Of the Trees(11)

Cassie frowned. That was odd. Jessica and Laney knew each other. It was a small town. But they weren’t exactly friends. The only common thread at all was Cassie, and that was only because Laney sometimes came to cheer her on at softball. It was strange, but Laney was definitely following Jessica, headed right across the carnival with her.

“Why isn’t Jon going after her?” Cassie asked, frowning. Jon was going off as well, though in completely the opposite direction. Unsurprisingly, there was a group of girls in tight clothing in the direction he was headed. No real shock there. Ryan shrugged as something else caught Cassie’s attention. A guy in a black-hooded sweatshirt, sandy hair falling into his face, stood next to the ride operator, staring up at them. His gaze followed her, his chin bobbing up and down slowly with the revolution of the giant, metal wheel. Cassie felt her stomach muscles clench in discomfort, and she gritted her teeth, pulling her attention back toward Ryan.

“Laney’s a big girl,” Ryan was saying. “You don’t always need to watch out for her.”

“She does stupid things.” Cassie sighed, ignoring the tingling at the base of her spine. The Ferris wheel was dropping them low again, swooping over the ground and swinging back up. Cassie kept her eyes on Ryan, ignoring the piercing stare from the creep next to the ride operator.

“It’s not your job to look out for her, though. She has parents.”

“Her parents don’t know half the things—”

“And neither do yours,” Ryan interrupted with a smile. Cassie rolled her head toward him, the corner of her mouth pulling down in concession.

“True,” she admitted.

“All I’m saying is, give worrying about Laney a rest for a while. Maybe worry about something else for a change,” Ryan said, a teasing quality to his voice.

“Like what, for example?”

“You mean besides dying in a freak Ferris wheel accident?” he asked, grinning.

“Right, of course, besides that,” Cassie answered, looking once more to the shaky handle. Ryan didn’t answer for a moment, and when Cassie looked back at him, he wouldn’t meet her eye. The ride brought them shakily higher. Looking out, the carnival was a brilliant spot of light in an otherwise darkened town. Trees, tall but not as tall as the ride, were black against the velvet night sky, just discernible by the gentle sway of the branches. There were stars, but Cassie couldn’t see them; the carnival was too bright. So the sky above them was a massive black curtain, encapsulating the town and their one spot of brilliant light.

Ryan cleared his throat, glancing over at her. “What about the Homecoming Dance?”

“I should worry about that?” Cassie asked, her eyebrows raised.

“No,” Ryan answered. “I mean, some people worry about getting asked.”

“Oh,” Cassie dismissed, waving her hand. “No worries here.”

“Did someone ask you?” he asked quickly.

Cassie locked eyes with Ryan and then felt her features go slack as the seat beneath her trembled. Her muscles locked, her whole body alert as the car shuddered, and then swayed underneath them. The metal bolt that attached their seat to the circular frame of the Ferris wheel groaned, the side Cassie sitting on lurching suddenly. The carriage jerked, and Cassie slid away from Ryan. She screamed, but the sound was lost in the music and chatter of the carnival below her. Before she hit the end of the seat, she put her hand out, gripping the metal side of the carriage hard enough to hurt her fingers, but halting her movement. Her other arm reached behind her, groping for something solid to grab. Her fingernails slid along the slick, plastic seat cushioning before they found the taut muscle of Ryan’s thigh and clung hard enough to bruise.

“I got you,” he said, slow and deliberate. She felt the pinch of his grip on her forearm and whimpered.

Below, everything seemed normal, almost otherworldly; the music creaked and groaned, people laughed and called out, there were screams of excitement, but none of fear. Cassie couldn’t see the ride operator, couldn’t focus on anyone below. Ryan had barely muttered an expletive before the side bolt holding the car to the frame snapped with a pang that echoed over the raucous air of the carnival. Cassie could hear it, could feel it when the bolt holding her side of the seat to the wheel frame gave. She slid back toward the falling end of the seat, her feet dangling over open air for a horrifying moment before she felt the tug from Ryan, and she pushed with her other arm on the solid, dangling end of the Ferris wheel car.

A scream erupted from her lips past a horrible pressure that had built in her throat. Ryan yelled for help, bellowing over the music that seemed louder and more obtrusive by the second. Cassie could feel the bruises forming where his fingers dug into her arm. Her feet scrambled, trying to find purchase on the swaying floor of the hanging car and slipping. She cried out, the ground swinging in and out of view directly below her, hazy with light and the dark pull of the bare earth.

Someone below finally noticed what was going on above. The Ferris wheel ground to a halt as a woman screamed, piercing the night air with the sound of terror. Cassie was jolted as the ride stopped, but the momentum was enough for her to kick her feet up. Her sneakers connected with the hanging end of the car, and she pushed herself up, sliding into Ryan’s lap. Her legs were outstretched, keeping her body taut across the seat. She stretched up, reaching for the wheel frame their car had not yet separated from. One of Ryan’s hands was already there, the other left her forearm and wrapped around her stomach, keeping her in place.