On The Verge

Chapter 4- Calm After the Storm

——————Maddie——————

⠀⠀Paige was not moving; her feet remained planted on the roof's shingles and her eyes her were fixated on the full moon in mesmerization. Her lips trembled as they began to mouth silent words into the night. Nia and Chloe urged her forward, but to no avail.

⠀⠀"Hurry up!" I wispered feircely, my anxiety kicking in. If we did not get out of here soon, someone would see us.

⠀⠀After a moment, Paige finally began walking down the steep roof. Her eyes still penetrated in the direction of the moon, but at least with the help of Nia and Chloe, she began to slowly walk towards the ladder. Paige walked as if she was sleepwalking, her feet shuffling along the old roof.

⠀⠀When she was only a few feet away from the ladder, she suddenly stopped. Her deranged mouthing became more accentuated and her eyes flared. My own eyes widened in surprise. What was happening?

⠀⠀Chloe urgently began pushing Paige forward, in a attempt to get her to climb down the ladder. Chloe's face was a mask of fear that displayed her longing to get as far away from this hospital as possible. As Chloe urged her forward, Paige's eyes flashed once again and she whipped around, pushing Chloe's thin figure away from her.

⠀⠀Nia attempted to calm her down by placing a hand on her shoulder but Paige reacted badly. She swung on her heels to face Nia, her eyes wild and maniacal. Being as close to the edge of the roof as she was, as she spun around she lost her balance.

⠀⠀My breath caught in my throat as I watch as Paige fall.
⠀⠀Down,
⠀⠀Down ,
⠀⠀Down.

⠀⠀She fell off the roof of the sanitarium, her body free falling for a single long second. Her blonde hair streamed behind her as she fell, streaking through the night before she landed with a sickening crack on the damp grass below. Her body lay still, her head fell softly to the side as silence filled the night.

⠀⠀There was a moment where no one moved, no one spoke, no one breathed. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of petrified stillness, Chloe stifled a small sob from her place on the roof. The silence now broken, Nia and Chloe scampered down the ladder, their feet occasionally slipping on the damp metal rungs. Once standing firmly on solid ground, we were quick to find our selves at Paige's motionless side.

⠀⠀Taking charge of the situation I knelt down slowly beside Paige's head. Her hair that had moments ago been cascading through the wind as she fell was now matted to the dewy grass that her head rested upon. I carefully set two fingers over her carotid pulse, feeling for a steady drumming. The cold temperature and clammy texture of the skin on her neck sent waves of panic through my features long before I realized that her skin did not vibrate in time with her pulse.

⠀⠀Nothing in Paige moved; there was no rhythmic pumping of her pulse as her heart sent waves of blood through her veins, her chest did not rise and fall as her lungs took in oxygen, her entire body stayed in its still state.

⠀⠀"She's dead." I whispered hoarsely, my voice unbelieving as a mortified tear slipped down my stricken face.

(A/N: hello to all my new readers!)