Coldd
Just... cold. Stupid cold. The kind of cold that doesn't just sit on your skin, it bites. It gnaws. It gets under your ribs and shakes you.
Squelch.
Ugh.
Squelch. Squelch.
I hate that sound. I actually hate it. My shoes were full of water. Not damp. Full. Every step was a wet, heavy slap against the roof. My socks were basically dead fish wrapped around my feet. Slimey. Heavy. Gross. Is there anything worse? Seriously? Wet socks are the devil. They are a personal punishment from the universe designed specifically to make me lose my mind.
My bag slid. Again.
"Stay. Up." I hiked the strap back, gritting my teeth so hard my jaw clicked. Pop.
My fingers were numb. Useless little frozen sausages. They slipped on the wet canvas, and the bag just slid right back down, dragging my coat with it. It was heavy. Everything was heavy. The rain, the bag, my hair...
I spit a chunk of hair out of my mouth. Salty. Gritty. Blech.
The wind slapped it right back against my cheek. Of course. I probably looked like a swamp monster. A drowning, shivering, pathetic swamp monster with a sliding backpack. My jeans were soaked through, clinging to my legs like cold skin. Chafing. Great. Add that to the list. Chafing and hypothermia. What a combo.
A blue box popped into existence. Just blip. Right in my face.
[SYSTEM ALERT: TASK 7 — ROOFTOP SURVIVAL]
[CURRENT STATUS: YOU LOOK LIKE A DROWNED RAT]
[EVASION: 42%]
[NOTE: PLZ BREATHE. OXYGEN IS GOOD FOR YOU.]
"Shut up," I hissed. My voice sounded wrecked. "I can't breathe. The air is soup. Freezing cold soup."
I swiped at the box. Swish. My hand went right through it. It flickered—I swear it laughed—and floated higher. Even the System was roasting me. Great. Just great. Somewhere, some cosmic server was saving a video file named Zara_Cole_Epic_Fail.mp4.
I wiped my face. Wet hand, wet face. Useless. Now my eyes burned. Everything was blurry. The neon lights from the city—pink, electric blue, sick green—were smearing across my vision. A headache. A throbbing, neon headache.
I took a step. Slip.
Whoa.
My sneaker hit something slimy. Moss? Trash? Dead pigeon? Don't care. Don't wanna know. My arms flailed out, grabbing at nothing but rain.
Don't fall. Don't be that girl. Do NOT slip off a roof, Zara.
"You know," a voice said.
I froze. Arms still sticking out like a broken scarecrow.
"Most people use the stairs."
Ethan.
My stomach did a weird flip. Not a good flip. A nausea flip.
I turned around. Slowly.
He was just... there. Leaning against a rusty AC unit like we weren't twenty stories up in a hurricane. And he wasn't wet.
How? How is that even physics?
I was drenched, shivering, vibrating, and he looked like... dry. His leather jacket was repelling the water. His hair was messy, but the cool kind of messy. The "I'm an effortless model" messy. Not the "I wrestled a raccoon" messy like me.
"I—" My voice cracked. Squeak. God, embarrassing. I cleared my throat. "I like the view."
"Right," he said. A corner of his mouth twitched. He wasn't smiling. He was laughing at me. "The view? Or the view of you fighting a losing war with your backpack?"
"My bag is fine."
Thump.
It slid off my shoulder immediately. Hit my elbow. Dragged my arm down.
I pretended it didn't happen. I just stood there, shaking. Shiver. Shiver. Shiver.
Ethan pushed off the unit. He walked toward me. He didn't slip. He didn't squelch. He just glided over the wet gravel. Annoying. Infuriatingly graceful.
He stopped right in front of me.
He smelled good. That was the worst part. He shouldn't smell good. He should smell like wet dog and city trash. But no. He smelled like rain and expensive soap and... leather. Crisp. Clean. Dangerous.
"You're shaking," he said. Flat tone.
"I'm cold," I snapped. My teeth clattered. Clack-clack-clack. I couldn't stop it. "It's freezing. Why is it so cold?"
"It's a storm, Zara. Water is cold." He reached out.
I flinched. Jerked back. Slip. "What are you doing?"
"Saving you from gravity," he said. "You're leaning."
"I am not—"
He grabbed my arm.
Heat.
Whoa. His hand was warm. Hot. Like a furnace. It burned right through my soaked coat. It was shocking. My brain kinda short-circuited. Zzzzt.
He pulled—just a bit—and I stumbled.
Into him.
Thump.
My nose hit his chest. Leather. Cold, smooth, wet leather. But underneath? Solid. Hard. My hands came up—panic reflex—and grabbed his jacket.
Oh.
He was really solid. Like a wall. A warm, smelling-good wall.
[SYSTEM ALERT: PROXIMITY WARNING]
[HEART RATE: 148 BPM]
[COMMENT: SMOOTH MOVE, GENIUS.]
"Breathe," Ethan said. His voice rumbled in his chest. I felt it against my cheek.
"I am breathing," I squeaked.
I wasn't. I was holding my breath. My lungs burned. Why was I holding my breath? Breathe, stupid.
"You're turning blue," he murmured.
His hand moved. Slid up my arm. Over the wet coat. His thumb brushed my neck. Just a graze. A tiny touch.
Zap.
Electricity. Literal sparks. It shot down my spine. My toes curled in my wet socks. My stomach dropped. I felt sick and dizzy and... hot. My face burned. I hoped it was too dark for him to see.
"You're okay," he said. Soft now. No teasing.
I looked up.
Bad idea. Terrible idea.
He was looking right at me. Rain dripping from his bangs. His eyes were dark. Intense. He wasn't looking at the view. He wasn't looking at the System box.
He was looking at my mouth.
Is he looking at my mouth? Or do I have snot on my face? It's probably snot. Oh god.
I tried to pull back, but my feet were stuck. And honestly? I didn't wanna move. It was warm here. Safe.
My heart hammered. Thud-thud-thud-thud. So loud. He had to hear it. He was right there.
[SYSTEM ALERT: ROMANTIC TENSION — CRITICAL]
[SPARK MULTIPLIER: ACTIVATED]
[REWARD PENDING...]
"Ethan," I whispered.
SCREEEEEEEECH.
The noise ripped through the air. Metal tearing. Like a giant nail on a chalkboard.
Ethan's head snapped up.
The moment shattered. Gone. Poof.
His grip tightened. Hard. Ouch.
"Zara," he said. Sharp.
"What? What was that?" I looked around. The wind was howling now. Louder.
"The ledge," he said. He looked behind us. "It's going."
"Going? Going where?"
"Down," he said. He looked at me. Scary eyes. "We have to move. Now."
"Move?" I looked at my feet. My squelchy, useless feet. "I can't run. I'll slip. I'll die."
[SYSTEM ALERT: TASK UPDATE — JUMP OR CRASH]
[TIME: 5 SECONDS]
The roof lurched. Actually lurched. Like an earthquake.
My stomach dropped into my shoes.
"We jump," Ethan said.
"Jump?" I shrieked. My voice went so high it broke. "Jump where? There's no bridge!"
"Next roof," he pointed at the black gap. The alley. It looked huge. It looked like death. "I'll help you."
"No. No way. Nope. Not doing it."
"Zara." He grabbed my hand. Laced his fingers through mine. Squeezed. Tight. "Trust me."
"I don't—"
"Three!" he yelled.
He started moving. Dragging me.
"Wait! Ethan!"
"Two!"
He pulled. I stumbled. Running.
My legs were heavy. Mud. My socks squelched. Squish-squish. My bag bounced, hitting my spine. Ow. Ow. I was gonna throw up.
"One!"
He jumped.
I didn't.
I froze. My brain screamed STOP. My feet glued to the edge.
But he didn't let go.
He yanked me. Hard.
I flew. Off the edge. Like a ragdoll.
A scream tore out of my throat. Raw. Scratchy. My stomach jammed into my chest. The wind roared.
Falling.
Fast. Too fast. The alley was a black mouth.
I squeezed my eyes shut. Dug my nails into his hand. Waited for the splat. The crunch.
Sorry Mom. Sorry I'm an idiot.
But... no splat.
Ping.
A chime. Clear. Loud.
Time stuttered. Slowed down. The rain droplets hung in the air like diamonds. The wind stopped roaring and just... hummed.
[SYSTEM ALERT: ANOMALY DETECTED.]
[GRAVITY INTERFERENCE.]
[SOURCE: ETHAN DRAKE.]
[WARNING: DANGER LEVEL 'LETHAL'.]
I opened my eyes.
We weren't falling. We were... gliding. Aiming.
Ethan wasn't looking at the ground.
He was looking at me.
His face was inches from mine. And for a second... the neon light hit his eyes.
They weren't brown.
They were gold. Molten, glowing, scary gold.
[SYSTEM TASK UPDATE: SURVIVE HIM.]