The Algorithm

Chapter five - Trust Fall

"Come here!" Marinette called to him. She waved him over to the edge of the building.

"I don't think right now is an appropriate time to admire the view." Adrien remarked.

"Just get over here." She barked. Adrien obeyed the order, not seeing any other choice.

The two of them peered down the side of the building, making Adrien feel uneasy about how high up they were, but he had Marinette's hand gripping his arm tightly for support.

On the street below was an army of men dressed from head to toe in black armor. They flooded the streets, leaving no more than a few inches of space between them as they stood in organized rows. They looked like swarms of ants from up on the rooftop but Adrien still felt his stomach tighten with fear at their numbers. Marinette pulled him by the arm to the other side of the rooftop. There wasn't much of a view from this side, about a few meters in front of them was another tall building, a story or two shorter than the one they stood on now.

"Do you think we could jump to that building?" Marinette asked.

"What!?" Adrien was completely dumbfounded at her statement. "Are you crazy?" Marinette shook her head.

"We could make it." She reassured him. Another crash against the door, making Adrien's muscles tense up at the sound.

Before he could protest, Marinette grabbed his hand and pulled him to the center of the rooftop. She gripped his wrist tightly, digging her nails into his skin. Suddenly she sprinted towards the roof's edge, pulling Adrien along with her. He caught up to her and ran alongside the deranged girl. He didn't have time to listen to all the alarms going off in his mind, telling him to stop. He just ran, until there was no room left to run.

As they approached the ledge of the building they pushed off and fell through the air. After what felt like the longest eight seconds of Adrien's life, they crashed onto the shorter building's rooftop. Adrien landed on his left shoulder which absorbed most of the blow. He grunted as he found his footing and got to his feet. His shoulder was aching but it could have been worse. He extended his hand out to Marinette who was still lying on her back, trying to suck in the air that was knocked out of her lung. She took his hand and Adrien lifted her up as she gasped for breath.

"Thank you." She mumbled but it came out as a croak of syllables.

"You're welcome." Adrien responded. After a moment he asked. "Now what?" The girl shook her head as she coughed.

"I'm not sure. We can't stay here." Finally, her breathing began to steady.

"There is nowhere left to go." He said as he searched for a means of escape. There was nothing on this rooftop. Not a door into the building, a ladder, a way to the ground. Nothing.

"We need to get to the ground," Marinette explained. "The Akuma soldiers will have that door knocked down any second." Adrien started to think about the banging on the door.

"How have they not picked the lock yet? It only took you a few seconds." He asked, confused as to their slowness.

"I jammed the lock." Marinette answered. "They will have tried taking the door off its hinges but the old things are rusted shut so their only option is to break it down. It's an industrial door so it will take them a while. But that doesn't matter. That army in the street will be making its way around the block so we need to get out of here before they box us in."

Marinette jogged over to the rooftop edge. And peered over. The street was still bare but the army of ants would soon invade the area. "We need to jump." She said plainly. Adrien scoffed.

"Just when I thought you couldn't get any crazier." Marinette rolled her eyes.

"I'm being serious." Adrien let out a half laugh, but Marinette did not join in. He stared at her, trying to see if there was an ounce of mischief in her eyes, but there was none. He could still hear the distant pounding on the metal door as she repeated herself. "We need to jump."

"I saw rope in that backpack, could we use that to climb down." She shook her head.

"It's not long enough."

They both looked at each other in worried silence. "Do you trust me?" She asked. Fear struck Adrien as he peered down at the ground which seemed to be kilometers away from where he stood. He glazed back up at Marinette and could honestly say that he did trust her. She had saved his life, what she saved him from, he had no idea, but she still saved him.

"Yes." He answered.

"Good." Another loud crash hit against the door. Adrien's head snapped towards the sound. They were close. The industrial door must have started losing their integrity by now. "Adrien." Marinette said, gripping his arm.

"Yes?" He asked, focusing his attention on her.

"You need to jump." Adrien wished she was kidding before but he could tell by her stoic expression that she was dead serious.

"We're at least fifteen stories up!" Adrien protested. "We will die if we jump!" Marinette gripped his shoulder tighter.

"I promise, we will make it out of here alive, and I always make good on my promises. Now please, we need to go now!" She begged. Another crash struck the door. Adrien's heart was beating out of his chest.

"Marinette?" He asked.

She was gone. He looked around the rooftop, she wasn't there, he peered down from the tall tower which made him dizzy for a few seconds but he quickly regained his senses. He saw what looked like her on the sidewalk. A small black and blue speck on the ground. She waved her arms and motioned for him to jump. How she survived was a mystery to him and he was baffled to see her still breathing. Another impact hit against the door and this time it flung open. The crash of the metal was enough to give Adrien the courage he needed.

He threw himself forward and flung his limbs around as he fell through the air. Pure fear and adrenaline filled his veins. His limbs were stiff from terror and his mind raced with worry. He fell through empty space for what felt like an eternity. That was until he felt himself start to slow to a stop. The ground was not yet under his feet. He just laid there, suspended a few meters above the ground. Floating on air.

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Word count: 3710 (Not counting this)

THE BOY FINALLY KNOWS

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