Here On Earth: Chapter 1
Story By Daisy

"Baby, come on! I wanna go skiing!" Eva pulled at Nick's arm.
"I know, Eva, but I just wanna finish eating." He swallowed the last of the steak that was in his mouth and said, "I promise, I'll be out there as soon as I can. Brian's gonna go ahead, you can go with him. I promise, I'll hurry up and be out there with you." He gave her a look of reassurance.
"Alright," she finally said. "You better be out there quick!" He tilted his head up from where he was sitting and she met his lips.
Nick smiled. "I love you."
"I love you too, Nicky." She kissed his lips again, smoothed back the hair that was covering his face and then turned and left with Brian.
"You two are so cute!" Sarah slipped a forkful of salad into her mouth and smiled through her chewing.
"So are you and Brian. I just know that you two are gonna end up getting married." What Nick had said made her blush. The four of them, Nick, his girlfriend Eva, Brian and his girlfriend Sarah, were here on their Christmas vacation. They were skiing in Colorado. It was their second day there and both Nick's and Sarah's food was late so Brian and Eva went ahead to the slopes without them. The two of them would catch up later.
* * * * * *
"So, Eva," Brian said as he and Eva walked up to the chair lift together. "Are you having fun yet?"
"Definitely!" She said, pulling on her gloves. "I didn't think that I would since I'd never been skiing before, but it's awesome!"
"Especially at night." Brian uttered the words under his breath, thinking of the night that he and Sarah had shared.
They waited in comfortable silence for a few minutes for the next empty chair lift to come their way.
"The only thing that I don't like are these dumb things," Eva said, gritting her teeth as she slid onto the seat.
"Just take a deep breath, close your eyes and try to relax." Brian got on and slid next to Eva. "That's what I do. I hate heights." He followed the method that he had relayed to Eva as the chair lift began to move. He gripped the side pole tightly and leaned his head against it, trying to concentrate on Sarah's pretty face, picturing himself kissing her in his mind's eye.
Without any warning, the chair shook slightly. The two looked at each other and smiled, both a little embarrassed at their fright. The chair shook again, this time more violently. With the shaking of the cart, Brian looked down and saw himself lifted far above the ground, the earth below him covered in jagged rocks.
Oh Lord, please help me! Don't let me be afraid! Brian prayed silently as the chair lift gave another violent shake and Eva's hand flew around his. Oh Lord, help!
* * * * * *
"Ready to hit the slopes?" Nick smiled at Sarah as they both tossed their trash into the trashcan. The question was never answered.
"Emergency! Out to the slopes, fast! Get out the jet skis!" A man in a uniform rushed past Nick, screaming the orders into his ear. Nick and Sarah exchanged looks, then ran outside of the lodge where they had been eating.
The scene outside was a total mess. Flashing lights were everywhere, people lined up, looking out to see if they could catch a glimpse of what had happened. There were men and women alike shouting orders into hand radios. Nick watched as a jet ski flew past him.
"Come on," he whispered to Sarah, running to follow the jet ski. Even though he wasn't a fast runner, he kept up with the jet ski by sight and sound, following it until he could no longer see nor hear it.
"Where did it go?" Sarah asked him breathlessly.
"I don't know." Nick leaned over, putting his hands on his knees to rest.
"I wanna know what happened, Nick." Sarah's voice was high, tight with worry. "I just don't have a very good feeling about this."
"Oh, Sarah," Nick said, moving over to her and putting a comforting arm around her. "Nothing happened to Brian. I promise."
"I…I just don't know. Let's keep going until we find the jet ski." He nodded in agreement and the two started off on a fast paced trek.
They hadn't walked more than three minutes when the jet ski finally resurfaced, along with nearly twenty more.
"Wow." Nick muttered.
They ran ahead to the scene.
"Stop!" A uniformed man jogged over to them. "I can't let you past here. I'm sorry."
Ignoring the man, they both ran ahead, stopping when the blockade of uniformed men and women was unbreakable.
"Can you see anything?" Sarah asked him. She didn't need to hear his words to know. "Nick? Nick, what's wrong? Nick," her voice was whiny. "Nick, no! No!"
"Sarah…" He reached out for her, but she pushed roughly through the barrier. "Oh, no. NO!!!!!" She dropped to her knees at the sight of her boyfriend crushed to death on the jagged rocks, ripped apart like a rag doll.
The uniformed men looked at her, knowing instantly that she knew who this person was.
"Ma'am," A guard lightly touched his hand to Sarah's shoulder. "Do you know these people?"
Nick stepped through and took a look for himself. Tears flooded his eyes. His baby, his one and only, his soul mate- was laying out in front of him, torn to pieces. He wanted to drop down and cry as Sarah had, but he couldn't. He had to make sure, as if the dark green colored ski jacket and the full golden-brown hair that was now strewn everywhere with the pieces of scalp that had been torn off wasn't enough evidence. He stepped forwardly timidly, none of the guards stepping in to stop him. He began sobbing as he neared the two. When he stood within ten inches of his best friend's mangled body, he screamed out loud in terror and pain. He walked to the right, nearing his girlfriend's body. Whimpering now, he slowly knelt down beside her.
"Eva." He whispered the word softly, lovingly, then began to scream out her name in pain. "Oh, Eva! Eva! Baby, no!" He reached out a shaking hand to her arm, chills shooting up his spine when his bare hands made contact with the texture of the ski jacket. He slowly moved his hand towards her face. She had landed on her stomach with her head turned so her face was showing. He gently touched her cheek, wincing as he saw her mouth ooze blood at his touch. He moved his hand up to her eyes, shutting her eyelids so he wouldn't have to look into the forever gone blue eyes that he had loved so much that had now glazed over in a permanent stare of horror.
"Eva," he whispered one last time, then stood to his feet and walked back over to Brian, not daring to touch his friend for fear that his head would finish its caving in. He walked straight to where Sarah stood within two feet of Brian's mangled body. He put his hand on the back of her head and pulled her to his body, allowing her to cry on his shirt, holding her as her body racked with sobs over her boyfriends brutal death.
Nick knew at that instant that nothing would ever be the same again. Nothing.

Chapter 2
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