Estelle's heart hammered violently beneath her ribs as she tightened her fingers on the wheels. She looked at the stairs, calculating, strategizing, just like she always did before a jump. But this was different… and she knew it.
There was no ramp, no lift, and no one coming.
A slow exhale left her lips. "I'd rather fall than stay trapped here," she whispered… and she meant it.
She placed one trembling hand on the banister, and the cold metal bit into her palm. The other hand was pressed flat against the wall. Then she inched forward. One careful shift, then another.
The front wheels tipped over the first step, and her stomach dropped. For a moment, the chair held, and she thought she still had control. Then the wheel slipped, and gravity took over.
The chair lurched, dropped, slid.
The first impact jolted her spine, the second knocked a cry from her throat, and then the world became noise.
