Fantum doesn't respond so I move around the hole drumming my feet into the ground like a fool. When I'm done, cracks appear wherever my feet touched and water springs up uninvited. Slow but steady is the song it sings, a rock ballad taunting my mind from the feet up. I secure the ladder on to the wall and attempt to climb anyway. It keeps leading me nowhere. Eventually, I give up. Then I remember something I saw on television called ladder balancing. I stand the ladder up straight and get to two rungs before diving to the ground for safety. There are a few more attempts at that before the technique kicks in, and common sense with it. I lean the ladder forward a bit and get to three rungs, then four, now five, each time jumping before it falls. Then it hits me. A ladder too short for against a wall wouldn't make a difference at the middle.
I throw it down and slump to the ground defeated, water at one inch and climbing. No doubt it wouldn't be its greatest achievement to cover the likes of me.
"Hasn't anyone ever told you?" Fantum sprays the air with her venom. "No rest for the wicked!"
"Hasn't anyone ever told you?" I hit the ball back.
"Good. You're a regular comedian. Allow me. I've always wanted to try my hand at that."
And with that the cracks widen. Now I'm up to three inches of water in the blink of an eye. I reach for the ladder but it makes a back flip. Every time I get close, it repeats itself. Soon I am running around the hole, chasing after it until I'm out of breath, unable to snatch opportunity from this disaster because I never learned to swim.
"I don't want to die," I whisper. "I can't die alone in this deep dark hole."
YOU ARE READING
NINE TIME MACHINES: Do you want to undo your entire life on planet earth?
FantasyThere is a war coming! In it, Lilith and the impostor God must battle for all human minds on earth. But one girl can stand in the gap for all humanity. However, to prove worthy for this feat, Mary must begin shadow work to take the mark upon herself...
