Modern Moonacre

Chapter 8

Hey guys! Thank you to everyone who voted and commented on the last two updates. You guys rock! I'm going to try and write a lot of chapters over winter break so that I can try and have weekly updates for you all to read. Also peep the cute Robin on the side. 😉 Without further ado, CHAPTER 8!

With a cursing Robin behind me, I bolted towards the door stumbling as I tripped over a crack in the floor. Frantically I lunged for the doorknob twisting it open in seconds and scrambling out the doorway, slamming the door behind me. I knew that the cut I gave Robin wouldn't keep him occupied for too long so I did the only thing that I knew he wouldn't suspect. I climbed the roof. There wasn't really much of anything that I could see nearby that would help me so I went for the second best option. To rappel up the drainpipe that was near the door. The drainpipe was wet from the light rain that was falling and every time I tried to grasp it my hand slipped back down. I groaned in frustration and stomped my foot. Why did this have to happen to me now of all moments? Forgetting the drain pipe I ran up the side of the house looking for something, anything, that I could use to get to the roof. I could see that there was a windowsill about six feet up in the air and I jumped for it, just barley grasping the edge with my fingers. It was about a foot wide so I lugged my leg up onto it cursing when I underestimated the strength it would take. I hadn't put enough power into it and my leg came swinging back down and my fingers slipped closer the the edge. I grunted, using all my strength now just to keep me from letting go of the ledge. I could feel my muscles tensing up and the rain falling on my fingers was making it harder and harder to keep ahold.

All of a sudden the back door slammed open with a bang and I heard a frenzied yell along with multiple pairs of footsteps.

"She can't have gone far. Find her before she gets hurt." A worried Robin demanded as his band of boys ran out into the forest.

"Stupid girl, should've stayed were you were." I heard Robin mutter under his breath. He started to stalk around the house and I knew I had to hurry.

I used the last of the energy I had left and swung my leg up onto the windowsill again, latching the toe of my boot onto the lock on the window and bracing my fingers between the window and the ledge. Then I hurled the rest of my body up onto the ledge pushing my back against the side of the well and my feet into the other side to keep me steady. I let out a gurgled sigh of relief as I took a second to steady my shaking legs. When I stood up again I reached for the shingled slant of the roof dismayed when I realized I couldn't reach it.

"Princess, come out, come out, wherever you are!" I heard Robins taunting voice call out through the darkness.

I gritted my teeth and jumped for the roof, wincing as the rest of my body slammed into the side of the house. I could feel the pain searing through my body, but I went on through it because anything would be better than having to go back into that house with Robin. This time it was relatively easier to swing my legs onto the roof because the distance was smaller than the first ledge, and I could feel a shot of adrenaline purse down my veins. I finally pulled my rain soaked body onto the roof and grasped the shingles in relief.

"Ahh Princess, going somewhere?" I squinted and blinked my eyes rapidly to see though the heavy rain. Shit, it was Robin.

"How did you even get up there?" He questioned, smiling like a dork.
"Quite a large jump if you ask me?"

"Leave me alone you oaf!" I demanded gripping the shingles tighter as the rain pelted down on my already wet and slippery hands.

"As you wish." Robin smirked, "You've got to come down sometime or later. I'll be waiting." He gave me one final look and walked off leaving me hanging for my life on the roof.

Words could not describe how irritated and frustrated I was at that moment. I screamed into the wind and banged my head against the shingles.

"Get yourself together, damn it." I mumbled under my breath. "You just have to make it to the top of the roof and then wait the storm out until morning and then you can run for it."

I struggled to pull my wind bitten body up even a few inches. Then I used all of my strength to lunge for the peak of the roof with my right hand. It slipped and I screamed as I started to slide down the roof. For two whole seconds I was horrified as I slipped closer and closer to the edge of the roof. Then I snapped out of the trance and I grabbed wildly at anything I could reach. There was a pipe vent about a foot away and I gasped at it, my fingers slipping on the rubber but I held a steel grip on that thing. Sheer dumb luck if you ask me. Determined to get to the top of the roof I started to climb again. The roof wasn't too steep, but it was slippery from the rain and with only shingles to hold on to climbing was difficult. Nevertheless I wasn't going to let anything stop me from getting to the top of that roof so I pushed through it.

It took a while, but soon I was at the top again. So I decided that my next move would be to make it to the chimney sticking out of the roof. I could lean against it while waiting for morning to come. I started to sideways climb, shimmying my way across the roof towards the chimney. It took longer than expected and I was exhausted from only using my upper body strength for the past twenty minutes.

I propped my fatigued body up against the tall stack of bricks and breathed heavily, my chest heaving up and down relentlessly. I shivered. Now that I had stopped moving and the adrenaline had made it's way out of my system I was freezing. My whole body shook and I pulled my knees up to my chest to stay warm. I stuffed my arms into my shirt and I breathed on my hands trying to get some warmth back into them. With no luck I sat there shivering, watching the rain pelt around me and drum down on the roof. There was no sense in crying. It would just make me feel worse, and colder. I brought my head down in between my legs and sat in agony, waiting for the sun to rise.

(Robin's POV)

I was sitting in the trees surrounding the house. Sheltered from the pounding rain I had been watching her the whole time. She was curled up on the roof against the chimney. Her small figure almost blended in with the chimney but I could still see her. She was shaking like a leaf and I knew she had to be in pain but she chose to be stubborn.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid." I muttered under my breath. Lodging my knife into it's sheath, I stood up and started to walk, using the forest as my cover.