Lou gazed at the canyon before him. This one was larger than the others he had leapt across by far, albeit with a craggy island in the middle of it. He could feel the increasing rhythm of his heart beating, he could hear it in his head and his eyes seemed to almost be beating as well. One mistake and it was all over. A simple slip or miscalculation and he would be dead, never to be seen again.
                His worry was interrupted by the roar behind him. Lou had nearly forgotten why he needed to make this jump at all. Peering over his shoulder, as if trying to not get caught with his hand in the cookie jar, his eyes widened in surprise. The beast had a friend now. Both looked hungry. Both looked at Lou with their smoldering eyes that barely contained their animalistic hatred of the man they wanted to have for dinner.
                They were closing the gap quickly, almost faster than Lou expected. I’m dead either way just standing here, he thought, but at least falling beats getting digested. Just barely. Lou backed up and then began sprinting as quickly as he could towards the edge of the chasm. He surprised himself with how fast he was moving. Must be the adrenaline, he mused to himself while wondering why he never went for the track team in school. It probably would have helped with this next part.
                The edge of his foot came to the edge of the rift before him and he pushed off with all the strength he could muster. He aimed for that center island and hoped he would have enough momentum to make an immediate second leap. The island came closer and closer and the pounding of the beasts feet further and further. Then the island started to fall from his view. Lou reached out in vain as he began to free-fall. There was nothing to grab on the sheer side of the island and he was too far gone to grab the edge. The beasts looked on, primal amusement shone in their eyes, before they turned around and headed back home.
                Lou considered screaming but looking down into the void beneath, he knew it would be no use, he would just be screaming forever. He could see no bottom to this pit, so when death came it would be a shock. He supposed that was better than seeing the bottom and anticipating the white-hot pain of all his bones breaking at once. “I really should have done track in school. Hurdles would have helped,” Lou said to no one in particular. “No, no they wouldn’t,” replied a voice from below him.
                It was Lou. At least, it looked like him. “I did hurdles. I messed up. Not my fault though and not yours either,” Lou number two grumbled. In truth it wasn’t their fault that they didn’t make the jump. Player two, a seven year old name Toby, could never make that jump and never beat this level. Toby turned off the video game in disgust. Lou and Lou number two blinked out of existence. Lou number three never even got a chance, not that he’d ever know it.