ACT TWO
Scene Twenty-nine:
"Falling"
Vi ran out of the empty store, onto the dark street.
She breathed heavily. She headed down one end of the street, then turned around and ran back the other way.
She didn't know where to go.
Her heart was a black hole.
"Viktor! Viktor! Where are you?!" she shouted, throwing her voice.
It echoed off the few buildings that remained standing, silent and still.
"Viktor! I'm right here!" she cried, throwing her arms out.
Yet nothing moved.
"Viktor! I'm right here! Viktor!" she sobbed.
The dark blue and black shadows of the night didn't reply.
"Viktor! Come on, man! I'm right here! I'm looking for you!"
Out of the shadows, Ekko appeared from one of the side alleys. He rushed toward Vi and grabbed her by the elbow, frantically trying to drag her toward the shadow of the nearest ruined building.
"Shh! Vi! C'mon! Come with me!" he whispered frantically, "I know how to hide you!"
But Vi barely acknowledged him, brushing the boy aside easily, given their size difference.
Even so, desperate, Ekko grabbed her arm again, dug in his heels and tugged harder.
"I've got places the cops will never look – just please!" he begged.
Ekko tried to reason with her, but Vi didn't hear him. Vi shook loose of him again, half laughing, half sobbing. "Don't leave me here!" she wept to the sky.
Ekko ran around to her front, trying to block her from leaving. He grabbed at her shoulders to push her to stop. Vi whirled on him.
"GET OFF ME!" she shouted at Ekko, pushing him away.
He tripped backward and fell flat to the ground.
The boy stared up at her, stunned by her fury, shocked at her shoving him away. He'd never seen her so distraught before. Nor had she ever pushed him away like that before. He knew there was no reasoning with Vi.
Tears pricked his eyes.
Vi's face softened slightly when she saw his expression. But she couldn't bring herself to comfort him. She shook her head, a sign for him to go away. She was beyond consolation.
Ekko stayed on the ground as Vi limped past him.
…
She continued onward for miles even though her feet hurt.
"Viktor, come on… Kill me! Kill me too, Viktor! I'm right here!" she continued to cry weakly into the night, her throat hurting.
She didn't know how long she walked. Maybe hours. She only knew everything was over.
What was the point anymore? Everyone she knew was dead. Everyone she'd ever loved was dead. Her parents. Vander. Powder. Jayce. And now Caitlyn. Even Ekko would get hurt because of her.
All her fault. Everything was her fault.
Vi stumbled out of an alley, blinking, surprised to find herself back on the same street with Doc's Drugstore a block in the distance.
She'd come back to where she'd started.
By now, Vi's voice was too hoarse to scream in frustration. She wailed silently. She was exhausted.
She didn't know where else to go. She wanted to collapse in the street. She should just wait here. Wait in this wide street for anyone to take her. She didn't care who found her. The Sharks, the Jets, the cops, or Viktor, it didn't matter.
Her eyes hurt from crying. She barely had any tears left. Her jaw felt shaky, slack of any strength left.
As she cried on silent tears, she heard something.
She blinked and narrowed her blurry eyes as she saw a figure in the distance. They were running down the street toward Doc's. Toward her.
Was it Viktor?
Vi stared as the figure approached, emerging for a moment under a warmly lit streetlamp.
Was that…?
Her heart thudded in her chest. She froze, staring, seeing something she couldn't comprehend.
Midnight blue hair.
Then she could.
It was Caitlyn. She was running toward her with a beaming smile, carrying a suitcase in her hand. Her dark blue dress flowed behind her as she ran, growing closer.
Vi broke into a smile.
Caitlyn was… alive?
Or maybe she was dead already. Maybe this was heaven. It had to be if Caitlyn were here.
Vi didn't care whichever it was.
She started slowly walking toward her. The closer Caitlyn came, the more Vi picked up her pace.
She was really, truly alive.
Fresh tears sprang to her eyes. Vi wiped her face, jogging faster, laughing between gasps, choking on sobs.
As she looked up from wiping her eyes, Vi saw Caitlyn's face change from a wide smile to a look of terror.
"NO!" Caitlyn cried.
Before Vi could understand, tremendous pain flared in her shoulder. Only a second later, she registered a distant popping sound that made her ears ring.
Vi never felt anything like it before. She didn't know where it came from. It ripped through her body like fire, but it meant nothing to her.
She gripped her shoulder and still ran to meet Caitlyn.
Another popping sound.
Caitlyn screaming.
Pain ripped through Vi's chest, and she felt her body fall to the ground.
Laying on the asphalt, the world suddenly zeroed in on the pain in her chest and shoulder. Against better judgement, Vi tried gingerly raising herself and turning herself over, the agony only increasing as she lay upon her back.
She couldn't crawl. She couldn't move.
All that existed was the ground beneath her. The pain. And the sky above her.
She looked up at the dark sky. Not a single star could be seen. It was all black.
Even though she lay upon the asphalt, she still felt like she was falling down a long tunnel. Growing weightless.
Falling…
Then she heard the sound of heels hitting pavement, coming closer. A suitcase thudded to the ground. In seconds, her face loomed over her. Midnight hair framing her face.
"No, no! ¡Mi amor, mi corazón!" Caitlyn whimpered, holding her, taking her hand and cradling her head.
Vi weakly smiled. She wasn't falling anymore. Her heart could fly.
"Caitlyn…" was all she said, her favorite word, "Caitlyn…"
"No, stay with me!" Caitlyn commanded.
Vi wanted to wipe her tears away. She didn't regret anything.
Caitlyn started singing, even though her voice cracked, as though she were singing a lullaby.
Only you,
You're the only thing I'll see,
Forever…
There were tears in Vi's eyes, but she couldn't join her song. Her voice wouldn't work anymore. All she could do was smile and squeeze her lover's arm.
In my eyes,
In my words,
And in everything I do…
Nothing else but you
Ever…
Caitlyn broke down sobbing as Vi's grip lost its strength and released her.
Caitlyn's heart broke into a thousand pieces. She was undone.
/
"¡Mi amor, mi corazón!"
"My love, my heart/center."
/