to face me.
"Hey!"he shouted. "Let's play mirrors."
"What's that?"I asked.
"I do something and you have to copy me."He shook his left hand above his head. "Like this."
"Oh,"I said, and shook my hand. "Okay. As long as you don't jump to your death. That's the one thing I won't copy."
He laughed, then made a face. I made one, too. Then he slowly stood on one leg. I did the same. Next he bent and touched his toes. I followed his example. I couldn't wait until it was my turn. I'd do a few things - like jump from one rafter to the next - that there was no way he could copy. For once, I was glad for my vampire blood.
Of course, that was the moment when it went and let me down...
There was no warning. One second I was beginning to stand, having bent to touch my toes. The next my head was spinning, my arms were flapping, and my legs were shaking.
This wasn't my first dizzy spell - I'd had several recently - but I hadn't taken much notice before - I'd just sat down and waited for the dizziness to pass. This time was different. I was four stories up. There was nowhere to sit.
I tried lowering myself, thinking I could cling to the rafter and crawl to safety. But before I could get low enough, my feet slipped out from under me... and I fell!
Chapter TWENTY-ONE
Although my vampire blood was responsible for getting me into the mess on the rafters, it also saved my life.
As I fell, I stuck out an arm - more out of desperation than anything else - and my hand caught the rafter. If I'd been an ordinary human boy, I wouldn't have had the strength to hold on. But I wasn't ordinary. I was a half-vampire. And even though I was dizzy, I was able to grab tight and hold on.
I swung above the four-story drop, eyes shut, hanging on by those four slim fingers and my thumb.
"Darren! Hang on!"Sam shouted. He didn't need to tell me that - I was hardly going to let go.
I'm coming over,"Sam said. "I'll be there as fast as I can. Don't let go. And don't panic."
He went on talking as he made his way across, calming me down, telling me it would be all right, he'd rescue me, I had to relax, everything was fine.
His words helped. They gave me something other than the drop to think about. If not for Sam, I would have been a goner.
I felt him inch out along my rafter. The wood creaked, and for one awful moment I thought the weight would cause it to break and send both of us plummeting to our deaths. But it held and he closed the gap, crawling along on his stomach, quickly but carefully.
Sam paused when he reached me.
"Now,"he said, "I'm going to grab your wrist with my right hand. I'll do it slowly. Don't move while I'm doing it, and don't grab me with your free hand. Okay?"
"Okay,"I said.
I felt his hand close over my wrist.
"Don't let go of the rafter,"he said.
"I won't,"I promised.
"I don't have the strength to pull you up,"he told me, "so I'm going to swing you from one side to the other. Stretch your free arm out. When you can, grab for the rafter. If you miss, don't panic, I'll still be holding on. If you get a grip, stay still for a few seconds and give your body a chance to relax. Then we can haul you up. Got it?"
"Got it, captain,"I said, grinning nervously.
"Here goes. And remember: Everything will be all right. Okay. It's going to work. You will survive."
He began swinging me, lightly at first, then a little harder. I was tempted to grab at the rafter after a few swings but forced myself to wait. When I thought I was swinging high enough, I stretched out my fingers, concentrated on the thin plank of wood, and grabbed.
I caught it!
I was able to relax a little then and rest the muscles of my right arm.
"Do you feel ready to pull yourself up?"Sam asked.
"Yes,"I said.
"I'll help you get your upper body up,"he said. "When your stomach is safe across the rafter, I'll get out of the way and give you room to bring your legs up."
Sam put his right hand on the collar of my shirt and jacket - to catch me if I slipped - and helped yank me upward.
I scraped my chest and stomach