Disclaimer: I don't own Jumper.
A/N: Ok, so chapters will probably be up more regularly now. I'm not sure if this chapter is ok, but I need it for the plot, and the next chapter is one of my faves so far. So I'm just going to post it and hope it's not so terrible that you all run screaming.
Griffin's Revenge
Chapter 11 - Cliff-Jumping
++Three days later++
Falcon looked at Griffin and David in turn. "Ready?" she asked. Both nodded.
The three of them were holding hands, reluctantly in Griffin's case, ready for David to take them to where he had left Roland. All of them carried versions of Griffin and Falcon's tried and tested 'Death to Paladins' kit, pliers and wire cutters, mobile phones, food and water, a selection of photos, a change of clothes (added due to Falcon's complaints while on previous expeditions), and each person's preferred weapons. Griffin had his baseball bat and Paladin 'zapper', Falcon carried a collection of knives of varying sizes and a blowpipe, complete with poison darts, while David, unused to hunting Paladins, had emulated Griffin and chosen a baseball bat and a 'zapper'.
David took a deep breath, concentrating, then Jumped. The three landed in a small cave, shaded from the burning sun, halfway up the Grand Canyon. Griffin absent-mindedly stepped backwards, and slipped, but the others caught him before he fell. Shrugging them off, he glared and David, then turned to examine the cave.
It was empty. Griffin stared for a moment, then spun round wildly and yelled a string of expletives into the canyon. Falcon slowly closed her eyes and clenched the fist not holding a knife. David sighed, and silently berated himself for not feeding Roland to the sharks.
Griffin turned back round suddenly, and pinned David to the wall of the cave. "This is your bloody fault," he snarled. "I told you to leave Roland to me, but did you listen? No, of course not. Guess why? Because you're a selfish bastard who doesn't give a damn about anyone but himself. You've ruined everything!"
Falcon finally managed to pull Griffin off David. Griffin stood still for a moment, trembling with anger and frustration, red-faced, veins sticking out on his neck. Then a thought struck him, and suddenly all the tension drained away as Griffin began to laugh hysterically. The others just looked at him, Falcon terrified that he had finally gone mad, that this was the end.
Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the laughter stopped. Griffin straightened up and stared at David until he began to squirm. "We don't need you anymore," said Griffin quietly. "You've shown us where you left Roland. We can take it from here." He turned to Falcon. "Cliff-Jumping?" he suggested. Falcon dithered for a moment, not sure whether it was a good idea to leave David. Griffin scowled. "Or you can stay with Pylon-boy," he said.
Falcon looked at David, then forced a smile for Griffin. "Cliff-Jumping," she said. Griffin nodded, then the two of them walked to the mouth of the cave. Taking a deep breath, they hurled themselves off the edge.
David ran forward in horror, and was just in time to see the pair Jump, hand in hand. Looking around wildly, he caught a glimpse of them, now above him, as they Jumped again. Then he understood what cliff-Jumping meant. Falcon and Griffin had adapted rock-climbing, but instead of climbing, which was fairly slow in comparison, they were Jumping up the cliff in stages. Not only was this fast, but it meant that anyone else could only follow them with extreme difficulty. David watched helplessly as the two Jumped out of sight.
A/N: Ok, so it's not perfect, but wait for the next chapter. It's a good one! I hope. And please review. I know how many people are reading this thanks to the Stats pages, but I don't know if that's because it's great or because it makes you feel better about your own writing. Please enlighten me!