Short chapter, sorry.
I was in the mall we always went to for hanging out. All of us were there. Together. I felt happy. Laughter and squeals were heard from them and it felt so calming. Justin, Alex, Chase, and I were lining up for a race to the shop at the end of the floor. Sa Rang was waiting at the finish line, Penny waiting to give us the 'Go'. Ali was standing halfway between them, leaning against the railing, ready to record the race like every other time. Penny walked in front of us, doing a little dance as she said "Ready.. set.."
The tension was high. Justin would always beat me, even if by a second. Chase was the undefeated winner, but I never cared for that. The giant had legs as long as a giraffe, his foot span wasn't something I could compete with.
"GO!"
And we broke out into a sprint as if our lives depended on it. A few seconds in, when I didn't see Chase ahead of me, I turned around to see if everything was alright with him. But instead of my friends, all I saw was the floor falling apart behind me, deep and loud rumbles engulfing my friends' voices and laughter. I looked ahead and saw the dead-end but kept running.
Suddenly the rumbling stopped. I turned around, bewildered as to what just happened, and saw all of us separated by the huge rifts in the floor. I peered into one and just saw a dark, endless pit. We were all looking at each other with longing in our eyes. Penny was the first one to say goodbye and walk away, and then James. Alex looked at me and said, "I'll always be there for you, sis." I sobbed uncontrollably, repeating "No" over and over again.
I tried to run up and jump across, but as I reached the rift and took the jump, rumbles were heard again and the rift simply shifted, for me to end up on my isolated part of the floor again. Sa Rang was long gone and Ali and Chase were leaving too. Alex waved at Justin and me and then walked away.
Justin was on the part farthest from mine. He put his fist up in the air and used sign language. We'd learned it together with Alex and Sa Rang. Bringing his hand down to his face, he made a 'V' near his eye, pushed it out towards me, and then flattened one hand in front of him and touched his palm with the fingertips of his other hand, folded at the knuckles.
"See you again."