“This is a lot harder than it looked.” Under a ledge, a quarter of the way up, Al stopped, pulled his sleeve across his face, then slung his rifle across his back, trying to keep the charging lever from digging into his spine.
“Yep,” Tom whispered back. “We should have known better.” He grinned. “It’s not like we’re newbies at this.” Tom adjusted his AK to a more comfortable position, knowing that as soon as he started climbing again, the rifle would shift back to the same annoying spot and continue to be a nuisance as he moved upward.
Without the moon out, it was nearly pitch black. But they could see—a little. Light from the two guard shacks near the tunnel entrance beamed out their doors and windows. It was enough to see barely. Every foot placed was gingerly set down and tested before they put weight on it. Each handhold wasn’t trusted until they brushed pebbles from the flat rock and validated rock from shadow before pulling up.
Near the halfway point of the climb, the moon began to rise, illuminating the rocky incline. It helped. And hurt. More shadows played with their vision. Off-putting shadows caused them to stop and listen, just in case. The mind plays tricks in the dark. Shadows become armed soldiers until you’re sure they’re only funny shaped rock.
The unnatural straight line of the heliport ledge was Al’s guidepost as he led the climb. It was the only way to tell they were moving in the right direction.
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The higher they climbed, the steeper the face of the mountain became. It would never get vertical from their earlier inspection through the binoculars, but it did get more complicated, requiring them to keep three points of contact at all times for safety’s sake.
Something about the ledge twenty meters away didn’t seem right. It wasn't natural. Rock or vegetation, Al couldn’t be sure it didn’t look like either. He squinted, moving his head from side to side to get a better perspective.
Al grunted with recognition and looked down. “It’s the body they threw off the heliport. It’s hanging half on, half off.” He looked again. The body’s head, arm, and shoulder were wedged in a crack near the vertical face. The rest of the body hung over the small shelf.
Tom looked up and right. “I see it. Shitty way to go.”
“Aren't they all?” Al pulled himself up, making his way up higher.
A low whistle caused Al to turn toward Tom. His hand pointed down into the Valley.
A bright light came from inside the tunnel. Two patrols of Afghanis moved out of the tunnel in two single files. One went to the east, and one to the west. The two groups disappeared into the trees and hills.
“Well, that’s a fine how do you do.” Tom looked up at Al.
“Should we keep going?”
Tom looked down into the valley. “Mike will have seen the same thing we did he’ll know what to do.” Tom calculated the remaining distance to the heliport and how long it would take to get back down. “It will take us too long to get back down and help. I say we keep going and finish our recon. Mike will be fine.”
Al shifted his eyes up and down, making the same time distance calculation. “Roger that, let’s keep going.”