𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗿𝘂𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗱 ⌜𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼 𝘅 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿⌟

01. 𝗔𝗪𝗢𝗞𝗘𝗡

"𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗲. 𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗯𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗰𝗵. 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲, 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗿𝘂𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗱." --𝗘𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻 𝗛𝗼𝗽𝗸𝗶𝗻𝘀

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 01. 𝗔𝗪𝗢𝗞𝗘𝗡 𝗜𝗡 𝗗𝗔𝗥𝗞𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗦

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗪𝗜𝗡𝗗 𝗕𝗟𝗘𝗪 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗟𝗬, the viridian blades of grass brushing along your bare, scarred arms. The sun beat down around you, yet you were safely tucked away in the shadows crawling from the mountains. The patch of daises was bright, the snow-colored flowers dancing in the breeze. Birds few above head, tweeting and whistling to their kin as they soared upwards into the sky. There wasn’t a cloud in sight, leaving it as a soft, serene pool of blue.

A soft groan broke through the silence, the figure laying amongst the daises finally shifting awake. Your fingers twitched at your sides, eyes slowly opening. Your limbs felt like blocks of lead as you lifted your arms, reaching towards your face. Pausing at the rough texture of the concrete, your fingers curled around the edge, carefully pulling it from your face.

A mask? And a broken one at that. You sat up, running your fingers over the texture of the stone mask. Your face twisted with confusion. Where were you, and how did you get this mask over your face? You reached forward to grab onto the ledge to pull yourself up, only to cry out with the burning pain that washed over your hand, causing you to fall back in shock.

You quickly looked down at your hand, watched the scorching flesh heal over with each passing second. The burn was gone within the following five seconds. Turning your head, you gazed out into the sunny field. You crawled to the point where the shadows met the light and placed your hand out. Hissing with pain, you retracted it from the sun’s violent rays.

Suddenly, everything came rushing back to you.

“The ledge...it’s crumbling!” Speedwagon shouted. “Get back!”

A scream passed your lips as the ledge cracked and shifted back. You fell back against the railing, holding the mask to your chest with one hand and holding the railing with the other. You shakily looked over your shoulder at the large pit below. Fear filled your veins, making your entire body tremble with fear.

“Y/n!” Jonathan yelled, extending his hand towards you. “Hurry! Take my hand!”

“Are you mad!?” You screamed. “If I move the whole thing is going to plummet down the side of the mountain!”

“Y/n, please trust me!” Jonathan called, staring down at you with wide eyes. “Jump, and we’ll catch you!”

“No!” You cried, holding onto the railing tighter as it began to shift more.

“You’ll fall if you don’t! I swear, we’ll catch you, love!” Speedwagon urged, trying to soothe your nerves. Your breaths were uneven, panic filling you as you contemplated.

“O-Okay!” You said, hesitantly removing your hand from the railing, wincing as a piece of the stone sliced your palm.

“Come on, that’s it,” Speedwagon said, his fingers brushing against yours. Jonathan’s fingers curled around your wrist. Suddenly, the ground under you gave out completely. Your body slipped through both of their grasps.

“No!” Jonathan yelled. You let go of the mask in shock, your hand reaching towards him as your eyes went wide. The next thing you know, you felt something cold on your face. Your body became overridden with fear as you realized what it was. The mask had fallen on your face in the fall.