CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE: THE EDGE

Her heart had stopped… or at least it felt like it. But just as fast as reality had kicked in, Scarlett realized her heart hadn't stopped; it was, in fact, racing a million miles an hour. Running as fast as she could towards the edge of the cliff, she grabbed Snake's right hand with both of hers… trying desperately to maintain her balance while holding on to him.

Snake-Eyes grasped her hand back… weakly, but showing signs of life nonetheless. But between her momentum and the tiny round rocks on top of the cliff, Scarlett felt herself slipping over the edge as well. She tried to lean backwards, but that didn't help, either. She couldn't plant her feet. If she didn't let go of him, she was going over, too.

She felt Snake-Eyes let go of her wrist; each and every one of his five fingers was wide open and spread out, as if to say, Let me go, Shana.

No, Snake. I'm NOT going to let you go. If you go over, I'm going with you… like it or not. Scarlett pulled his hand closer to him, feeling her body sliding off the cliff along with Snake-Eyes. You're not telling me what to do this time. If we die, at least we'll be together on the other side. I'll be there with you, Snake.

Scarlett was glad… for the first time, ever… that Snake-Eyes wore a mask. She could just imagine the look on his face when he'd realized she was going over with him; a look of… shock? Anger? Worst yet… disappointment? No matter what the look was, it was one she knew she wouldn't want to see. After all, if she had let Snake-Eyes kill the Impostor, this never would have happened. It's not like Snake-Eyes had never killed before, but she knew he had never killed anyone in a moment of rage… and he came very close to doing just that. And that would have changed him, for the worse.

Then again, if only she had let him run him through, they wouldn't be in this situation. She wouldn't blame him for being disappointed in her.

She desperately reached back in a futile attempt, trying to grab anything she could get a hold of with her free arm, while her other hand kept a kung-fu grip on Snake-Eyes arm. Her long slender legs wrapped tightly around Snake-Eyes waist… there was no way that he was going to slide out of her grasp.

Even if she couldn't find anything to hold on to.

Her hand… desperately grabbing for anything, felt nothing but pebbles and dirt and her momentum was too great for her to stop. Scarlett sailed off the edge of the cliff.

Her heart jumped up into her throat; her initial reaction was to close her eyes – tightly… as tight as possible, just like a teenager might after plummeting down the world's tallest roller coaster – and pray… pray… as hard as she could. Oh, God, I… Words escaped her in that moment, but her prayer was written on her heart and on the forefront in her mind.

But… even if her prayers weren't answered, and if she was going over the edge – if she absolutely wasn't going to get out of this one alive… well, then at least she'd be with Snake-Eyes. I'm sorry I couldn't save you…

It felt as if she was gliding through the air like a baby bird falling from the sky. She was completely weightless, and everything suddenly became quiet except for the calm whisper of the quiet wind.

Snapping her back to reality, Scarlett felt something grab her arm roughly. Or someone. Two hands on her wrist… no, three. No… now there were four hands on her body. It was as if the hands of the angels themselves had stopped her from falling over the cliffs edge. She suddenly became aware of the fact that it might not be over for her and Snake… not just yet anyway. God did answer her prayer.

With her eyes fully opened, she looked up to see who had grabbed her arm. There were two; the first was a scruffy-looking man with large fore-arms, struggling to keep his balance as he squat in position – leaning backward – tightly holding on to her arm. The other was a blonde lady in a tight black combat outfit, squatting in a similar pose as the man next to her except with one leg lunging out to the side for balance.

Clutch and Vorona.

She had never been so happy to see either one of them!

"Bet you've never been so glad to see me, huh, babe?" Clutch asked Scarlett with a grunt, pulling her up to safety. "I was gonna tell you to lay off the Snickers but I realized all that extra weight you were carrying happened to be a hundred and eighty pound ninja, so you're off the hook this time."

Scarlett was overjoyed to see him, something she never thought would happen in a million years. Having moments ago been under the assumption that she would have joined the Impostor in a hundred-foot fall into the deep lake – and, with her luck, plastered along the jagged rocks jutting out of the water – she didn't mind his chauvinistic comment. This time, anyway.

"Keep pulling her up," Vorona told Clutch as she bent down to grab Snake-Eyes and hoist him up. "Oh no…" she whispered in a hushed voice, realizing for the first time that Snake had been gravely wounded. Clutch looked over at Vorona and gave her a knowing look, fully aware of the situation. After they had dragged both Scarlett and Snake-Eyes back on the stable ground, Clutch pulled out a small emergency medical kit out of one of his oversized cargo pockets. "Snake, hold on man… we'll get you through this. Just don't give up on us…"

XXXXX

Snake was still conscious, but barely. He knew he was in bad shape. He was getting weaker by the moment; of course he knew most of it was subconscious now that the true threat was eliminated and his adrenaline surge had started declining. It was getting harder to breathe; his chest had to work harder at sucking in oxygen… rising and falling, inhaling and exhaling, at a much more of a dramatic pace. Every time he breathed in he could feel a stabbing pain in his chest.

He was flat on his back, but his three allies were doing the best they could to stop the bleeding. He could hear all three of them talking at the same time. For starters, Vorona had pulled out a radio, apparently attempting to get a hold of someone. Snake-Eyes couldn't tell who… in fact, he could hardly tell what she was saying. It was hard to center his attention on anything else other than breathing and staying alive… especially when it took so much of his focus and discipline.

Clutch was talking to Scarlett; it sounded like he was giving her instructions to help assist him as he tried to get the bleeding to stop.

Scarlett. For some reason, she looked more beautiful than ever. But the look on her face… pure anguish and torment. But still… she looked radiant. Even with random strands of red hair that had escaped from her pony tail brushing against the side of her face. It seemed as if Scarlett was caught between trying to help Clutch and speaking words of encouragement to Snake-Eyes… simultaneously. I knew I needed to teach her to multi-task a little better than this, he thought to himself.

A soft sensation brushed against the fingers on his right hand. Scarlett… yes, it was her. She was holding his hand, talking to him. With weak fingers, he held her hand as tight as he could.

Snake-Eyes couldn't tell what she was saying, but it didn't matter; he could hear her words, even though he couldn't quite decipher them. Her words and manner was somehow soothing… peaceful. They gave him such a… a calming feeling.

Scarlett had lifted his hand; he meant to hold her hand back, he truly did. But he couldn't; he couldn't even lift his hand when she had raised it up to her chest.

Clutch was yelling something at her, Snake could tell… Clutch seemed agitated. Scarlett was initially ignoring him; whether or not it was on purpose, Snake-Eyes didn't know. Eventually, Scarlett turned her head to focus on what Clutch was asking her.

Turning his head to the side, looking out over the cliff side, Snake-Eyes noticed for the first time that the sun was rising over the lake… the dawn had broke. The dark night was over, and the glowing ball of fire was slowly rising over the horizon, shining its rays of light across Borovia. The light seemed brighter than usual; Snake-Eyes had to squint just to see the sunrise. It was bright… so intensely bright it was hard to see – but it was worth it. The blinding rays from the sun filled up his eyelids even through his visor… so strong, so overpowering – the only thing that he could see…

Scarlett, still holding his hand… as tightly as she could, and with both of her hands, felt his hand go limp.