Tell No One

Chapter 30

Kiera found floor 84. Fittingly, the underlining of the big painted 84 was black. Looking up, she could see that there was only one more landing above her. The door for 84 was black too, made of wood. There would be no sealing it with fire. Instead, Kiera considered simply collapsing the portion of the staircase leading to floor 84. She could feel the strain her powers were taking on with the men all the way at the bottom, and at that distance, it was draining. To collapse it, she was going to have to revoke her strength there. Taking a deep breath, Kiera let up. She peered over the bannister as several people fell through, before pulling themselves upright again. Kiera quickly got to work, ripping the concrete downwards, pulling landing 84 to sit in a heap on 83. Opening the door, she found that the room beyond was made of the same granite as far below, the walls a deep mahogany. Walking further in, the room opened out to display a receptionist's desk, a monitor and a swivel chair seated at it. There was, however, no receptionist. Next to the desk, was a pair of huge oak doors, which took up most of the wall. The brass handles were painted gold, shining against the expanse of wood.  Trying the door, it was locked. No matter. Pushing all her mental energy in front of the door, Kiera exploded it inwards. She was surprised to see that half the wall came with it, the door interlocking into the wall to keep from being opened. Only, this was Kiera we were talking about. But the door was a good sign. It meant that Schadenfreude was still here, holed up here like a rat. Thinking about it, he was probably told to stay up here, as bait. Up here, she was trapped. 
Kiera found the room deserted. It was clearly a living room, furniture scattered about the place.  The far wall was made of glass, giving a breathtaking view of the city below. Moving on, Kiera opened the next door and was surprised to find a smart looking woman casually sitting in an armchair. The glass wall continued to this room, and complimented with high ceilings, the space felt huge. There was no other furniture.

"Schadenfreude." The woman looked up from where she was staring through the window, a teacup in her hand. The steam curled by her mouth, and even from this distance, Kiera could see her eyes widen. 
Kiera started walking over, pushing purpose into her stride. Her walk was predatory, her form lithe and coiled, her righteous anger coming off in waves. The air around her positively crackled, and as the woman watched in obvious alarm as Kiera drew nearer. She stood up, pushing her chair from underneath her in her haste. Kiera's face, however, was stoic, emotionless as she continued her one tracked line of thought.
"They told me the doors were impenetrable." She faced Kiera down, her eyes wide as she watched her come ever closer. Her voice had a slight germanic lilt, her 'th' sounding more like a z.

"Well, they weren't." Kiera wasn't expecting a woman, but she did not let that faze her. Taking the last few steps, Schadenfreude took a clumsy step back, falling over her chair and onto the floor. Kiera suppressed a mild laugh as she looked over her cowardly form. Her hands were splayed behind her, holding her up as she fearfully looked at Kiera. Kiera did not allow her face to change. She didn't smile. She didn't frown. She didn't let her face change as she casually moved the chair to the side with her foot.  Schadenfreude was shaking, tremors wracking her body, her eyes tearful.

"Please, Kiera. Don't." Kiera didn't react. Crouching down, Schadenfreude let out a large gulp as Kiera reached forward to grab her throat. The sun was beginning its gradual descent into the sky and the edges of Schadenfreude's hair were tinged a glowing yellow, almost in a mock imitation of a halo. She knew better to resist.

Framed by the city's backdrop, Kiera judged Schadenfreude. She wasn't what she expected, but yet Kiera knew better than anyone else that appearances couldn't be relied upon. Feeling the soft skin under her hand, Kiera squeeze, the neck beneath giving a gentle pop as Schadenfreude's body went completely limp. She laid her gently to rest on the granite, her hair pooling on the floor around her head. Her eyes looked upwards, towards the bustling city, her mouth open and aghast as in astonishment that she was in fact dead. Standing, Kiera could faintly hear the sounds of pounding feet coming from the door where she came in. She guessed all there was now to do was wait- but that seemed like such an unsatisfying end to her legacy. Resigned, she began exploring the apartment, surprised to find a ladder upon opening a seemingly inconspicuous door at the back of a closet. Kiera closed the closet door, shrouding the small space in darkness, before climbing up.

***
Alana had run quite a way. Chris found himself panting when he finally rounded a corner to see that the pavements had spilt out to a spacious square. He could see the Tower directly centre, stretching to the sky. But more importantly, he could see Alana, towards the front of the crowd, looking up. He could tell a few people were giving her some weird looks, and he quickly pushed his way to the front, thankful that she had stopped. 
As he worked his way to the front, he finally registered that the public had been sectioned off, security tape in place to keep them back. Beyond that, he could see a few official looking vehicles dotted about, and more importantly, the place was absolutely swarming with police and army. Finally coming to stand next to Alana, he stared inquisitively at her. Her eyes brightly shone at him, a smile on his face. 
"Oh, hey Chris." Chris wasn't sure how to respond. Noticing the goosebumps raised along her arms, he quickly shredded his hoodie, wrapping it around her shoulders. Alana didn't register it, and Chris quickly followed her gaze upwards to see what had her so entranced. Way up high, he could make out a black blur standing on the edge of the roof all those 84 stories up.

"It's about to start." Chris didn't question Alana's cryptic dialogue, instead just relieved that she had stopped running. A few moments later, he heard Darren come up as well, breathing heavily as he steadied himself by placing a hand on Chris's shoulder.
"Jeez, Alana," he wheezed between breaths, "What's gotten into-" This time it was Chris who spoke. He didn't fully understand what was going on but felt that something big was about to happen. 

"Darren," Chris said his name sternly, before placing a finger to his own lips. He then gazed at the point that had Alana so entranced, and he could feel Darren look too. He placed a protective arm around Alana, grasping her shoulder. Looking up, all they could do was wait.

***

Kiera stood on the very edge of the gravelled rooftop. Glancing over, she could see the hoards of people below, filling the square. She could also see the forces entailed to catch her, their vans and trucks parked just out front. 
She allowed a toe to slip just slightly closer to the edge. The air here was chilly, colder than on the ground, a sign that winter was well on its way. It was windy, too, the air's fingers threading themselves through her hair, tugging it in all directions. Kiera let out a deep breath, and it hung in the air like a low-flung cloud before dispersing. She wondered if it would hurt, but then reminded herself that pain was not infinite. This height, she'd be dead pretty much as soon as she made contact with the ground, her death a gruesome spectacle to the observers below. 

Ironic, she thought, to die much like my own mother. Steeling her resolve, Kiera was about to take that fatal step forwards when suddenly, she stumbled back from the edge to look for him. And sure enough, Mera was standing there, his hands in his trouser pockets as he watched her.
"Were you going to say anything?" Mera didn't reply right away. In the setting sun, Mera's eyes seemed to sparkle. Whereas Kiera had much thought his eyes as an endless charcoal, she could make out glitters of red in the depths.

"So this is it." Kiera saw how he deflected her question, but what would it matter anyway. Pointing her gaze to the horizon, away from Mera, Kiera gazed out onto the sprawling city. Whether he said anything before she stepped off didn't matter. He would be seeing her at the bottom anyway. He was her constant through all this, the only certainty through all her struggles. Facing back to Mera, she replied.

"Yes, this is." Her voice was breathy, too soon stolen by the wind. Mera gave her an empathetic smile. As he retracted his hands from his pockets, Kiera noticed he was back to wearing his leather gloves. Holding his arms in a welcoming gesture, Kiera didn't hesitate a moment before barreling into him, grasping him tight against her. He hugged her back equally as hard, wrapping his arms close around her back. As Kiera pushed her face into his chest, Mera placed his cheek upon her head, in an effort to be soothing.

Withdrawing, Kiera didn't fully break the embrace as she looked up at Mera, her eyes brimming. 
"Will it hurt?" Kiera knew it wouldn't be so bad, but she needed to hear it from him.

"No, of course not." His smile was loving, nurturing even, and Kiera finally found the strength to pull away. This time she confidently walked to the edge. She peered down once, before looking back at Mera. He smiled back encouragingly. Kiera felt her heels on the precipice.

"Wish me a happy landing." Mera only laughed, and he carried on laughing as Kiera tipped over the side.