He follows right behind me, landing only a few inches back. “Sometimes they do, but not often. There not the best of climbers, you know.” He speeds up as we reach the end of the rock and flies across the gap.

“Yeah, in the city they seemed to stay on lower ground, which made them more of a pain in the ass.” I follow, putting less effort into my jump, yet still go farther. “They were always in the way.”

Aiden pauses to catch his breath.

“Maybe we should take a break,” I suggest.

He waves me off, standing up straight. “Just keep going.”

So we continue, running farther into the night as more vampires cry out.  Another gap and I don’t falter, soaring through the air and landing on the other side like a cat. Aiden follows, landing with a stumble and skidding onto his stomach. He curses under his breath, but jumps to his feet, shaking it off. The more jumps we make, the more his movements lag, like he’s draining of energy, but won’t admit it.

“Are you sure you don’t want to rest for the night?” I fake a panting breath. “I’m starting to get a little tired.”

He pauses, his hand grasping his side. “Let’s go a little further, and then take a break.” He sounds relieved.

I nod and launch myself into the night, flinging my body over the next gap, not realizing how wide it is until I’m halfway over. I land, tripping a little, but saving myself from a fall. I turn quickly, starting to shout at Aiden to stop, but he’s already airborne, arms flinging. I hold my breath as he lands, but he catches his boot on a rock and stumbles forward. His feet rip out from under him and I watch as he falls off the edge and vanishes into the night.

“Aiden,” I whisper, running to the ledge. “Aiden can you hear me?” The only answer I get is a herd of vampire shrieks, reverberating up the cliffs wall. I lie down on my stomach and peek over cautiously, hoping I don’t lead them to us. “Aiden,” My voice is soft, guarded. My stomach rolls as a crackle echoes from the land below. My hands grip tightly around the trim of the rock as I pull myself farther over, searching, hoping. “Aiden, please be alive.”

“Kayla.” The sound of his voice is a blanket of relief and my body trembles in a way I’ve never felt before. “I’m okay, just try and keep it down.”

A long pause and the sound of the vampires’ shrieks is maddening, almost driving me to the point that I fling myself over the edge, ready to take them all on and see if I can make them scurry.

But instead I whisper, “Can you get back up?”

Moments tick by.