He knew George and Alice could feel it now too, because they were talking to each other, short hurried instructions, and they were picking up their pace over the second half of the crossing, and Joel was calling out, “Don’t rush, guys—you’ve got this,” but they ignored him and rushed on anyway, and Tom could feel it, the tension building beneath him, and then it exploded.

He felt himself lifting even as he heard the creak, like something splitting open. He vaulted clear as the tree shifted beneath him, and he pounded hard into the dirt, the impact made worse by his heavy backpack. He felt the air whoosh past him, heard a scream from the other side, a crash, and turned to look.

A whole chunk of the ravine’s edge had just broken free and the tree tumbled into the chasm, the upturned roots appearing to launch skyward before crashing away, dust and debris filling the air. George and Alice were in the air too, and for a second Tom couldn’t tell if they’d jumped or had been thrown, if they’d reach the other side or fall into the void.

Then they landed just past the edge, still holding the boat case between them and he knew they’d jumped, but the relief was short-lived. George was behind and as his feet hit the ground it crumbled beneath him and he tumbled backward, taking the boat case with him.

Alice screamed as she got pulled off her feet, but she was still holding the other strap, even though the combined weight of George and the case looked in danger of pulling her over the edge too. George was flailing below, colliding with the side of the ravine, holding on to the strap with one hand and struggling to steady himself enough to reach up with the other.

There was another jolt and George dropped another foot and Alice got dragged right to the edge, but still she gripped the strap, refusing to let go.

It was incredible that Alice was holding on at all, but then she screamed, “Somebody help me!”

A couple of people recovered from their shock and ran over, Chris responding quickest, grabbing hold of the handle with her and starting to haul it up. George’s body crashed against the side again, setting off more small landslides, but he held on and as soon as he was close to the top, Oscar leaned over and took hold of his arm and they heaved both George and the boat case over the edge and scrambled away from any further possible collapse.