Page 127 of Twisted Heathens
Stepping up onto the edge, my body wobbles in the suddenly thin air. Mere inches to go and I’m free. The final letter is clasped in my hands, bending under the weight of my anticipated grip.
I don’t think everyone is evil, some deserve forgiveness. But that’s just not you. What you did to my brother… that’s not sickness. That’s depravity. You’re a monster, not a victim.
My eyes slip shut. Breathing halts. The voices quieten. Everything waits for the eventual fall. As I ready to throw myself into the comforting arms of the unknown, faces flick through my mind. Bright hazel eyes and perfect blonde hair. A silent, secretive smile and soft brown curls. Playful blue waves and an optimistic grin. Inky black strands and overwhelming regret.
I teeter on the edge and reply to the images in my head.
Goodbye. I’m sorry.
In the split second before throwing myself from the roof, a blood-curdling scream pierces the air. Followed by shouting. Yelling. My name. Multiple voices. Desperation. My head turns and I see them, this time for real. Running towards me with hands waving frantically.
“Don’t come any closer!”
My pursuers freeze, gripped with terror as I dangerously sway on the edge. Bricks crumble and topple off from the roof, barely supporting my weight. Kade steps forward and raises his hands placatingly, his entire body fraught with tension.
“Brooklyn, listen to me carefully—”
“No!” I scream back.
Kade flinches, face collapsing with fear and he searches for help. Phoenix tentatively steps forward next, leaving Hudson behind as he holds a wriggling Rio in a headlock.
“Firecracker… it’s me,” Phoenix offers.
He approaches me like a startled animal. There’s blood smeared on his face from a recent fight, knuckles cracked and bleeding. I can see that Rio’s nose is pouring while Hudson continues to choke him vehemently.
“Don’t move. There’s nothing left to say,” I say in a robotic voice.
“There’s everything left to say. You don’t have to do this, please let us help you.”
I shift my right foot. More bricks crumble and my body sways again. “One more step and I go,” I interrupt him. “Stop fighting this. All of you.”
“Blackbird, stop!”
“Brooklyn, don’t!”
“Firecracker, please!”
They all shout and plead as I inch my left foot back, so fucking close to falling. The wind picks up and a squeak escapes my lips as I teeter, struggling to maintain my balance. All three of them shift closer, ignoring my raised hand holding them back.
“No! This is my decision and mine alone!” I cry out, tilting my face up to feel the falling rain. “I must be punished for what I’ve done. I’m sorry, this is the only way.”
Beginning to turn away from them, I face the towering drop. I lift my right foot to fling myself into the air, my heart bruising my ribs as it threatens to break free, but a different voice stops me.
Harsh. Grating. Raw. Disused.
“D-don’t… go.”
I tremble on one foot as the sound of crutches against concrete approaches. Tears stream down my cheeks and freeze in the gradually increasing wind. In that moment, the final scrap of light disappears from the sunset. Ceaseless darkness invades everything.
“S-stay.”
Stuttered. Broken. Pained. Unpractised.
I look over my shoulder through the thick curtain of tears. He stands mere metres away, leg wrapped in a cast and face marked in unnatural shades of colour. Brown curls matted and unwashed. Lips parted on words spoken only to me, breaking years of silence.
Eli drops one of his crutches and raises his hand, fingers outstretched to beckon me closer. I stare into his wide green eyes, full of horrors of both past and present, understanding in a way only kindred spirits can be. My foot lowers of its own accord as we face off in the gathering storm, locked in a battle of wills.
“I can’t… don’t make me,” I manage to reply.
