Chapter 7 The Most Painful Crumple Book Report

As I ran, I felt my foot come down on top of a moss filled rock, and I knew I was in trouble. The slick moss ripped away from the slab of granite and it sent me flying. I knew the fall would be inevitable, and took the it as best I could and prayed for some luck. Branches ripped apart my face, snapping from the contact. Blood flicked up into my eyes. My shoulder made contact with the trunk of a tree as the rest of my body dug into the mud. My legs flipped up over me, crashing into piece of granite bulging out of the ground, pain traveled its way up my leg.

Pine needles and underbrush crunched underfoot as I climbed uphill on the mountainside. The forest canopy acted as a strainer, blocking all but the most lucky rays of sunlight. Sweat rappelled down my face and jumped off the tip of my nose, falling to the soft earth. My body commanded me to stop, to rest, to give up. For days I had already hiked and camped among the Blue Ridge Mountains with no sense of accomplishment, and I hungered for satisfaction. Rain and constant change in elevation broke my spirit, and encouraged me to go home. I felt as if nature itself taunted me, pushing me to give up. It became my worst enemy.

“Right here,” I said, pointing at the lines. “Gifted eyes allow you to become one - free yourself. It’s time for me to free myself.”

“Just keep on trekking. We’ll get there in time.” I respond with the last breath I have. “We just need to keep on pushing, otherwise we’ll get caught and there’s no way they’re sending us back to that.”

Then there were a lot of obstacles. They kept getting in my way. A stone fence was in my way and when I tried to go around, I fell. When I was close to the end, I fell. I made back to where I was.

"Great, let's meet at the interstate bridge. Say eight o'clock. Maybe we can get two trips in."

“I think we can make it across before the train!” I yelled picking up speed, watching for obstacles on the ground in the twilight that could trip us. “Come on, Joe!” I blurted.

“That's great, but how are we going to get it down the stairs?” Asked Brandi.

He stepped on a loose rock, slipped, then fell hard. The next thing he knew he was sliding down the steep side of the mountain. He dropped the sack, and onions spilled around him. He slid into a patch of weeds and grabbed onto a thorny vine. The vine ripped out of the earth, but slowed him enough so that he was able to stop himself.’

He looked up at the soaring rock formation above the clearing. A lone, twisted pine had managed somehow to grow from the sheer face of the stone. He had stared at it many times, yet it had never appeared to him as it did at that moment, when its perpendicular lines seemed clearly to form a cross. He accepted for the first time that he would die there in that

Being half terrified and curious I looked back where the sound came from. When I saw what was happening I didn’t know what to do. Below me Sean was slipping down the mountain. He didn’t take the same path as I did and he was paying the consequence. What only took a few seconds but felt like an hour Sean finally came to a halt clinging onto the smooth pebbles on his hands and knees with a frightened look on his face. If he moved he would continue the ride of doom to the bottom all over again. Out of nowhere Mr. Clark came to the rescue and helped Sean to a safe rock. Till this day I still don’t know how he got to him so fast.

Without looking down, Don hollered up the canyon, “I can’t go any higher!” Jim nods with a response of , “Ok, I’m gonna try to get down to your position!” Jim shimmied down little by little until he was just only 10 feet away. Just a couple more yards, Jim reminded himself. Then Jim’s left foot slipped out of the crevice that it was positioned in. It all happened so slowly, it felt like minutes while falling. The terrified expression sparked into Don’s face.

Vegetation grew thick as towering trees enclosed upon them. The Boy's pace slowed as he began to feel fatigue. His legs: heavier with each step, his lungs: burning with every gasp of air. Despite the pounding in his ear, the Boy could hear the footsteps of the creatures that followed him. Their heavy breath bellowed a low growl. The Boy risked a look over his shoulder. Blurred outlines dashed in the shadows, followed by the fog of its' breath. They were catching up to him, closing in from both his sides. His heart pounded faster.

"Does that mean we have to crash through the mountain?" Zoro asked while raising his eyebrow.

Jacob led me up a trail following the edge of a brook. The rippling water carrying rocks flowing downward along the trail’s edge helped to calm my nerves. Still, the thought of climbing up the steep rim of a mountain made my stomach weak.