Page 48 of Gothikana

Muscles and lungs burning with the exercise, Corvina hit the cobblestoned path on the side of the wing that led to the towers, not knowing why she needed to get there, just that she did.

Legs pumping, she finally made it to the clearing in front of the tower and saw a crowd gathered farther up ahead. Dread poolinglow in her belly, Corvina slowed down a bit, trying to understand what was happening.

‘Oh God!’ she heard Jade scream.

Adrenaline filled her veins and she cut through the crowd, trying to get to her friend.

‘Jade, what—’ Her words cut off abruptly as the scene unravelled around her.

Every single person in the large crowd was looking up, Erica holding Jade as she sobbed, her eyes somewhere above them as well.

Corvina turned, tilting her neck back.

Her heart stopped.

There on the roof of the tower, Troy stood alone, appearing so small that far up, not even looking down at the people yelling at him to stop and come down. He didn’t flinch, just stared vacantly ahead, unhearing of the calls for him.

A gasp left her lips.

What was he doing up there?

‘Troy!’ she heard Jax call very, very loudly, so loudly she knew his voice must have reached the top of the tower. But Troy didn’t respond, didn’t even move from his perch. Chills covered her at the sight.

‘Jesus.’ The curse from behind her made her realise Vad had followed her to the tower — of course he had — and then he was running to the building.

‘He’s locked the door to the roof, Mr Deverell,’ Ethan shouted, running up to Vad. ‘We’ve tried going up and getting him to open it, but he’s not responding. There’s no way to break the lock.’

Corvina watched Vad grit his teeth. ‘There’s another way to the roof,’ he told them, and Corvina wondered for a split second how he knew that. ‘I’ll need you guys to talk him down. Come on.’

Ethan and Jax followed him without another word, speeding up behind him. Corvina wrapped her arms around herself as the crowd thickened in the area, gasps and shouts ringing out as more and more people realised what was happening.

‘Troy!’ Erica yelled. ‘Come down, please!’

He didn’t look down.

Teachers hurried into the clearing, being told different versions of ‘Mr Deverell has gone up’, and waited on pins and needles. Students watched, riveted and terrified for a boy who was liked by all.

The sky darkened rapidly overhead, Troy’s white jacket standing out in contrast against it as Corvina held her breath, not understanding why he was doing this. He had spoken to her that very morning, and there had been nothing about his happy behaviour that could point to this.

Why this? Why now? What had happened between breakfast and this moment to drive him to that roof? And why did Mo tell her about it?

Troy took a step closer to the edge and a collective gasp rose fromthe crowd.

‘Oh God, Troy,’ Corvina cried out, her hand covering her mouth, unable to contain her fear for the boy who had become her good friend, a boy whose company she loved, a boy who had accepted her in his made family like a long-lost sibling. Her heart clenched, eyes burning as she willed him to come down and talk about whatever was bothering him. Should she have asked him that morning when they’d been talking? Could she have done anything to prevent him from going up there?

As though he heard her voice, he looked straight down, right at her, and gave her a smile that chilled her to her bones.

Then he walked off the roof.

Her scream drowned in a sea of others as his body succumbed to gravity.

It happened in one split second.

One second he was on the roof, the next second he was on the ground in front of the tower, blood spreading out under his head, pooling around him, the boy full of life gone.

A few students ran forward.

Corvina stood frozen to the spot, shaking, silent tears streaming down her face as she saw the body of the happy, jovial boy who’d been her friend lying broken on the hard ground.

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