Theft On The Rooftop

Julian woke when the sound came again — a faint scrape. Not loud, but wrong. Wrong enough to pull Julian upright in bed. His pulse beat fast as he reached under his bed and closed his fingers around the baseball bat’s wooden handle.

The hallway stretched ahead of him, darker than it should’ve been. When he stepped into the living room, a rush of cold air hit him. The rooftop doors stood wide open, curtains breathing in the night wind. 

In the middle of the moonlit room stood a tall boy, holding a small girl tight against his chest. A kitchen knife glinted against her throat. Everything inside Julian went cold. 

Julian lifted the bat a fraction, breath sealing in his lungs. “Saira!” he rasped, his eyes glued to her smaller body. He made his voice even as he directed it at the boy. “Gabra, what are you doing here? Why are you holding my sister?”

Gabra smiled. The smile stretched to wide, like a mask being pulled into a new, wrong shape. He shifted his grip on the knife. At his neck, barely visible beneath the black hoodie, a necklace glowed in the moonlight. When it moved, the movement seemed a beat out of sync with the rest of him.

Julian stared at Gabra and the golden geometric shape at his neck. Nine points, connected by lines, like a star but open at the bottom. His face turned ashen. “You took Gurdjieff’s amulet! So that’s why you’re here.”

Gabra’s eyes gleamed. A subtle air of darkness surrounded his handsome features. “It was always supposed to be mine! I am Gurdjieff’s true heir, not you! You wouldn’t even know what to do with a power like this.” 

Julian’s jaw hardened as he moved towards the other boy, baseball bat in hand. “Gabra”, he said, his tone gentle and deliberate. “We used to be friends. Can’t… can’t we work this out?” 

A bitter laugh escaped Gabra’s lips. His lips curled back as he sneered. “We were never friends!” He stepped backwards, closer to the open doors behind him. When Julian moved to follow he held up one shaking hand, the other hand pressing the knife to the girl’s throat. “Don’t come any closer, Julian. Don’t come any closer, or I’ll hurt her!”

Julian inched towards him and Saira yelped as the knife bit into flesh, leaving a thin red line above her collarbone. Gabra placed his left hand over her mouth as he dragged her backwards through the flowing curtains.

Julian lifted the wooden bat and leaped towards the sliding doors, onto the terrace. His gaze remained fixed onto the two shapes, now teetering close to the terrace’s brick railing. Too close.

“Gabra”, he pleaded. “We can work this out. We can use the amulet together. I’ll show you the meditation for using it safely.” 

Gabra’s head turned towards him, his smile all teeth. The presence behind his eyes made Julian shiver. “I don’t need your silly meditation. I will use the power how I see fit”. 

He forced Saira towards the chest-high stones, urging her to climb up. Tears ran down Saira’s face as she put her trembling hands on the terrace’s barrier. “I can’t” she whispered. “I’ll fall.”

Gabra barked out a laugh, his eyes wild. “If you don’t then you’ll die right here!” He shoved the knife against her back.

Saira scrambled up the grey bricks, not looking down. 

Julian edged towards them as they climbed onto the grey shingled rooftop. Down below the colored lights of the city glowed warningly. 

Gabra thrust Saira forward on the slanted roof. The girl shrieked as she stumbled.

Julian’s heart caught in his throat. “Let her go!” he yelled, sprinting towards them. He drew the baseball bat and hurled it towards Gabra. A harsh sound of cracking bones echoed in the silent night as the bat hit Gabra’s shoulder. 

Gabra twisted around, his eyes wide and glowing. A gurgled sound escaped his throat. His eyes scanned over roof top, then back to Julian. He pushed Saira towards the edge of the roof, then started running.

Saira screamed and started rolling, skidding, sliding down the roof. Her hands scraped over the rough roof tiles, trying to catch the unstoppable momentum of her fall. Her fingers caught the metal edge of the gutters, her body swinging helpless. 

“Julian!” Her muffled screams burned in Julian’s ears. His eyes traced the shape of her small body, hanging off the edge of the roof, then the dark shape of Gabra’s body, turning to run. 

He moved over to Saira, lowered himself down onto his stomach. “I’m here. Grab my hands.” His chest tightened at the beat of Gabra’s footsteps as he pulled his sister into his arms.  

He held her sobbing body as they watched Gabra get into his car and drive off on the street far below.