Shadowteer

Chapter 24

"Manon?! MANO-"

"I'm down here!" He looked down, his mouth hanging open. Manon had fallen off a cliff as Papillon had predicted. He placed his hands on his head, at a loss for words for a moment. "Uh... Chris? HELP!"

He winced when she slipped further. She was holding on to a branch but it wasn't going to last for much longer. Not to mention it was raining. He set out a plan quickly. He took off his hoodie, belt and trousers, tying them together securely to make a chain. He wrapped his legs around a tree and braced himself. "Grab on Manon!" He lowered it down to her. She looked at the chain doubtfully.

"Are you sure it will- AH!" The branch gave way and she held on to the pant leg of his trouser for dear life. It took some time for him to adjust to her weight and then they just stayed there in that exact position for hours. Neither one could get a wink of rest. If Manon relaxed for just a moment, her hold would slip and she would plummet down into the darkness. Chris had no chance of sleeping either. The rain, the wet mud sloshing about his body and Manon's weak sobs kept him awake. He wasn't much of a sleeper, anyway.

As the sun began to rise in the woods, Chris heard a faint voice. At first, he thought it was Manon in his grogginess and ignored it but then he realised it couldn't have been her. He looked up and tried to scream but His voice was worn out and it came out as a small whisper. His hold wasn't too strong and he could tell hers was slipping as well. "Manon? Are you still alive?! Manon?! Hello-"

"I'm here Chris. I'm alive. Still alive." There was a hint of sadness in her voice. A sort of hopelessness.

"We're gonna get out of this. I swear-"

"Don't make promises you can't keep. I've had enough of that from my mother. I can't- can't hold on much longer..."

"Yes. Yes you can. If I can do it, so can you!" It had stopped raining earlier that morning so they didn't have to strain their ears to hear each other. "Don't lose hope Manon. Someone will come find us-"

"I'm tired Chris. I'm... so... tire- WOAH- I'm okay." He let out a sigh of relief and cursed. He summoned all his energy and yelled. It wasn't very loud but it was something. "No need to shout. I welcome death. Maybe it's just my time. Maybe Papillon was right. Maybe... Maybe I should just let go so you can find your way out of here. Then you can live for both of u-"

"Shut up, shut up,  SHUT UP! YOU ARE NOT GONNA DIE!" She sighed and hung on weakly. It couldn't get any worse than this. For a second, she wondered if she could let go. Manon was a Christian who had been brought up to believe that people who committed suicide would go to hell. She wasn't sure if she believed it but it spooked her all the same. But would it really be suicide if she just... let go?

"CHRIS! MANON!" She heard voices from the top of the cliff. Soon enough she was being pulled up and finally, she reached the surface. She let out a sigh of relief and slumped, feeling strong arms around her. She buried her face into Chris' chest, struggling to hold in her tears. The others remained silent around them. They needed time to adjust, clearly.

"Christopher Lahiffe, how does it feel to have saved this young girl's life?" Chris did a double take when Manon's mother shoved a microphone in his face. He tried to answer but his voice was weak and he broke down into a rough coughs. He was dirty and tired and boy did he want to kill Papillon at that exact moment. Manon was safe though. That was what mattered. He continued to hold her with tears in his eyes.

"She's alive. It feels... wonderful." Manon swallowed a bit. Bloody British accent. She pulled away and tried not to look at her mother who was facing the camera. She waited for them to finish before tapping her.

"Did anyone else come? Nino or Alya or the Agrestes? Anyone?"

"No dear. I'm happy you're alive." Manon smiled a little, reaching out to hug her mother. She stopped her with an apologetic smile on her face. "I still have to present later today.'

"Oh." She tried to hide her disappointment but Nadia clearly saw her face fall. "Why didn't you tell them?"

"There was no time. They'll find out on the news. Also, you should be careful. Words going around that Christopher Lahiffe is back in Paris and people are actually starting to notice." Manon scoffed, sceptical.

"After all these weeks?" Her mother shrugged. She watched her leave with her news crew and sighed. "Chris, my mother just told me that Parisians are noticing you."

'Oh." He rubbed the back of his neck and sucked in a breath. After what he had just gone through, he was really not in the mood to go back to the paparazzi and autographs and crazy fangirls he got thanks to his brother's fame. Sure he was happy for Nino but it was hard to deal with it all.

"Do you wanna stay here?" He looked up, surprised. Did she read my mind or something? A smile broke out on his face before he could stop it.

"I would like that."