Run From Me

It was the fall that set everything in motion. Myra had never been afraid of heights. As a child, she was the only one of her siblings willing to climb the apple tree her ancestors had planted. Her father called her a wild thing. During the descent, she could almost hear him telling her to hurry up and bring some apples down for pie. But as her ears rang and her battered body screamed out in protest, she realized it was a fool's thought. She would never hear her father again.

~~~~~

"Fuck." Myra wheezed. She strained to hold on with her good arm. The fall had originally jolted her arm out of her socket, but she had grabbed on to the siding in time. "Timothy!" She yelled out as her tool box clattered to the stage below. "Move the tools, I think I might fall!" The area was almost completely silent.

"I'm coming up to get you, just hold on." There was a general commotion, and she glanced down to see some men kicking the tools away from below. "Thanks." She gasped in shock as the jarring movement from Tim's footsteps caused her to lose her grip.

Myra's body made contact with the floor, a resounding thud and gasps could be heard from the majority of her audience. "Myra!" Her boss screeched, and a flurry of activity ensued. She tried to lay still and take inventory of her injuries. Her shoulder, she knew, but she did not think anything was broken. All of her limbs had feeling (albeit intensely painful feelings), and she was sure no bones had been broken. "Myra! Honey, can you open your eyes? Are you alright? Can you move?"

Slowly, she opened her eyes, her breathing sharp and erratic. "I think I just got the wind knocked out of me." In the cacophony of voices, she heard someone mention an ambulance. Timothy had knelt next to her and taken one of her hands in his own. "No hospitals. No ambulances. Promise me." She quipped, pursing her lips in pain as she attempted to sit up. "Just find someone to pop my shoulder back in, please." Her head swam.

Brian watched slowly from the side, taking in the scene. He had watched Jimmy try to climb the rope, but did nothing to stop him. Regret filled him as he saw her suffering. The crew manager tried to dissuade her from refusing treatment, but for some reason she resisted. His heart stirred as he watched another woman help Myra stand, the one who came forth that had put a shoulder in its socket before.

"Faith, is it?" Myra grunted as she was helped to the side exit. "Back to work, everyone!" She heard Timothy yell from behind her. "Yes." The woman said quietly. "Was it Mi-ra or Me-ra?" Myra answered that the latter was the appropriate pronunciation. They had left the venue's building and moved slowly to a wooden bench. "Ready? Or do you want to wait a bit?" Faith asked. "Better get it over with."

Inside the venue, the crew and band busied themselves with preparing the stage, preoccupied with the incident from before. They paused at Myra's scream, and continued on. "That bitch is hard." Muttered someone close to Brian. "Who is she?" He asked them. The other guy shrugged, "She's been on a few other tours with me. Never had any drama, always did a good job. Always figured her as a loner, didn't realize that she was tough as nail 'til today." The man nodded to Brian and walked away.

Later, he felt a familiar sensation. There was a grinding in his stomach, a flush over his chest, an energy in his muscles.. He felt determination settling over his bones. "Uh-oh." Zacky grinned as they sat down in the bus later, taking note of Brian's disinterest in the conversation and his beer. "What?" He snapped. Zacky just smiled widely and took a sip from his bottle. "No, what? What the fuck are you going on about?"

"Nothin'.." He said, "Just that some girl is going to get her heart broken."