The air was unbelievably thin. It was cold, the snow whiter than the clouds. The snow was falling slowly but was rapidly gaining speed. The drop off the side of the cliff dark at the bottom, unable to be seen but a nudged rock giving way to how long the fall is. The breathing of three people being seen in the air and the glint off the barrel of a gun moving from side to side nearly blinding. I take another step back nearly in sync with my best friend, as we see the barrel come closer and the finger gets tighter around the trigger. I feel my heart pounding in my chest, not just because of the thinness of oxygen or the temperature, but also because I could feel myself getting closer and closer to the edge.

“Well,” Andrew chuckled. “You two better make a choice. Who gets shot, a quick painless death, and who gets to have a fun dive into the darkness?”

Keira and I look at each other as if speaking without words. I don’t want her to suffer, she’s my best friend, she’s my family.

“Shoot her!” I say louder than necessary, my voice getting stuck in my throat from fear and sadness. We will both die today, but at least we will go together.

“Yeah! Shoot me! Make her fall!” Keira says rather calmly considering what she just said. She didn’t even look at me as she said it. She was going to tell him to shoot her whether or not I said anything, I could tell from how calm she was. She knew I hated heights, how I even ended up here with her surprises me. I couldn’t believe how willing she was to have me receive the worse fate, I thought she was my best friend.

“Well, ok then,” Andrew said with a wicked smile on his face as he shoots the ground beneath Keira’s feet. I hear her scream bloody murder as the snow beneath her gives way to the chasm behind. I look at Andrew as he lowers the gun.
“Nice friend ya had there, now for you to fall...” He took a step towards me and reached for my hand. I stood frozen as the air around us when he grabbed my wrist and started pulling me. He practically dragged me down the mountain.

“Time for you to fall in love, with yourself, Celest,” Andrew said as he walked away into nearby trees. I watched him until he walked too far to see, I just stood there in shock. I had just been betrayed by my best friend and then I lost her. How was I supposed to explain this to her parents, or mine, or anyone? Everyone else just thought Andrew was my imaginary friend from childhood. How is any of this real. This has to be some sort of bad dream.