The Climb

The Climb

         Natasha clung to the wall, her fingers numb, limbs quivering. How long her husband planned to keep her down here was anybody’s guess. He had rigged a long rope and pulley, the one end clipped to the climber’s harness cinched around her waist, the other connecting somewhere down below her in complete darkness.
         “George? George, are you up there?”
         “Yeah…what duya want?”
         “Enough is enough, George…now pull me up.”
         “Ha, not on your life! You want out, then climb out!”
         “George, please, you’re being silly, all this just because I won’t sleep with you.”
         “That’s not the only reason and you know it! You said I wasn’t man enough for ya—less than a man, I think were your exact words.”
         “But, George…”
         “But, George, nothing! This is what I do for a living, Natasha—I climb mountains! Let’s see if you can do it!”
         Her arms were getting tired. “Please, darling, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you…”
         “Do you think I’m less than a man compared to all those sissy boys you work with at that designing place? Or maybe you measure manhood by the number of dollars a fella’s got shoved up his ass.”
         “George, please! I’m going to slip and fall. I can’t feel my toes!”
         “Oh, don’t worry…you won’t fall. The rope will hold you. I got it tied down below. You’ll just dangle there like the spider you are.”
         “George Meany! You get me down from here this instant!”
         “No…I don’t think so. I’ve been following you around town, Natasha. Did you know that?”
         “Following me?”
         “Yeah…I betcha didn’t think I’d do that, did ya? I know all about you and Bob Mathews: how you have been meeting him secretly at his uptown apartment; how you and he have been having a good ol’ time behind my back.”
         “George, please…I can explain.”
         “No need to, darlin’. I know everything already…Bob was very cooperative.”
         “Co-operative? What do you mean?” Panic gripped her guts. “Listen, George, Bob means nothing to me. I was just using him to get further up the ladder. What have you done?”
         “Done?” He laughed strangely. “I ain’t done nothing except bring ol’ Bob down here with us.”
         “Bob? He’s here? You didn’t…kill him or anything, did you?”
         “No, of course not. I’m not like you. He’s right below you. Of course, he can’t talk right now because I put duct tape on his mouth, but he can hear everything just fine.”
         “What do you mean? He’s below me, now?”
         “That’s what I have been trying to tell ya. I got the other end of that rope tied around ol' Bob’s neck. If you can’t make it to the top, or if you fall…you’ll hang him.”