Leap
I found myself as one of 6 people who'd become trapped on a narrow ledge on the outside of the 3rd floor of a large house in San Francisco. Looking out, I could see the lights of the city, the hills, and in the distance, the bay. A cold humid wind was whipping my hair across my face.
Looking down, I could see a small crowd of people below, staring up at the scene playing out on the side of the house. Directly below me was a squat row of hedges immediately against the base of the building, and a set of several stone steps descending steeply from the door to the sidewalk a few feet away and below. On either side of the steps, a narrow strip of grass provided the only potentially cushioned landing area, but its steep slope would have made for a dangerous landing from anything near this height.
I briefly saw the scene from a third person perspective: all of us lined up on the 8 inch ledge, each with a hand or two on the eaves overhead for balance, myself actually appearing as a thin man in his mid-fifties, with streaky gray hair and large black-rimmed glasses. I looked very nervous, even compared to the others on the ledge. I seemed much older, and much less likely to survive a fall without injuries, so my anxiety was not unfounded.
Back into my own point of view, I began turning around to face the house, thinking I'd have a better chance of climbing down from that orientation, and also slightly more likely to catch myself in the chance of a fall. After several long minutes or rearranging my hands and feet a fraction of an inch at a time, I finally found myself facing the beige stucco wall.
At that point murmuring below caught my attention, and I carefully glanced around, to observe that my other 5 companions were now missing. My immediate reaction was to look down to see if they'd fallen, but seeing no one on the ground but the original bystanders, and following those people's faces back up to the house, I discovered that while I was busy turning around, the others had managed to climb down to the second story across the top of the curved arch over a large window.
Retaining a firm grip on anything overhead I could grasp, I slowly followed in their footsteps, shuffling down the rough curved surface. Once down beside the others again, I once more turned to face outward. Half as far from the ground now, I surveyed the possible places to jump, again settling on one of the sloped grassy patches, knowing I'd probably bounce out toward the street and would need to be prepared to roll.
With a weak smile, I glanced at the girl next to me, then jumped. Everything went black.
Looking down, I could see a small crowd of people below, staring up at the scene playing out on the side of the house. Directly below me was a squat row of hedges immediately against the base of the building, and a set of several stone steps descending steeply from the door to the sidewalk a few feet away and below. On either side of the steps, a narrow strip of grass provided the only potentially cushioned landing area, but its steep slope would have made for a dangerous landing from anything near this height.
I briefly saw the scene from a third person perspective: all of us lined up on the 8 inch ledge, each with a hand or two on the eaves overhead for balance, myself actually appearing as a thin man in his mid-fifties, with streaky gray hair and large black-rimmed glasses. I looked very nervous, even compared to the others on the ledge. I seemed much older, and much less likely to survive a fall without injuries, so my anxiety was not unfounded.
Back into my own point of view, I began turning around to face the house, thinking I'd have a better chance of climbing down from that orientation, and also slightly more likely to catch myself in the chance of a fall. After several long minutes or rearranging my hands and feet a fraction of an inch at a time, I finally found myself facing the beige stucco wall.
At that point murmuring below caught my attention, and I carefully glanced around, to observe that my other 5 companions were now missing. My immediate reaction was to look down to see if they'd fallen, but seeing no one on the ground but the original bystanders, and following those people's faces back up to the house, I discovered that while I was busy turning around, the others had managed to climb down to the second story across the top of the curved arch over a large window.
Retaining a firm grip on anything overhead I could grasp, I slowly followed in their footsteps, shuffling down the rough curved surface. Once down beside the others again, I once more turned to face outward. Half as far from the ground now, I surveyed the possible places to jump, again settling on one of the sloped grassy patches, knowing I'd probably bounce out toward the street and would need to be prepared to roll.
With a weak smile, I glanced at the girl next to me, then jumped. Everything went black.