Judges

Chapter Eighteen

1994

What I'm really worried about is that they might not be able to erase this.

"That's what he said."

I leave out the part about being unable to erase some things.

"So, what, they just erase you from my mind? You can't do that!"

"They can, and they will, and there's nothing I can do about it. I technically wasn't supposed to tell you about everything, really. People aren't supposed to be aware of us."

"Well, you can be sure I'm good."

"I know. It's just not really my objective to study you."

"And who are you judging?" He leans in closer, and I laugh.

"I'm still not allowed to tell you that."

"Okay, fine... But if I'm going to forget you, I want to do everything now. I want to make this worth it."

"What, you're not upset? I thought you would be more upset about totally forgetting about me."

"Of course I'm upset, maybe, but I know I won't forget you really. They can't make me forget you."

He stands up.

"Let's go on the Grim Reaper. I want you to ride my favorite ride, before you go."

He finishes his pastry and I sip the last of my coffee, and we walk together to the Grim Reaper as my hair blows in the wind. I notice the air is getting colder, and I rub my hands together as we approach the gigantic ride. We stand in line, and I begin to shake.

Jared wraps his arms around me, and I warm up, and without saying a single word, he takes off his jacket and puts it on me.

"No, it's okay."

"No, I don't want you to be cold. Please take it."

I wrap it around me, and I hug him. I know I shouldn't, but I want to.

"What?" He says slowly.

"Let's just get on the ride. I'm excited," I murmur, letting go of him and moving past onto the car, where I strap myself in and avoid meeting his eye.

The ride waits for everyone to be strapped in with the flimsy leather seatbelts, then we move forward and up the incline, then suddenly spiraling down from the raised platform where we started. I scream, and we head up again as the locks click on the tracks and the chain pulls us skyward once again. We go up into a spiral loop and all of a sudden- the chain stops pulling. The ride freezes and we are hanging upside down in midair. The straps holding us aren't meant to support this kind of weight, and the wheels of the cart are locked in place to keep us from moving into the downhill acceleration.

People start to realize that there is something wrong with the ride. They start screaming, and shrieking, and people walking under the coaster suddenly look up. Fear radiates from their faces, I can see it from a hundred feet up. A lady wearing an ugly pink shirt sitting two rows up begins to cry.

"Are we... stuck?" I ask, even though I already know the answer. I try to grab onto the handbars in front of me, but my hands are sweaty and they slip off the bar.

"T-this has never happened before," Jared stutters, as a man a row behind us begins calling for help.

I can see the ground courtyard that we are hanging over, the trees and plants and benches neatly arranged in a circle where there is a lot of shade and happy children running in the fountain. I feel calm until suddenly my weight shifts and the strap holding my legs begins to rip, first slowly, then suddenly the fabric comes clean off the metal and my legs are suddenly loose.

My torso is still secured, though not for long.

I try to grab the bar once again as blood rushes to my head and suddenly it's hard to think and everything starts to spin. I see Jared is having the same problem and he groans as the wind begins to blow. The ride needs to move before I slip completely out of my straps.

I slide up in my seat and my body drops for a second, and I shriek without even thinking. Jared grabs my hand, and everything seems to be happening in slow motion.

People are screaming below us. "Stay calm! We're fixing the ride, give us a minute!" They shout even louder. "Ma'am, please, stay calm!"

I might not have a minute, if these straps fail me.

Jared notices my legs and starts to shout.

"Hurry, hurry! She's falling!"

If only they can get the ride going, we can twist right side up again and I won't be in any real danger anymore, but I only have thirty seconds at best. All my weight is being supported by two worn straps, and the one supporting my left begins to tear.

"Help!"

"Grab my hand!"

My hands start to slip and the strap starts to pop.

It rips in two.

I swing downward, only held by the remaining flimsy strap and Jared's clammy hand, and my legs dangle downward. The people below scream and run, and children's eyes are covered.

The fabric comes apart and my arm is ripped from Jared's, and I plummet, Jared screams something I don't hear as blood pumps and adrenaline runs through my veins.

If I die, will this girl's body die too?

All light becomes a blur as gravity gets the best of me. I'm falling fast. I shut my eyes and wait for impact, maybe Jared won't see my body on the ground.

I wait, and it doesn't come.

I slowly open my eyes, and just like in a dream, I'm hovering an inch above the pavement, with my nose a centimeter away from the ground. I'm spread eagled parallel to the hard concrete patio, and the world is frozen.

A woman with her baby stands a yard away, holding the child and turning away from me, but she stands completely still. The baby doesn't move a muscle, doesn't make a sound. The mother appears to be screaming at the top of her lungs, but there is no noise.

A man, a few more yards away, is completely still, waiting in line for a drink at the restaurant, and people dining there are frozen.

The entire park has stopped moving.

I try to stand, and realize that I can move. I stand up and walk quietly to the lady with her child, and I tap the woman softly on the shoulder. No response. She isn't even aware of what is happening.

Something is off, though.

I think this must be some kind of glitch, some mistake, and it seems like the work of Alastair. I have to find a way to unfreeze time though, and figure out how to explain exactly how I survived to the witnesses afterward. Everyone on the roller coaster saw me fall, and so did all the workers and all the visitors on the patio and courtyard, and I'm positive there were people who saw me in the restaurant.

I stop because I hear something, a faint noise from the other end of the courtyard.

It's the fountain. The beautiful fountain is still running. The water has stopped coming out of the spouts, but it is still flowing in the basin and it reflects the sunlight. Everything is still except for me and this water.

I decide to explore, to see the park while everything is motionless, and I stick my hand in the clear blue water just to feel it, to see if it is real.

My hand freezes.

The water runs up my arm, and suddenly gravity reverses for me and the fountain, and I drift off into the sky with the water rushing onto my skin and making me freeze.

I don't remember anything after that.