First Admiral 01 First Admiral by Benning William J

Author:Benning, William J. [Benning, William J.]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Malachite Quills Publishing
Published: 2012-02-27T06:00:00+00:00

She stood there silently, her blazer buttoned, collar turned up against what to Billy was a surprisingly cold wind for such a warm mid-summer’s day. With no response from the girl, Billy continued inched forwards once again. He kept his eyes fully focussed on the young girl whose head was hunched down into her black uniform blazer, and whose attention was anywhere but in the here and now.

“Jennifer,” Billy tried calling softly to her again, close enough to see her eyes.

What he saw chilled him to his very soul. He saw the blank, staring gaze of a human being who had given up. “Watch the eyes,” the voice in his head instructed. The part of his mind that was Teg Portan recognised the vacant glassy stare of a being who had been pushed beyond the limit of their endurance by unimaginable suffering. “Watch the eyes,” the now dead Garmaurian First Admiral counselled him, “always watch the eyes.”

Part of Billy felt great pity for Jennifer Martin, realising that she must have suffered dreadfully to bring her to this stage. Once again, the part of him that was Teg Portan crushed that emotion and focussed his mind on trying to save this young life. He knew that Jennifer Martin would jump to her certain death if he, or anyone else, made a single, wrong move.

“Jennifer,” Billy called to her again, slightly louder than before and this time got a response, as he carefully crept forwards.

“Stay away from me!” she called, her eyes wide and anxious, startled by this sudden and immediate presence, clinging to the low wall, and then realised it was Billy Caudwell, “Oh, it’s only you, Billy,” she added, and relaxed slightly.

There were times Billy wished that he had been more outgoing at school. However, at that moment he was eternally grateful he had been one of the clever, quiet ones who had never bothered anyone, and was not perceived as a threat.

“What are you doing up here Jenny?” Billy asked inching forwards the last few feet that he dared to.

“I’ve had enough, Billy,” she replied returning to her trance-like staring at the pavement a long, long way below her.

In her mind she was now determined to jump, yet that primitive survival instinct, that fear of the unknown, made her delay the inevitable step into oblivion.

“Enough of what?” Billy asked, desperate to engage her in conversation.

He knew that he had to buy time. He knew that he had to keep her talking until the adults could get there. He hoped that they could somehow resolve this situation without Jennifer Martin being left squashed on the cold, hard, grey pavement below. “Where is Mr. Brown?” Billy’s mind raced desperately hoping for help to show up soon. Surely Baxter can’t have gotten lost on the way back down a spiral staircase.

“Enough of everything,” Jennifer Martin said blankly.

She had had enough of the cold silences, the insults, the shouting and the anger. There was nothing left for her in this life except more of the same, the numbness, the constant numbness.

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