Asylum

Chapter 1-4

David knew Andrew must have heard him step out onto the ledge, because the boy halted his leap to turn and look behind him. In jeans and a button-down shirt, David didn’t look like one of the cops on the deathwatch in the room behind him. Andrew would probably guess he was in his fifties, because the gray in his hair made him look older than he was. Everything about him practically screamed doctor, so David tried to affect an easygoing, Hey, I’m cool manner that he knew looked ridiculous, standing sixty feet in the air, on the edge of a building.

“So,” David said calmly, “kind of cold out here. My name is David.”

“Did they send you out?” Andrew asked.

“Them?” David hooked his thumb toward the window. “Yeah, they asked me to come out and talk to you. They seem to think I can get you to come in.”

“I won’t. I’m going to jump.” Andrew’s voice was unemotional and honest.

“I know,” David said. “Nothing I can say will stop you from jumping. I knew that the first time I looked out that window.”

David leaned over slightly to inspect the ground below. A crowd had gathered and was being held back by the police. The airbag was almost fully inflated, but it was a futile attempt as there were many places Andrew could jump to avoid its safety. Vertigo threatened to tumble David over the edge, so he looked back up at Andrew to save his balance.

“I killed my brother. Did they tell you that?” Andrew said.

“No, they didn’t tell me much, really. I’m kind of winging it.”

Andrew smiled. “Well, I haven’t jumped yet, so you got that going for you.”

David once again peered over the ledge. He noted where the airbag was and made some quick calculations. It could work, but it was insane and, therefore, ironic.

“It’s odd,” David said.

“What is?”

“They said you’re schizophrenic, but I don’t see any symptoms. You seem pretty coherent and lucid, yet here you are about to jump.”

“Well, I’m hearing voices right now.”

“What are they saying?”

“They are telling me to jump, mostly,” Andrew said.

“Mostly?”

“Sometimes I think they are dead people trying to talk to me or people from another place, but I know it’s just because I’m crazy.”

“Well, hearing voices is weird.” David kept talking, stalling as long as he could. “But you hardly seem crazy, and it’s sort of my job to spot crazies.”

This won another smile from Andrew. David smiled back, but Andrew’s quickly faded. “I am going to jump now, Doctor. What are you going to do?”

“Well, I’m going to jump at the same time and try to force you in the direction of the airbag.” It sounded even more insane when David said it out loud.

This surprised Andrew, and he seemed to reevaluate David, maybe raising him a few notches above the standard doctor. “Really? I’m impressed. Are you ready?”

“Ready as I can be.” David crouched. His heart was pounding. What the hell was he doing? Why was he suddenly risking his life for this kid? He was the crazy one out on the ledge.

“OK, here we go.”

And Andrew and David stepped into nowhere together.