Read Online Paradigm (9781909490406) by Ceri A. Lowe - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Ceri A. Lowe
Ads: Link
a white-and-brown cat clinging to the edges. In the distance, Alice thought she heard it meow. It held its head back, contorted against the water and dug its claws deep into the fabric as it sailed through the city.
âHold on,â she whispered and a trickle of tears dribbled from her eyes. She bit her lip hard and headed along the balcony towards the staircase before she had to watch the kitten slipping below into the darkness as its exhausted paws gave up hope.
----
T he cold metal bit through her fingers as she clung to the railing of the stairs to the roof. It was dripping with water and she sucked on the cold iron, dragging as much water as she could with her tongue.
Water, water, everywhere.
Savouring the wetness, she moved her feet slowly, one over the other, listening to the dull clanking of her feet against the metal. Sheâd never been afraid of heights before, but there was something in the cold slap of the wind and the smell of the air that made her not want to look down.
When she got to the roof, the small paved area was empty, but she could feel the ugliness of the place, clammy on her skin. Empty cans of lager littered the floor, along with general drug paraphernalia and junk. There was a small patio area with some bolted-down tables and chairs and a row of plastic bins around the outside. Plastic bins that were full of water.
Alice hauled herself up the last few steps and skidded across the lawn of plastic turf towards the bins. Her feet gave way under the slippery surface and she lost herself in the softness, grazing her knee on the coarse grass. She lay there for a second looking up at the inky grey sky that looked ready to explode its contents over her until her thirst picked her back up.
She checked the bins quickly and chose the one that looked the cleanest. She hesitated for a second and then plunged her head into the ice-cold water. It made the inside of her head tingle and her eyes hurt. At the bottom she could just make out blurred shapes: food cartons, cans and cigarette butts that had been ground into the bottom. Alice pulled her head out quickly and then set down the saucepans that she had brought with her.
âRain, rain, go away; come back another day,â she said quietly.
----
L ooking across the roof at the drowned city below, the tops of buildings stuck out like rotting teeth from the gums of a bad mouth. The hollow sun was paper yellow through the stringy clouds, dim light casting shadows onto the murky water. To Alice, it didnât seem like any particular time of day. It could have been dawn or dusk or both.
From the roof she had an almost panoramic view of the city, stretching out in an endless expanse of water punctuated only by the higher buildings and the tops of trees. The more that she looked at the water, the more she could see. Giant blue gunmetal shapes that twisted and formed into monsters and creatures that she couldnât quite describe. When she looked away, they disappeared and then reformed with long necks, huge snaking limbs and torsos of brick and steel like the fragments of a bad dream.
Slowly, she walked around the edge, breathing in hungry gulps of an air that smelled of firework nights and the rotting decay of autumn. Across to the north another explosion sounded and she watched as a tower building melted downwards, taking the next one with it like balsa wood dominos. Then she left, sneaking down the stairs like a thiefâa feeling with which she was not unfamiliar.
----
A s the late afternoon crested into evening and Alice was drifting off to sleep, there was a sharp knocking on the front door. The sound of the banging caused her to jump off the sofa in fright and she landed on a glass that smashed into her knee. A triangular shard of clear glass stuck out sideways like the fin of a shark, reflecting the white light from the window. As she sat there, transfixed by the drips of blood that pooled in the carpet, there was another crash at
âHold on,â she whispered and a trickle of tears dribbled from her eyes. She bit her lip hard and headed along the balcony towards the staircase before she had to watch the kitten slipping below into the darkness as its exhausted paws gave up hope.
----
T he cold metal bit through her fingers as she clung to the railing of the stairs to the roof. It was dripping with water and she sucked on the cold iron, dragging as much water as she could with her tongue.
Water, water, everywhere.
Savouring the wetness, she moved her feet slowly, one over the other, listening to the dull clanking of her feet against the metal. Sheâd never been afraid of heights before, but there was something in the cold slap of the wind and the smell of the air that made her not want to look down.
When she got to the roof, the small paved area was empty, but she could feel the ugliness of the place, clammy on her skin. Empty cans of lager littered the floor, along with general drug paraphernalia and junk. There was a small patio area with some bolted-down tables and chairs and a row of plastic bins around the outside. Plastic bins that were full of water.
Alice hauled herself up the last few steps and skidded across the lawn of plastic turf towards the bins. Her feet gave way under the slippery surface and she lost herself in the softness, grazing her knee on the coarse grass. She lay there for a second looking up at the inky grey sky that looked ready to explode its contents over her until her thirst picked her back up.
She checked the bins quickly and chose the one that looked the cleanest. She hesitated for a second and then plunged her head into the ice-cold water. It made the inside of her head tingle and her eyes hurt. At the bottom she could just make out blurred shapes: food cartons, cans and cigarette butts that had been ground into the bottom. Alice pulled her head out quickly and then set down the saucepans that she had brought with her.
âRain, rain, go away; come back another day,â she said quietly.
----
L ooking across the roof at the drowned city below, the tops of buildings stuck out like rotting teeth from the gums of a bad mouth. The hollow sun was paper yellow through the stringy clouds, dim light casting shadows onto the murky water. To Alice, it didnât seem like any particular time of day. It could have been dawn or dusk or both.
From the roof she had an almost panoramic view of the city, stretching out in an endless expanse of water punctuated only by the higher buildings and the tops of trees. The more that she looked at the water, the more she could see. Giant blue gunmetal shapes that twisted and formed into monsters and creatures that she couldnât quite describe. When she looked away, they disappeared and then reformed with long necks, huge snaking limbs and torsos of brick and steel like the fragments of a bad dream.
Slowly, she walked around the edge, breathing in hungry gulps of an air that smelled of firework nights and the rotting decay of autumn. Across to the north another explosion sounded and she watched as a tower building melted downwards, taking the next one with it like balsa wood dominos. Then she left, sneaking down the stairs like a thiefâa feeling with which she was not unfamiliar.
----
A s the late afternoon crested into evening and Alice was drifting off to sleep, there was a sharp knocking on the front door. The sound of the banging caused her to jump off the sofa in fright and she landed on a glass that smashed into her knee. A triangular shard of clear glass stuck out sideways like the fin of a shark, reflecting the white light from the window. As she sat there, transfixed by the drips of blood that pooled in the carpet, there was another crash at
Similar Books
