[Reader Discretion:Semi-Immortal explores mature and challenging themes, including trauma, mental health struggles, violence, and discrimination. It contains scenes that may be distressing to some readers. Please proceed with caution and prioritize your well-being.]
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The corridors of Whitewater Charter School were hauntingly still, a silence that lingered long after the final bell had rung. Shadows stretched across the polished floors, cast by the dim glow of flickering fluorescent lights. The faint hum of electricity filled the air, broken only by the distant creak of a door or the occasional shuffle of unseen footsteps. Most students and teachers had already left for the day, leaving the building to echo with its own emptiness.
In this cruel world, it would seem that God really does have favourites...
The bitter sentiment echoed in Ivy Reyna's mind, unspoken but heavy. Her steps were slow yet purposeful as she made her way down the deserted hallway. Her face remained hidden behind a curtain of messy, dirty blonde hair, her school blazer hanging loose over a jacket.
But why? Is it out of pity? Frustration...? Or does God actually get a kick out of our suffering?
Her bare feet padded softly against the cold floor, leaving faint imprints of moisture that quickly disappeared. Ivy's hands fidgeted at her sides, her nails gnawed down to raw stubs.
After everything—every single failed attempt to escape this shitty life... they just won't let me go! They keep me alive, but for what reason!? Can't they see how much I hate living like this?! I never wanted this so-called "gift"; I never even asked for it.
The stairwell loomed ahead, a steel door partially ajar, its paint chipped and peeling. She ascended, each step punctuated by the low creak of the stairs beneath her weight. The air grew colder, heavier, as if the building itself knew where she was heading. Her breaths came in sharp bursts, visible now in the freezing air.
Will this pain ever stop?! M-maybe if I just try one more time...?
She sniffled, her fingers picking at her nails until they bled, desperate, yet determined.
Just one last time... Please... oh please, let it be the final time!
At the top of the stairs, she reached the door to the rooftop, its rusted padlock glinting faintly. With a swift, almost inhuman kick, the lock shattered, and the door swung open with a groan. A gust of icy wind swept past her, ruffling her hair and carrying with it the faint scent of rain. She stepped onto the rooftop of her charter school, the sprawling city below unfolding like a tapestry, with the school grounds and affluent residential streets bathed in a mix of light and shadow.
⋯
In another part of the school, a lone student was still packing her belongings. Her movements were unhurried but purposeful, her tired eyes scanning the room one last time before she slung her bag over her shoulder.
As she strolled down the hallway, she paused when something outside the window caught her attention. She let her eyes adjust for a moment until she focused on the faint outline of someone on the rooftop.
Her breath caught in her throat. The bag slipped from her shoulder, hitting the floor with a thud. Panic seized her as she bolted down the hall, her shoes squeaking against the tiles. She took the stairs two at a time, the cold air biting at her skin as she neared the top. The rooftop door was ajar, swaying slightly in the wind. She pushed it open, her heart pounding. There, standing on the edge of the rooftop, was Ivy. The door creaked loudly as the girl pushed it open further, her faint footsteps tapping against the concrete floor and catching Ivy's attention.
The distance between them wasn't large. Twenty feet at most. Yet Ivy somehow felt so distant, standing with her hands hanging limply at her sides and her gaze fixed somewhere far below.
For a brief moment, the student felt like she was suffocating. Her hands balled into fists before she stuffed them into her coat pockets. "What are you doing?" The question slipped out sharper than she meant it to.
Ivy's shoulders stiffened, but she didn't turn around. "Get lost, Arleigh."
"You're on the edge of the school roof," Arleigh said, trying to keep her voice steady even as a knot formed in her chest. "I can't just ignore that."
"You've ignored worse."
Those words hit Arleigh harder than she anticipated. A heavy silence fell between them, thick and suffocating. Before Arleigh took a careful step forward, her gaze never leaving Ivy's back. "Hey...I just want to talk to you."
"I know."
"Then could you at least look at me?"
"No." The response was immediate, flat and weary.
Arleigh clenched her jaw. She wanted to keep her tone calm, to maintain her usual composure. "Ivy... just step back."
"Why?"
"Because you're going to fall!"
A dry laugh escaped Ivy. "Yeah...That's kind of the point?"
A cold knot twisted in Arleigh's stomach. "Ivy."
"Just go away."
"I can't."
"You can."
Finally, Ivy turned to look at her, and Arleigh was taken aback. She expected anger or tears, but instead, there was nothing but utter exhaustion. The dark circles beneath Ivy's eyes stood out against her pale skin, and her expression was so hollow that it barely looked like she was present anymore.
"You've been ignoring me for years," Ivy said softly. "Why's today any different?"
Arleigh opened her mouth, but no words came out. She had imagined this conversation more times than she could count, imagined apologising, imagined explaining herself, imagined saying something that might undo even a fraction of the damage. But now, facing Ivy, she found herself speechless.
"I just... I saw you up here," she finally said, the words feeling painfully insufficient as soon as they escaped her lips. "And... I couldn't just walk away."
Ivy looked at her for a long moment before murmuring. "...Couldn't you? You did every other time."
Ivy turned her gaze away, shaking her head as another hollow laugh slipped out. "You know..." she said softly, "I used to wait for you."
Arleigh frowned. "What?"
"I kept thinking..." Ivy paused, her voice faltering for the first time. "If anyone would tell them to stop... it'd be you." The confession lingered in the air between them.
"So... every day, I told myself tomorrow would be different." Her eyes wandered back to the quiet streets. "...But it never was."
Arleigh felt a tightness in her throat. "Ivy..."
"No." Ivy's tone was firm as she shook her head, continuing, "Don't do that."
"Do what?"
"Don't say my name like that!" There was no anger in her voice, instead she sounded weary.
"So why are you here?" she finally asked after a long pause. "Really."
Arleigh looked down, fidgeting uncomfortably. "I didn't come here to argue..."
"...Of course you didn't." Ivy grumbled, disappointed.
"Ivy, that's not-"
"I understand."
Ivy smiled. It wasn't bitter or mocking. It was the kind of smile someone wore when they finally stopped expecting anything.
"I'm just tired, Arleigh."
The words came out barely above a whisper. "I've been tired for a really long time."
Arleigh took another step without thinking.
"I know."
"No." Ivy shook her head gently. "You don't."
She turned back towards the edge. The movement was slow this time, almost absent-minded, as though she'd already made peace with what came next.
"Ivy." Arleigh's composure finally cracked. She closed the distance between them in two hurried steps, reaching for her instinctively before stopping herself just inches from Ivy's sleeve. Her hand lingered aimlessly in the air. She couldn't bring herself to make contact.
"Ivy... please!" The plea escaped her lips before she could hold it back.
Ivy glanced back over her shoulder.
For the first time, she saw the fear etched on Arleigh's face. Her hand quiver. The panic she had fought so hard to conceal. But then something else caught her attention.
The hesitation.
Even now, Arleigh struggled to bridge the gap between them. To Ivy, it felt just like all the other times. Another moment where Arleigh opted not to reach out.
A faint smile graced Ivy's lips. Soft and achingly tender.
"Goodbye, Arleigh."
And then, in an instant... she fell.
For one surreal second, Arleigh could only stare. Then the world lurched back into motion.
⋯
The wind rushed past her, a deafening roar that drowned out everything else. For a moment, there was nothing but the sensation of falling, the world blurring around her. And then—impact.
The ground rose up to meet her, the force of the collision reverberating through her body. She landed partially on the paved path, her spine striking the unforgiving surface, and partially on the soft earth of a garden bed. The crunch of bones echoed in her ears, her body folding unnaturally as she came to a halt among crushed shrubs and scattered petals.
For a brief, unreal moment, there was no pain. Her vision swam, the world a haze of shifting colours and shadows. She tried to move, but her limbs refused to respond, her shattered spine severing all connection to her nerves. Her breath came in shallow, ragged gasps, the air thick with the scent of soil and crushed flowers.
Not yet... she thought bitterly, her mind struggling to process what had just happened. It's not over yet.
As her spine began to heal, a sharp, searing pain spread through her body like wildfire. Her vision darkened, her teeth grinding together as she tried and failed to suppress a scream. The agony was overwhelming, each nerve igniting in excruciating waves as her broken body slowly knit itself back together.
Tears streamed down her face, blurring her vision as her expression twisted in raw agony. "Fuck!" she choked out, her voice barely a rasp. "F-fuck you..."
Her hands scraped at the ground, fingers digging into the dirt, the earth grating against her raw nails. She cursed the heavens, cursed the unyielding forces that shackled her to this endless torment. "Why?" she whispered, her voice cracking like shattered glass. "Why can't you just let me die, you piece of shit..!?"
The pain grew unbearable, her body convulsing as her vision tunnelled. The last thing she saw before darkness claimed her was the faint glimmer of stars overhead, cold and indifferent. And then, merciful oblivion.