|
The good news was that the huge slab of shale she lay upon was
now barely sliding down the hill. She could see the cliff’s edge to be
about thirty yards away. The shale was too slick and steep to be able
to climb to the trail. She knew that someone had pushed her from the
top but had no time to think about that now. The only way out was
down and if she went over the edge, she would certainly die or wish
she were dead. She was still on her left side with her head toward the
top of the slide. She carefully tried to move her body so she could see
to her right. Shooting pain pierced through her left shoulder and her
left knee also felt tender from hitting the rock. She slowly tried rolling
to her right and her heart started pounding when her movement
started the shale to slide more. She tensed her body and held her
breath now lying on her back as the rock slowed again to a stop. She
cautiously lifted her head and saw that she was only twenty yards
from the drop-off.
She slowly turned her head to the right making sure her body
remained still. There she saw her only chance. The top part of a tree
that was no more than two feet out from the edge and if she could
make it to that tree she might be able to climb down. The only problem
was that the tree was about forty yards away with a solid river of shale
in between. Another problem was that the top of the tree was only
about the size of one of her legs. If she hit it too hard there was a good
chance it could snap off, break and she would fall to a certain death. | 
