Already at the metal steps, with sweaty and bloody hands, he grasped hold of the banister rail and attempted to propel himself upward but instead, slipped. Painfully, his shins raked the edge of the steps. He regained his feet and took the chance to snatch a quick glance up. He saw Samantha, a wicked grin spread across her face, reaching out a hand to push Muck from his precarious perch. Unexpectedly, she was beaten to the punchline by Muck himself.

The beaten and scarred Detective threw himself back off of the chair and away from Samantha. The noose sinched around his neck, cutting as it tightened. Gravity pulled mercilessly his feet. With only seconds left to him, he bent his legs and at the apex of his swing, he snapped them straight again and used his momentum to swing forward as fast as possible. With starved lungs and neck muscles agonisingly close to giving up, he stretched out his legs and swung towards his executioner. On impact, he wrapped his legs tightly around Samantha and held on for dear life.

Startled by Mucks sudden and erratic behaviour, Samantha fought to free herself from his desperate grip. The sound of Peel screaming as he ascending the metal stairs convinced Samantha to double her efforts.

Peel screamed "HOLD ON, MUCK, HOLD ON, I'M COMING"

Although Peels mind screamed with urgency, everything seemed to slow down to a snail's pace. Every second ticked past like an hour. As he pulled on the handrail he felt the very air had become a viscous soup that he had to fight through. With each step Peel took, he watched as Muck swung by his neck. The last step now behind him, Peel lowered his shoulder and with as much speed he could muster, he ran into Samantha, throwing her clear of the jerking form at the end of the rope.
Peel ducked under Mucks thrashing body and lifted him onto his shoulders. Blindly he reach up to untie Mucks hands but as he did so, he could feel the distressed Detective slowly growing still and unresponsive.
"Don't you fucking give up on me, not now! Muck, MUCK!" he shouted.

Desperately trying to save Mucks life, Peel didn't see Samantha sail helplessly over the edge of the smaller roof. He hadn't heard her scream as she plummeted down to land with a sickening thud next to her deluded mentor. And could not see their still and bloody bodies side by side.
He wouldn't have cared, instead he danced from foot to foot, trying his best to keep Muck balanced as he fumbled above his head at the rope. Exhausted, Peel was thoroughly relieved to see the rope fall away but that relief quickly turned to worry and then to dismay as he felt Muck go completely limp.

No matter how hard he shook or shouted at Muck, Peel could get no response. In desperation Peel scanned the rooftop for help but there was none to be had. Rachel, still fighting to free herself, saw him and screamed.
"ROBERT"
He knew she wasn't going to reach them in time, plus she had her own issues.

If the fall hadn't already snapped Mucks neck, the noose would finish him off the slow way. Muck was running out of time, if he wasn't dead already. Peel realised that there was nothing he could do but hold Muck up until the end. He closed his eyes and with the last of his strength, shook Muck as hard as possible and screamed for him to wake up.
Not sure why or where the idea came from, Peel turned his head towards Mucks left inner thigh and with as much viciousness he could muster, sank his teeth in to flesh and bit down until his jaw popped and screamed in agony. For a moment he thought that the scream of pain he could hear, was his own but then realised it came from his burden.
Releasing Mucks leg, Peel was about to shout up but was suddenly silenced by a hard blow to his face from above. The punch was enough to bloody his nose and sting but it was the best feeling in the world and laughing with jubilation, he shouted,
"MUCK, you bastard" Peel said with a guffaw "you fucking punched me, haha! Now get that rope from around your neck, so I can put your fat arse down"

Distracted by his own life and death struggles, Peel had momentarily forgot about Rachel and hers. It was the sudden change in the pitch of her voice as she shouted his name again, that made him spin around. He could see that she had tossed off all but one rope and was now doing her best to free herself of that. But he realised, that wasn't why she was screaming for him. Following Rachel's frantic stare, Peel saw at last where Samantha had slammed into the rooftop. He saw the same as Rachel, Harleson was coming round. First his legs twitched and stretched and then his arms, before finally his eyes popping open.

Free from his burden, Peel left Muck collapsed in a heap, gasping for air but very much alive. As Peel flew back the way he came, he could tell that Harleson was obviously disoriented and in a lot of pain as he looked around to see what had happened.

Peel shivered at the sound of Harlesons screams of anguish at seeing Samantha laying beside him, unmoving.

Harleson dipped a finger into the pool of blood that had poured from her empty eye socket. The eye Samantha had stolen from Detective Grayson lay in the puddle of blood only inches away. Harleson gently placed a hand on Samantha's cheek and said through his tears "Oh, my dear Sammy, what have they done to you" The moment passed quickly as his tears of love turned to tears of rage.

Rachel's furious struggles caught Harlesons attention. As she pulled at the stubborn knot, Harleson roared and began his charge towards her.

Rachel saw her immediate danger and clawed at the knot.
The rope wouldn't budge and as she desperately tried to free herself, panic of the inevitable began to sink in. She watched on, terrified as Harleson rushed towards her. The rope gave a little but she braced herself at what was about to happen. Rachel screamed "ROBERT"

Peel, seeing as well as hearing the terror in Rachel's voice, felt as if he had time to do nothing, He took the metal steps three at a time and then launched himself in Harlesons direction. Fearful at the crazed look on Doc's face, Peel shouted,
"DOC, STOP, DON'T DO IT" Harleson met Peels gaze, smiled wickedly at him and shouted over his shoulder.
"You made me do this, Robert, you, ALL You"

Without a hint of hesitation, Harleson changed direction and slammed unrelenting into Mary Peel. With strong arms he enveloped her. Still smiling vacantly, Mary fell backwards in his silent embrace and disappeared over the edge.

Peel screamed as he dove, arms outstretched grasping for the falling pair. His fingers desperate for a handhold but only managing to brush helplessly against Harleson heel. In disbelief and shock Peel cried out at what he had just happened. Rather than freezing in horror, he grasped hold of the rapidly vanishing rope and frantically twisted it around his hands several times and wedged his feet against the edge of the roof. In that moment Peel prayed that Harleson would be thrown clear of his mother and that he would have the strength to haul her back up.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Peel told himself that now was not the time to work on his feelings about his mother, whether it be the poor job she did raising him or to mourn her immanent death.

The rope wrapped around his hands ran away furiously, burning his skin painfully as he fought to stop it. Although he was expecting it, the sudden and violent drag of two falling bodies, surprised him and pulled the rope from his grip. Peel realised that he had utimately failed his mother.

Out the corner of his eye he saw the rope which connected everyone to Harleson and his mother, had been yanked free of the railing and was about to take them all over the edge too. Without a moment to spare, he threw himself sideways and grasped hold of a leg on Joseph's chair and wrenched it along with Joseph, away from the edge. With almost impossible speed Peel rolled with the rope wrapping it around his body.
"If they go over, I go over with them"

Thankfully, the violent impact of the rope never came. Peel sat up, his feet still wedged against the edge of the roof, still holding onto the rope for dear life. He was unable to shift his gaze from the roofs edge. Deafened by the sound of his own heavy breathing, he began to shake from shock. His mind raced with everything that had just happened. He did not hear his name being spoken softly to him.
"Robert, there was nothing you could have done"
Rachel held him by the shoulders and gently shook him.
"Robert, it's all over"

With tears of disbelief threatening to fall, Peel let go of the rope, shrugged Rachel off and crawled on his hands and knee's to the edge of the roof and peered down. There, in a twisted heap, was his mother, a bloody halo growing around her head. Harleson laid crumpled at her feet, as if in worship. He too was surrounded by a growing pool of blood. The rope, no longer tide to his mother, lay looped on the ground, surrounding them in a macabre picture frame. A picture Peel would never forget.
Not wishing to see anymore, Peel fell back, tears running down his face.

Rachel sat down behind him and took him into her arms and said softly.
"You couldn't have done anything. It wasn't your fault"

Peel shook his head "Harleson said I was going to kill my own mother and he was right, I did. I chose Muck over her. Who would do such a thing?"
Unwilling to answer his own question, Peel turned and buried his face in Rachel's embrace. All he could think was, "This will never be over"

The End.