To Fall is to Die

Chapter Four (Isa)

Isa stepped out of the shower, steam curling around her body like a blanket. She dressed quickly, sliding into her most comfortable clothes: a warn lavender shirt and a pair of faded jeans. It made her feel better about what was to come.

Becca was still in the hospital with their father. Isa had been allowed to come home briefly to shower and change clothes, and then to sign up for the Cup.

She was dreading it. She had vowed never to sign up a long time ago, but it looked as though she would have to go back on that. Becca needed help, her family needed the money. It was useless though in thinking that she would win. Out of the hundreds of teams to compete each year for the Cup, only one could win, and that was if there even was to be a winner that year.

Isa took a deep breath, sliding on a pair of fuzzy socks before signing into her computer. She knew that Lydia was joining the race, but she didn't know her very well. She didn't know anyone else who had decided to compete. It would be hard to gain that trust with her group if she knew none of them.

"I'm doing this for you, Becca." Isa whispered as she signed her name in the appropriate place on the form. "I will win the Cup for you."

Even if she didn't win, she might still survive and life to tell the tale. That could get her some money in itself, as other competitors loved to talk to those who had already gone before. Around a fourth of those who tried for the Cup survived. Hardly anyone won, and the rest of them died.

Isa walked over to her window, pressing her hand against the glass. Looking up at the clouds, she could see the face of that boy once more. What had his name been? What was his story? Had he been trying to get the money for his younger sister as well?

She could only guess. That boy had failed. She wasn't going to be like him. She had to win, and she would do anything to be the first one to reach that bell and send it's peals across the world.

~

It was easier said than done. Isa walked through the streets of New York City, heading back to the hospital. No one else knew that she had signed up, and even yet she felt as though she was being watched. She would have to leave the next day, for the Cup itself was less than a week away. The competitors would get to live in the legendary Cloud Dorms until then.

That part she was actually looking forward to. Living in the clouds seemed magical...until you thought about it. How easy it was to slip and fall...and no one up there was a friend.

Isa entered the hospital, climbing up the flights of stairs. She tried not to look towards the windows, but it was hard the higher and higher she rose. To think that she had ever wished to fly...

Becca was waiting for her when she slipped into the room. Her sister was sitting up today, looking a little less pale. Maybe it was the hope that Isa could make everything right.

"I know that you are going to do great up there." Becca held a pillow close to her chest. "I will be watching from here."

Isa noticed the large window by her sister's bed and immediately cringed back. The clouds weren't very far from his height. If she fell, her sister would see it. But she would not fall. "You can count on me." She whispered, standing tall. "I will not fail you."

Becca bit her lip, a droplet of blood forming when she did so. "Just remember...I will always love you..." For even if Isa never had the chance to ring the bell, her family would still get a small sum for their loss...not enough for the treatments, but enough to extend Becca's life. Becca meant everything to Isa, and she would do whatever she could to keep her sister safe.

Just then, Isa got a notification on her wrist pad. A message had come through from none other than the Office of the Cup Admissions themselves. She opened it up and scrolled through the message, her heart pounding.

"Good evening, Isabella Verlane. We would like to notify you of your acceptance to the annual Cup challenge, which tests the weak and the strong alike for future leaders. Transportation will be secured for you and will arrive at your apartment in five hours. Make your last wishes now."

So it was really happening...