On Forgetting Ch. 10

She was faster than he was, and Paul's temper raged. He yanked the semi-automatic from the waistband at the small of his back and aimed without breaking stride, rapidly squeezing off two rounds.

A bullet exploded in the wooden post immediately to her left and her scream caught in her throat as she gasped, her body flinching reflexively. She ducked her head as the sound of another shot echoed over the roar of the surf. Stumbling slightly, Langdon chanced a glance over her shoulder. Paul wasn't far enough behind her.

She felt the ground give under her right foot and her weight pitched sideways. She choked back a scream as her left knee bounced off the ground, her right side swung into free air, and she twisted to catch herself from the sheer drop. Langdon's fingers dug into the grass as her body knocked into the jagged rocks of the cliff face.

Her feet flailed, struggling to find hold and managing to brace against a narrow, stable outcropping. She planted both forearms on the grass and pulled her head up over the verge only to see Paul rushing toward her, the gun levelled at her head. She glanced down, swallowing hard as a wave of nausea turned her stomach. Mistake! she thought. You never look down! The combination of dew on the grass and sweat from her palms built and her hands began to slip.

Langdon's head shot up, her eyes wild and desperate as both hands slid through the damp grass. "No!" she cried, her fingers clenching into claws, digging at the ground and unable to find purchase. Her legs weren't stable enough to hold her up and she slid over the edge and dropped from sight.

Paul watched the panicked look on her face and laughed to himself as he saw her fall. People should know that cliffs are dangerous. It's all these dumb American tourists that don't obey the posted rules. Such a shame. At least now he didn't have to cover anything up. No one would suspect him of foul play, because there was none - just a clumsy girl who took one wrong step on the uneven rocky ground.

Langdon thought her heart stopped as she fell, she couldn't even find the breath to scream. Her boots smashed into a slate ledge and her knees gave out, dropping her roughly onto her back. She felt the air rush from her lungs and the back of her head smacked against the flat rock. She gasped, her vision swimming as she blinked at the twenty feet between herself and the grassy lip overhead.

It took her a moment to realise that she wasn't dead, and another moment to suck some air back into her empty lungs and understand that she'd broken her fall on a narrow ledge. She was alive, but damned if she could move.

Paul slipped the safety back onto the pistol, and approached the edge. He didn't relish the idea of seeing her broken body, but needed to be sure all the same.

~~o~~

Whew! There was a lot of jumping around in that chapter, but it can't be helped. Sorry it took so long for this update, I'm glad you all stuck around long enough for this one. I'm back to full time work and studying, so it's getting a little harder to find the time to write. The good (or bad, depending on your perspective) news is that there is only one chapter left, and I'm almost done writing it.

My next project (cautiously called, "The Program") is in the works, but will be slow going. I'm experimenting a little with the narrative voice in it, so here's hoping you like it. Keep an eye out.

As always, thank you for your continued support. Any comments, questions, concerns, and feedback is welcome!

Thanks for reading!

~ewebie