The Last Winter

Saturday: One Last Chance (24)

Oriana
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"Oriana, no! Don't!" I hear Nelia call out after me.

But I block her voice out as I scramble over the large, sharp rocks. I take the long way down, following a narrow trail that leads around the cliffside.

Wes beats me to the bottom, though. He had skillfully made his way down the actual cliff. I can see Terrell following his path, while a few others struggle down the slope that I just descended.

They're here.

Justin lies on his back, looking up at the night sky. An arm is draped over his chest. Paul slouches over a rather large rock next to him, resting his head on the rough, uneven surface. He faces me, watching us calmly.

They almost look at peace--asleep with open eyes...except that Justin's neck is at a sickening angle, and blood is dripping down to the ground underneath Paul's head.

I wake with a jerk. Paul's dead eyes burn a hole in my vision. I rub my face with the back of my hand until I realize that I'm lying on top of a wooden door.

The wooden door--that leads to the balcony. I slowly and carefully move toward the broken window, and a long metallic sound reverberates from within the tower. I touch the side of my head, wincing against the noise. I must have hit my head against the door, because it sure hurts like hell.

I peer through the cut glass and the opening of the window. I'm overlooking a large black pit. I think I can see the end somewhere down below. There are a few ledges along the walls of the cavern, or mines, or whatever this is. I see a passage from one ledge on the left side. Now how do I safely get there from here without causing the tower to move any further? It doesn't seem very stable.

Something else comes into view down below. Something that's hanging off the rails of the balcony--the chord that's attached to the radio. I see it pulled tight over the edge of the window frame, disappearing down below. It's beginning to splinter the wood.

My eyes follow the chord outside, and I bend forward a little more until I find the end--Nelia's hanging upside down, her right leg twisted around with the chord. The radio dangles next to her, miraculously hanging on by a thread.

"NELIA!" I shout hopefully, my heart racing.

She's alive! She's still alive! But...for how long? Oh, dear God. How did we end up in such a mess?

As if responding to my thoughts, a deep groan sounds from within the tower. It's not going to stay like this for much longer. We need to get down before the tower pulls us down with it--to the bottom.

"NELIA!" I shout again. "NELIA, ARE YOU--"

"Oh my God," she responds hysterically. "OH, GOD!"

I watch in dismay as the chord on the edge of the window frame starts being pulled on. The wood underneath groans and splits.

"Nelia, stop moving! STOP!" I call out.

The chord goes still again, and I sigh. My hands are shaking.

God, help us. God, please help us.

"T-The tower's unstable!" I warn her, moving away from the window. I search the slanted vertical floor in front of me until I find the latched door. I glance back at the window. "If you make any sudden movements, you might make the tower move again! It's gonna be quite a drop! Just stay calm and don't move!"

I hear her scream. "DON'T MOVE?! THE TOWER IS GONNA FALL ON TOP OF ME!"

"Look around you!" I yell, finding a foothold to boost me to the door. "Do you see any ledges you can jump to--or, uh, I guess swing to?"