Bridge Jumper Comes Back To Life For Help: The Century Curse

036

The weather matched his ideal day, cloudy skies and a slight chill in the air to bring in the autumn season next week. And to close out this summer of occult summonings and out of season witches, was the charity marathon. The marathon helped bring awareness and donations for children who excelled in particular fields of research, but couldn't afford to hone in on their specialties. And his sister, Citrus, was not only a runner, but was the top financial supporter. She even sought out kids who excelled in writing and would edit their stories for them, in some cases even representing them for publication.

Even though the race started at the wilderness center in Cuyahoga Heights, the planned course went under that same familiar highway bridge he'd helped her train at weeks before. The shadow of the bridge was nice, that was the main reason he chose the spot, even if the honking above was more frequent than usual. That, and it was the midway point between the starting line and the finish, meaning less of a crowd. That was his intention anyway, but there were a few people scattered about the vicinity. There were some preparing cool wet towels, others preparing water bottles, and even some waiting patiently to hold up their, "halfway there," poster boards.

But not Ian, he sat quietly in the grass, waiting to clap and even throw in cheer or two for his sister as she passed. Of course, if Diana wasn't running so late, he'd be chatting her up while the two of them waited. But after dropping her off at the sandwich shop up the hill an hour ago, he figured he'd see her by now. It wasn't as though it was his choice to leave her there, she insisted on him saving them a spot along the track, insuring him that she'd rather walk.

"If that's her prerogative, who am I to judge?" Even though he was alone, both physically and mentally, he spoke aloud. The bad habit he'd picked up over the summer was hard to kick.

"Is that boy talking to himself?" Looking up, he spotted two women approaching from down the path. They both looked like the kind of people who'd rudely tell off their waiter, for not putting a lemon slice in their water. They carried a folding chair in one arm, and their purse and an umbrella bag slung over their other. But Ian continued on not letting their comment bother him, knowing he was better off not contracting their attitude.

But as they began to set their things down, they caught his attention once more. "Ya, the worlds just full of weirdos today."

"I know, right?" One of them chuckled, flopping down on their chair. "The only reason Larry and the kids were late for sign-ins was a dumb girl walking along the birdge causing a commotion. Selfish little wench. If she wasn't on the fence, I would've ran her over just to alleviate the traffic."

Ian's vision wasn't impaired by any means, but he must've blacked out for a moment, because he didn't remember how he'd gotten back in the car. Somehow, he even managed to find himself merged onto the freeway with no recollection of the event. The rapid thumping in his chest was the only thing helping him maintain his clarity. Fortunately, the traffic wasn't as bad as the two arrogant pricks were making it out to be, and before he knew it he had his sights on the bridge. Sure enough, there sat a girl with blue jean shorts and a t-shirt that matched the color of her hair.

Pushing the button for the hazards, he pulled into the shoulder lane, parking the car. Ian jumped out, quietly shut the door and walked over to the fence. As he approached, the green-eyed girl locked eyes with him, only for her cheeks to be abruptly showered.

"Hey, it's okay. You're okay. Just come down and we'll go get those sandwiches together." He knew the comment about the sandwiches probably wasn't helping, but that was the most immediate thing on his mind to try and calm Diana down. But it was no use, without saying a word, the girl flipped herself over. Wrapping her fingers within the diamond shapes of the chain link fence, she was now dangling over the massive drop to the valley below.

Ian held his distance, not wanting to provoke the girl, but slowly shuffled over to the fence, looking down past the stone barrier it was attached to. Looking down, he confirmed his fear that what was lurking directly below her was the asphalt path that was being used for the marathon.

"Diana, I know you're upset—"

"Upset? Unlike you, I'm not upset that the thing possessing me is gone. Matter of fact, he's still here! And you won't even tell me how you got rid of yours!" Pure anger was radiating off her words. He knew there was sorrow and disappointment hidden somewhere inside. But her furrowed brow, and muscle stricken jaw didn't do her raspy throat tearing shout justice.

"Like I said, I don't know how I got rid of her. I just—"

"Woke up and she was gone! You really are a broken record! Citrus gets to go back to her normal life. Reity gets a promotion. And you get your body back... And what do I get?! FUCKING NOTHING!"

Ian truly felt bad, but no matter how much he'd expressed it over the past couple of weeks, she seemed to believe him less and less each passing day. Citrus was continuing her research, but still hadn't made a breakthrough on reversing Rycklids grip on Diana. Plus, Reity being the new lead on the case, was able to close things quietly, clearing Diana of all suspicion. Ian even made sure he was there next to her every night holding her hand while she took the cyanide. But there was a glaring oversight in his fantasy of their future together.

There had to be a breaking point.

"Just leave me here! I'm gonna jump, and get seen by everyone at the race. Then you'll never have to put up with me again."

Hearing her confess that he still had some time before she jumped, he felt it was okay to finally approach her. Walking over to where her fingers were poking through, he pushed his through the face, and placed them atop hers. He made sure their pupils were aligned, staring past each other's eyes, instead locking hearts. "Diana... If that's what you truly desire, then I'll be here for you."

Placing a foot on the barrier peak, he reached up and latched onto the triangle tops of the metal fence. Pulling himself higher, he painfully committed his chest to laying against the top, the silver tips stabbing against his skin. His legs were kicking in the air in an attempt to balance as he held his arm out to her.

"But, even if you change your mind, and climb back over the fence, I'll be here for that too. Through every memory together, no matter how many deaths, I'll be here right by your side through it all. But, if they see what you can do, and they take you away, I won't be able to go with you. So... whenever the pain gets to be too much, when controlling the stress seems infeasible and you can't take anymore. I'll be there, right next to you, to help you every step of the way."

Diana looked up at the black haired boy, voiceless. She seemed taken aback, her face frozen with awestruck, with a hint of regret showing through. Ian felt she wanted to say sorry, but all her strength was focused on keeping her grip, but she was still able to lift a small smile. Letting go one hand from the fence, she reached up for him, grabbing on, and being hoisted. After she'd assumed the same chest position as his, he threw his hand down one last time to pull up on her shorts, giving her the last little boost over.

Ian slid his fingers under the seam of the shorts leg, and tried to pull up, but as he did, Diana slipped. Regaining her foot hold, she looked over at the boy to thank him for the quick save, but he was no longer beside her on the fence. Diana looked down the fence line, and saw that below her, was the falling figure of Ian Derrik Debole, the boy who'd saved her.