Out of the Black - Lee Doty [124]
Ping thought he might have nodded. He must have, because Rae let go. He didn't fall, though he had to clutch the bed with both hands to prevent it.
After a moment of swaying nausea and blurred vision, she returned with a wheelchair in tow.
"So, before this is over, how many more times do you think I'm going to be beaten unconscious?"
"About once every two days." She gave him what he perceived as a blurry smile, "...more, if you can regain consciousness quicker."
Even the small snort hurt his head. "Ow. I think I was only awake for two hours between my last two comas."
"You think that's a scary prospect? Try this: You think you're bald under those bandages?"
His elbows were on the armrests of the chair and his palms were pressed to his head to stop the agony the laughter cost him.
"Personally, I'm betting on the Ernie-Bert uft."
"Stop. You're killing me." He groaned, laughing weakly.
"Don't try to stop me, you don't know how long the line was."
"Stop!" He managed from under the pain of the laughter.
They wheeled down the hall toward the elevators.
***
Dek sat like a medieval lord surveying his fiefdom from the ramparts of his baroque brown stone castle.
He crouched on the ornate Façade that adorned the hospital's roof, soaking in the beauty of the surrounding city. This was one of his favorite view spots, though he was sure no Chicago tourist brochures listed it. Perched like a gargoyle on the neo-baroque stone of the hospital, surrounded by the skyscrapers that jutted up on all sides, night filled with the city lights that lit up the clouds above- moments like these could stretch out into hours of wondering appreciation... if he had the time. It had only been hours since he'd left Alex and company in Lake Geneva, but he could feel the clock ticking.
Below him, vehicles of every type coursed around the buildings like electric blood moving through the body of the nighttime city. Tonight was going to be something special. If only he had time to stay. There was a storm brewing... a big one. The air was already lush with the fragrance of the first sporadic showers. Wind drove rivers of clouds across the lowering sky. Soon the clouds would brush the tips of the buildings. Perhaps there would be lightening. He loved stormy weather.
Reluctantly, he stood. He took a final look at the surrounding spectacle. He breathed deep, then leaned out and dropped headfirst over the edge.
The hospital's dark gray windows slipped by slowly. Again, he spread his arms, feeling this was the preferred configuration for the in-flight Superman. He raised his arms above his head, caught a ledge three floors from the top of the building. As he fell past, he applied pressure, bending his elbows as his momentum drove him into a somersault. Halfway through the roll, as the lights of the city spun through his field of vision, he reversed his grip on the ledge- gripping with his fingers where before he had pushed with his palms. Head tucked, his back slammed into the stone wall. He rolled down the wall the length of his spine, until his feet fell flat on the wall with his legs crouched. He let go of the ledge and his momentum carried him into a tight crouch with his feet against the wall. At about ten degrees elevation, he jumped with all his strength. Behind him, the brown stone cracked as he rocketed nearly horizontally away from the wall.
The sound of rushing air filled his ears. Below him, the bright street slipped by as he threw himself into a midair roll. He added a full twist because he had the time, and because it was fun. Still more time, so he did the flip in layout position, limbs outstretched, fingers scything the chill night air, back straight, head moving from side to side, drinking in the show as the city swung around him.
The parking structure across the four-lane street approached before gravity had time to pluck him from flight. He hit the top level perhaps five meters from the edge, landing on his feet, but then rolling twice to absorb some of his horizontal