Forest of Rope

Chapter 18

31 Dec  

23:49

The harsh winter air stung at their exposed flesh as they made their way through the unlocked pedestrian entrance. Vincent led the way slowly and carefully. All of his movements were calculated with rigid precision. There could be no room for mistakes tonight.

Trailing behind, were his remaining followers, eleven to be exact. They moved across the rusted passageway smoothly and silently, exactly as rehearsed.

Two-hundred and forty-five feet below, the SS Golden View was dead in the water. The gathering aboard paid little mind to what was going on above. They simply mingled amongst themselves, nipped at their complimentary shrimp-cocktails and slow-danced across the wide and spacious deck. Spotlights fixed to the ship’s stern fingered the starless skies, occasionally highlighting one of the towers above.

23:54

Perched high behind a railing, Vincent watched the party boat with an eager eye. If he strained his ears he could almost pick up the band music over the raucous, ear-splitting winds. A young woman positioned beside him gave Vincent an uncertain look. Their esteemed leader hadn’t spoken a word all evening. For all his big-talk and rousing speeches, there was precious little to inspire them tonight. It was as if his confidence had already died.

23:57

‘Get into position,’ he murmured aloud after a precautious glance at his wristwatch. He refused to look anyone in the eye as he stepped up against the barrier. His followers followed suit, lining up in unison, bracing against the bleak horizon impassively.

Meanwhile, the party attendants prepared for their countdown. Vincent continued to observe the congregation below with contempt.

‘Drink. Dance. Fuck. Rinse and repeat...’

It never changes...

He shook his head repugnantly as they crowded around the deck stage, appearing as insects from such a towering height.

23:58

Whatever temporal joys existed in Vincent’s world, no matter how sweet or beautiful, tempting or lasting, they were not enough to stop him from stepping forward and clamouring over the barrier.

Now there was nothing between him and the flat, jagged surface of the ocean. He struggled to keep his footing on the inch of tarmac available to him and had to compensate by gripping the handrail so tightly that it hurt.

‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ an amplified voice announced cordially from the SS Golden View. It resonated across the mist-clouded bay like a siren call. ‘We are one minute away from the new millennium!’

23:59

The voice was greeted by a bout of cheers and applause. Several guests began accepting glasses of champagne like nobody’s business and dispersed over to either side of the ship to wait.

At one side, the gaping maw of the Pacific stretched on for an eternity, and at the other, the magnificent structure of the Golden Gate Bridge towered above, unlit for the moment, ready to explode in a magnificent display of fireworks at the stroke of midnight.

Wincing from the burn of his panicked heartbeat, Vincent took one last look at the empty highway behind him and at the empty faces of his loyal followers.

‘Ten!’

The voices below began to chant. The moment had come. No going back.

‘Nine!’

As the world looks ahead to another millennium of misery...

‘Eight!’

...We, shall be free.

Vincent let out a violent outtake of air, fighting to keep himself still.

‘Seven!’

He started to drum his fingers against the handrail in attempt to steady his trembling.

‘Six!’

Everything was spinning. The crushing pressure made him sick. Every muscle in his body betrayed him, holding on to a meaningless existence for dear life. But not for long.

‘Five!’

A noise below distracted him from his nausea.

‘Four!’

It was the sound of the safety net ripping apart. Exactly what he’d paid for.

‘Three!’

He caught a glimpse of it falling away, so far away into the shadowed depths. He began to lean forward on the heels of his shoes so that he could face his fate head on.

‘Two!

Somewhere to his right he heard the sound of someone violently retching and suddenly felt the need to make a final gesture of his own.

‘Alexis-’ he began, addressing the blackness tenderly. 

‘One!’

An unearthly roar throttled them all by surprise, even though they had all known what was coming. The first of the fireworks erupted from the steel foundations, bathing the scene in a crimson-red glow.

‘Happy new year!’

When the bridge lit up with a cacophony of bangs, the clapping and cheering didn’t last for long. The moment all eleven of them were exposed, the night became wrought with screams and confused yells. 

The passengers watched in shock as they jumped, dropping like stones, one after another.

It wasn’t very swift or coordinated.

They had not been organised or choreographed like the firework display which raged on around them, indifferent to the horror taking place.

All they knew was that life was too short to worry about presentation.

Life was too short full stop.