“You fools!” Dick spat. “Why would you jump into a fire? Into a volcano pit?”
Jayden and Connor exchanged glances.
“What are you talking about?” snapped Connor. “That’s the Town of Sleepmore down there. That’s where we all want to be!”
Dick slapped the cutting end of the cable cutters into the palm of his hands. He snuck a peak over the edge of the rock, prepared for the sight of burning lava. Instead, bundles of pillows and blankets floated in colourful layers. He dropped the cutters and backed away.
“He thinks it’s a volcano!” Jayden whispered. “And he thinks he’s helping us...”
Jayden took a step forward while Dick stood transfixed. She examined his slack features in the moonlight and then gasped.
“He’s just a kid!” She turned to Connor, hands flailing. “We can’t just leave him here,” she whispered. “We have to grab him and take him with us. There’s no time for zip lines. We have to make him jump with us.”
“So this is how we fall?” asked Connor.
“Yeah, it’s how we fall.”
Connor lifted Jayden’s hand and tenderly kissed the back of it. Her eyes softened at the touch. Richard was still enchanted with the scene below.
“Now!” she said.
They began to run toward Richard, hands together but their bodies wide apart. Sensing their intention, Richard threw his hands up in horror. “No, no you can’t do this!”
With their hands joined firmly, Connor and Jayden picked him up in an arm tackle manoeuvre and continued running to the rocky edge. Richard clutched their shoulders in desperation, his feet inches off the ground.
“No-o-o-o,” he screamed.
Legs pumping, Jayden and Connor took three more steps and, in unison, jumped.
They began a freefall but almost instantly, their descent slowed to a crawl and they began a floating fall. Jayden glanced up at the moon. “Thanks for lighting our way,” she said. A thin, stick figure emerged from the brightness and then vanished. Jayden turned her head toward Connor. She was moving oh-so-slowly, as if under water. Connor was smiling at her and their hands were still tightly clasped, holding Richard between them. They both changed the direction of their gaze and studied Richard. They were facing upward and he was facing downward. He was gawking at the sight below, his mouth hanging open in awe.
“Mission accomplished,” Connor said.
“Yes... and the climb is over,” Jayden replied. Her voice sounded distant, like she was speaking from another world. Jayden closed her eyes.
* * *
She stood at the top of the rock cliff, hands upward in supplication to the ghostly moon. Kneeling, she picked up the cable cutters where they had been dropped.
If there was a time for fear and a time for darkness, now was the time.
Patty turned to the hot streams of lava flowing from the volcano vent below. She extended her arms again. This time, she flung her head back and, inhaling the hot air until her lungs couldn’t take any more, she emitted a low howl, holding on to the note and then bringing it higher and higher until it burst into a scream.
Now was the time.
The End
Other books by J.C. Kavanagh:
The Twisted Climb, Book 1
Writing has always been a favourite activity for J.C. Kavanagh. Early career days revolved around the newspaper business as journalist and photographer, and J.C. worked her way up to the role of editor. She was instrumental in launching a small newspaper, reporting local news and photographing people, events, sports games and the occasional crotchety politician. Her focus later shifted to the private sector where, for 20 years, she worked in communications and marketing. In 2014, an unexpected business restructuring put a halt to her career and J.C., with the support of her partner, Ian, jumped full-time into creative writing, which she calls her ‘word movies.’ Since that time, she has written nine children’s picture books and two novels, including Darkness Descends, the sequel to the award-winning The Twisted Climb (voted Best Young Adult book 2016, P&E Readers’ Award). J.C. lives in a small town in Ontario, Canada, and finds copious writing ideas from the wooded areas and wildlife surrounding her property. Summers are spent harnessing the winds on Georgian Bay’s pristine waters. You can reach J.C. via Facebook at www.facebook.com/j.c.kavanagh, via e-mail at [email protected] or via Twitter @JCKavanagh1 (Author J.C. Kavanagh).
Darkness Descends Page 19
