.”

  She turned to look at the girls. Two were linking arms, whispering and giggling together; the third trailed behind them, looking as though she wished she were elsewhere.

  “Hi, girls! Tell me who’s who and then we can get kitted out.”

  “We’re Claire and Rachel … and that’s Gemma … only don’t expect much from her! Jason finished with her last night so she’s as sick as a parrot today!” One of the girls sniggered unkindly.

  “Give over, Claire,” Red advised. “We want to enjoy ourselves! Not listen to you stirring it!”

  “Oooh! Fancy her yourself, do you?” Claire quipped back at him. “You hear that, Gemma? Red fancies his chances with you!” She grabbed hold of Gemma’s arm and swung her towards Red. “Come on! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”

  “Leave me alone, will you!” Gemma cried, wrenching her arm free. “And you needn’t think I’m coming with you lot!”

  “Okay, girls! Can we leave your personal lives out of it for today?” Eva interrupted, smiling pleasantly. “We all know what it’s like to be ditched, Gemma. Even Claire and Rachel, I’m sure,” throwing a meaningful glance at the two still giggling girls.

  “Not us lads!” Ben declared. “Go on, Eva! Tell us what it’s like!”

  Well! She’d asked for that one! And, to cap it all, Matt turned round from where he was talking to his group, his right eyebrow quizzically raised.

  “Devastating when it happens … and a huge relief when you realise what a narrow escape you’ve had!” she said lightly, refusing to meet Matt’s eyes. “So, let’s get on, shall we?”

  Thankfully, Gemma followed them across the room and took a packed lunch from the table.

  Before breakfast, Neil and Ieuan, the head porter, had taken two of the school minibuses to the far end of the first section of the Path, parking them at Newport Sands, both men returning in Matt’s car. Ieuan was instructed to drive another minibus to Newport Sands, to join the other two ready for the return trip later that day.

  “Better than battling against the rain and wind like you lot will be doing!” he said with a laugh.

  “See you late this afternoon, then … at about five o’clock,” Neil arranged, glancing at his wristwatch. “You’ve got your mobile phone with you?”

  Ieuan patted his pocket. “That I have! Be off with you, now! It’s a fair walk!”

  Neil elected to take the lead, with Matt at the rear, to encourage any stragglers. Eva was to stay approximately mid-group. They set off up the road from the hotel in good spirits, separating naturally into small groups. The first mile was along a metalled road, rising steeply from the sands.

  True to Matt’s optimistic prediction, the rain had lessened and stopped altogether as the hikers arrived at Poppit Sands. After passing a Youth Hostel and a farm, the road narrowed into a footpath leading on to Cemaes Head where the path swung around the headland from northwest to southwest.

  The force of the wind on the point took their breath away, forcing them against the grasses of the headland, making most of them bend almost double as they pushed against it. It was a sea breeze and in no danger of blowing anyone over the cliff … which was just as well, Eva thought as she glanced downwards. The cliffs rose to some 175 metres above sea level, she recalled reading in the information leaflet, and were the nesting places of cormorants, guillemots, fulmars and razorbills. Many of the birds were wheeling above their heads, their raucous calling protesting about the tranquillity of their nesting places being disturbed.

  Eva pointed them out to those who were near her, discovering that the girl called Gemma shared her interest in them.

  “I keep a record of birds that I have seen,” Gemma shyly confided. “These are my first guillemots and cormorants and … what did you say the others are? Ful… something?”

  “Fulmars,” Eva repeated. “There’s one! See it?”

  “Go on, that’s a fat seagull!” Red chimed in, following her line of vision. “Even I know that!”

  “Pea-brain!” Rachel taunted him.

  Gemma keenly watched its flight. “Oh, yes! Its beak is fatter, isn’t it? It’s so graceful in flight, too? What are their eggs like?”

  “I’m not quite sure,” Eva admitted honestly. “I’ve got a book about birds at the hotel. Remind me when we get back and I’ll get it out for you.”

  It was pleasant tramping along the cliff tops. By now, most of the youngsters had split into groups of twos or threes and were chattering together as they wound around sheltered inlets and mini-headlands, where, once again, they were reminded of the force of the sea-breeze. Most chattering ceased when they came to the frequent steep descents and ascents, which demanded their full attention so as not to take an unwary step.

  About a third of the way along, at a slight headland called Pwll Granant, Eva could see Ben and Danny peering over the edge.

  “Take care, boys!” she called. “Don’t get too near the edge!”

  “The guide map says the cliffs have spectacular folds of sandstone and mudstone along here,” Ben explained. “We’ve been learning about that in geology lessons. We thought we’d draw some as part of our project.”

  “You’ll get a good view of them further along when we are on the next headland. If you wait until then, you’ll be able to look back at them and take a photograph, if you wish,” Eva told them, remembering what she had read.

  Looking ahead, she could see that Neil’s group were lounging against the part of the headland above them, eating a snack. Jason was one of them.

  As Eva’s group approached, Claire turned to Gemma. “Go on! Go and ask Jason to make up with you!”

  “No! I don’t want to, thank you very much!”

  “Softie!”

  Claire made a move to get behind Gemma to push her towards where the group of boys were grinning at the exchange of words. Gemma stepped away. If she had stayed where she was, all would have been well—but she swung out her hand to push back at Claire and then dodged out of Claire’s retaliatory attempt to push back.

  Before Eva could even shout a warning, the edge of the cliff crumbled under Gemma’s feet and she slithered feet first over the edge, her eyes wide with fright!

  Chapter Seven

  “Gemma!”

  Eva screamed Gemma’s name. The shock of seeing the girl slither over the edge seemed to paralyse her mind and body for a few seconds ... but she snapped back into reality She was the first to reach the edge of the cliff. Terrified of more ground giving way, she dropped to her knees and then lay at full stretch, her hands gripping the edge, uttering a frantic prayer as she did so, fearful of what she would see.

  Almost unbelievably, Gemma was only about thirty metres down the cliff.

  ‘Only?’ she thought, incoherently. It was far enough!

  At this point, the cliffs didn’t fall straight down into the sea. There had been other landslips over the years and a more grad
ual slope had been formed at the spot where Gemma’s slide downwards had stopped … but how long would it hold her before her weight caused further movement downwards?

  Eva became aware of the commotion behind her. She could hear high-pitched screams that lessened to choking sobs as Matt’s voice spoke sharply.

  “Stop the screaming! It serves no purpose. And everyone get back from the edge! You two, Craig and Ryan! Make sure no-one moves until Neil gets back here! Lie still, Eva! I’m coming!”

  Matt carefully lowered himself down until he was lying parallel to Eva. He reached out and gently laid his arm across her shoulders. “Are you all right, Sweetheart?”

  “Yes … and Gemma isn’t far down. At least …” Her voice tailed off. She didn’t want to add, ‘for the time being’. The rocky scree looked very unstable … and, down below, at sea-level, the waves were pounding against the base of the cliff, where large boulders acted as break-waters sending a fine spray of water into the air.

  “Gemma? Can you hear me?” Matt called, his voice steady.

  They couldn’t hear Gemma’s reply but saw her head move slightly. Her hands were spread out, tightly gripping the rocks but, even as they watched, the rocks moved and she slithered down another foot or so. They heard her scream in terror.

  “Don’t move, Gemma!” Matt called again. “Stay as still as you can! We’ll get someone down to you!”

  He looked over his shoulder to where he could see Neil working his way back past the frightened youngsters, making sure everyone was as far away from the edge as was possible. In most places, this was much as two or three metres, covered in grass and bracken.

  Neil joined them, the three of them assessing the situation.

  “One of us needs to get down there,” Matt stated decisively. “Have you any rope in your rucksack, Neil?”

  “Not that much!”

  “I’ve got some. We could tie them together.”

  “You’ll send more loose rocks down on top of her!” Eva protested. “It isn’t safe!”

  “We’ll do it out to one side … here to our right, I think,” Matt decided. “There’s a raised rock here that I can brace my foot against. He appraised Neil’s physique. He was slightly more slender than himself. “Have you done any abseiling or fixed-rope descents, Neil?”

  “Not much! Not my forte, I’m afraid. I’ll have a go, though.”

  “No! I’ll do it,” Eva offered quietly.

  “Are you sure?” Matt asked sharply.

  “Yes.” She gave a brief laugh. “Malham Cove makes this look like child’s play!”

  Mark looked intently at her. “It’s not just because of her name, is it?”

  Eva shook her head, though she had to admit Gemma’s name had touched a tender place in her heart. “No. I would do it anyway.”

  “Right!” Matt nodded his head, his eyes commending her decision. “Let’s get organised. Have you phoned Ieuan, Neil?”

  “Yes. I did it straight away as I made my way back. He’s awaiting orders.”

  “Good! Ring him again and tell him exactly where we are! Hang on a minute! Let’s look at the map!”

  Eva was aware of them getting out their small maps and conferring as to their exact whereabouts. She continued to keep an eye on Gemma, every so often calling out words of comfort, assuring her of their continued presence and plans to reach her.

  “We’re about here,” Neil reasoned, stabbing his finger on the map. “We’ll tell Ieuan to bring a minibus to here. There’s an ‘escape lane’ just along here.”

  “No, it’s too complicated for him to get there. It will be best if one of us leads the group on to Ceibwr Bay. There’s a car park there. Tell him to take the first lane on the left just before Moylegrove. He’ll know where it is. While you’re doing that, I’ll ring the coast guards. We will need their help to get Gemma and Eva back up here … or down to a safer level onto firmer rocks.”

  “Right! Do you want me to lead the group to Ceibwr Bay, then?” Neil asked, obviously willing to take orders from Matt. “I think you’re more experienced than I am in this sort of thing.”

  “Yes, I think that’s best. Eva and I have trained together. We know each other’s strengths. Leave Craig and Ryan with us, just in case we need more man-power. They’re the heftiest lads, aren’t they? Tell Ieuan to ring the hotel for someone to drive the other minibus.”

  “Yes.” He looked anxiously over the cliff again. “Will Gemma be all right, do you think?”

  “I hope so,” Matt answered briefly. “Now, get the youngsters away and make your phone call. We don’t want witnesses to this manoeuvre. I don’t want there to be any danger of them alarming Gemma with screams or shouts. The calmer everything is the better.”

  Neil handed over his length of rope and then retreated to where the group were silently watching them. With a senior lad in front, he ordered everyone to carefully make their way ahead.”

  “But, sir! We can’t leave Gemma!” Claire protested. “It’s my fault she fell!”

  “We’ll sort out whose fault it was, if any, later, Claire. Right now, we want you all out of the way.”

  “Is she going to die, sir?” Rachel’s scared voice asked.

  “Not if we have anything to do with it! Your part is to obey orders! Okay?”

  “Yes, sir,” those within hearing chorused in subdued tones.

  Matt made the call to the coast guards, telling them what and happened and explaining what he was about to do. He eventually clicked off his phone and slipped it into his pocket.

  “What did they say?” Eva asked, still watching Gemma where she was gripping the rock-face.

  “To hold tight if we possibly can and only to belay you down if the situation warrants it. How does it look?”

  “She’s still slowly slipping … and, as far as I can tell, there’s a steep bit further down. Can you see? There, where the rocks seem to fall away!”

  “Right! I think it leaves us with no option. Are you sure you can do this?”

  “Yes.” Eva spoke more confidently than she felt but knew that she didn’t have a viable option.

  “Good girl!”

  “What do you want us to do?” Ryan asked.

  “You’ll be anchor men. Do you know what I’m talking about?”

  “I think so. We watched a film about mountain rescue last term.”

  “Good!”

  Matt was busily tying the two ropes together as they spoke. “Here, test this knot with me!” He handed one end to Craig and Ryan and heaved away from them. The knot held.

  “Are you ready, Eva?”

  “Yes.”

  The worst part was always going over the edge. Once she was on the way down it wouldn’t seem so bad because she would be facing the rock face.

  Matt securely fastened the rope around her waist, double testing the strong hook fastener. He left a metre of rope dangling free with another fastener on the end. “That’s to fasten round Gemma,” he reminded her. “Remember how to do it?”

  “Of course!”

  “Good!”

  He straightened and his eyes met Eva’s. For a second or so, he looked intently into her eyes, as if trying to convey something to her. In spite of the dangerous situation, she felt a lurch of hope that there was still a way for them to get back together. She wanted him to say that he still loved her … and she’d say she loved him, too.

  But he didn’t, so she made herself smile, and tried to lighten the atmosphere.

  “Just like old times, eh?” she joked.

  “Yes … and don’t worry! I’ll take good care of you … as I always did!”

  Eva took hold of the rope and stepped away. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure she wasn’t in line with Gemma.

  Matt braced his foot against the outcrop of rock, the rope around his back and then on to Craig and then Ryan. “Hold tight, lads! Take it easy, Eva. Don’t try to rush. Look for hand-holds wherever you can.”

  Eva slowly lowered her legs over the ed
ge of the cliff. She reckoned that the oblique angle of the cliff was slightly steeper than 100° at that point, just enough for it to take some of her weight as her toes searched for footholds and her fingers gripped any cracks and fissures than were to hand.

  Every so often she called, “I’m coming, Gemma! Hold on tight!”

  She tried to put out of her mind the reason she was descending the cliff, tried to pretend it was just a practice descent and that the finger-holds and toe-holds were there, if only she concentrated and found them. The only reality was the call of the sea birds as they whirled and swooped by on out-stretched wings.

  “I’m slipping!” Gemma screamed.

  “Hold on! Hold on! I’m nearly with you!” Eva called. Glancing over her right shoulder she could see Gemma’s head and her fingers spread claw-like, clutching to the rock.

  She had lost track of time. It seemed like hours since Matt had lowered her over the cliff. She tried not to put her full weight on the rope, moving slowly, steadily, as Matt paid it out.

  Almost there! More finger holds; another toe hold for her right foot. There it was! Now her left foot.

  Oops! Her foot slipped, yanking her weight on the rope … but Matt and the boys held it steady.

  She flattened against the rock, catching her breath, waiting until her heartbeat settled down again. Her toes searched again. Got it! Now, new finger-holds.

  “I’m nearly with you, Gemma!”

  “Help me! I’m slipping!”

  Before Eva’s horrified eyes, Gemma began to slip again. She swung herself out towards her, hoping Matt could take the strain. She shot out her hand and grabbed hold of the sleeve of Gemma’s jacket, halting her slide.

  “Find another hold!” Eva yelled to Gemma. “Quick! I can’t hold you for long!”

  “I can’t! I can’t!”

  “Yes, you can! What are your feet on?”

  A slight pause, then Gemma said, “I’ve got a hold.”