BOOK 1: BEYOND THE ICE WALL - Chapter 13: Run to the Edge (by Clive J. Welan)
Chapter 13: Run to the Edge
“Move!” Quianna whispered.
Eljireh moved first. He grabbed the iron railing along the edge and began moving carefully across the narrow ledge. Pierre followed behind.
“If I fall,” he muttered, “I’m blaming both of you.”
Quianna replied without looking back,
“If you fall, we all fall.”
“Great. Fair enough.”
They should have been panicking.
But somehow, all three of them kept moving. Forward. Without stopping.
The door behind them burst open. Metal clanged across the rooftop. Global Council agents emerged. Flashlights cut through the darkness.
“Stop!”
No one stopped. Eljireh looked ahead. The next rooftop wasn’t far. Three meters. But below it, a deadly drop.
“Jump,” he said.
Quianna stared at him.
“What?!”
“We don’t have a choice!”
Pierre looked at the gap. Then back at the approaching agents. He exhaled.
“Alright.”
“This is officially the worst idea I’ve ever heard.”
Eljireh stepped back. Took a running start. He sprinted and jumped. For a moment, there was only wind and empty space. Then, THUD!
He landed hard on the opposite rooftop. His hands slipped for a second, but he caught himself.
“Eljireh!” Quianna shouted.
“I’m okay!”
Quianna stared at the gap.
One second.
Two seconds.
Then she ran and jumped. Pierre followed right behind her. Both of them airborne for a brief, terrifying moment. Then they landed. Harder, messier, but safe. Behind them, the agents stopped at the edge.
One of them raised a weapon.
“Don’t move!”
But they were already moving. They ran across rooftops, from one building to another. Down fire escapes. Over railings into narrow alleys out onto side streets. Their breathing grew heavier. Their hearts pounded. But they didn’t stop. Not until they reached a quieter street and finally halted.
For a few seconds, no one spoke. Only the sound of breathing. And pounding hearts.
Quianna leaned against the wall. “This is…”
“…completely insane.”
Pierre let out a short laugh.
“I agree.”
Eljireh looked back. No one was following. For now, they had escaped. But only for now.
“Eljireh,” Quianna said quietly.
“We can’t keep doing this.”
“We don’t have a place.”
“No plan.”
“And now the most powerful organization in the world is probably looking for us.”
Eljireh nodded.
“I know.”
Pierre looked at him.
“So what’s next?”
Silence. Eljireh thought about everything. The map, the White Rim, the signal, The Global Council and one thing that kept returning to his mind.
The south.
He spoke quietly,
“We can’t keep hiding.”
Quianna looked at him.
“So?”
Eljireh took a deep breath.
“We need answers.”
Pierre raised an eyebrow.
“Where?”
Eljireh looked into the darkness at the end of the street. Toward a direction invisible from the city, but one he somehow knew. South.
“The Southern.”
Silence. The night wind moved softly around them. Quianna spoke,
“You’re serious?”
Eljireh nodded.
“All the answers are there.”
Pierre crossed his arms.
“The place no one is allowed to explore?”
“Yes.”
Pierre smiled faintly.
“Good.”
“I’ve always liked bad ideas.”
But deep inside, Pierre felt something. Not power. Not a voice. Just a strange pull. As if the direction they had chosen… was not a coincidence.
Far behind them, on top of the observatory tower— Lucien Varkis stood at the edge of the rooftop.Watching the direction where they had disappeared. He wasn’t angry, not rushed., nstead he smiled faintly.
“Good.”
He spoke quietly,
“Go.”
“Find the answers you’re looking for.”
The night wind swept across the tower. Lucien turned his gaze south, the same direction they had taken.
“Because in the end…”
“…every path will lead you there.”
The Southern.
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