W I T C H: chapter 4

“Damn it! Damn it, damn it!” She leapt up the fire escape as fast as she could, careful not to slip and crash to the ground below.

I was so close – so close!

She reached the very top of the building and sprinted to the center before she realized she was finally alone.

“Why! Why, Goddamn it!” she spat irritably, craning her neck up. “Why did you have to follow me?” She panted breathlessly to the sky. “Why did you spoil everything? Why di – ” the words froze in her throat as the metallic clatter of the fire escape echoed through the air. His steps became louder and louder and she closed her eyes momentarily knowing that this was it. She whirled around to face the night-guard one more time. He stared her down with those angry green eyes.

“Nowhere left to go,” he gasped in a strong voice. He took a step forward and she knew she had one last card to play.

“Stay away from me!” she screamed before shuffling backwards, inching closer to the edge of the building. He blinked in surprise and simply stared at her. She knew she would have to make it more convincing.

“Don’t come any closer,” she warned, placing her hands on the cold guardrails. They were set just low enough for anyone to go over - if they so choose. Suddenly, the guard seemed to understand and his mouth drew open into a surprised “O.”

“Now hang on,” he quickly added. “Just hang on. There’s no reason to…”

“I said stay back!” she cried again, shrinking further against the railing, “I mean it: I’ll go right over!”

“Hey, look,” said the guard as he held up his hands. He didn’t dare move, and that was just how she wanted it.

“I don’t think you really want to do that,” he went on. “Just for getting caught sneaking around.” He evaluated her silently, looking her slowly up and down. She held her gaze fiercely, her eyes narrowed like a predator, as if to prove to him that she wasn’t afraid. Finally, the man let out a sigh and muttered, “You can’t be more than 17.”

Nora simply stared at him, unsure of what to say. She was running out of time with no more tricks up her sleeve. What now?

“Don’t throw your life away. Not for something like this. I mean… technically you didn’t do anything wrong.” Nora raised one eyebrow suspiciously. The guard groaned and went on,

“Okay, here’s the deal: you didn’t take anything, right? And I didn’t see you take anything. Just come away from there and I’ll let you off easy – no police, okay? It doesn’t have to get any messier than that.”

Nora considered this for a moment.

But it’s not the police I’m worried about, she thought anxiously. She quickly glanced up at him and muttered,

“Sorry, but that’s just not good enough.” Then she turned and lunged for the railing.

“NO!” the guard cried and lurching forward. He grabbed the back of her shirt just in time and Nora felt her clothes constrict around her. Within seconds, he held her tightly by the waist, and hoisted her away from the edge of the building. She shrieked and writhed with uncontrollable fury, as if desperate to escape his grasp.

“You stupid –! You’ve ruined everything, get off!!” she suddenly became aware that he was muttering something to her, as if trying to calm her down.

“I said GET OFF!” she screamed and elbowed him hard in the ribs. He grunted and his grip finally loosened. Enraged she spun around and shoved him as hard as she could. Harder than she meant to. He stumbled back, arms flailing around for something to grab before he slammed into the guardrail. He let out a scream as his body tumbled hard over the side of the railing. Nora gasped and raced for him, her mind spinning.

Oh God! What have I done?!!

***

I thought I was gonna die. The instant I felt myself go over the edge everything seemed to move in slow motion. I remember thinking to myself: “this is it – this is how it ends.”

I don’t know how I did it, but I managed to grab onto the railing with both hands, even after my face slammed into the brick wall. I remember seeing spots dance before my eyes and had to fight off the overwhelming dizziness that made my brain swim. I remember managing to pull myself up, just close enough to try and get one leg over the cement edge of the roof. But my strength started to fail as the world started spinning, and I felt myself starting to fall.

Suddenly a pair of hands were holding onto mine, a distant voice telling me to not let go. I felt her hands twist themselves tightly around my wrists and try to yank me up with as much force as she could muster. It even almost worked once, but eventually it became clear that she wasn’t strong enough.

“Just hold on!” she panted, her voice shaking from the strain. “Hold on!” Sweat drenched my face and soaked into my eyes as I gasped,

“I-I can’t! I’m – s-slipping!” All at once a low groaning noise filled my ears. And when I glimpsed it out of the corner of my eye, I thought I was going crazy:

The metal guardrail detached itself from the brick wall and slithered toward me like a snake. I felt the cold metal wind around my abdomen and held me firmly, for a moment, completely suspended mid-air. I gapped stupidly the whole time as the railing-snake lifted me up and over the roof’s ledge, before setting me down gently. My legs weakened and I collapsed onto the cold cement when it released me. The railing then slithered back to its place on the brick wall, readjusting into its original position before freezing in place as if nothing had happened.

All I could do was just sit there for a few seconds, reluctant to believe anything I just experienced. It wasn’t until I remembered there, that my sense briefly snapped back to life. I whipped around and saw the girl observing me anxiously, her face pale shining with sweat. I tried to stand, even though my whole body trembled uncontrollably.

“But… but…” I stammered, “just how… how did..?”

“I’m sorry,” she muttered breathlessly, backing away from me. “I’m so sorry…”

Something caught her eye and she stooped over to reclaim the bracelet that had nearly been lost in the struggle. Gripping it tightly she backed away toward the adjacent railing. She swallowed hard.

“I - have to go.” Before I knew it she turned and leapt over the edge without another word.

“No!” I exclaimed, forcing myself to my feet. The world shook dangerously as I forced myself to the spot where she jumped from. My horror turned to confusion and then once more to awe.

I expected to find her a bloody pulp on the street below, but there was nothing there. No body, no blood, nothing at all that would indicate a suicide. But then I heard the sound of running and my head whipped to the side. The last glimpse I got of her was her long, curly ponytail flying around the corner. Then she vanished without a trace.

Hot and nauseated, I backed away slowly from the railing. What did I just see? What the hell was going on? Was it even real? These thoughts and more bombarded my brain relentlessly and I was helpless to stop them. I staggered to the maintenance door and fumbled with the keys as I struggled to find the right one. My hands shook and my head ached, but I finally managed to find the right key and jimmied the lock open. I realized I was hyperventilating as I staggered down the stairs. A cold sweat broke over my brow and my skin felt cold and clammy. At some point on my way back to the front desk a powerful urge overtook me, and before I could stop myself I doubled over and vomited onto the carpet.

This is bad, I remember thinking. Gotta call someone… taking a slow deep breath I made my way behind the desk and grabbed the phone, knocking the receiver over in the process. I willed my eyes to focus and dialed the first number I could think of. But as the line rang and rang I felt myself slipping away from the world. The last memory I have of that night is Nick’s worried voice, suddenly very far away: “Hello? Hello?” Then everything went black.

Edited: 2/18/24