Damien shielded his eyes from the glare of the sun, trying to peer into the thick canopy of trees below him.
‘It’s not use,’ he said with a sigh, turning back to his group of friends. ‘I can’t see anything, even from up here.’
‘There’s no trail?’ Jenna asked him, nervously chewing her lip. Damien went to reply, but was cut off by a pained grunt from Michael, laid out in the dirt, ankle wrapped in a spare shirt that somebody had brought with them.
‘What about the way we came?’ Lauren asked, supporting Michael’s head with her crossed legs. ‘We can’t head down the mountain that way?’
‘The rockslide cut it off,’ Damien said with a sigh, resting his hand on the top of his head. ‘I might be able to scramble down the side here, but…’
‘It’s dangerous,’ Jenna completed the thought for him. He nodded.
‘I’m sorry, guys,’ Michael said through gritted teeth. ‘I know I should have been more careful, I just—’
‘Oh, cut that out,’ Lauren said with a forced laugh. ‘Could have happened to any of us. Especially Jenna, she’s a klutz.’
‘Hey!’
Michael smiled briefly, before his face was screwed up in a fresh bout of pain.
‘We’ll have you back in no time, buddy,’ I told him, still scanning the horizon for an idea. ‘Get you all sorts of compression therapy, to help with foot pain and stuff.’
‘It’s not a snake bite,’ Lauren frowned.
‘I know, I know,’ Damien muttered. ‘It’s something my mum had once, it really helped her.’
‘She twisted her ankle on top of a mountain?’
‘Close,’ Damien nodded. ‘Varicose veins. Painful stuff.’
Lauren rolled her eyes at him, stroking Michael’s forehead.
‘We’ll find you the best Melbourne podiatry place, don’t worry,’ she whispered to him. ‘Just bear with us a little bit, yeah?’
Jenna walked over to me, looking down at the edge of the trail with a sigh.
‘So, I guess we’re doing this then?’
‘Seems like it,’ I nodded. ‘Who knows – maybe it’ll be fun?’