[The Balladeer, on the other hand, has always lived with danger. He's lived his whole life with guns waved in his face, with invective shouted his way, dancing right on the edge of what they would tolerate from him. He misjudged that in the end. But right up until that last moment, he'd been cool and defiant. He'd seen where he was meant to go and what he was meant to do, which in this case is practically being shouted at him:]
Run!
[He starts to scramble backwards - just for a second, until he sees that Janis isn't coming.
He can make it to the ladder if he runs. He's closer to it, because he made her go up first. She said they could be family. He lunges.
His hand finds the front of her shirt, clutching at the fabric and pulling her close. But that isn't enough. The catwalk is still falling, the whole catwalk, and now he doubts that either of them could make it down the ladder in time. He's had a family member for a total of two minutes, and he can't even keep her safe? He can't protect -
His eyes fall on Hester's bubble.
The Balladeer spins Janis, almost as if they were dancing for a moment, and shoves her hard into the bubble's little seat. And then he falls. He hits the striped awning of the dunking booth below, but this is not a cartoon, and it is only a set piece. The structure collapses beneath him, in a horrible crash of splintering wood and shattering plastic.]
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Run!
[He starts to scramble backwards - just for a second, until he sees that Janis isn't coming.
He can make it to the ladder if he runs. He's closer to it, because he made her go up first. She said they could be family. He lunges.
His hand finds the front of her shirt, clutching at the fabric and pulling her close. But that isn't enough. The catwalk is still falling, the whole catwalk, and now he doubts that either of them could make it down the ladder in time. He's had a family member for a total of two minutes, and he can't even keep her safe? He can't protect -
His eyes fall on Hester's bubble.
The Balladeer spins Janis, almost as if they were dancing for a moment, and shoves her hard into the bubble's little seat. And then he falls. He hits the striped awning of the dunking booth below, but this is not a cartoon, and it is only a set piece. The structure collapses beneath him, in a horrible crash of splintering wood and shattering plastic.]