There’s a ramp that leads straight out of Midnight. But it doesn’t go far. It’s four lanes wide and stops abruptly between two massive pillars. A brief bit of asphalt balances precariously on the next pillar, but it’s not a jump for the weak of heart. Beyond that…well, they say if you can get that far, the road will open up before you.
At the base of those pillars, you’ll find the twisted, shattered, burnt-out remnants of a dozen attempts.
The girl says, “You can’t do it. No one can do it. Just come back with me, we’ll drink whiskey, we’ll make love, we can have a good, good life here.”
The boy on the motorcycle grins wickedly and says, “The sun shines bright in Miami.”
She’s young, her hair is wild, the wind is fierce at the edge of the precipice.
He’s young, he’s brave, he’s recklessly optimistic, and though he loves her with all his heart and soul, the Midnight Madness has got him in its grip.
Theirs is the type of love that inspires sonnets and tragic plays.
The boy revs the engine. It’s a solid, sleek, crazy fast machine, it’s excessively loud, it’s sexy and dangerous, and just like him.
“You only get one shot,” she says.
“I only need one shot,” he says.
Wind whips maniacally through the streets of Midnight. A raven lands on the very edge of the balanced bit, where it caws once, either in challenge or warning.
The boy doesn’t believe in omens.
The girl does.
He kisses her, one last time before he jumps, a hot, fierce, desperate kiss that ends abruptly. He revs the engine one more time.
“There’s no turning back,” he tells her.
“There’s no turning back,” she tells him.
She climbs onto the back of the bike, presses herself tight against him, thrills at the vibration of the machine as he guides it to the bottom of the ramp. She peers over his shoulder. You don’t close your eyes for a trip like this.
He guns the engine. They climb the ramp, ripping through the wind, able to hear nothing over the roar of their hearts.
They leap. They hit the balanced bit–but uneasily, without balance. They are swallowed by Destiny.
~~~
June 19, Thunderstorm Books starts accepting pre-orders for Once Upon a Time in Midnight.
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