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Clockwork Heart Chapter 13.5 RIPPER

Ripper

The town was alive. Both sides of Portside had gathered for important events. The Ripper growled in annoyance. The number of people walking through the streets meant that it was much harder to traverse the darkened alleyways to reach their destination. Many times they had been forced to scramble up the sides of a building and sit upon the roof top like a strange gargoyle while the odd person would glare upwards and wonder why they hadn’t seen one there before.

As the person looked away from the Ripper once more, unaware of just what they had been staring at, the hooded figure leapt. Springing the distance between two buildings, a few tiles cracked under the sudden weight as the hooded being dropped heavily onto the adjacent roof.

The tail end of the cloak flapped behind the figure as they leapt, the wind catching the ends as they barely paused on their landing before taking off once more. Tiles slid from the roofs as the figure ran on by, skidding towards the end before freefalling towards the floor. They broke on contact with the cobble stone streets with great crashes but the Ripper did not pause – did not falter for a second.

Instead when they came to the end of the block of houses, the widened streets leading to the market place causing the chasm between houses to be greater than any human could possibly leap. And if anything the Ripper felt something bubble up within, and they were running faster and faster.

The air which had been whipping at the rapidly moving heel paused. It was like the world had forgotten to breathe as they waited with bated breath. With a small almost inaudible grunt, the Ripper launched themselves from the edge of the building, using a long forgotten weather vane to give them an extra bit of height to propel them across the space.

They flew across the space with such speed, their arms wind milling through the air and their feet kicking in a vain attempted at gaining momentum. And then they started to fall as they got closer and closer to the wall. And yet the Ripper did not panic. Pushing their arms out before them, they latched onto the metal guttering as they crashed into the side of the building and started to fall.

The metal gave a groan under the sudden weight pulling it down. The Ripper’s unrelenting grip on the metal forced it to bend and pull away from the brickwork it was attached to. For a second the Ripper wondered idly if they would fall and would they die dropping from such height before shaking their head,. Everything, despite their strenuous activity, was still hidden beneath the cowl which was fortunate as people had come out of their hoses upon hearing the ruckus outside.

Despite the panicked cries below, the Ripper was calm. The only thing that was overwhelming was the desire to move – to complete the plan they had spent a few days planning after tearing out another heart. Another heart that was too weak, that did not match.

Swinging their legs back and forth to gain momentum, purposely ignoring the warning groans of the guttering, the Ripper managed to launch their self onto the questionable safety of the roof. A few muttered gasps could be heard below before a screaming rent the air.

The guttering, which had barely been hanging on to the building, gave up its fight and fell to the floor. Several onlookers scattered backwards with pounding hearts and pale faces, their gazes immediately going to the roof searching for the poor fellow who had had a lucky escape. But they were gone.

The Ripper was flying now. Time was of utmost importance. The ripper knew that their time was running out. Pumping their limbs faster and faster, they sailed off of the last building in the current terrace. Using their cloak as wings they leapt of the edge. The air billowed out their robes and the Ripper glided through the air at a rapid pace.