'Black and White' - The White Bridge Crime Series 2 - LGBT, manXman

7

(One Week Later)

He could hear a loud clacking ringing in his ears.

He opened his eyes, and found himself in an uncomfortable bench, thick padded shoulder straps pinning him to the seat.

Looking around, he saw people stood behind a rope barrier, most of them looking impatient.

Frowning, he turned around to face forwards, and gasped in a breath in horror. He was strapped into the front seat of a rollercoaster. The smooth, red track stretched out in front of him, disappeared out of the station to the left in a smooth downwards curve.

"No, wait!" He protested, finding his voice. "I need to get off. I can't-"

The car started moving before he could finish his sentence.

"Oh, God." He whimpered.

He squeezed his eyes shut, feeling his stomach jolt as the car slid down the track.

He heard a loud clack, and felt the car judder as the chain lift fastened underneath his seat and began hoisting him higher.

He gripped the bars around his shoulders tightly, feeling his grip slipping because of his sweaty palms.

He kept his eyes tightly shut, feeling a scream building in his throat.

The car jolted its way higher and higher, a never-ending climb.

As the car climbed, he was taken with the urge to open his eyes.

Don't be stupid. He told himself firmly. You're terrified of heights. Just keep your eyes shut, and everything will be fine.

The urge returned, stronger than before.

Keep them shut. He growled to himself.

Against his will, his eyes slowly opened.

He fought off the urge to vomit.

He was high... very high... Almost a hundred feet up and still climbing.

A soft whimper escaped his throat.

He could see small buildings far below, and even smaller people.

He couldn't breathe.

His heart was thundering against his ribs, painfully pounding.

Finally, the car stopped climbing.

He fought to close his eyes as the steep drop approached, but found he couldn't.

The ground was so far away.

He started to tremble, his hands shaking violently, almost knocking his glasses askew as he gripped the shoulder bars.

He hated heights.

He was going to kill Lucy. It had to have been her who'd somehow coaxed him onto this death-trap.

She was always teasing him about his phobia. She said it was pathetic.

It's not pathetic. He thought desperately. It's real. It's terrifying.

The car ground to a halt, hanging over the edge of the drop.

He whimpered when he was left dangling over, the steel track falling away two hundred feet below him.

He heard the chain click loudly as the car was released.

For an awful moment, the car hung suspended on the track, before it started to fall

 He opened his mouth to scream-

And found himself on his bed.

His heart would pounding in his chest, painfully.

He was sweating, and shivering.

It was a dream. He told himself thankfully.

He tried to raise his hand to brush his fringe away from his forehead, and found he couldn't move.

With a soft whimper, he struggled against the bonds that were securing his wrists and arms.

Oh God, no. He whimpered again. That guy. The one on the news-

"Excellent," a low voice behind him said. "Interesting. You didn't react like the others."

Henry McCoy shivered at the pleasure in the man's voice.

"What do you mean?"

"They others just went... still. Scared stiff, so to speak. You, however, were very good to watch." The voice chuckled.

"What do you want?" Henry whispered.

The man didn't answer.

Instead, Henry watched from the corner of his eye as a red rose was placed on his pillow.

Oh God. Henry started struggling against his bonds. He's going to kill me, like he killed the others. Help!

Henry drew in a breath as started screaming, just as he felt the man straddle his hips.

"No. Please, no." Henry whimpered, trying to twist free from the belts securing him to the bed.

He screamed again as the man pushed into him.

The man's large fist slammed into Henry's ribs, knocking the air from his lungs, silencing his screams.

Thick fingers yanked his head up from the pillow.

He saw the gleam of shining stainless steel from the corner of his eye.

Henry McCoy drew a breath, but was dead before he could scream.