Status: updated hopefully every week
Close to the Edge
Introduction
Running from the gunshots. All he can hear is the gunshots. Nothing else matters, there is no one else left to care about. The one person left is safe; she is hidden and knows what to do if things go wrong from here. He can’t let them find her though; she has what they want. His lungs feel like fire, blood coursing through his veins. Sprinting further and further away from her. He can hear the steady thump of his heart in his ears. That and the gunshots. The sky seems to dance, reflecting the flames of the chaos below. Tal,l dark buildings rise up of the gloom, ruins of the life that he happily used to once live. But that is all gone. All that matters now is escaping and making sure she is safe.
The ground rises up to meet him. His cheek impacts with the pavement. He lies still. Everything has gone quiet; all he can hear is his laboured panting. His eyes remain shut tight as his mind takes in everything that is happening. He was running, now he is not. She is not with him, she is safe. His panting slows as a warmth spreads from the pavement onto his cheek and down towards his mouth. He gasps, inhaling the toxic stench of the tarmac. Gunpowder fills the air.
A tug on his shoulder and a jarring pain goes up his leg. He keeps his eyes shut, escaping in the comfort of the orange tinted darkness. A voice, questions being fired at him. He remains mute; no one can know anything. She trusts him, they are in this together.
‘He’s gone, no use to us now’.
Realisation hits him. It’s done. She is alone now.
He smarts; a cold object presses into his temple.
Ocean blue speckled with green interrupts the darkness. In the distance he hears a laugh, playful and happy. He sees her eyes, lighting up when he walks in the room. Relief floods through them, but briefly. It is replaced by the look of terrific horror. He hears her call his name in the distance, shouting for him, pleading. Begging. He opens his cracked lips to call her name once more.
‘Anniel-‘
A gunshot. Followed by emptiness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I woke with a start, breathing heavily into the darkness. Glancing at the green lights on the table, I let out a sigh of relief to find there were still a few hours of the night left. I lay my head back down into the pillows, allowing the silence and darkness to engulf me once more as I allowed my heart to return to its normal rhythm. This had been happening lots recently, being jolted awake in the night by a falling sensation.
Every so often, as I am falling asleep, it will feel as though a hole has opened up in the world and I am sliding through it. It’s disconcerting. Even in the safeness of my bed, with the soft sound of her breathing next to me, the warmth radiating off her smooth skin, I still feel as though I’m out of place. It is as if I am somewhere else entirely, and I am falling and there is nothing I can do to stop it.
I sighed as I reluctantly dragged the covers off my body. I needed to go down to the kitchen; I would never be able to sleep again without taking a tablet. As my bare feet touched on the cold wood floor, I glanced over to see her quietly sleeping, lost in her world of dreams and wonders. I gently padded over to her side of the bed, and touched my lips lightly to her face, gazing in wonder upon the ever-changing display of emotion dancing across her face. A smile touched my lips before I went downstairs to get my medication.
I stepped into the cool kitchen, flicking on the light in the corner, allowing a warm orange glow to fill the room.
I opened the cabinet reaching in to pull out the Ativan. I popped one out into my hand and placed it on the counter surface as I placed the container back in the cabinet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He inspected his reflection, sighing as he rubbed at his days of stubble lining his shaped jawbone. He exhaled a breath he didn’t realise he had been holding as he reached into the cabinet and took out his roommates sleeping pills. He shut the mirror to see a face that wasn’t quite his staring back at him. The bottle slipped out of his clammy hands, crashing to the floor.
The ground rises up to meet him. His cheek impacts with the pavement. He lies still. Everything has gone quiet; all he can hear is his laboured panting. His eyes remain shut tight as his mind takes in everything that is happening. He was running, now he is not. She is not with him, she is safe. His panting slows as a warmth spreads from the pavement onto his cheek and down towards his mouth. He gasps, inhaling the toxic stench of the tarmac. Gunpowder fills the air.
A tug on his shoulder and a jarring pain goes up his leg. He keeps his eyes shut, escaping in the comfort of the orange tinted darkness. A voice, questions being fired at him. He remains mute; no one can know anything. She trusts him, they are in this together.
‘He’s gone, no use to us now’.
Realisation hits him. It’s done. She is alone now.
He smarts; a cold object presses into his temple.
Ocean blue speckled with green interrupts the darkness. In the distance he hears a laugh, playful and happy. He sees her eyes, lighting up when he walks in the room. Relief floods through them, but briefly. It is replaced by the look of terrific horror. He hears her call his name in the distance, shouting for him, pleading. Begging. He opens his cracked lips to call her name once more.
‘Anniel-‘
A gunshot. Followed by emptiness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I woke with a start, breathing heavily into the darkness. Glancing at the green lights on the table, I let out a sigh of relief to find there were still a few hours of the night left. I lay my head back down into the pillows, allowing the silence and darkness to engulf me once more as I allowed my heart to return to its normal rhythm. This had been happening lots recently, being jolted awake in the night by a falling sensation.
Every so often, as I am falling asleep, it will feel as though a hole has opened up in the world and I am sliding through it. It’s disconcerting. Even in the safeness of my bed, with the soft sound of her breathing next to me, the warmth radiating off her smooth skin, I still feel as though I’m out of place. It is as if I am somewhere else entirely, and I am falling and there is nothing I can do to stop it.
I sighed as I reluctantly dragged the covers off my body. I needed to go down to the kitchen; I would never be able to sleep again without taking a tablet. As my bare feet touched on the cold wood floor, I glanced over to see her quietly sleeping, lost in her world of dreams and wonders. I gently padded over to her side of the bed, and touched my lips lightly to her face, gazing in wonder upon the ever-changing display of emotion dancing across her face. A smile touched my lips before I went downstairs to get my medication.
I stepped into the cool kitchen, flicking on the light in the corner, allowing a warm orange glow to fill the room.
I opened the cabinet reaching in to pull out the Ativan. I popped one out into my hand and placed it on the counter surface as I placed the container back in the cabinet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He inspected his reflection, sighing as he rubbed at his days of stubble lining his shaped jawbone. He exhaled a breath he didn’t realise he had been holding as he reached into the cabinet and took out his roommates sleeping pills. He shut the mirror to see a face that wasn’t quite his staring back at him. The bottle slipped out of his clammy hands, crashing to the floor.
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so yea, this is my first go at a story on here :) I hope you like it! please comment and subscribe and yea :}