#teot

           Lucy had finished bringing the rest of the boxes in today and had even made a large dent in the unpacking that needed to be done. She had just moved to a new house outside of the city, and she was LOVING the seclusion so far. It was so peaceful and quiet, and the calm was already starting to seep into her bones allowing her shoulders to become relaxed.

           The first few nights were great; she had gotten excellent rest and was making progress on the novel she had been writing. She had been so immersed in the latest chapter she was working on that she didn’t even notice the darkness growing outside. If her hand hadn’t gotten a cramp, she may have missed the shadow that passed by her window.

           Suddenly wary of why a figure tall enough to be human would be passing by her window late at night, Lucy slowly peeked out of the side of the curtains covering the glass. The person she saw was hunched over and appeared to be crying. They didn’t appear to be a threat to Lucy’s newfound freedom and home, however that didn’t give her any explanation as to why they were nearing the cliff edge under the cover of darkness.

           Worried, Lucy quickly shrugged on some slippers and a light jacket before she quietly made her way outside. As she approached, she made sure to shuffle her feet so that she didn’t spook the person, who had now made it within a foot of the very edge. As she called out to them gently, they crumpled in on themselves, a single sob the only thing Lucy heard before they were out of her line of sight.

           After putting herself back together, she had gone out to purchase the floodlight for her yard, and ever since had kept a cautious eye out her window. She wasn’t always successful, and it tore her to bits that there was nothing she could do for the people who wouldn’t let her close enough to pull them away. It wasn’t often that she would find people out on the cliff, for which she was grateful, but recently there had been an increase. More and more people were showing up at the cliff, to the point that there was one almost every other week.

           Lucy looked to the stars as she sent out a silent plea for a peaceful night. Finished with her tasks before bed, she turned from the window. Slowly, she made her way back to her room where she turned off her light and crawled under the covers.

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           Wind was rushing past her face, pushing her hair away from her neck and then pulling it back to snap at her. Clouds were passing by as she covered greater and greater distances. The only way she could track how far she was going was by watching the landscape below her. Before her eyes the scenes kept shifting, first from the house where she lives, then to a lush forest with a cave set into a rock wall in the distance. The trees fell away to water, and then to ice before they circled back to her house. It was beautiful, but so confusing. How was she moving so fast? Why was she looking down at the land? As more questions started to arise, Lucy felt herself losing altitude. Panic began to set in, and suddenly she was free-falling, the wind rushing past her face even harder. Her eyes began to water, whether from the force of the air or fear, she really couldn’t tell.

            Lucy started suddenly; her mind groggy as she gasped for breath. Her body shook like a leaf, adrenaline coursing through her. The dream came back in pieces, and it felt so real. Like she had really been moving through the sky. She shook her head, the notion so silly she couldn’t pay it any more mind than to shudder and be thankful she had woken before she met the ground.

           Lucy sat up slowly, feeling the beads of sweat on her body cooling in the night air. It felt nice and allowed her to shift her focus farther from the dream. As she pushed her hair back, she noticed that her room was illuminated from the light coming from outside, but it was too much. Even a full moon wasn’t this bright, so that couldn’t be the cause. Lucy stiffened: the floodlight. Cautiously, she rolled out of bed and moved lightly to her window. Scanning the area, she realized there was someone at the cliff’s edge. Thanking the stars for waking her up before it was too late, she threw on a nearby jacket and slippers as she hurried out.

           Approaching the person as quietly as possible, Lucy took in the person’s appearance. The man stood around 6 feet tall, his dark hair moving slightly in the breeze. He wore baggy pants, and a tight white tank top (that looked like it could use a good wash) revealed muscular arms. With his height and his build, there was little chance Lucy would be able to pull him back from the edge of the cliff if he decided to go over. Once Lucy was close enough, she shuffled her feet a tad to make her presence known before she spoke up. She didn’t want to startle the man, so she used the quietest calming voice she could.

           “Excuse me, are you okay? Is there any way I can help you?”

           The man remained silent as he stood there, and Lucy started to become worried. Something seemed wrong. Usually, people would yell and scream at her to stay away or choke out sobs while they stood on the cusp. But this man stood there silently, his shoulders pushed back in a confident set. Lucy took a step backwards.

           “Why are you here?” she said coldly, suddenly aware of how close she was to the cliff. Her gut was reeling, her mind racing trying to figure out why someone was here during the middle of the night for any other reason than what had become the norm for her.

           “We’re here to see who keeps stopping people from going over that cliff in front of you.”

           Lucy’s eyes widened as she whirled around to look behind her and found a group of men all standing there. Standing slightly in front of the rest was a man with blue hair who had a strange sideways X tattoo over his right eye. He took a step toward her as he gestured.

           “Grab her,” he said as the man behind her wrapped his arms around Lucy’s arms and torso. Lucy let out a scream as she was lifted from the ground, and struggled wildly to get her arms free, her legs swinging.

           “Now, Miss Life Saver, I want to know exactly why you keep stopping the people who come out here to take a flying leap. You see, they’re kind of a pet project of ours, and you’re really getting in the way of our deadlines.”

           Lucy glared at Bora and struggled more as she screamed at the man holding her to let her go. The man’s grip only tightened as she continued to struggle.

           “Let her stand on her own,” the man let Lucy down, and shifted his grip to her upper arms as Bora continued. “Look, I’m willing to overlook your past transgressions as long as you cease your activities here at night.”

           “Why are you trying to kill people?” Lucy shook as she looked at the group of psychopaths. “And what makes you think I’m just going to let these people kill themselves without trying to intervene?”

           Bora shook his head and let out a sigh as he rubbed his temple. The group behind him all exchanged looks and whispers as they waited for instructions. Taking another step closer to Lucy, Bora looked at her with cold eyes.

           “I was really hoping to get through to you, but I don’t like it when people question my motives. You seem a bit too strong-willed to allow you to stay in the way of our operation. It’s a pity, really. But I think you’re going to have to be finding a change of address, effective immediately.” Looking to the man behind her, Bora jerked his head. “Send her to her new home.”

           Lucy screamed as the man behind her suddenly dug his fingers into her arms and swung her around. With as much force as he could gather, he threw Lucy over the edge of the cliff, her feet scrabbling as she tried to keep her balance before they went over the edge; her body dropping suddenly.

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           Lucy screamed as hard as she could, but she knew it wouldn’t do any good. Still, there wasn’t exactly much she could do as her limbs and hair whipped around in the air flying past her as she hurtled towards whatever lay at the bottom of the cliff. Adrenaline was running through her veins, and memories were flashing before her eyes in a kaleidoscope of colors and feelings. Tears started to stream from her eyes as she gulped down her last breaths, realizing this was what all the people she couldn’t help had experienced in their last moments. More terrified than she had ever been before in her life, she closed her eyes and screamed out the only words she could think of.

           “Someone, please save me!”

           Suddenly a pair of strong, warm arms were wrapped around her body, her head being tucked tightly against a shoulder. Her eyes shot open to gaze through her hair and tears to catch flashes of…pink? That couldn’t be right, none of this could be right! Lucy’s mind swirled; surely this was her brain just trying to protect her in its last moments before she went splat? Or maybe she had already hit the ground, and the last few minutes of brain activity she had left was being used to trick her into thinking she had survived the fall?