Leave the city. (a short story)

Instructions

Leave the city. written by @Dema_dont_control (if you have questions, feel free to ask.) ----------- His eyes snapped open exposing a myth he'd made. The dream faded away instantly. Soft moon light danced through the window and illuminated the dust that fell through the celling. Jason sat up, squinting through the dark - an attempt to make out his surroundings. He sat, alone, in an unfurnished bedroom. He scanned his brain for information. 'where am I? who am I?' The more he desperately racked his brain for information, the more it hurt. He stood up, eyes fixed on the door that stood before him. 'I must remember something... a name?' Then, as if hit with a memory, a name slipped from his mouth, "Jason." He blinked and rubbed at his eyes, then used a shaky hand to open the door. Peering outside, he could see a city street, illuminated by dim and flickering street lights. He cautiously took a step outside. "Hello?" He called out. No reply. He started walking the streets and sidewalks, disturbed by the fact that, there were no signs that anyone had ever been here. As if the city was built but never moved into. He tried to look through windows, but still saw nothing. The city was spotless and all the buildings seemed empty. The second thing he noticed was that there was no sound - just some eerie static noise coming from the back of his head. Jason was suddenly struck with cold terror. 'where is everyone?' He struggled to push down panic, clasping his hands together so that they wouldn't shake. 'think.. I'm sure this is fine.. fine.. like 'my parachute won't open' fine..' The more he tried to reassure himself, the more that feeling of dread (and the realization of being utterly alone.) grew. He spotted a bench and sat on it. As if compelled by some outer force, his head looked up. Toward the stars. His worry melted for a moment as the glow of the stars pulled him in. The stars easily outshined the streetlights. "What if I stayed here?" He said to himself, softly, like a whisper on the wind that fades away. The ground seemed so dull, lifeless, compared to the vast expanse before him. Suddenly, he felt a drop in his chest. For a second, black suffocated him, he chocked on it, gasping, and it felt like he was falling into icy waters. But as quick a the sensation came, it left. His surroundings changed. He was on a rooftop, a high one. Perhaps a hotel or apartment building... The first thing he did was look up, seeing the same vast expanse of stars and space. But he didn't stare at them for too long, as a burst of fireworks quickly filled the sky. You could only hear them dimly through the static noise. Various colors replacing the dark of night as the show began. But he didn't stare at them for too long. Because six feet in front of him, was a girl. And six inches in front of her, was a roof. And in sixteen seconds, she was going to jump. "What are you doing up here?" He said to her, but part of him wonders if she ever heard him. She stood there, perfectly still, arms at her side. He focused on her, and thought he could hear her quietly saying something. "No one.. needs me here.. It'd be better if I was gone." She turned to Jason halfway, but her dark hair blew in the wind so that he couldn't see her face. More fireworks. It should have been hard for him to hear her, but now, her voice was isolated. The only thing he could hear was her. He didn't wait, he dashed and reached out for her with full strength. "Please stop! Don't!" He heard himself yell, but it was dull. As if an echo of something someone said long ago. He thought he saw her flinch. He though he saw her pause. He thought he saw her hesitate, for but a moment. Reaching out, afraid he'd grasp thin air. 'no..' She jumped. But Jason didn't grasp thin air, he grabbed her sleeve, now secure in his grip. But it wasn't enough, because he realized he had jumped with her. Falling.. falling.. falling.. 'this must be how a rain drop feels.' Jason wasn't sure how high they were falling from. Ten floors? Maybe. It felt like they would fall for twelve years. Or they were simply drifting. Caught in a perpetual prison. His stomach never dropped and he wasn't even scared. He only saw her. She pulled him down to her level and yelled, "What are you doing?!" "You just jumped off a roof!" He retorted. "So did you!" "I fell, there's a difference." "But why?!" They were silent for a moment, as if they were just confronted with their fate. It still felt like they were falling so slowly. City lights blurred and the moon outlined their silhouettes, like a dream. Jason always thought de a t h would be so quick, sudden, like you would never know it hit you. But not like this. Terror. Absolute terror crept into his veins that left him cold. But that went away when he saw that she had grabbed his hands. 'I never though it would end like this. not with Era right in front of me. we were so close, but then.. what if I could've saved her?'