Touching Thhe Void

Touching The Void

Joe
I lay there in the crevasse, drifting in and out of consiousness for the remainder of the night. I think I turned my headtorch off at some point to save the battery, but I turned it back on again because I didn't like the cold, empty darkness that echoed all around me. I had landed on a ledge and looking down into the depths of the crevasse send   icy shivers through me. How deep was this thing? I had no idea. I sat there for a long while. Just thinking, waiting wondering if Simon would come for me. No. He surely thought I was dead, no one should survive falling that distance, but I did.

Simon
As I lowered myself down the mountain, I saw why Joe hadn't been able to off the rope. He was practically hanging in space, he must have fallen off the overhang. Even further down though, as I neared the base of the mountain, I realised to my horror, what I had let Joe fall to. At the base of the mountain was an absolutely enormous crevasse. Surely he was dead. No man could survive a drop like that. Still, I stood at the massive gaping mouth of the crevasse shouting for all I was worth, just hoping against all odds that somehow Joe had survived. To no avail. The only reply was my own deperate echo.

Joe
Was I going crazy? Did I just hear Simon? Surely not, surely he presumed me dead. Never the less, I shouted back. I shouted, screamed almost, but the shouting had stopped, he was gone. There was no chance of rescue now. I considered just waiting there. Maybe someone would come and rescue me, but I knew that was never going to happen. Simon thought I was dead, and there was nothing I could do. My leg was broken, every inch of my body ached and I was excruciatingly thirsty. What was the point?

Simon
After hollering down the crevasse for the best for the best part of an hour, I finally gave up. I'd killed him. I found myself just standing beside the crevasse, looking over the enormous ice field ahead, thinking; what will I tell his parents?,...