Outside of Time v1.0.0

It was the third time that Susie has relived this Tuesday evening. As previous times before, the camp was quiet past the curfew she evoked each night; the campers slept peacefully not knowing its actual purpose. This time, Susie was going to get it done right.
She checked the numbers again that were hastily scrawled across her living room’s chalkboard: 100% after 25 meters, median at 15 meters, 450 meters until terminal velocity. Countless anatomy textbooks and equation stained papers littered nearly every available surface to confirm her calculations. With a flick of her wand, Susie’s efforts vanished without a trace. It was no loss to her, for the fruits of her labors have yet to come.
She turned to the door before startling at a low grumble; JimJams had fallen asleep on the couch during an episode of Gander High again. Despite having redone all her efforts three times, the perfectly timed snore from the flannel friend seemed to always make her jump. Susie reached under the end table beside the entrance to her home and produced a prepacked backpack, clearly strapped to the side was a sizeable coil of braided rope.
The night was surreal before her, the new moon, otherwise known as Moon’s monthly day off, shrouded the whole island in an eerie darkness punctuated by the occasional firefly. It was too dark for any beast, or camper, to feasibly move about; this was a benefit to Susie, for she had no intention of anyone seeing what she was about to do.
With a click of her tongue and gesture to the sky, her broom raced to her grasp. Instantly she was mounted and soaring through the air high above the camp. Each cabin shrunk to the size of a postage stamp as her elevation continued to increase, what little light she could navigate by was from a small charm she cast upon herself. When she hit cloud level, Susie removed the coil of rope from the bag and secured an end to the front of her broom’s handle. It dangled full length towards the earth, falling short a couple dozen of meters. She shifted to lay prone on her broom, squinting to make out the loose tip of the rope below while slowly descending. Just barely could she see the rope touch the grass of the softball field; this should be enough. Around her, Susie noted that she was perfectly level with the weathervane atop Betsy’s house across the island.
Satisfied with her observation, she then drew a small knife from the pocket of her backpack to remove the strand, letting it drop to earth. She was confident she would remember this spot; if not, Susie knew she could always try again. Clouds above and trees below streaked past as the brew flew off towards the cabins...
In Oscar’s cabin, he and his pajamas silently slept as a shadowy figure drifted past the window. The change in light from the dim lamps outside caused him to reflexively roll over in bed. The voyeur hovered for a moment on the other side of the glass panes; she didn’t have time for her special little guy.
A few doors away, Susie floated down to the grassy backyard of Alexa’s cabin. The cool grass greeter Susie’s bare, padded feet soundlessly as she dismounted her broom. Meticulously, she crept towards the sliding glass door to peer inside. As expected, Alexa was fast asleep this time at night. Susie could not help but think about how fitting her target was for her task; had she chosen Hedgehog, she may would have to contend with the possibility of late night readings.
But Susie had benefitted in choosing a mundane camper, not one rotting their brains out with video games late at night, not one turning pages of some science fiction novel, and most certainly not one having to change their sheets after drinking too much horchata before bed. Oscar fit the bill too, but Susie had already determined that she would have to concoct something unique for him; he was her special little guy, after all.
Susie jammed a claw between the door and its frame, twisting the nail and creating a narrow gap. She slid the claw in further, adding more torque hesitantly as the door began to creak. Sweat began to bead under her fur, she couldn’t stand the thought of going through all of this preparation again if her plan died in infancy. Now separated a full inch from its frame, Susie pointed her index finger through the gap towards the unconscious Alexa.
“Dort Tout” she hissed as a magical mist erupted from her warped nail and drifted over the bed.
Her spell would ensure that Alexa will stay asleep, therefore making her much easier to transport. Unconcerned of the creaky door, Susie stood to full height and strutted her way in. Alexa has always kept her room fairly clean, a habit that was instantly noticed the night of the first cabin check. What amounted to a mess in the room was merely the odd sock abandoned near the hamper or the odd book and magazine left on the coffee table. This was no cabin check, however.
Her fur covered digits rotated in precise, rhythmic paths causing Alexa’s sleeping form to slowly rise from the bed. It was as if she were suspended by invisible strands under the back of her neck, waist, and heels. Very slowly, Susie coaxed the camper until she was at last slung over her captor’s shoulder, snoring oblivious to her situation.
With a snap of the finger, Susie’s trusty broom returned to her side as she mounted it with her new passenger. Once seated securely, the two began to rise back to the designated height above the softball field. It had not rained much in the previous couple of weeks, days have been hot and dry mixing with the constant coastal breeze. The ground should be extra firm tonight.
Alexa was slid off of her shoulder and slung above the great distance below her. Despite being more physically developed with her 15 year old frame, Susie sputtered as she tried to maintain her grip on her victim; she was tall for her age, and she was no beanpole with all of the outside activities she participated in on the daily. This was good for Susie, though; she didn’t want someone who would break too easily.
Susie strained as she pulled her face close to Alexa’s: “Awaken.”
The charm keeping her captive asleep broke and her eyes began to flutter open. Alexa blinked the sleep from her eyes and wiggled her legs experimentally, her eyes grew wide as she realized she was not in her bed anymore. Susie locked eyes with Alexa on last time, a flood of excitement overwhelmed her upon seeing the confused terror in her eyes. It was momentarily savored, but the best was yet to come; she effortlessly released Alexa’s wrists, sending her plummeting towards the earth.
The pitch black night was split by a piercing scream followed by silence.
Like a vulture descending on its prey, Susie darted down below once she heard the dull thud. Before her was a supine Alexa, the sight was not pleasant. It had appeared that she had tumbled mid fall, landing on her right shoulder for it was nearly crushed into her torso. Even in the low light, Susie could clearly see the long, thin clavicle bone jutting from near her neck. The extent of her injuries did not end there, nearly everyone one of her limbs had fractured and broken through the skin in a similar manner. Her mid body was misshapen like mishandled grocery bag, yet Alexa’s chest still twitched as her diaphragm worked away in vain. No doubt both of her lungs were collapsed, bits of rib jammed through the delicate membranes within. It was a surprise to Susie that her neck had not broken at such an angle; it had the previous two times. It was a pleasant surprise.
On her hands and knees, Susie scooted closer to Alexa’s face, her hot breath wheezed out and whipped past her fur. It wouldn’t be long now, she would be falling unconscious soon, either by internal blood loss or lack of oxygen going to her brain. The fading light in her eyes was quite a treat to Susie, it was something she lived for. Her seemingly endless years on the Island had caused her to become bored of everything, the magic had become mundane. Therefore, she had to make her own fun.
Alexa’s last seconds were upon her. Through her bloody, mangled jaw, she hissed her final word with the last of her breath: “Susie…”
No longer did her chest twitch, her eyes fixated stupidly into space. She was dead; Alexa was dead and Susie reveled in each ragged breath she tried to draw. Saying her name before passing on was icing on the cake, Susie kicked around the possibilities in her head. Was it a question, as in why she would do such a thing? Was it a plea for help, like begging her executer to spare her before the fall of the ax? Perhaps it was an accusation, Susie thought, as if she expected the head councilor to commit such a heinous act on such innocent campers. Susie loved every possibility, but the last one stuck with her. The look in Alexa’s eyes said it all, she hated her for doing such a thing.
Getting to her feet, Susie wore a grim smile: “Oh, Alexa, you know me too well.”
There, even in the moonless night, light reflected off of the blood now pooling around her gaping wounds. The stars’ light was a blessing this evening, the body arrayed like an artist’s sculpture to be enjoyed and understood by one. She snapped her fingers, calling her broom once again to her side.
It was fun for Susie tonight, but it was off again to the time traveling quicksand pit. It was time to do this again.