"Connor." Anomaly hissed.
Connor groaned softly, wishing she would go away. "Five more minutes…" He murmured sleepily.
Anomaly punched him in the shoulder. "No, Con. Now."
"Ow!" He complained. "All right, I'm up, I'm up!" He rubbed his shoulder.
Anomaly grinned. "I want to show you something."
"Before the sun is out?" Connor demanded. "Real thrilling. Wake me when the sane people are up, k?"
She punched him again.
"OW!"
"C'mon, Con! Please?" Her voice pleaded with him.
Connor sighed and sat up. He could hardly refuse, even if she hadn't just punched him in the shoulder. "Fine." He gave in grudgingly.
"Great!" Anomaly leapt to her feet, her movement so fast she was barely a blur. "I'll go get Abby!"
"She's coming too?" Connor asked, panic filling his voice. But Anomaly was already gone.
He sighed and pulled himself out of the makeshift bed. It was surprising how cold it was out here night, not to mention how hard the seemingly soft sand was.
When he was finally completely awake, Anomaly returned, Abby yawning and following.
Connor smiled at Abby, and she smiled back. It was hard to see it in the dark, but it was there.
Anomaly grinned and motioned for them to follow her. They did as she asked.
They walked in silence. Connor hoped it wouldn't be too far, and thankfully got his wish.
They stood on the edge of the cliff for what seemed like forever. Connor sighed. "What's up here?"
Anomaly shushed him. "Just wait."
He glared at her for a moment, then continued to wait.
It didn't take too long. A few minutes later, Connor saw ac faint brush of light dancing across the landscape. Slowly, the sun began to rise, and Connor was able to see once more.
He gasped.
The sunrise from his time, always such a perfect picture, meant for artists and poets and writers, was nothing compared to this. Colors danced and flashed across the sky, streaking the air with their brilliant light. Purple and blue radiated away from the orange sun, pink flashing above.
And, there, was the landscape itself.
During the day, it was nothing but sand, the cold desert that seemed to hold your very mind in its grip.
But now, it was a sea of color and light. The sunrise reflected against every grain of sand, casting beautiful colors across the land and sky, a picture so perfect there were no true words to describe it. Even the shadows, though they were few, were incredibly beautiful, reflecting the colors in the light much like the reflections in the bottom of a pool.
Abby's breath was similarly taken away. She pulled her eyes away from the sight to look at Connor.
He looked back at her.
Forgetting that Anomaly was there, Abby came closer to Connor. He put his arm around her, and she brought her lips to his.
When she broke off, she was still in his arms. Anomaly had turned away politely, pretending like she hadn't seen anything.
If only they'd seen her face. If only they could have seen the darkness in her eyes, the tears streaming down her face. Maybe they could have guessed what she was planning.
But maybe they couldn't.
Abby and Connor looked at the landscape, their eyes filled with wonder. They hadn't realized how close to the edge they'd gotten.
Anomaly snuck behind them, unnoticed. "I'm so sorry." She whispered.
She took two steps towards them. She didn't dare hesitate. She placed one hand on Connor's shoulder, and the other on Abby's.
And she pushed them over the edge of the cliff.
Connor hadn't really noticed Anomaly behind him. He hadn't heard his whispered words.
And he hadn't expected her to be so strong.
Her hand was firm and solid, a force that was impossible to resist as it sent him over the edge.
He could feel nothing but the rush of wind as he fell, the terror gripping his heart like ice. He'd let go of Abby, and despair flooded through him as he saw her falling next to him.
He tried to cry out, but his voice was taken by the fierce wind.
And then he felt Abby's hand in his. She looked at him. There was panic in her eyes. They could never survive this fall. There was no way.
A stronger instinct than self-perseveration flooded through him. An instinct to protect her, to make her feel safe, even when she wasn't. He held her hand tightly as they fell, the wind whipping against them, faster and faster as the ground grew closer and closer…
"Abby and Connor fell!"
Steven was on his feet in a second. "What? What do you mean, they fell?"
Anomaly's eyes were wide with panic. "Off a cliff!" She replied. "I was showing them the sunrise, and Connor slipped… Abby tried to help him, but…" Tears filled her eyes. Guilt was written on her face. She was the one who had taken them there in the first place…
Steven ran to her side. "Where?" he demanded.
Cutter and Jenny came up next to Anomaly. Steven tried to tell them what had happened, but Cutter cut him off. "She told us." He replied. Panic filled his eyes.
"This way!" Anomaly called. She took off; taking care to make sure they could follow her.
When they got to the cliff, Anomaly looked down. "There!" She told them.
Steven, Jenny, and Cutter all looked. Anomaly stepped behind them to let them see.
"I can't see anything!" Jenny cried.
"Exactly." Anomaly replied. Her voice had darkened. She was suddenly at Steven's side. "Sorry, solider." She whispered.
And she pushed him off.
Jenny whirled to face her, eyes wide in horror, but Anomaly was already right next to her.
Jenny found herself falling.
Anomaly looked at Cutter for a long time. His stare challenged her to try and do the same to him.
"What can you do?" She asked. Her voice wasn't hard, it was mournful, as though she didn't want this to happen.
And she pushed him off.
A/N: Ok, so I was wrong about making it longer, but at least it took less time! The next one will be longer, I PROMISE. But I had to end it here, it was way too perfect.
