Chapter 9 - The Brink of Destruction"Dad!" Ellie screamed from beneath the folds of the coat.
Grant rushed forward through the snowdrifts, his boots crunching on the frozen earth. He reached the truck and set Ellie down safely behind a thick cluster of boulders.
"Stay right here, Ellie. Do not move," he commanded before sprinting toward the open driver's door.
He looked inside. Empty.
Grant spun around, his heart pounding in his ears, and peered over the edge of the cliff.
About fifteen feet down, clinging desperately to a frozen ledge of rock that jutted out over the three-hundred-foot drop, was a man in a frayed canvas jacket. His fingers were locked around a frozen root, his boots dangling over nothingness as the loose gravel continuously slid away beneath him.
It was Michael Delaney.
"Michael!" Grant shouted, throwing himself flat onto his stomach at the very edge of the cliff, reaching down with both arms.
Michael looked up, his face pale, gaunt, and battered by the storm. His eyes were wild with despair.
"Don't reach for me!" Michael rasped, his voice tearing in the wind. "I'm a failure! I lost everything! Let me go!"
"Shut up and take my hand!" Grant roared, stretching his arm as far as humanly possible, ignoring the sharp rocks cutting into his palms. "Your daughter is right up there! She is waiting for her dad!"
At the mention of Ellie, Michael’s breath hitched. A sob broke from his chest, turning into a cloud of white steam in the freezing air.
"I couldn't... I couldn't feed her, man," Michael cried, his fingers slipping another inch down the frozen root. "I couldn't even keep a roof over her head for Christmas!"
"She doesn't care about the roof, you idiot!" Grant yelled, tears freezing on his own cheeks. "She cares about you! Now take my hand!"
From behind the boulders, a small figure broke through the snow.
"Dad!" Ellie’s voice pierced the roaring wind like a bell.
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Michael jerked his head upward. Through the blinding snow, he saw his six-year-old daughter standing at the edge of the precipice, stretching her small arms out toward him.
"Daddy, please don't leave me!" she wept.
