The Company

Chapter Twenty-One: Still Breathing

I got to the cliffs in great difficulty. I let the music become a guiding way through. I kept an eye on the walled side of the cliff, terrified of falling. All I could do was carry on.

I was so scared. More scared than the first time or even the second time on the cliffs, even.

I was alone now. It was just me and the Montmerry cliffs now. And my music, of course. That's an important detail.

I'm like child looking off on the horizon...

I looked down at my feet, then to the rocky ceiling of the path. I tried not to let fear get to me, but hey, I am human after all. I sidestepped with my hands balanced against the wall, listening to my music.

I'm like an ambulance that's turning on the sirens...

I was afraid. No, that's not the right word. I was terrified. That's it. Terrified.

Whoa. I'm still alive...

If I could make it this far, I could make it back. I knew I could.

I'm like a soldier coming home for the first time...

I worried about the Homestead. Why'd they leave me behind? Did they think I was dead or something?

I froze. "Am I dead?"

I dodged a bullet and I walked across a landmine...

The weaponry they had stuck in my mind. That wasn't just knives, it was bullets, it was suffocating carpet and grass, it was awful. It was war now. I didn't ask for war. I asked for answers.

Whoa, I'm still alive...

They'd killed so many innocent people. There was no point to this. Why did They jump the gun and just go for killing people? It was illogical. It was so stupid.

Am I bleeding? Am I bleeding from the storm?

I was almost across the cliffs at this point. I noticed a tear in my jeans, bloodstained. I needed to get that checked out soon, and I prayed and prayed that it wasn't from a bullet. If I had the radiation, what would I be at that point? Dead. It didn't burn, so I carried on.

Just shine a light into the wreckage, so far away, away...

I could see the Homestead from here. It looked peaceful. I just hoped everyone was okay.

'Cuz I'm still breathing...

Deep breaths. My asthma was bothering me so much. I'd obviously run too far and too fast. My lungs felt like someone had filled them with way too much gasoline and set them on fire over and over again.

'Cuz I'm still breathing on my own...

I missed having people around. I hated this fearful loneliness. Sure, I spend a lot of time alone, but this was different. It was like when I was in the Darkness. Pre Not-Michael, of course. I was alone, I was scared. I wasn't me.

My head's above the rain and roses; makin' my way, away...

I was still going. If I reached out my hand, I probably could've touched the end of the cliff. I was so close. It was almost over.

Until I made one fatal mistake.

I tripped over a rock. That's what got me. I tripped and went over. I flipped over, head down, right down a slanted part of the cliff.

I'm pretty sure I hit every rock, bush, thorn bush, weed, tree, and small animal on the way down. When I was at the bottom, I was groaning so much I thought a Sasquatch or at least a big bear would come, thinking it was some kind of mating call.