A/N I got my inspiration on a road trip the other day. When I was little, I always wanted to stop the car in the middle of the highway and go rock-climbing. Guess I still do. This is probably going to be just a few short chapters, but I like the idea a lot. It takes place a couple of years after our losties are rescued.
He sat almost nonchalantly on the cliff, feet dangling over the ledge, the wind whipping his hair in his face. It was bitingly cold, and he felt it. His fingers were numb inside the pockets of his denim jacket. He balled his hands into fists with difficulty. It was always cold in New England. Even in the summer, it was never truly hot. That didn't matter because summer was months away. For Charlie, a month these days was a lifetime. Much as he hated New England, he didn't have the desire to leave, probably because it seemed like too much work. Maybe touring for so long with DriveShaft finally caught up with him. But then, he was always a sort of homebody.
There was a shrill honk of a car horn, and a man's voice. "Hey! You okay up there?"
Charlie looked down from his perch on the cliff. It wasn't much of a cliff – only fifteen feet down or so. But it was high enough to break his neck if he tried. He was always thinking morbid thoughts like that; he couldn't help it. The cliff was to the direct side of a highway, the Mass Pike. He could see car after car speeding by in a blur. Sometimes he wondered where they were all in a rush to. Didn't they know there wasn't really anything worth chasing after?
He peered down at the one car that was stationary. A man in a blue pickup had pulled over to the side of the road and rolled down his window, leaning out to stare up at Charlie. He had a graying beard and wore a frown that made his face wrinkle.
"You okay up there?" the man repeated, and Charlie was surprised to hear actual concern in the stranger's tone.
"Yeah." Charlie said after a moment. "I'm okay. What about you?"
"Fine."
The man looked deeply confused as to why a person hanging over a cliff would ask a perfectly grounded person if they were all right. So what? Maybe Charlie didn't want to be grounded. Maybe he wanted to stop kidding himself and finish his constant waiting for something good to happen.
After a moment, the stranger raised his eyebrows. "You sure?"
Charlie nodded slowly. He wasn't all that okay, but this guy probably couldn't do much about it. Besides, he looked relieved to leave Charlie behind as he pulled out and joined the herd of metal and wheels on the road. Most people were relieved to get rid of him. It didn't bother him so much anymore.
Some people were just meant to watch. Not everyone was lucky enough to drive.
