10

She wasn't afraid of heights; she was just terrified. She had never gone up and down ladders and stairs. Never jumped out of windows or went anywhere without her mother by her side. She had also never had the guts to ask her parents to let her go flying. She couldn't imagine living through the terror, and she had no wish to.

After a moment, she regained control of herself and took a deep breath. She closed her eyes and calmed herself down. She opened them again, forcing herself to act like everything was normal.

With a smile she said, "No, I don't have drugs. But yes, I used to be a pretty fearless climber when I was younger. It was during summer vacation, and my family rented a cabin outside of town. My parents always wanted us kids to spend our summers there, so we went every year. I never went back home until last week."

A grin spread across the man's lips. He leaned forward and grabbed both of her shoulders. His face was filled with excitement. "I used to live near there. My mother used to come here every summer. That's where my life is headed: To the mountain." He paused. "Where was it again?"

The realization hit her like lightning. "Mount Rainier," she whispered.

His smile grew wider. "Oh yeah, I remember now. My mom loves this place, so I often visit her here whenever possible. We'll go there someday, kid. Just wait till then."

Pexy gulped nervously. There was only one problem: she didn't know how long he would be staying in the city. And although she tried to convince herself that he was harmless, a part of her didn't trust him completely. "Okay," she agreed reluctantly, "we can go sometime today, but please don't hurt me."

He laughed, then pulled her up to her feet and held her hands, leading her along the street. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Pexy smiled slightly and allowed him to guide her. In the meantime, she noticed that they had already walked past several houses. One of them looked familiar, however. A large house with many balconies, it stood tall and proud, like the rest of the buildings around it.

Then she realized where she had heard it called. "We passed this place before," she explained. "My house is that one."

The man looked at her curiously. "Your house?"

She nodded. "Yes."

"How old are you, kid?" he asked her.

She hesitated for a second before answering him. Even though he seemed okay, the fact remained that he had threatened her with a knife. If he had found out that she was a runaway, he might have done something even worse than shooting her in order to keep himself safe. "Eighteen years old," she replied eventually.

"And you moved to this city a few weeks ago," he added in reply. "Didn't you?"

Pexy nodded again. Her gaze wandered towards the distant silhouette of Mount Rainier behind the clouds.

"So that must mean that you're actually a child prodigy as well?" he asked with a teasing expression on his face.

She stared at him incredulously. "I beg your pardon? What are you talking about?"

He chuckled as he continued walking along the street. "I guess you don't have an idea what kind of things people call those that excel in their field of study. I guess you didn't think it could be applied to yourself either, huh?"

Pexy pursed her lips. She had absolutely no clue what kind of'stuff' this person was referring to.