*Falling Fallen Boy

I and perhaps five others
Standing down in the valley of grey sand and red rock
Some kind of night though the red cliff walls are lit by eerie light
A conversation I cannot follow
With no understanding of why we are here
Or indeed who these people are
I am included though as they speak

One of them cries
– Look!
And points up
We all turn to the cliff
A shadow of a shape falls against the red rock
The cliff at such a height demands a long descent
Until with the loudest of thumps the body strikes the ground
– Jesus!
Comes a curse
We run towards the base of the cliff
Heavy footfalls as dull thuds against the sandy ground
The spot is marked by a depression in the dust
But when we approach we see no body
Nothing at all

– Look!
Comes the cry
There against the red rock is the shape of a body
We begin to run towards the base of the cliff
As the body grows nearer and nearer its size can be discerned
The shape of a boy
We run with all of our might
Straining against the loose dust
But some distance from where we are the body strikes the ground
The ground that seemed solid cracks and plunges into liquid
Growing out from the spot where the body fell a sea appears
We set our heels in the dirt to stop but it is upon us
Yells and screams as we drop into the water
Someone grasps at my body in the darkness but I am pushed down
In the distance I see the glowing form of the body
Lifeless and drifting down into the depths
Too deep then for the light from his body to reach me
The cold of the water bites at my muscles
Lungs burning for air
I open my mouth as the cold clutches my throat

– Look!
One of our fellows cries pointing up at the cliff
A body falls fast from the reaching heights of the red rock
The others turn and run for the cliff-base
I stand and watch the body
Strangely silent and with some ethereal grace
– Come on!
I’m spurred
So I begin first to walk then jog and run
Some ways ahead they have stopped
Leaning on their knees and desperate for breath
Then they look up and still themselves
I look up as I run towards them
The body of a boy hurtles down toward the dusty ground
Then with a loud thump the body hits
Immediately I drop to the sand
At the instant of the body’s impact I feel every bone in my body break
I scream with every last breath of air I have
Vocal chords tear under the extreme strain
Blood is forced up through my throat and into my mouth
The others race towards me but the ground beneath me begins to give way
I feel my weight pushing down into the sand
They try and grasp my clothing but the ground begins to swallow me
I blink away tears and see in the distance the body of the boy convulse
He lifts his shaking head to look at me and reaches out with one arm
A look of desperation and anguish on his face
But I only see him for a moment before I am swallowed by the cold dark ground
Great masses of weight crush against my broken body
I open my mouth to cry out but it fills with dust
Forcing itself down through my torn throat and into my lungs

– Look!
I cry as I spot a shadow at the top of the red cliff
The others turn and look up
A boy falls in the darkness against the dim rock
But there is something so strange that I cannot decipher for a moment
Until I look around at where we stand
We seem to be at the foot of a stage in a theatre
Empty except for we who stand there
Some few lights have lit the scene
But otherwise we are shrouded in shadow
The boy dangles from a rope and harness
Stage props of painted rock fly from the base to the roof
The illusion of falling while the boy’s body stays still
One of our group walks forward to take a closer look
Footsteps against hollow wooden board
I stamp my feet and feel solid rock
Looking up quickly to the boy I see the cliff
Its height great and imposing
But as I blink I see only the stage and the painted boards moving
Suddenly the boy’s cable is released
He falls from where he hung down onto the stage with a hollow thud
We all of us approach the body there and see
A slowly growing pool of blood
The boy’s eyes are open and his expression ghastly
Something warm forces its way through my throat and into my mouth
The metallic taste of blood
I open my lips and touch my fingers
Drawing away brings the site of crimson
It begins to drip and flow from the corners of my mouth
The others stare at me in horror
I take a step back
And another
Staggering as I begin to feel weak
The lights of the theatre begin to dim
I want to cry out
But my heel catches and my body falls backwards

Darkness
Above me the black sky with some sparse sprinkling of stars
To one side a valley
I turn my head to the other side and see a dark red blur
The sensation of falling
Air rushing around my body
Somewhere far bellow me there is a tiny cry
I blink
Then a sharp crack
Nothing
I open my eyes
Lying on the ground looking up at the cliff
Then five faces look down at me from above
They are all mine