Their Chasm
#5 of Writers Crossing Prompt Submissions
A setting. A character. A prop. A story.
So this was it. That fateful spot where his partner had last been seen. Chance looked down into the chasm. It was hard to judge its depth from the top. He knew how to calculate it, certainly. One doesn't teach physics for twenty years without learning something useful along the way. But in that moment, all he could think about was the face of his lover, imprinted into his memory as a mother bird to her young. He needed to find them.
It was far more intimidating in person than it had been in his mind. The cheetah felt himself tremble, and reached into his pocket. There in the depths, he felt the locket, a token of their affection that his partner had given him when they had first begun dating. He didn't often bring it with him, but when it did, it always seemed to bring him good luck. Today he'd need as much of that as he could get.
With a heavy sigh, he heaved his backpack off and began pulling out supplies. Ropes, anchor hooks, a headlamp. He kept his breathing steady as he prepared his base. A wiser climber might have brought along a second, someone to keep an eye on him, to call for help should something go wrong. In his heart, though, he knew this was a journey that he had to take alone.
His descent began slowly. Caution was essential at the very beginning. One slip up here could mean a fall to his death, and Chance was not about to die without finding his partner. He felt the stone of the chasm, warmed by the midday sun, under his footpaws, and began his descent.
Down a few feet, then securing a hook. Threading the line through. Repeat. It was a familiar rhythm, and it soothed the cheetah. Before he knew it, he was half way down. At the midpoint, he paused and looked around.
The chasm was large and empty. He couldn't see the ends from his position, nor any sign of his partner. There was nothing for it but to keep going.
His descent quickened as he neared the bottom. He had less to worry about now. Just a few more feet, and...
He was at the bottom. There Chance paused, and looked first right, then left. This time he noticed a glimmer of something a few yards off. The cheetah secured an orange flag to the bottom of his rope, then went to investigate.
It took him a minute to find it, but sure enough, he found the source: a pair of glasses.
That wasn't good. Finley needed their glasses. Why oh why hadn't he gone along with them when they wanted to check out the chasm yesterday?!
He pocketed the broken spectacles, then continued onward. If Finley's glasses were here, they had to have gone this way. The only encouraging thing to note, or at least what Chance hoped was encouraging, was that there was no sign of blood along the path.
In the first bend, he noticed some disturbed vegetation. A quick examination revealed that it was covering the entrance to a cave. This could be something! Finley was an experienced outdoorsfur. Surely they would have sought cover and waited for rescue.
He paused and reached his paw into his pocket, rubbing his finger over the locket. If his luck held out, he'd find Finley here. He flicked on the headlamp, then pressed through.
"Hello?" he called. "Finley?"
The cave was exceptionally dark. It wound down into the cliff face. Chance could only see about twenty feet ahead of him before the cave curved off into darkness. It seemed pretty rough, too. He'd have to be extra careful to keep his footing.
"Chance, is that you?"
They sounded so close!
"Yes, it's me! Hold on tight, sweetie, I'm on my way!"
Chance started downward, his arms out to help keep his balance. Thankfully, it wasn't too deep. A quick zip around the corner, and there was his gazelle, nursing an injured leg.
"Oh thank goodness, you found me," Finley said.
The cheetah dropped to his knees and hugged his partner. "I was worried when you didn't turn up at our campsite last night," Chance said. He immediately turned his attention to the gazelle's leg. "Is it broken?"
Finley inhaled sharply as Chance touched his bandaged ankle. "Probably. I fell pretty far."
"Do you think you can make it back up?" Chance asked.
His partner shook their head. "I don't think I'm going anywhere like this."
Chance was afraid of that. But he was prepared. "Okay. Stay here, I'll see if I can reach anyone on the satellite phone."
The gazelle smiled at him, and watched as the cheetah slipped out of the cave. It took but a few minutes to get their coordinates on GPS and get in touch with a rescue team. From there, it was just a matter of waiting.
Not content to remain in the dark, dank cave, Chance helped Finley make it out to the warmer, fresh air of the chasm. They took a seat in the shade and shared a meal together, the two lovers pressed as close to each other as they could get. When they finished, they sat side by side, paw in paw, quietly enjoying each others' company as they awaited their rescuers.
The day wore on. As the sun began to set, Chance broke their silence. "Finley?"
"Yes, Chance?" the gazelle replied.
"We've been dating a long time," Chance said.
"We have."
"We've been intimate, we live together..."
"Yes..."
"Why don't we get married?"
Finley laughed. "I thought you said you weren't the marrying type, Chance."
The cheetah chuckled. "I'm still not sure if I am. But something about this... I realized that I want to be with you. There's something about it, that little extra layer of security. Knowing that I could always be able to visit you at the hospital. That we're truly committed to each other. That we'll always be there."
Finley leaned over and kissed Chance's cheek. "If the last fifteen years haven't proved that, what else will?" They grinned and nuzzled into him. "But I know what you mean... maybe there are certain advantages..."
Their paw squeezed Chance's. The cheetah grinned. "Shall we look into it when we get home."
His partner beamed. Above them they heard the rescue team calling out for them. Finley called a response, then looked into their lover's eyes. "Let's."