Read Outback Hero for Free Online Page B

made a weird sound.
    I glanced at him and realized he looked
different. His face had turned grey. He was staring at the bottom
of the canyon and he looked real scared. That was good for me. I'd
win and I'd show the smarty-pants. I crept closer so the toes of my
shoes were just over the edge. Charlie didn't move; he was still a
fair way from the edge. He wasn't going to make it, I could tell.
That was weird. Charlie wasn't a scaredy cat. I should've felt
great, except I didn't.
    "What's wrong?" I asked.
    "Dunno." His voice came out croaky and he
didn't look at me; he was still staring at the bottom of the
canyon.
    Suddenly, I was scared. I'd never seen
Charlie like this. It was like he was frozen and couldn't move.
"Let's forget this game," I said. "Let's just make sure we get to
the end of the track before Mom and Dad."
    His head gave a slight nod.
    I went to step toward him, away from the
edge, but then the ground fell out from under me. I screamed. A
scary, piercing scream - like out of a horror movie. I fell,
hitting the side of the canyon wall. I fell faster and faster. OH
MY GOD! I WAS REALLY DEAD THIS TIME.
    My feet hit something hard. Then I
remembered the tree I'd seen growing out of the side of the canyon
wall. My legs crashed through it. I grabbed a branch with both
hands. My legs swung out into the big empty sky and back in,
hitting the canyon wall.
    "MAAAX!" I heard Charlie's voice above
me.
    I couldn't yell back. I had to use all my
strength to hang on. And I couldn't look up. My hands might slip;
they were already sweaty. How long could I hang on?
    I heard Charlie's voice again. "I'm getting
help!"
    Brilliant. By the time he'd got a rope, I'd
be splattered all over the canyon floor. I had to think, but it was
hard when my hands were slipping, my legs were dangling and I was
sure my jeans had slipped below my undies. And they were red, so
everyone would be looking at them.
    If I were strong, I could lift one leg up
over the branch and hoist myself up onto the branch. But I didn't
think I could. And even if I could, I wasn't sure that the branch
would be strong enough to hold my weight. If it wasn't, then I'd be
dead for sure. But if I could hang on until help arrived, then I
might be okay. But where was Charlie going to find help and a rope?
I knew the answer. He wasn't.
    Just then I had a cosmic insight. It was my
time to die. That's why I'd ended up in that croc-filled river. But
I'd lived, so I wrecked the plan. So now I was here, hanging off a
branch and about to fall a million miles. I might die in the end,
but I sure would fight to stay alive.
    And Charlie had said it was a well-known
fact that only the good die young. That must mean I was good. I tried to work out why I was so good. I
thought about it for a few moments. I couldn't think of anything.
But maybe that was because my hands were slipping. That made it a
bit hard to concentrate.
    "MAAAX!" I heard Charlie's voice again.
    I wanted to look up, but I couldn't.
    "Someone's going to lower me down and then
you can grab on to my hands."
    WHAT? That was the worst plan I'd ever
heard. Where was the rope? Where was the park ranger? Where was a
chopper? How could my skinny brother hold my weight? He must be
desperate. FAR OUT! We could both die.
    I forced myself to look up. I saw Charlie
being lowered down headfirst. There were two men at the top. Surely
he wouldn't reach me. But then I realized I hadn't fallen that far
... it just felt like a long way. I stared at Charlie as he got
closer to me. I could see his face. He was terrified. The front of
his body was covered in red dirt from sliding down the wall of the
canyon. I couldn't take my eyes off him.
    But still I could feel myself slipping.
    "Hang on," I heard Charlie whisper in a
croaky voice.
    Finally, his fingertips reached my
hands.
    "One hand at a time," he said.
    That was easy for him to say. Why would I
want to let go of this nice branch and hold his hands, which were
only stuck to two skinny arms?