Beneath the Tombstone (The Tombstone Series) (37 page)

“Well,”
Tomas said, “either way, I’ll be rooting for you from the expansion bridge.”

“Alright,
thanks,” Jason said as he and Tyler headed off once more.

As
they walked off the bridge, to Jason’s left was a place where the old Incline
Railway had once ran. Years back, a fire had engulfed the park and the ride
that descended to the gorge was one of its victims. It had been built in the
perfect spot for a descent, and so Jason and Tyler took to its old pathway,
heading down towards the Arkansas River that ran so far below. At one point, on
the way to the bottom, a part of a rock crumbled beneath Jason’s foot, causing
him to slip and fall. Tyler grabbed his arm, keeping him from tumbling on down
the steep trail.

“You
gotta
watch this stone,” the tall cowboy advised solemnly.
“It has a tendency to crumble on you. When you’re climbing, make sure your hold
is secure before committing to it.”

Upon
reaching the bottom of the gorge, they followed it back towards the big
expansion bridge. The two men made their way up a large pile of earth leading
to the base of the Tombstone and then stood looking straight up at the monster
that had invaded Jason’s dreams and robbed him of rest, day and night, from the
very moment he’d made the decision to climb.

Tyler
reached into his pocket and pulled out a little Bible. After flipping through
the pages for a moment, he seemed to find the page desired and began to read.
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no
evil for thou art with me.”

He
closed the Bible, and there was a brief moment of silence before Jason spoke.
“Isn’t that usually read at funerals?” he asked quietly. “You know, when
someone is about to be placed under the tombstone, not rise above it?”

Tyler
gave a sympathetic smile as he reached over and placed a hand on Jason’s
shoulder. “Right now you are in the valley of the shadow of death,” the tall
cowboy said with a sweep of his hand, drawing Jason’s attention to the
surrounding gorge. “You must fear no evil, for God, if you are with him, he
will be with you.”

“I’d
rather you just tell me I’m going to be okay,” Jason spoke in a wobbly voice.

“If
you’ve given your heart to Jesus, you
are
going to be okay,” Tyler
assured him. “He will give you the strength to rise from this valley of death…
and, if not,” he added, his features grim, “he is stronger than death, and, God
willing, I’ll see you again in heaven someday.”

They
stood in silence for a moment then Jason, trembling, sank to the ground. “I
really don’t want to die,” he said, feeling his body convulsing from the fear.

“I know,”
Tyler said as he squatted down beside him. “Life is a precious thing.” He
looked off down the gorge for a moment. “As the sun sets, the evening shadow
will work its way across the gorge and up the face of the Tombstone.” He turned
to Jason. “Don’t let it catch you, okay?” Jason nodded.

Tyler
began to back away. “I’ll be watching from the bridge,” he said. “Leave you
radio off until the shadow gets to that big rock down there,” he instructed,
pointing away from the Tombstone towards a large bolder down close to the
river. “When it reaches that point, turn it on, touch base with me and climb.”

With
that, Tyler walked away, leaving Jason facing his demon alone. Finally, the
giant shadow reached the big rock Tyler had pointed out. Reaching into his
pocket, Jason pulled out his ear piece, put it in his ear and clicked on the
two-way radio, which was still clipped to his belt at his lower back. Covering
it with the tail of his shirt, he breathed deeply for a moment, trying to
compose himself before he spoke.

“You
there?” he asked and was met by silence.

“Yes,”
the reply finally came. “I’m here. You ready?”

Jason
leaned over, hands on his knees, feeling a deep, sickening fear down in the pit
of his stomach. After standing bent over for a few moments, he heard Tyler
speak gently through the earpiece, “You better get going, Jason. The shadow’s
gaining.”

From
his bent over position, Jason cast a glance towards the rock behind him that
was the starting signal. The shadow was moving closer. It had already enveloped
the bolder. He straightened up and approached the Tombstone, placing a hand
upon its cold, hard surface. He knelt down on one knee. Remembering the words
that the preacher had referred to as belonging to a man name Caleb thousands of
years in the past, Jason bowed his head, closed his eyes and whispered, “Lord,
I pray… give me this mountain.” With that, he raised his eyes and set them on
the summit.

“Slow
and steady,” Tyler’s voice instructed over the earpiece. “Take your time.” A
few moments of silence passed by as Jason took several deep breaths. “See the
crack there?” the tall cowboy’s voice came back in. “It runs up about a hundred
feet or so to a rounded overhang.”

Jason
looked up at the crack and saw what Tyler was talking about but didn’t reply.
He wasn’t able. “Follow that crack up and stop below the overhang. You’ll find
a small ledge there.
Ain’t
much, but it’ll give you a
bit of a break.”

Jason
took a deep breath then began to climb. Jamming his hands into the crack and
snagging holds on the face of the cliff, he worked his way upward until,
finally, he reached the ledge. Tyler was right. There wasn’t much of a spot
here to rest on. He clung desperately to the wall, trying not to think about
what would happen if he fell. He closed his eyes, trying to wish it all away.

“All
right,” Tyler spoke into the ear piece after a minute or so. “Let’s keep
moving. The next climb is about two hundred feet.”

Tyler
began coaching him again. Finally, Jason made it to the top of the next pitch
where he reached a walkable ramp, following it about ten feet to the right.
There he stood at the base of a groove that went straight up the wall. “Another
long stretch then you’ll reach a ledge to catch you wind on,” Tyler spoke into
Jason’s ear. “Go for it. You got it, man. No problem.”

Heart
pounding, Jason once again began working his way up. About ten or fifteen feet
from the big ledge and relative safety, he reached up with his right hand,
grasping a new hold, pulling up. He felt the stone give way beneath his right
hand a split second before he felt himself falling. Heaven and earth seemed to
pass away and glimpses of light and darkness flashed around as he felt the full
force of his body weight rip into his left arm. He dangled there helplessly,
hundreds of feet off the ground, desperately searching for new holds, trying
again and again to re-attach to the cliff. Finally, he hung limp. A tear rolled
down his cheek. He had tried.

“Don’t
you dare give up on me,” Tyler spoke sternly into the ear piece. “Remember the
ladder on the side of the old barn?” he demanded. “You’ve got nothing left but
finger holds between you and the top of this pitch – now do it!” the horseman
ordered. “Get to the top!”

Sweat
poured down Jason’s face as he looked back up at the ledge and relative safety.
Finally, he took a deep breath and gave out a fierce yell as he pushed against
the cliff with his feet, bringing his right hand up, slamming it into a high
finger hold.

Scraping
for more finger holds and pressing his feet against nothing but the bare cliff,
Jason began to once more work his way up. Blood mixed with sweat trickled down
his arm; a product created by digging his fingertips into solid stone. At last,
his right hand grasped the ledge, and he didn’t stop fighting until he was all
the way up to the safety it offered. Sagging back against the wall, he sat
there for several minutes, trembling and shaking, taxed from exertion and the
fear brought on by almost falling to his death.

“Come
on, Jason,” Tyler’s encouraging voice spoke into his ear after a time. “Finish
this. See that big dihedral above you? The only difference between it and the
ones back home is this one’s longer.” Jason didn’t move. “That and it’s the
only thing that stands between you and being reunited with your wife.” There
was a moment of silence before Tyler called loudly into the radio. “Come on,
Jason,” he encouraged. “After this last pitch, you can basically walk the rest
of the way. Get up! Come on, man… fight!”

But
Jason was lost in his own world of thought. “I feel like I’ve betrayed her,” he
said quietly, his voice quivering.

There
was a moment of silence. “Did you?” Tyler asked.

“Yes,”
Jason admitted quietly. “This is all my fault,” he added, not moving a muscle
or blinking an eye. “I set up my own wife. No one was supposed to get hurt.” He
paused for a moment then went on. “A friend was going to help me stage a
situation where my wife needed rescued,” he confessed. “Misty and I, we never
made it. We were attacked several minutes before we would have reached the spot
this friend and I had chosen.”

Another
moment or two passed by before Jason spoke again. “The preacher said that Judas
was a wolf in sheep’s clothes. Am I? What if I’m the wolf in my dream?” There
was a long silence as Jason rubbed his hand on the ledge. “I’m glad I know
Jesus, but I’m not sure I’ve been forgiven… I don’t feel forgiven.”

“I’ve
felt that way at times myself,” Tyler admitted soberly into the earpiece. “I
thought God could never forgive me for some of the things I done… but I finally
figured something out – the whole time I thought I hadn’t been forgiven by God,
it was because I hadn’t forgiven myself.”

The
piece in Jason’s ear was silent for a moment. “Be careful of the limits that
you put on the power of Jesus’ grace and forgiveness,” Tyler advised. “Judas
did; he put limits. Remember how that ended? I assume he thought Jesus wouldn’t
forgive him… but, in truth, the finality of it all was the fact that Judas
wouldn’t forgive himself. If he had, he would’ve gotten to see what a wonderful
thing God had planned – not in spite of his betrayal but through it. God used
Judas’ betrayal to bring about the greatest gift mankind has ever received… the
gift of salvation.” Tyler paused for a moment then spoke again. “Have you
considered the possibility that God has a plan for what you did?”

“What
would that be?” Jason scoffed in disbelief. “What possible good could come from
what I did?”

“You
became a Christian!” Tyler stressed. “And look up here at the bridge; see all
these people? They’re here to watch you… along with millions of others watching
on TV. You’ve given them hope, Jason. You’ve inspired them.” The tall horseman
was silent for a moment before adding, “We will never know to what extent the
love you have shown today will affect the lives of others.”

The tall
cowboy was silent for a moment before he spoke loudly, “You’re still living,
Jason! You’re still breathing… so, obviously, God’s still got plans for you!
Don’t make the same mistake that Judas made.  He was not beyond
forgiveness until he hit the end of that rope and ripped his insides out.”

“At
least if I fall, I don’t have to worry about hitting the end of a rope,” Jason
said in a somber tone.

“What
I’m trying to say,” Tyler went on, “is that if Judas wasn’t beyond forgiveness
and I wasn’t beyond forgiveness then you
ain’t
either.” He was silent for a moment before adding, “So let yourself off the
hook. God has forgiven you. I now know what your wife meant by the ‘whole
truth.’ Quiet obviously, she has forgiven you, too. You’re the only one left
Jason. Forgive yourself.”

Jason
sagged back against the face of the Tombstone and closed his eyes. Although he
was hundreds of feet in the air on a vertical wall that was supposed to be his
grave, a feeling of peace settled within him. “You are forgiven,” he whispered
to himself. Then he opened his eyes and once more fastened them upon the summit.

He
stood and turned towards the dihedral. The cliff seemed to respond to him as he
touched it, wrapping his hands around the corner, grasping the stone. He placed
one foot against the other wall and began to inch his way up the ninety degree
angle.

“Good,
Jason. Good,” he heard Tyler’s words of praise. “Remember what I taught you.
Follow it all the way to the top.”

“One
hand over the other,” Tyler encouraged as Jason neared the summit. “Don’t slow
down until you’ve cleared the top.” Jason didn’t. His face was red and covered
in dirt and sweat. He growled deeply, breathing through the strain. With one
hand, he grasped the rock that would lead him to safety. He gave a mighty pull
and rose above the Tombstone.

“Yes!”
he yelled, sticking his hands into air. “Thank you, Jesus!” he shouted then
dropped to his knees and lifted his eyes towards heaven. “Thank you,” he
whispered, voicing the depths of his gratitude once more.

Rising
to his feet, he scrambled and crawled the rest of the way up as cheers erupted
from the crowd on the bridge.

“You
hear that, Jason?” Tyler asked loudly, trying to be heard over the noise. “Well
done, Jason. Well done.”

Jason
stepped onto the pavement and began following it towards the crowd coming his
direction from the expansion bridge. Out in front were Susan, Jenny and Tyler.
Tears ran down the women’s faces as they drew near. Suddenly, someone brushed
past them rushing towards Jason.