Death City (Book 1)

Chapter 8: Disintegration

Dawn had never truly contemplated her own death. Until this very moment, of course,  it was not something she wanted to think about. But she did not exactly fear death in the way that many do either. The concept made sense to her; all living things must one day come to an end. It was the actual process of dying frightened her. Oblivion. Losing everything that makes her who she is. 

And as she fell down into the depths of the narrow, abyss-like ravine for what felt like an eternity, these thoughts, among a plethora of others flooded her mind. If only she hadn't been so reckless, so impulsive. But today wasn't like most days. Today was where it ended, she thought. At least she got to meet her friends again, and just maybe, what could have been her first true love in Rain.

Her eyes closed shut as tight as possible and she braced for the worst. Seconds later she felt the impact of landing back on the earth. Oddly enough, it did not hurt and she seemed to be levitating. Was that it? Had her spirit transcended earth before she suffered the fall onto the canyon base? As her senses returned to her, Dawn began to realize that she was still very much alive. She wasn't levitating at all—she was being carried. 

Slowly, she opened her eyes to see the striking yellow eyes of Rain staring back, deeply into hers. Dawn lifted her head up to see that she was being held by Rain, who had apparently caught her as she fell. Kneeling on the ground, he gently held Dawn, resting her head in his arm. He had her thighs resting on his left knee, while holding her legs above the nearby stream.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Y-yeah...Thank you..." It took Dawn a moment before she could utter these words. She was still very much in shock from her near fatal accident, but even more in disbelief at Rain's actions.

Rain smiled and nodded firmly. "Please don't run off like that again. You could have been seriously hurt, Dawn."

He gently placed Dawn's feet back on the rocks and helped her to stand up. Once she was back on her feet again, she adjusted her skirt and hair.

"I'm sorry Rain, but how exactly did you save me? This ravine is over twenty feet deep. I'm pretty sure we should both be dead."

Rain casually shrugged. "I guess I just got lucky."

"That's crazy talk! You don't even have a single scratch on you. How could you have caught me like that?" Her eyes were wide with concern, but also with fear. Unrelenting, she walked closer to Rain forcing him to look at her.

"Dawn, I don't know what to tell you. Do you suspect I have superpowers or something? It was luck."

"Well no, but..." She shook her head and raised her hand to it. "Something about you...I don't know. Maybe I'm just shaken up. You have to admit though, that was a pretty wild thing to do."

"I don't know what I'd have done if I lost you. I couldn't let that happen. So, I acted."

Dawn wrapped her arms around Rain's back and pressed her body against his, hugging him tightly.

"Thank you."

"Come on. Let's get you home."

Late in the afternoon, after departing from the ravine, Rain walked Dawn to her house. Still in bewilderment over his seemingly superhuman actions, she attempted to press him for answers. While nothing said quite satisfied her, as he cleverly diverged her questions, she did learn more about learn more about his life, including his rich experiences as a child traveling the world in places such as Tokyo, London, and South Africa. She was fascinated with the tales of his many adventures and had nearly forgotten all about her accident. He had a way of doing that. They would soon arrive in her neighborhood just as the sun had begun setting. Rain stopped short at her doorstep as she turned around to part with him.