Rise of the Dark Heroes (BOOK #1)

Chapter Thirty

STEVIE

HAVE YOU ever dreamt you were falling, then suddenly jolted awake in a cold sweat before you crashed? I prayed that I would wake up as I dropped to my death, but the sound of my scream and the ceaseless wind tearing through my hair convinced me that this was real life, and it was close to meeting a violent end.

I shrieked into Draven's ear as we spiraled, free-falling into nothing. Until suddenly, our bodies clashed onto a random metal surface, leaving me winded and sore. I was dumbfounded when I realized we had landed on a high-rise platform! When I looked up, I calculated that we had only dropped about twenty feet. But I wasn't safe yet.

Our bodies' sudden weight shook the platform so forcefully that two of the cables suspending it snapped. The metal platform tipped downward, now hanging on by the last two cables that would give way any second.

I struggled to grab the railing as I caught my breath. Draven fearfully held onto my ankles. I strained, fighting to keep the both of us from sliding. If Draven released me, we would slip and fall to his doom.

"Hold on!" Dark pleaded. 

I squinted up at him, seeing nothing but his silhouette in the sunshine clutching his wound. "I'm trying!"

The platform groaned alive, slowly escalating to the pulley on the roof. I let out a small sigh of relief, but it was fleeting. Draven used my legs to swing himself to the side, grabbing a part of the railing. He strained as he climbed to me, determination gleaming in his hate-filled eyes. He stretched for my hands, trying to pry them off the rail. I kicked his head, forcing him to slide back. He nearly fell off the edge before regaining his grip.

I closed my eyes tightly, focusing on the energy swirling inside me. I attempted to elevate the other half of the platform with my mind, but the weight was too considerable. A grinding headache forced me to stop, causing me to cry out and the platform to swing down. I shut my eyes tightly as we rocked, my grip on the rail so tight that I couldn't feel my fingers.

"You never deserved those powers; you're not strong enough," Draven slandered. He reached for my feet, but I kicked upward before he could grasp it. "And if I can't have them, then neither can you!"

I booted his hand as he tried again to grapple my ankle. "You're wrong, Draven. I'm stronger than I've ever been, and I know my worth."

The machine whined; it chugged to get us to the top with the strain of our movement. I wasn't sure if the two remaining chords were going to hold much longer. The nearer we approached, the more clearly I could see Dark and Hiro, helplessly watching. Closer, and I could climb to the top. With all of my upper arm strength, I heaved myself upward.

"Dead men have no worth," Draven growled. He climbed the rails, rattling the platform. I held on for dear life as he stretched for my feet, yanking me down until the tips of my fingers were the only thing preventing me from falling.

My friends yelled at me to keep hanging on just a bit longer, but something told me that the machine wasn't going to make it. It was groaning louder now; the pulley up top was starting to smoke.

I jerked my foot out of Draven's grasp, then dragged my body upward. My friends were close to me when I looked up. Just a few more feet and they could reach down to pull me up. But the pulley was nothing but a shower of sparks. It would be a miracle if the machinery could get me all the way to the top.

With all of my muscles, I climbed to the corner of the railing, wobbling until I could catch my balance. I anxiously looked up at Hiro, leaning down as far as he could with an arm stretched downward.

"Jump!" he shouted.

The pulley sputtered as I leaped, clasping my hand onto Hiro's. The cables gave way beneath me, and the high-rise platform plummeted to the vacant streets below. Draven bellowed on the way down until I could no longer hear his pleas. Shortly, a clatter so thunderous shook the block down under, triggering nearby car alarms to blare. I looked down frightfully. It was hard to grasp that Draven met an ugly fate the way he did. Strangely enough, it terrified me. Maybe because I almost met the same outcome. I should have been relieved, but I instantly felt awful for him.