Creative Writing 1.4 task

The crisp mountain air stung my nose and face. It was dawn, I looked towards Dave, he was sporting a smile that stretched ear to ear. It was the same childish smile I had witnessed through our distant youth. I too was beginning to share the tingling sensation that I could see in Dave. Together we gazed intently at a snow-capped peak that rose high above all others, so tall it was as if the other mountains bowed down at its feet.
“K2,” he said with a slight waver in his voice.
Was this nerves or excitement? I couldn’t tell.
I looked into his eyes and saw the fire that was his determination, burning in his soul. After all, he had risked everything to get here and he wasn’t leaving without going to the top. Right now, I was so free-spirited and confident like a bird soaring high — never doubting itself once. I was never so sure of myself and others around me. Little did I know in less than a few days I would have to question everything and make the hardest decision of my life.

The sun was lounging in the middle of a cloudless sky, mocking us with it’s beaming smile. Dave was barely keeping up, his icepick looked to be made of lead as it scraped the ice leaving a trail down the glacier so deep that it resembled a war trench. My body ached as I could feel his full weight upon the rope.
“You alright mate?”
He replied with a grunt of exhaustion.
I knew if we continued at this rate we would have to turn back before nightfall. We still had to cross the east glacier and reach the summit ridge but that was wishful thinking at our current rate. I turned to Dave and within him, I saw the fire that got us here in the first place; his eyes remained fixed on the summit never leaving it once. Safety was my number one priority, After all, this mountain had greedily taken the lives of so many good people, and I knew I wouldn’t let it get the best of us.

“Dave we’ve got to talk.”
He sensed a serious tone in my voice.
“Something up Jack?” Dave croaked.
I replied; “it’s getting late in the day and if we do not reach the summit soon we will be out after dark and out here that’s as good as a death sentence.
“Dave lay silent for a few moments before saying: “I didn’t come this far to turn back now.”
I sat with his words resonating deep within me. The thought of going home without this summit stung me, but the thought of possibly losing my best mate was far worse and that was a risk I wouldn’t take.
Dave turned to me, his look said it all “With or without you I’m going to the summit.”
How could I argue with that? His whole life was built up to this one moment. I knew it was the wrong thing to do but I let it happen anyway because I didn’t have the nerve to tell him it wasn’t worth his life. If he only knew how much was right in front of him, a wife and kids – was the summit worth more than his family?

Each stroke of my icepick into the snow became harder and harder as searing pain began to build up in my shoulder. Dave was fearlessly leading across the icy bridges of a crevasse, with me aimlessly trailing behind. The wind had swept up off the surrounding peaks carrying frozen debris that stung my face like tiny needles.
“We must turn back!” I cried through howling winds.
Dave continued unresponsive.
Suddenly, he slipped his body dangling over the crevasse. The rope connecting us was the only link. Luckily my pick was hooked into the surrounding ice. Time began to slow down. His eye interlocked with mine, his expression, that of someone who had seen a demon. My heart skipped a beat, I knew if I did nothing we would both be killed, but the alternative was just as bad. one or both of us in that hole. What I did next tore me apart, I reached for my blade and cut the rope. The last thing I saw of Dave was the crevasse swallowing him up and his body disappearing into a void of eternal darkness.
“Daaaaave!”
But no response returned, he was gone and there was nothing I could do about it. I sat slumped on the edge of the crevasse as the weight of the world dropped onto my small and helpless body, I felt truly alone. At this moment I felt that not only had K2 claimed Dave’s soul but with him, the mountain had also taken mine. The devil had snatched Dave into his icy claws, claiming another climber’s life as his own.