Most people struggle to figure out what they want to do with their lives, which isn't surprising when there are so many options in the world. Do you chase after a childhood dream, facing the risks that come with it? Do you take a safer route that promises stability at the cost of excitement? Are you satisfied with a humble position that provides what you need and not much else, or do you do whatever it takes, no matter how unsightly, to climb to a prestigious position that offers wealth and power?

Very few could hope to be as lucky as Soze, who knew the answer to this question by the time he was thirteen.

"My parents took me on a trip to Sequoia National Park for my thirteenth birthday."

"The one with the giant Redwood trees right?"

"Mhm," Soze nodded, a smile spreading across his face as he recalled the trip.

He had always enjoyed playing outdoors, but the sights of Sequoia sparked a fire in him that the fields of his rural hometown never could. The deep valleys, the enormous mountains, the wildlife, and the larger-than-life Redwood trees. There was something about standing next to a tree bigger than most buildings that can't be described in words.

When he saw the park rangers that got to spend all day in nature's majesty, he was certain that this is what he wanted to be when he grew up.

"Really? A park ranger?" Zed asked skeptically.

Soze shrugged. "I like being out in nature, and being paid to do it is basically a dream come true."

Over the years his childhood enthusiasm began to fade, but his determination never faltered. Becoming a park ranger wasn't easy, and Soze wasn't interested in just meeting the standard. He worked hard through high school, earning enough scholarships for a free ride through college.

He earned degrees in Park Management and Law Enforcement while more passively studying Natural Sciences and Forestry.

"Didn't the others say you went on a bunch of camping trips too? If you spent all this time studying when did that happen?"

"The breaks between semesters usually. At first, I just used some of the money I saved up to visit other parks and nature preserves, but after a while, I started wanting to see some of the truly untamed wilderness." Soze smiled wistfully. "One time I even spent a month in the Rocky Mountains in the dead of winter. That was fun."

"...Sure buddy."

By the time he was twenty-five, he had his degrees in hand and was soon hired to a position at the same park that inspired him over a decade ago. The two years he spent working there was everything he could have ever hoped for.

"It wasn't perfect. Dealing with tourists was always a pain."

"Please tell me you beat up at least one guy for littering?"

"Of course."

Zed began laughing. He slowly stopped as he realized Soze wasn't.

"I was joking."

"I wasn't."

"You seriously beat someone up for littering?" Zed asked, eyes wide with equal parts awe and disbelief.

"Fucker had it coming for sneaking in a forty-ounce bottle of beer into the park."

"Forty ounc- how the hell did they do that?"

Soze shrugged. "No idea. Honestly, I sometimes think he bribed one of my co-workers." Soze poured himself some more cider. "Anyway, most people weren't as bad as him, and the job paid better than the part-time stuff I did during college, so I started going on more interesting trips whenever I could. It was nice." Soze's smile slowly began to fade. "Then everything went straight to hell."

~~~~~

'Maybe I should have done something different,' Ethan thought as he felt his fingers growing more tired from gripping the rockface.

In the interest of expanding his horizons, Ethan had decided that instead of his usual camping trips in some deep untamed forest, he wanted to explore a new biome; the slot canyons of Utah's Zion National Park.

Water and debris rushing down from storms and the tops of nearby mountains caused creeks, streams, and rivers to slowly carve trenches into the ground below. For centuries these events repeated, creating thin canyons, sometimes too thin to walk through but still dozens of feet deep. The smooth sandstone walls ebbed and flowed like the water that created them, having been molded by forces that only time and nature could create. Looking up, a stretch of blue sky filled with clouds could be seen poking out from between the rocks. The light bounced between the canyon walls, bathing them in beautiful reds and oranges, accented by dark shadows.

'As pretty as it is, I wish there was a bit more walking in all this.' Ethan looked down to see the deep pool of water that was currently causing him so much strain. Because water would still run through these canyons whenever there was a storm, it would always gather in certain locations. In order to avoid the water, Ethan was currently bent over facing the water below, with his feet on one wall and his hands on the other, slowly shimmying his way across while carrying his heavy pack of equipment.

"Come on Mr ranger. I thought you said you could handle canyoneering?!" a voice shouted from up ahead.

"I thought you said this place was supposed to be dry?!" Ethan shouted back.

Because this was Ethan's first time navigating slot canyons, he came out with a pair of experienced canyoneers named Mark and Jonah. They worked as guides for those interested in exploring Zion National Park but lacked the knowledge or experience to do so safely. They were also willing to bend the rules at times, as evidenced by the fact that they were willing to take Ethan along this more dangerous route after seeing him do so well in more beginner-friendly areas.

Unfortunately, that meant they weren't fully equipped to handle these paths. The tools they had on hand were enough, but they hadn't been prepared for the small rainstorm that passed through earlier in the day. As a result, there was significantly more water here than they had been prepared for, and they were now wearing normal clothing instead of the wetsuits they would have otherwise brought.

But any possible danger had passed by this point. There was a bit of sudden rain earlier, but it had passed after a few minutes.

"Almost...there...Got it!" Ethan said as he flopped his body onto the moist sandstone before Mark and Jonah.

"Not bad," Jonah said while receiving a twenty-dollar bill from a disgruntled Mark. "Are all Sequoia rangers as fit as you? I can't imagine walking around flat ground all day needs that kind of strength."

The distance between the walls was enough that Ethan was essentially in a planking position. Not only did he maintain that position for almost a minute, he did so while crossing the 20-foot stretch of water with a few dozen pounds of equipment on his back. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that Ethan was probably in the best shape a man could be in.

"Redwood roots can sometimes cover up deep pits formed from dying plants," Ethan explained as he caught his breath. "It only happens off the beaten path, but I'm not just going to sit around if someone survives the fall and needs help getting out."

"Okay, so you've got some experience climbing things that aren't sheer rock," Mark said with a shrug. He jerked his thumb in the direction they were traveling. "You ready to keep going?"

"Just give me a minute." Ethan pulled out a bottle of water before quickly downing half of it. "I do think I'll have to pass on that view you promised me though."

One of the things they had told Ethan about this route was that it lead up the side of a mountain before letting out near the top. From up there you could see huge stretches of the park, the ground carved up by the slot canyons below and creating a beautiful panorama of red sandstone, dark shadows, and lush trees.

"You sure?" Jonah said, not pressuring Ethan but just wanting to confirm.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I don't know how much more I can take today."

"I get it," Mark said as Jonah nodded knowingly.

Whether it was canyoneering or Ethan's extreme camping, the most important thing to know when facing such dangerous situations was your own limits. You had to know just how much punishment your body could take before it just gave up on you. It's how Jonah once knew he could finish a climb with his bare hands after accidentally dropping his anchoring pin, or how Ethan knew how long he could go without food or water down to the hour.

You can't push your limits if you don't know what they are, and although Ethan felt like he still had strength to give, he didn't think he had enough to climb a mountain and then make it back to civilization.

"Okay then, let's go," Jonah said, turning to press onward.

"Shouldn't we head back the way we came?"

"Nah. There's a split in the path up ahead. It'll bring us back towards the town and is less intense than how we got here."

"Plus there's a nice waterfall on the way," Mark said. "Less of a view than the mountain top but still pretty nice."

"Alright. Lead the way."

It took some time for them to reach the split in the canyon they mentioned, even needing them to climb up another sheer rock face, but once they did they were right about the path being much easier. It was much steeper, but since they were headed down the mountain it just meant there were many points where they had to rappel down instead of walk.

Within an hour they had reached the point with the waterfall they had mentioned. The falls were narrow but stretched high into the sky as if coming directly from the mountain's peak. The path they were on passed under the falls, protected from the falling water by a long boulder that was leaning against the cliff face. The waterfall had carved itself into the side of the mountain, causing the walls of the canyon partially close around it, and the humidity created by the water encouraged dense foliage to grow all around them.

Just as Mark said, it was an impressive sight.

Passing under the boulder was a surreal experience. The crashing water was deafening, but being underneath it caused them to be insulated from the sounds of the rest of the world, almost making it feel quieter by comparison.

'I recall a few of the other rangers saying that there were waterfalls in Sequoia, maybe I should check them out when I get back.'

The three of them had just got out from under the boulder, the sounds of the world returning, when they heard it.

A series of cracks and booms loud enough to be heard over the sounds of the falls.

Ethan looked up, and his face paled.

Falling from the top of the falls was a series of logs and torso-sized boulders, presumably knocked into the river above by past storms, and the rain from earlier had made the flow just strong enough to push them over the edge.

"GET UNDER THE BOLDER!" Jonah shouted, his voice just barely audible over the roar of the waterfall.

The three quickly ducked back under the water, and for a single second, they could only hear the rushing water.

*CRASH*

*BOOM*

*CRACK*

Suddenly the debris began falling on the boulder above them, deafening them further as the world shook with the sound of wood, stone, and rock colliding and breaking against each other. Water was shaken loose from the boulder and poured down on them, as if they weren't already soaked to the bone.

Those few seconds lasted for an eternity, but when they passed the world felt uncomfortably silent. Even the roar of the crashing water seemed like the pitter-patter of light rain when compared to a moment ago.

"Ha...hahaha!" Jonah started laughing hysterically. "Guess we're not dead yet!"

"Definitely the closest the old lady has gotten though!" Mark shouted as he started laughing as well, the two celebrating their escape from Mother Nature's wrath.

Ethan simply laid on his back, eyes closed, and with a small smile as the adrenaline left his system. Even knowing how close to death they all were just now he couldn't help but feel satisfied.

'This is why I come out here,' he thought. The awe-inspiring power of the world, the majestic beauty, and the danger of nature. It was times like these that would send most people running for the safety of civilization, but for people like Ethan, Jonah, and Mark, it just reaffirmed their love and respect for the world they lived in.

Then he opened his eyes, and the fear came rushing back.

Amidst all the noise and destruction caused by the falling debris, a large crack had formed in the bolder above them.

*GRIND*

...and it was coming down.

Moving as fast as physically possible, Ethan shoved his guides out from under the waterfall. An instant later the two halves of the boulder crashed down.

The larger bottom half tumbled away, adding to the pile of debris below.

The smaller top half, which was still about the size of a man and weighed almost a ton, fell directly onto Ethan, crushing everything below the small of his back and above his thighs.

The collision threw him against the ground, smashing his head against the slick stone beneath him.

Ethan couldn't hear Mark and Jonah shouting as he lost consciousness, the waterfall now pounding directly onto his head and unimaginable pain radiating from his hips, momentarily hiding the fact that he couldn't feel his legs.