All disclaimers apply. I don't own any of the Early Edition characters or the Higher Ground characters. They are purely used for amusement and I get no money for this story.
Heroes
By Courtney Felix
To anyone who hasn't seen either Early Edition or Higher Ground:
Higher Ground is a great show on Fox Family Channel about a school in the mountains of Washington called Mount Horizon.
Early Edition is also on Fox Family, but in reruns. Gary is a regular guy from Chicago who just happens to get tomorrow's news today.
Thud. Meow. Gary Hobson lifted his head from his pillow and groaned. He heard another meow from outside the door. "Alright!" he called. "Okay," he sighed, throwing the comforter off of his body. He got up and walked sleepily to the door. He opened it and looked down at the yellow cat that magically appeared there every morning. "Come on in," he said. The cat looked up at him and then trotted into the apartment. Gary bent over and snatched the paper off of the floor. He scanned the front-page looking for what he was going to do that day.
Gary was sitting on the couch, still reading the paper when there was a knock on his door. He got up, leaving the paper on the coffee table and went to answer it. "Hey, Marissa," he said, opening the door to find his business partner. The two co-owned a restaurant, McGinty's, since Chuck had left for California. "Come in," he said, opening the door and taking her elbow.
"Thanks," Marissa said. Gary led her to the couch where they both sat. "Gary?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you going to be busy today?"
Gary sighed and glanced at the paper again. "I'm afraid so," he said. "Was there something you wanted me to do?"
"No, that's alright. I just thought..."
"You know if you need me to stay here for something," Gary began.
"You know you can't do that," Marissa scolded. "You get that paper for a reason. You have to do what it says."
Gary smiled. "But you know if you really need me..." he said, playfully.
"Gary!"
Gary walked into McGinty's later that night completely exhausted. He pulled a stool from the bar and sat down. He rested his head on his arm.
"Gary?" Marissa asked.
"Yeah, it's me," he answered.
"Are you all right?" she asked.
"Yeah, fine. I just need something to eat."
"Have you eaten at all today?"
"I had breakfast," Gary answered. Suddenly and out of no where, the cat jumped up onto the bar. "What do you want?" he asked. All he got in response was a weak meow. He looked down at the paper. The front-page headline had changed. "Aw, come on!" Gary cried.
"What is it?" Marissa asked, concern in her voice. "Gary?"
"I have to go out again. Close up for me, please?"
"Sure."
Gary shoved his hands in the pockets of his black leather jacket. The breeze was cool. The only light he could see was from the moon. He grumbled to himself as he walked. The paper had led him to an alley a few blocks away. He squinted, trying to make out the tiny print. He knew what the article said. He'd skimmed it four times on the way there and read it in McGinty's.
As he walked to the end of the alley, he heard a rustling in front of him. "Hey!" he called. He saw someone jump up and run into the dark. "Hey! Come back here!" he yelled. He wanted to run after the figure, but he knew what would happen if he left the alley. Instead, he sat against a wall and pulled his jacket tightly around himself.
The next thing Gary knew, he felt something lean into him. He opened his eyes, it was still pretty dark out. He looked to see what was next to him. All he could see was the top of someone's head. Suddenly, he didn't know what to do. The paper hadn't said anything about this. He rested his head against the building and sighed. He wouldn't be able to move without waking the person.
Carefully, he slid his shoulder from beneath the person's head. He put a hand there as a replacement. He used his other hand to stand himself up. When he was steady on his feet he scooped up the sleeping body in his arms. She stirred but didn't wake. He began to walk down the alley toward his apartment.
He leaned the girl against the wall outside his apartment while he messed with the door. When it opened, he picked her up again. He made his way to the couch and placed her on it gently. He was amazed that she hadn't woken up the whole time. He looked around quickly, trying to remember where an extra blanket was. When he found it, he covered the girl. He studied her for a second, but his exhaustion overcame him.
Thud. Meow. Gary sighed and threw the blankets off of his body. He would have completely forgotten the events of the night before if he hadn't looked at the couch to see the girl's sleeping body. He rubbed his eyes with one hand as he opened the door. The cat trotted past him into the apartment.
"Good morning to you, too," Gary said, quietly. He picked the paper up and shut the door. He looked around for the cat, but didn't see him. "Cat?" he whispered. He heard a soft meow from the couch. When Gary looked, he saw the cat standing with two paws on the couch looking at the sleeping girl. "Hey," Gary whispered, "get away from her. Let her sleep." The cat got down and trotted to Gary in the kitchen. "Let's see if the paper knows who she is."
He spread it out over the table. He skimmed the headlines looking for something about this missing girl. Then, something clicked. He looked over at the couch. Since he'd rescued her, there probably wouldn't be anything about her in the paper. Gary sighed and turned the paper back to the front page. He would have to wait until she woke up before he could find out who she was.
Gary descended the stairs from his apartment to the back entrance of McGinty's. He knew Marissa would be there already.
"Marissa?" he called, making his way through the kitchen.
"Office," said one of the cooks.
"Thanks," Gary said. He left the kitchen and headed toward their office. "Marissa?" he said, opening the door.
"Right here, Gary."
"I need you to do something for me," he said.
"Sure. Anything."
Marissa sat in the chair by the couch in Gary's apartment. Gary had asked her to stay with the girl while he went out and ran his "errands". She'd been there for almost an hour. She heard the girl stir. She listened to see if she would wake up. Nothing. Marissa leaned back into the chair and waited a while longer.
Gary glanced at his paper. He knew he was on the right street. He scanned the crowd for a man with short, dark hair, wearing jeans and a sweater. He was a tourist from Seattle. At least, that's what the paper said. Suddenly, Gary saw him. He glanced down at the paper again to match the man's face with the picture. It was him. He pushed his way toward the man.
"Mr. Scarbrow?"
"Yeah?" he turned around to see who was talking to him. Before Gary could say anything else, Scarbrow reached for something in his back pocket.
"Hey, hey," Gary said, backing off. "Take it easy. I don't want to hurt you."
Scarbrow was puzzled. He kind of smiled and pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. "Have you seen her?" he asked.
Gary took the picture. He studied it for a moment and then smiled. "I know where she is. Come with me." Scarbrow sighed with relief. "Who is she?" Gary asked.
"One of my students," Scarbrow answered. "My name's Peter Scarbrow. I'm the headmaster of Mount Horizon High School."
"Gary Hobson."
"Good to meet you, Gary. How is Juliette? Is she okay?"
"Oh, yeah, she's fine. She was asleep at my apartment when I left."
"Did you leave her alone?" Peter asked.
"No," Gary smiled. "Don't worry. I have someone there with her."
"I have to get out of here," Juliette insisted.
Marissa didn't know what to do. "Listen," she said. "Stay here for a few more minutes. I know Gary will be back."
"I have to leave. She'll just find me. I have to go home."
"Where's home?" Marissa asked.
"Horizon," Juliette answered. "Thank you for bringing me here, but I have to go, now."
Marissa stood, trying to find the girl to stop her from leaving. "You can't."
"Watch me," Juliette said. She opened the door and closed it behind her.
Gary and Peter walked up the stairs to Gary's apartment. Marissa was still there when Gary opened the door, but Juliette wasn't.
"When did she leave?" Gary asked.
Marissa felt her watch. "About ten minutes ago."
"We can still find her," Peter said. "Gary, can you help me?"
"Yeah, I have a free afternoon. Marissa, you'll watch McGinty's for me?" She nodded.
Peter ran down the stairs to the restaurant. He threw the door open and ran out onto the street. Gary was right behind him. Peter looked up and down the street. He turned to Gary, "You go that way, and I'll take down there. She couldn't have gotten too far, yet."
Gary nodded and began to jog away from Peter. While he was waiting for a stoplight, he pulled the paper from his back pocket. He took a deep breath before opening it. He scanned the headlines on the second page, then the third. Nothing about a missing girl. The light changed and he jogged across the street.
A few hours later, Peter and Gary returned to McGinty's. Neither had found Juliette. Gary took Peter back up to his apartment. "Listen, Mr. Scarbrow, I'm really sorry."
Peter shook his head. "It's not your fault. I shouldn't have let her come back home."
"She lives here?" Gary asked. "I thought you were from Washington."
Peter sighed. "Mount Horizon is a high school for at-risk teenagers. Juliette is one of our students."
Gary rubbed his eyes and tried to think of something that would help them. "Do you think she'd go back to where I found her?" Peter began to answer, but Gary cut him off. "Actually I already checked there."
"I don't think she'd go back anyway." Peter sighed, "Come on Jules, where are you?"
Juliette shivered and folded her arms in front of her. She walked quickly through the streets. She looked for a building or an alley that would be safe for her to stay that night. She saw an abandoned building and looked around for a way into it. She found an open window.
Inside, it was dark, damp, and cold. Juliette walked lightly, looking for somewhere she could sleep. Against a far wall, she saw an old chair. She crossed to it quickly and was asleep almost as soon as she sat down.
Peter was awake long before Gary. When the alarm clock went off, Gary groaned and lifted his head. He heard the cat meow at the door. He sat up and saw Peter looking out the window. "Morning," Gary said.
"Yeah," Peter remained at the window while Gary let the cat in and picked up the paper. Gary closed the door after the cat had come in. "Your friend?" Peter asked.
"Yeah," Gary grinned, "sort of."
"Mind if I take a look?" Peter asked, wanting the paper.
Gary had to think quickly. "Oh, um, you know, I would, but there are some things in here that I have to check out, first. Would you like me to go down and get the one from McGinty's?"
Peter shook his head. "That's all right, I'll go get it myself." He left the apartment and headed down the stairs.
Gary sighed. He opened the paper and skimmed the stories. Nothing about Juliette that he could see. Then, on the fourth page, he saw an article that drew his attention. "Homeless teenager found dead in abandoned building," Gary read. "Last night at ten o'clock, police found a sixteen or seventeen year-old girl trapped in the Bradley Supplies building. The building has been condemned for three years now. Before the two officers could reach her, beams in the ceiling collapsed, crushing her. Police are still looking for her parents."
Gary looked over at the door. He could still get out before Peter came back. He didn't want him hanging around all day while he did his errands. He folded the paper up and stuffed it in the back pocket of his jeans. He opened the door and jogged down the steps. As he opened the door, he ran straight into Peter.
"Going somewhere?"
"Uh, yeah," Gary stammered. "I have some things to take care of. I'll look for Juliette while I'm out."
Peter looked at him strangely. He shrugged, but let Gary pass. "See you later."
"Later!" Gary called over his shoulder.
Gary walked by the Bradley building. The paper said that she didn't die until later that night. Then he got to thinking, "What if they just didn't find her until last night?" He ran across the street and pulled open one of the doors.
"Juliette!" he called. He listened for a second, but got no answer. "Juliette!" he yelled again; still nothing. There were two possible ways that he could go: straight or down a flight of stairs. He looked back and forth between the two before deciding to go down the stairs.
"Juliette!" he yelled as he ran down the stairs. "Juliette? Are you here?" Then, Gary realized something. She'd never even seen him. She didn't know him at all. Why should she come out from her hiding place for a stranger?
"Juliette!" he started again. "Listen, you don't know me. I know your friend, Peter. He's been looking really hard for you. I think you should come out here and talk to me. I know you're here."
Juliette listened from the top of the stairs. She started to take a step toward the stranger. As her foot his the next board, it fell out from beneath her. She screamed. The board fell with a clatter to the floor. Juliette stood at the top of the stairs, looking into the hole that the board had left.
Gary whipped his head around in time to see the board fall. "Don't move," he instructed Juliette. "Stay right there, okay?"
Juliette looked at him with fear in her eyes. Any of the other boards could give out at any second. She watched as Gary took the stairs one by one, stepping lightly on each of them.
"Are you okay? Huh?" he asked as he climbed. Juliette nodded her head. "Good, because Peter's been real worried about you." She smiled. "Now, I need you to tell me something, did any of those boards give under your feet when you walked over here?"
Juliette looked at him and thought for a moment. "Yeah," she said, finally.
"Okay, then we're just going to have to be real slow and step nice and soft, huh?" he said. Juliette nodded. "Good." Gary only had three more steps until he was to Juliette. "Mind if I call you 'Jules'?" he asked.
"No," Juliette answered simply.
"Great. I'm Gary, okay?" Two more steps.
"Yeah."
As Gary placed his foot on the last step, the board beneath it cracked in half. Suddenly, Gary could feel himself falling. He reached up for something to grab. The only thing was Juliette's hand. Both tightened their grips on each other. Gary looked up at her, she was straining to keep a hold of his hands. Her knuckles were white, and her face was flushed. "Let me go," he instructed.
"I can't," she replied.
"Let me go," he repeated.
"No," Juliette breathed.
"I won't fall, I promise you. I just want to get one of these boards."
"You'll never be able to do it. They're not sturdy enough."
"They're holding you," Gary answered.
"And I'm holding you," Juliette replied.
"Good point."
"I'm going to pull you up."
"You're not strong enough to do that," Gary said.
"With your help, I can do it. Are you going to help me, or do you want to dangle for a while longer?"
Gary looked into her eyes. She was determined. "All right," he said.
Juliette nodded sharply. She began to pull him up slowly. Soon, his elbows were above the boards. He let go of one of her hands and tried to help himself up. He swung one leg up onto the board.
"I'm okay," he said, letting go of her other hand. He got his other leg up, and stood quickly. "Let's get out of here," he said, ushering Juliette out in front of him. As they opened the door, floorboards began falling to the first floor. The two watched from the door as the place that they had been standing seconds before, disappeared.
Gary put a hand on Juliette's shoulder, and steered her out of the doorway. "Peter's looking for you," he said.
Gary opened the door for Juliette. "You remember this place," he said.
Juliette looked at him for a second and then smiled. "So you're that guy," she said.
"I guess," Gary answered. "I'm not sure how I should take that." He took off his coat and threw it on the couch. "Peter should be back real soon. You know, he's real worried about you."
"Didn't you say that already?"
Gary thought. "I'm not sure..."
"You did, I'm positive."
Just then, the door opened and Peter stepped inside. "Juliette!"
"Peter!" Juliette ran to him with open arms. They hugged for a moment. "Can we go back to Horizon, please?" she asked.
"We have to clear some things up with your mom. And when we get back, you'll be on shuns for a week."
"I know," Juliette said, dropping her head.
Peter lifted her chin. "I'm glad to have you back."
Juliette smiled.
The next morning, Peter gathered up his things and Juliette. They stood in the door of Gary's apartment. "Well," Peter started, "thank you for letting us stay with you. If you're ever around Horizon, make sure and stop by, okay?"
Gary smiled and nodded. "Sure," he said. "See you later." He closed the door behind them and picked up the paper.
Heroes
By Courtney Felix
To anyone who hasn't seen either Early Edition or Higher Ground:
Higher Ground is a great show on Fox Family Channel about a school in the mountains of Washington called Mount Horizon.
Early Edition is also on Fox Family, but in reruns. Gary is a regular guy from Chicago who just happens to get tomorrow's news today.
Thud. Meow. Gary Hobson lifted his head from his pillow and groaned. He heard another meow from outside the door. "Alright!" he called. "Okay," he sighed, throwing the comforter off of his body. He got up and walked sleepily to the door. He opened it and looked down at the yellow cat that magically appeared there every morning. "Come on in," he said. The cat looked up at him and then trotted into the apartment. Gary bent over and snatched the paper off of the floor. He scanned the front-page looking for what he was going to do that day.
Gary was sitting on the couch, still reading the paper when there was a knock on his door. He got up, leaving the paper on the coffee table and went to answer it. "Hey, Marissa," he said, opening the door to find his business partner. The two co-owned a restaurant, McGinty's, since Chuck had left for California. "Come in," he said, opening the door and taking her elbow.
"Thanks," Marissa said. Gary led her to the couch where they both sat. "Gary?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you going to be busy today?"
Gary sighed and glanced at the paper again. "I'm afraid so," he said. "Was there something you wanted me to do?"
"No, that's alright. I just thought..."
"You know if you need me to stay here for something," Gary began.
"You know you can't do that," Marissa scolded. "You get that paper for a reason. You have to do what it says."
Gary smiled. "But you know if you really need me..." he said, playfully.
"Gary!"
Gary walked into McGinty's later that night completely exhausted. He pulled a stool from the bar and sat down. He rested his head on his arm.
"Gary?" Marissa asked.
"Yeah, it's me," he answered.
"Are you all right?" she asked.
"Yeah, fine. I just need something to eat."
"Have you eaten at all today?"
"I had breakfast," Gary answered. Suddenly and out of no where, the cat jumped up onto the bar. "What do you want?" he asked. All he got in response was a weak meow. He looked down at the paper. The front-page headline had changed. "Aw, come on!" Gary cried.
"What is it?" Marissa asked, concern in her voice. "Gary?"
"I have to go out again. Close up for me, please?"
"Sure."
Gary shoved his hands in the pockets of his black leather jacket. The breeze was cool. The only light he could see was from the moon. He grumbled to himself as he walked. The paper had led him to an alley a few blocks away. He squinted, trying to make out the tiny print. He knew what the article said. He'd skimmed it four times on the way there and read it in McGinty's.
As he walked to the end of the alley, he heard a rustling in front of him. "Hey!" he called. He saw someone jump up and run into the dark. "Hey! Come back here!" he yelled. He wanted to run after the figure, but he knew what would happen if he left the alley. Instead, he sat against a wall and pulled his jacket tightly around himself.
The next thing Gary knew, he felt something lean into him. He opened his eyes, it was still pretty dark out. He looked to see what was next to him. All he could see was the top of someone's head. Suddenly, he didn't know what to do. The paper hadn't said anything about this. He rested his head against the building and sighed. He wouldn't be able to move without waking the person.
Carefully, he slid his shoulder from beneath the person's head. He put a hand there as a replacement. He used his other hand to stand himself up. When he was steady on his feet he scooped up the sleeping body in his arms. She stirred but didn't wake. He began to walk down the alley toward his apartment.
He leaned the girl against the wall outside his apartment while he messed with the door. When it opened, he picked her up again. He made his way to the couch and placed her on it gently. He was amazed that she hadn't woken up the whole time. He looked around quickly, trying to remember where an extra blanket was. When he found it, he covered the girl. He studied her for a second, but his exhaustion overcame him.
Thud. Meow. Gary sighed and threw the blankets off of his body. He would have completely forgotten the events of the night before if he hadn't looked at the couch to see the girl's sleeping body. He rubbed his eyes with one hand as he opened the door. The cat trotted past him into the apartment.
"Good morning to you, too," Gary said, quietly. He picked the paper up and shut the door. He looked around for the cat, but didn't see him. "Cat?" he whispered. He heard a soft meow from the couch. When Gary looked, he saw the cat standing with two paws on the couch looking at the sleeping girl. "Hey," Gary whispered, "get away from her. Let her sleep." The cat got down and trotted to Gary in the kitchen. "Let's see if the paper knows who she is."
He spread it out over the table. He skimmed the headlines looking for something about this missing girl. Then, something clicked. He looked over at the couch. Since he'd rescued her, there probably wouldn't be anything about her in the paper. Gary sighed and turned the paper back to the front page. He would have to wait until she woke up before he could find out who she was.
Gary descended the stairs from his apartment to the back entrance of McGinty's. He knew Marissa would be there already.
"Marissa?" he called, making his way through the kitchen.
"Office," said one of the cooks.
"Thanks," Gary said. He left the kitchen and headed toward their office. "Marissa?" he said, opening the door.
"Right here, Gary."
"I need you to do something for me," he said.
"Sure. Anything."
Marissa sat in the chair by the couch in Gary's apartment. Gary had asked her to stay with the girl while he went out and ran his "errands". She'd been there for almost an hour. She heard the girl stir. She listened to see if she would wake up. Nothing. Marissa leaned back into the chair and waited a while longer.
Gary glanced at his paper. He knew he was on the right street. He scanned the crowd for a man with short, dark hair, wearing jeans and a sweater. He was a tourist from Seattle. At least, that's what the paper said. Suddenly, Gary saw him. He glanced down at the paper again to match the man's face with the picture. It was him. He pushed his way toward the man.
"Mr. Scarbrow?"
"Yeah?" he turned around to see who was talking to him. Before Gary could say anything else, Scarbrow reached for something in his back pocket.
"Hey, hey," Gary said, backing off. "Take it easy. I don't want to hurt you."
Scarbrow was puzzled. He kind of smiled and pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. "Have you seen her?" he asked.
Gary took the picture. He studied it for a moment and then smiled. "I know where she is. Come with me." Scarbrow sighed with relief. "Who is she?" Gary asked.
"One of my students," Scarbrow answered. "My name's Peter Scarbrow. I'm the headmaster of Mount Horizon High School."
"Gary Hobson."
"Good to meet you, Gary. How is Juliette? Is she okay?"
"Oh, yeah, she's fine. She was asleep at my apartment when I left."
"Did you leave her alone?" Peter asked.
"No," Gary smiled. "Don't worry. I have someone there with her."
"I have to get out of here," Juliette insisted.
Marissa didn't know what to do. "Listen," she said. "Stay here for a few more minutes. I know Gary will be back."
"I have to leave. She'll just find me. I have to go home."
"Where's home?" Marissa asked.
"Horizon," Juliette answered. "Thank you for bringing me here, but I have to go, now."
Marissa stood, trying to find the girl to stop her from leaving. "You can't."
"Watch me," Juliette said. She opened the door and closed it behind her.
Gary and Peter walked up the stairs to Gary's apartment. Marissa was still there when Gary opened the door, but Juliette wasn't.
"When did she leave?" Gary asked.
Marissa felt her watch. "About ten minutes ago."
"We can still find her," Peter said. "Gary, can you help me?"
"Yeah, I have a free afternoon. Marissa, you'll watch McGinty's for me?" She nodded.
Peter ran down the stairs to the restaurant. He threw the door open and ran out onto the street. Gary was right behind him. Peter looked up and down the street. He turned to Gary, "You go that way, and I'll take down there. She couldn't have gotten too far, yet."
Gary nodded and began to jog away from Peter. While he was waiting for a stoplight, he pulled the paper from his back pocket. He took a deep breath before opening it. He scanned the headlines on the second page, then the third. Nothing about a missing girl. The light changed and he jogged across the street.
A few hours later, Peter and Gary returned to McGinty's. Neither had found Juliette. Gary took Peter back up to his apartment. "Listen, Mr. Scarbrow, I'm really sorry."
Peter shook his head. "It's not your fault. I shouldn't have let her come back home."
"She lives here?" Gary asked. "I thought you were from Washington."
Peter sighed. "Mount Horizon is a high school for at-risk teenagers. Juliette is one of our students."
Gary rubbed his eyes and tried to think of something that would help them. "Do you think she'd go back to where I found her?" Peter began to answer, but Gary cut him off. "Actually I already checked there."
"I don't think she'd go back anyway." Peter sighed, "Come on Jules, where are you?"
Juliette shivered and folded her arms in front of her. She walked quickly through the streets. She looked for a building or an alley that would be safe for her to stay that night. She saw an abandoned building and looked around for a way into it. She found an open window.
Inside, it was dark, damp, and cold. Juliette walked lightly, looking for somewhere she could sleep. Against a far wall, she saw an old chair. She crossed to it quickly and was asleep almost as soon as she sat down.
Peter was awake long before Gary. When the alarm clock went off, Gary groaned and lifted his head. He heard the cat meow at the door. He sat up and saw Peter looking out the window. "Morning," Gary said.
"Yeah," Peter remained at the window while Gary let the cat in and picked up the paper. Gary closed the door after the cat had come in. "Your friend?" Peter asked.
"Yeah," Gary grinned, "sort of."
"Mind if I take a look?" Peter asked, wanting the paper.
Gary had to think quickly. "Oh, um, you know, I would, but there are some things in here that I have to check out, first. Would you like me to go down and get the one from McGinty's?"
Peter shook his head. "That's all right, I'll go get it myself." He left the apartment and headed down the stairs.
Gary sighed. He opened the paper and skimmed the stories. Nothing about Juliette that he could see. Then, on the fourth page, he saw an article that drew his attention. "Homeless teenager found dead in abandoned building," Gary read. "Last night at ten o'clock, police found a sixteen or seventeen year-old girl trapped in the Bradley Supplies building. The building has been condemned for three years now. Before the two officers could reach her, beams in the ceiling collapsed, crushing her. Police are still looking for her parents."
Gary looked over at the door. He could still get out before Peter came back. He didn't want him hanging around all day while he did his errands. He folded the paper up and stuffed it in the back pocket of his jeans. He opened the door and jogged down the steps. As he opened the door, he ran straight into Peter.
"Going somewhere?"
"Uh, yeah," Gary stammered. "I have some things to take care of. I'll look for Juliette while I'm out."
Peter looked at him strangely. He shrugged, but let Gary pass. "See you later."
"Later!" Gary called over his shoulder.
Gary walked by the Bradley building. The paper said that she didn't die until later that night. Then he got to thinking, "What if they just didn't find her until last night?" He ran across the street and pulled open one of the doors.
"Juliette!" he called. He listened for a second, but got no answer. "Juliette!" he yelled again; still nothing. There were two possible ways that he could go: straight or down a flight of stairs. He looked back and forth between the two before deciding to go down the stairs.
"Juliette!" he yelled as he ran down the stairs. "Juliette? Are you here?" Then, Gary realized something. She'd never even seen him. She didn't know him at all. Why should she come out from her hiding place for a stranger?
"Juliette!" he started again. "Listen, you don't know me. I know your friend, Peter. He's been looking really hard for you. I think you should come out here and talk to me. I know you're here."
Juliette listened from the top of the stairs. She started to take a step toward the stranger. As her foot his the next board, it fell out from beneath her. She screamed. The board fell with a clatter to the floor. Juliette stood at the top of the stairs, looking into the hole that the board had left.
Gary whipped his head around in time to see the board fall. "Don't move," he instructed Juliette. "Stay right there, okay?"
Juliette looked at him with fear in her eyes. Any of the other boards could give out at any second. She watched as Gary took the stairs one by one, stepping lightly on each of them.
"Are you okay? Huh?" he asked as he climbed. Juliette nodded her head. "Good, because Peter's been real worried about you." She smiled. "Now, I need you to tell me something, did any of those boards give under your feet when you walked over here?"
Juliette looked at him and thought for a moment. "Yeah," she said, finally.
"Okay, then we're just going to have to be real slow and step nice and soft, huh?" he said. Juliette nodded. "Good." Gary only had three more steps until he was to Juliette. "Mind if I call you 'Jules'?" he asked.
"No," Juliette answered simply.
"Great. I'm Gary, okay?" Two more steps.
"Yeah."
As Gary placed his foot on the last step, the board beneath it cracked in half. Suddenly, Gary could feel himself falling. He reached up for something to grab. The only thing was Juliette's hand. Both tightened their grips on each other. Gary looked up at her, she was straining to keep a hold of his hands. Her knuckles were white, and her face was flushed. "Let me go," he instructed.
"I can't," she replied.
"Let me go," he repeated.
"No," Juliette breathed.
"I won't fall, I promise you. I just want to get one of these boards."
"You'll never be able to do it. They're not sturdy enough."
"They're holding you," Gary answered.
"And I'm holding you," Juliette replied.
"Good point."
"I'm going to pull you up."
"You're not strong enough to do that," Gary said.
"With your help, I can do it. Are you going to help me, or do you want to dangle for a while longer?"
Gary looked into her eyes. She was determined. "All right," he said.
Juliette nodded sharply. She began to pull him up slowly. Soon, his elbows were above the boards. He let go of one of her hands and tried to help himself up. He swung one leg up onto the board.
"I'm okay," he said, letting go of her other hand. He got his other leg up, and stood quickly. "Let's get out of here," he said, ushering Juliette out in front of him. As they opened the door, floorboards began falling to the first floor. The two watched from the door as the place that they had been standing seconds before, disappeared.
Gary put a hand on Juliette's shoulder, and steered her out of the doorway. "Peter's looking for you," he said.
Gary opened the door for Juliette. "You remember this place," he said.
Juliette looked at him for a second and then smiled. "So you're that guy," she said.
"I guess," Gary answered. "I'm not sure how I should take that." He took off his coat and threw it on the couch. "Peter should be back real soon. You know, he's real worried about you."
"Didn't you say that already?"
Gary thought. "I'm not sure..."
"You did, I'm positive."
Just then, the door opened and Peter stepped inside. "Juliette!"
"Peter!" Juliette ran to him with open arms. They hugged for a moment. "Can we go back to Horizon, please?" she asked.
"We have to clear some things up with your mom. And when we get back, you'll be on shuns for a week."
"I know," Juliette said, dropping her head.
Peter lifted her chin. "I'm glad to have you back."
Juliette smiled.
The next morning, Peter gathered up his things and Juliette. They stood in the door of Gary's apartment. "Well," Peter started, "thank you for letting us stay with you. If you're ever around Horizon, make sure and stop by, okay?"
Gary smiled and nodded. "Sure," he said. "See you later." He closed the door behind them and picked up the paper.