LaShanna Adams

Dr. Mitchell

Engl 3200-1

3 September 2008

The Amateur

            Jack looked at what he had accomplished in a few short hours with amazement. He was already nearly half way up the south peak of the mountain. He had only decided the night before that he would climb Mt. Huashan after stumbling upon some random website that called it the most dangerous hiking trail in the world. While most headed this claim as a warning, Jack read it as a challenge. He decided that night while sitting on the luxurious bed in his deluxe suite that the hike was exactly what he needed to do with his one day off in China.

            Jack took a moment to take it all in before continuing the hike. The website said the worst thing to do while climbing the south peak of the flower shaped mountain was to look down. It claimed that looking down would throw off one’s balance and would almost be an invitation for a fall to certain death down the steep, barren sides of the mountain. However, again Jack read this as a challenge rather than friendly advice to be heeded.

            As he looked down the mountain, he thought about how this climb was just another testimony to what a badass he really was. Jack was only twenty-five but he had already managed to climb to top of Morgan and Murrow LLP, the accounting firm he had been hired at only two years ago, kicking every coworker he had in the gut as he made his ascent. He seemed completely unfazed by the knowledge that he had ruined lives and manipulated those that considered him a friend in order to attain his own desires. He didn’t concern himself with the trials and tribulations of others; he simply took stock of his own accomplishments and continued climbing the ladder. That’s how he had gotten this new account in China and he was excited to see what other accounts he could grab in the coming years. Stan Murrow had promised that if he could get this account steadily growing within six months that other international accounts would soon follow and Jack knew that was a challenge he was up to.

            Mt. Huashan had become Jack’s personal goal for his trips to China. He had decided that he would climb a different one of the five peaks for each time he made his business trips to Beijing. He was sick of the constant hustle and bustle of the busy metropolis and decided a life threatening hike each trip would clear his mind.

            The decision to begin with the most difficult peak on the mountain was a decision Jack made in an attempt to make his personal goals match with his business goals in some sort of orchestrated symphony fashion. The first trip to Beijing would be the one with the most work and the rest would be smooth sailing. Likewise, he would climb the peaks in descending order of difficulty level. Jack was by no means a skilled mountain climber but he had climbed a few small mountains in Washington and therefore considered himself plenty prepared for Mt. Huashan. As he was standing in the small crevice that presented itself as a good lookout point, he took stock of what the hike had already presented. He thought about how the icy, near vertical steps had seemed a formidable challenge in the begging but in retrospect were just a drop in the bucket. The metal ladder fastened into a niche in the side of the rock cliff was fairly unstable but that only added to Jacks excitement.

            He had noticed that shortly behind him there was a young Chinese man who had been following him at a steady distance. Jack guessed the stranger to be about sixteen or seventeen but knew he could be wrong because those Asians always looked much younger than they really were. His mind slipped momentarily to the one Asian he had dated who was five years his senior but looked ten years his junior. She had been a real nice piece for a minute or two.  He returned his thoughts to the stranger on the trail. He could tell this kid wasn’t too sure of himself because he would wait patiently for Jack to finish each perilous stint of the hike before beginning it himself. He would mimic Jack’s each step, obviously believing that Jack was a pro at this kind of thing. As the trail weaved around the side of the mountain Jack decided to start having a little fun with his new plaything. He began taking the most difficult steps possible just to see if the amateur would follow suit. At one point, he got so cocky that he even gave a little smirk to the kid after a particularly tricky bend. The kid had managed to keep up though and Jack was pleasantly surprised by this.

            Now Jack was really bored with his little pawn though and decided to up the ante. He could tell that this stranger didn’t really want to seem as though he was looking for guidance from Jack and so when he saw an opportunity to force the kid to pass him he seized it. He wanted to see what this little bastard could do on his own. They were at the part of the hike called Changkong Zhandao by the locals and Floating-in-air road by American tourists. It certainly lived up to its name. Mysteriously fastened into the side of the mountain were wooden planks that showed obvious signs of disrepair and an icy chain at waist level to hold onto. The bridge spanned about thirteen feet around one side of the mountain and at best was just slightly over a foot wide. The drop was a straight plummet into what appeared to be a bottomless gulf.

            The stranger hesitated for a moment and pretended to be admiring the scenery as well. However, when he realized that Jack didn’t intend to take on the plank bridge anytime soon he carefully made his way toward it. As the stranger passed, Jack could see that his face had gone completely white and his hands were shaking incessantly.  Still, Jack let the kid continue without guidance.

            The stranger took hold of the chain as he gingerly stepped onto the first plank. Jack took this opportunity to become the watcher and not the watched. Slowly the kid moved across the planks. Step, together, step, together. After a few minutes of watching the stranger move at a snails pace across the planks Jack decided to begin the slide across them as well. He noticed that this new movement unnerved the other hiker that much more.

            Suddenly, the stranger lost his footing on the planks and was struggling to regain his balance.  Jack knew that he was close enough to help the kid if he really needed it. Even on this part of the trail he was full of confidence and knew he could not only manage to maintain his own safety but could also certainly help the less able hiker. For a second his mind drifted to the possibility of being a hero. Jack imagined all of the headlines across the world, “American Hero Saves Native on World’s Deadliest Hike”. Jack liked the idea of adding hero to his credentials. He edged closer to the young hiker and looked him square in the eyes. Without hesitation Jack pushed slightly against the stranger and watched as he fell into the bottomless gulf. He waited but never heard the kid hit the ground. He finished walking the planks and looked over the side of the mountain but could see nothing beyond a sparse tree here or there. Jack smiled.