below.
Taking a step towards the bridge, I causally gave the two hand ropes a tug to test their strength. They were taut and unwavering. Swallowing hard, I promised myself I wouldn’t look down. I focused on the far side and moved out into open space. My feet moved one in front of the other, feeling the rope without having to look at it. It was a slow process.
A crack of thunder erupted just above me, though the storm was far away. It took my attention off the rope walkway for a second, but it was a second too long. A scream barely left my throat as both my feet slipped off the rope and I plummeted downward.
Chapter 6: Glasses
Only the instinct to swing my arms up stopped my fall as my right hand found the rope. I dangled over a fifty foot drop, straight onto broken concert.
So much for not looking down.
I gripped the rope with both hands. Swinging up my left leg, I managed to embrace it and get a firm hold. Blood started rushing to my head, and I was already dizzy from exhaustion. Sleep depravity was keeping me weak. How was I going to get to the other side like this? I risked the idea of falling as it would have been so much easier.
“You alright buddy?” a shout erupted from the other side of the bridge. I turned and saw someone on the causeway. Several people surrounded the shouter. I was upside down, though, and couldn’t distinguish appearances or identify the voice.
I didn’t say a word, not sure if they’d recognize me or not. There was maybe five of them, though my double vision likely multiplied the figures. The leader was wearing a black jacket that dropped almost to his knees. He wore a pair of sunglasses too. Beyond that, and from this distance, I couldn’t make out any other features.
“Just hang tight, my man! I’ll get you outta there!” the leader shouted and near immediately took to the bridge. He walked across the ropes with the speed of a man who’d treaded them many times a day. It swayed side to side, seeming likely to give out any second.
“Whoa...” I moaned. The rope walkway shivered. It was already hard enough to stay latched, and knew I couldn’t dangle like this for long. This man was almost running, throwing the ropes, and me, into havoc.
“Deep breathes, upside down man. We built this bridge, it’ll hold. You just keep yourself right there,” the man in black instructed as he stopped just above me. He looked roughly the same age as me, though much more rugged. A full beard and several scars covered his face, while the sunglasses hid his eyes. He stood there with an outstretched hand.
“Wait a second…” he said, nearly stunned. “Well, I’ll be damned!”
“Jackson, is that you?” he whispered.
He knew me, even upside down, but I was getting too dizzy to remember anything about him. I looked back at the others but nothing came to mind. A hand awaited by my face, opened and inviting. I looked back up at him and his smile sought my attention. Even if this was awkward, I couldn’t help but take his hand. If this was a ploy, and he were to let go, only open air and concrete below would stop the fall. But he lifted me back to the walkway as promised.
“Jackson,” he whispered.
My arms trembled with fatigue, but my mind was working overtime now. Should I know him? Out of the hundreds of people who call this place home, his face wasn’t one I could recall. I had so few friends left, and only knew of the ones that lived close to me.
This man was from Downtown, and that was where everyone learned to hate me. I knew that the hate still lived there. It didn’t just go away. However, it wasn’t detestation that streamed off his tongue, or through that smile.
“It’s been awhile,” he
Taking a step towards the bridge, I causally gave the two hand ropes a tug to test their strength. They were taut and unwavering. Swallowing hard, I promised myself I wouldn’t look down. I focused on the far side and moved out into open space. My feet moved one in front of the other, feeling the rope without having to look at it. It was a slow process.
A crack of thunder erupted just above me, though the storm was far away. It took my attention off the rope walkway for a second, but it was a second too long. A scream barely left my throat as both my feet slipped off the rope and I plummeted downward.
Chapter 6: Glasses
Only the instinct to swing my arms up stopped my fall as my right hand found the rope. I dangled over a fifty foot drop, straight onto broken concert.
So much for not looking down.
I gripped the rope with both hands. Swinging up my left leg, I managed to embrace it and get a firm hold. Blood started rushing to my head, and I was already dizzy from exhaustion. Sleep depravity was keeping me weak. How was I going to get to the other side like this? I risked the idea of falling as it would have been so much easier.
“You alright buddy?” a shout erupted from the other side of the bridge. I turned and saw someone on the causeway. Several people surrounded the shouter. I was upside down, though, and couldn’t distinguish appearances or identify the voice.
I didn’t say a word, not sure if they’d recognize me or not. There was maybe five of them, though my double vision likely multiplied the figures. The leader was wearing a black jacket that dropped almost to his knees. He wore a pair of sunglasses too. Beyond that, and from this distance, I couldn’t make out any other features.
“Just hang tight, my man! I’ll get you outta there!” the leader shouted and near immediately took to the bridge. He walked across the ropes with the speed of a man who’d treaded them many times a day. It swayed side to side, seeming likely to give out any second.
“Whoa...” I moaned. The rope walkway shivered. It was already hard enough to stay latched, and knew I couldn’t dangle like this for long. This man was almost running, throwing the ropes, and me, into havoc.
“Deep breathes, upside down man. We built this bridge, it’ll hold. You just keep yourself right there,” the man in black instructed as he stopped just above me. He looked roughly the same age as me, though much more rugged. A full beard and several scars covered his face, while the sunglasses hid his eyes. He stood there with an outstretched hand.
“Wait a second…” he said, nearly stunned. “Well, I’ll be damned!”
“Jackson, is that you?” he whispered.
He knew me, even upside down, but I was getting too dizzy to remember anything about him. I looked back at the others but nothing came to mind. A hand awaited by my face, opened and inviting. I looked back up at him and his smile sought my attention. Even if this was awkward, I couldn’t help but take his hand. If this was a ploy, and he were to let go, only open air and concrete below would stop the fall. But he lifted me back to the walkway as promised.
“Jackson,” he whispered.
My arms trembled with fatigue, but my mind was working overtime now. Should I know him? Out of the hundreds of people who call this place home, his face wasn’t one I could recall. I had so few friends left, and only knew of the ones that lived close to me.
This man was from Downtown, and that was where everyone learned to hate me. I knew that the hate still lived there. It didn’t just go away. However, it wasn’t detestation that streamed off his tongue, or through that smile.
“It’s been awhile,” he
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