by Chris Babu
I know.
Because it was on a long table. The Bureau gave them the table to cross the chasm.
“Charlie!” Drayden yelled. “Give me a hand with this table.”
Charlie ran over. “It’s way too short. Can’t be more than ten feet long and the gap has gotta be twenty.”
“I know, but it’s a picnic table, it has planks, maybe we can extend it or something.” They each grasped an end to pick it up. “Let’s tip it over so we can see the bottom.”
As soon as they lifted, the table fell into two long halves.
“What the…?” Charlie muttered. He held one side while the other laid on the ground.
The table featured all sorts of intricate bolts and fasteners on its bottom.
Drayden glanced at the steel wall.
Thirty yards away now.
“Catrice!” Drayden shouted. “Can you help? Charlie, you and Sid play around with that one! See if you can unfold it.”
That was why the tables were so big and clunky throughout the Initiation. So this one wouldn’t stand out. If the tables had been small all along and this one was huge, it would have been obvious. Drayden loosened a bolt on one of the top pieces of the picnic table. He swung the board all the way around, extending it.
The former half-table top was now twice as long, and half as wide. There was a slight kink to the side where the two pieces met.
Charlie watched, and did the same on his half. Catrice undid one of the legs, and folded it down. They loosened, twisted, swung, and extended legs and pieces until each half of the table transformed into a stretched plank. Each one was jagged, narrow, and uneven, but a walkable plank nonetheless. Fully expanded, each reached about twenty-five feet long, and six inches across. More than long enough to reach across the chasm.
“How do we get them across the gap?” Sidney asked.
Drayden pondered it for a moment, both hands atop his hat. “We need to stand them up on their ends, right at the edge, and tip them across. We’ll hold the ends firm so they don’t fall into the hole when they slam down on the other side.”
While Alex and Catrice hung back, Drayden, Sidney, and Charlie lugged the first plank to the edge. They stood it on its end. The plank swayed and wobbled from the wind. All three of them struggled to stabilize it.
“Charlie,” Drayden said, “you and Sid hold the bottom. Don’t let it slide into the chasm. I’m going to tip it forward.”
Drayden gently shoved the board, and then held it the best he could, though it fell too forcefully to slow. It tipped slowly at first, and then accelerated, crashing toward the far side of the platform, like a tree falling in the park. It slammed down with a loud bang, bouncing a few times. Charlie and Sidney held it firm, and it stayed up on the platform. They took the second plank, started ten feet to the right of the first, and repeated the process. Both lengthy, narrow boards granted a precarious path to the other side, with barely over a foot to spare on each end.
While narrow, the boards were quite thick. They should support a person’s weight, even in the center. Dashing across without falling off, given the winds, posed an entirely different problem, however. He peered back at the moving wall.
Twenty yards away. Time remaining: 00:03:45, 00:03:44…
Drayden clapped his hands. “No time to sit and get scared. We have less than four minutes left. We have to go one at a time on each plank, because I don’t think they can support more than one person. It’s going to be incredibly hot, even like we’re burning, but we have to take it. Between the wind and the rickety boards, it’ll be hell to balance. We have no choice. Get across any way you can. Crawl if you have to, as long as you get across fast. As soon as you make it, go through that door. Don’t wait. Better that some of us pass than nobody. Catrice and Sidney are going first.”
Time might run out, and Drayden cared about the girls more than he did Charlie or Alex. Plus, Alex couldn’t be trusted to go first. It would be simple to push the planks into the chasm, leaving the others to die.
“Whoa, whoa, there, cowboy,” Alex said. “You can be a hero if you want, but I’m going first.”
Drayden balled his hands into fists and got in Alex’s face. “You’re going last. You’ve been useless so far. If it wasn’t for Catrice, Sid, me, and Charlie, you’d be outside the walls right now.” He grabbed Alex by his shirt. “That’s it, Alex. End of story. You want to fight me again over it?” Drayden shoved him.
Alex curled his lip and his face turned red. He grunted in anger.
Catrice approached Drayden, her eyes crazed. “I’m scared, Drayden.”
He looked her straight in the eyes, and said firmly, “You can do this. Like you’ve done everything else so far. Crawl on your hands and knees. It’s only twenty feet. It’ll be over before you know it. Hang on tight, focus on your balance, don’t be surprised by a gust of air, and don’t look down past the board at the chasm. You’ve almost made it, Catrice. Don’t give up now. This is what you want. Two minutes and you’re there.” He placed his hands on her cheeks and kissed her forehead, pulling her into a hug.
Sidney hugged Charlie, and they fist bumped each other. She closed her eyes and made the sign of the cross with her right hand. She and Catrice stepped up to the walkways.
“Charlie,” Drayden said. “You hold that one, and I’ll hold this one. Just to ensure they don’t fall off or something.”
Charlie nodded. He knelt and secured Sidney’s plank.
Catrice glanced back once more, locking eyes with Drayden. She climbed onto the plank on her knees, gripping it tight with her hands. She crawled forward a foot, then screamed.
“What is it?” Drayden asked.
She looked back, crying, breathing rapidly, her eyes crazed. “It’s too hot! I’m burning!” she shrieked.
Drayden felt for her. Unfortunately, there was no time. “Go, Catrice! Go. Make it across!”
Smoke swirled, embers of fire flitting through the air like fireflies. Catrice’s wispy blonde locks blew wildly to one side as a gust of wind blasted her. She collapsed onto her chest and hugged the plank. She screamed again, freezing five feet out. Sidney fared better. She walked crouched down, on her feet, but balanced using her hands. Her face glowed bright red, and she struggled to breathe between the smoke and wind. Her eyes tearing, she hit the midpoint.
“Catrice! Get up! Keep moving!” Drayden shouted. His eyes watered. While on the platform he could wipe them. Out there, he couldn’t without lifting a hand off the board. He glanced back.
The wall continued to advance toward them, now only fifteen yards away.
Catrice propped back up on her knees and crawled slowly, making one movement at a time. Her hair swirled in the turbulent wind. Sidney reached the three-quarter mark. Both girls erupted in coughing fits.
“Attagirl, Sid!” Charlie hollered.
Drayden checked the time.
00:02:15, 00:02:14…
They weren’t all going to make it. There wasn’t enough time. He and Charlie still had to climb across, and then Alex. Traversing a narrow board, two hundred feet over a raging inferno, wasn’t exactly a situation in which you wanted to be rushed.
Sidney finished first. She mouthed something, like she wanted to yell but she couldn’t speak. She waved her hands toward herself, motioning at Charlie. She knelt and held the wood beam. Charlie checked with Drayden, who gave him a thumbs-up.
Charlie stepped up on the plank, crouched low on his feet. He held his hands out to the sides for balance. He looked awfully big on that board.
“Charlie!” Drayden warned. “You might want to crawl!”
He clutched the plank with both hands, walking like a monkey would.
Catrice lay on her belly, straddling the plank, sliding herself across now. A few more feet and she’d reach safety. She scooted forward. A strong gust blew just as she began to adva
nce again. She tilted left, rolling.
Drayden gripped the plank tight to ensure it wouldn’t spin. He wished he could run out and rescue her, but it was too risky with his extra weight.
“Drayden!” she screamed.
“Catrice, hold on tight! Use your legs to get back up!”
She stretched her right leg, gripping the plank with it. Slowly, she pulled herself back on top. She scooted forward again. One more foot.
She made it across, crawling on her hands and knees. Charlie lurched a quarter of the way across, struggling. His knees wobbled, and he coughed uncontrollably. He still tried to walk, rather than crawl. Every time a strong gust came along he needed to grab the board.
Time was going to be real tight for the boys. Drayden checked the wall and the time.
The wall inched toward him, only ten yards away. Time remaining: 00:01:35, 00:01:34…
He wiped his eyes. It all came down to this. No fear. He might fail, but he wouldn’t lose to himself. If he fell to his death, it would be by a gust of wind, not his own trembling. He refused to be defeated by the Bureau. He simply had to get across. Catrice and Sidney were guaranteed to finish now. He eyed the other side of the gap.
Catrice had not run through the doorway as Drayden suggested. She was holding the plank for him, like Sidney was for Charlie.
Even though crawling was the safest way across, time was expiring. He’d have to walk. He pulled his hat down tight, stepped out onto the plank, and stuck his arms out for balance, like a tightrope walker.
The heat consumed him. His palms burned like they were touching the flames. His face felt like it was melting, his skin searing. Drayden took a step, watching his feet through watery eyes, peripherally noticing the horrific drop below. It looked like Hell indeed.
The plank wobbled.
He lost his balance, but squatted down to regain it.
Smoky wind battered his face from all directions.
Drayden took two brisk steps and paused. He crouched down and grabbed the board for support as it wobbled dangerously. He let go and took three more hurried steps, gripping it once again. His lungs burned, making him hack over and over.
The plank kinked to the right a bit, where one board of the tabletop ended and another began.
Using his hands to traverse that part, Drayden made progress, reaching a quarter of the way across. He glanced at Charlie, who was halfway across now. He couldn’t resist a look up at the clock.
Time remaining: 00:01:05, 00:01:04…
He had to go for it. He took five impetuous steps standing up, his ankle pain flaring up.
The plank wobbled.
He lost his balance, tipping forward. His knees hit the plank first. When his chest hit it, he wrapped his arms around it with all his strength, smacking his face on the board.
“Get up, Drayden. Hurry!” Catrice screamed.
Get up! Now! He scooted his knees forward and propped up on them. He’d reached halfway. Ten feet to go.
The board wobbled violently, but he wasn’t moving yet. It sagged.
Drayden peeked behind him.
Alex was walking on Drayden’s plank, approaching fast. The moving wall was five feet away from the chasm.
“Alex! What are you doing? Get off! Go on the other one. Charlie will be done any second.”
Alex glared at him with crazed eyes and a menacing grin.
Drayden needed to finish, pronto. The plank might not support them both. He watched in horror as Alex moved with reckless abandon, walking perfectly upright. He would surely fall.
But he didn’t, and he was gaining on Drayden. The plank sagged further. Both its ends lifted dangerously off the ground. Either one could easily slide off.
“Drayden! Move!” Catrice screamed at the top of her lungs.
Drayden crawled as speedily as he could. Each blustery gust of wind forced him to pause, to brace himself. He could barely see, and he couldn’t stop coughing.
Charlie reached the platform. He hustled over to the end of Drayden’s plank.
“Catrice!” Drayden shouted between coughs. “Go! Go through the door. Charlie can hold it!”
Their eyes met once more, her face looking pained. She ran to the doorway and just through it, with Sidney right behind her. Both girls were safe.
Drayden checked behind him again.
Alex teetered only five feet away now.
What the hell was he doing? Drayden faced forward and scooted another two feet. He viewed the end of the plank, expecting to see Charlie kneeling, stabilizing it.
He wasn’t. His face twisted, his foot on the plank, he appeared on the verge of climbing out there.
Oh God. No.
He was blocking the way, and Alex was coming from behind. They were going to kill him.
Drayden looked at the clock: 00:00:44, 00:00:43…
He crawled another three feet, stopping to brace for a furious wind gust. Only five feet to go.
“Alex!” Charlie yelled.
Alex yanked Drayden’s left foot hard from behind.
His left knee slid off the plank. Before Drayden tumbled into the chasm, he caught the plank with the crook of his right knee. He held on tight with both hands, spinning to his left. He summoned all his strength to keep from rotating. It was no use. He spun all the way around, losing his grip on the plank with his legs. Drayden wound up underneath it, dangling only by his fingertips, facing away from the finish.
No! Don’t let go, dammit!
Alex hovered directly above him, seething with rage. “I don’t know who’s getting that Palace spot, but I know who’s not getting it.” He raised his foot straight up in the air, directly above Drayden’s fingers.
Drayden jerked both hands back a few inches. He let go of the plank just long enough to shimmy them out of the way, before Alex’s foot stomped them.
Alex’s foot slammed down on the board. He crouched down to brace himself against a gust of wind.
“Alex, please! Don’t!”
Alex just mocked him, pretending to cry.
Drayden had to fight back. First, he needed to get his legs up. He swung them back and forth, gaining momentum, his adrenaline pumping. He employed every bit of abdominal muscle to thrust them up and wrap them around the plank behind Alex.
Alex tried to stomp his fingers again.
Drayden slid them out of the way, shifting them further down the plank. It was easier this time with his legs gripping it. He was shaking, but his legs were rangy. If he could grab onto the board with his hands and only one leg, he could free up his other leg to kick Alex’s legs out. Doing so might result in Alex’s death. Not doing it would guarantee his own.
He flexed his muscles to pull his body snug to the board so his chest touched its bottom.
Alex raised his right foot again to stomp on Drayden’s fingers.
Drayden wound his left leg around the plank, freeing his right. He swung it upward at Alex’s left leg, which was planted on the board. It connected.
Alex flew up in the air. He crashed onto his butt on the plank, bounced, and slid backward. He caught the board with his hands before falling off. Now he dangled, two hundred feet in the air, hanging by his fingertips.
“Charlie! Charlie! Help!” Alex screamed.
Drayden squeezed both legs and his abs to rotate his body back up to the top of the board. “Get out of my way, Charlie!” he roared.
Charlie stepped aside, both hands in his hair, his worried eyes fixed on Alex. “Alex, I’m coming!”
Drayden rose to his feet and took five powerful steps to the end. He collapsed to his knees on the sweet platform. He lifted his head to the clock: 00:00:21, 00:00:20…
Charlie dove onto the plank on his stomach, scooting toward Alex. “Give me your hand!” Charlie extended his right hand. Alex grabbed it with his left. He
released the plank and grabbed it with his right too. Alex’s full weight proved too great to support, since Charlie lay atop the narrow board without wrapping his legs around it. Charlie began sliding off, head first. Alex lowered even further, below the point where he could still reach the plank.
“Help!” Alex shouted.
Charlie was toppling over. As his head went over the side he caught the plank with his left arm. He couldn’t hold Alex any longer.
Alex fell.
“Charlie!” he screamed one last time as he plummeted. The sound echoed off the sides of the chasm as he plunged two hundred feet to his grisly death.
Drayden’s eyes bulged.
“Drayden!” Catrice shrieked.
He turned to her as a gust of wind blew off his hat. He looked up at the clock.
00:00:10, 00:00:09…
He could still make it.
“Drayden! Help me! Please!” Charlie yelled, dangling from the plank by both hands. He’d used his incredible strength to slither down the plank on his fingertips to the platform edge, but he couldn’t get up.
Drayden could finish the Initiation, or he could save Charlie. He could not do both. If he saved Charlie, time would run out. He would be exiled. Charlie, the guy who had collaborated with Alex to try to murder him. Was this even a decision? He swiped his hat and turned to run.
As his fingers touched the hat, a powerful vision of his mother materialized in his mind. What would she do? It wasn’t even a question. His mother, so brave, so caring, would save Charlie and deal with the consequences. She could never abandon another person to die like that. Charlie would fall, and die a gruesome death.
Drayden wouldn’t complete the Initiation after all. He wouldn’t achieve the safety he desired, and he wouldn’t get to be with Catrice. He would be exiled.
He ran to Charlie, braced himself, and clutched Charlie around the wrists. Charlie was astonishingly heavy, but Drayden pulled with all his strength. Slowly, he hoisted Charlie up.
Charlie helped, thrusting his feet along the platform wall.
“Swing your legs onto the plank,” Drayden grunted.
Charlie wrapped his legs around it. He was up, safe.