FLOOR 21: Descent (The Tower Legacy) Read online

  “A Demon.”

  “Or shadow man, you know, I’ll let you make that call,” I joke, but my quick breaths give away my anxiety. “But, yeah, basically one of those things. Really thought I was watching it walk toward me for a second.”

  “Well, that’s not surprising down here. You okay though? Keeping cool? I don’t need you flipping out on me before we’ve even started heading into the Deep Creep.”

  “Yeah, I’m cool. I mean, it’s why we went through training, right? I’ve just got to get it out of my brain.”

  He throws duck lips at me as he shakes his head. “I hear you. I mean, I’ve been feeling weird since we got down here. It’s like you can feel this stuff getting into your skin.”

  “Or your mind.”

  “Right. You’ve got to keep it out though. It’s not like we all get these kinds of chances, and I’m pretty sure you don’t want to be forced off the team at this point.”

  “I will literally ask you to slap some sense into me before I let that happen.”

  “Well, I normally don’t hit a woman. But for you? Who knows, I might be willing to make an exception.”

  That at least gets me smiling. “You know, you’re kinda funny when you pretend to be a gentleman?”

  I’m actually glad for the distraction, and soon we’re heading down the hallway again. We’ve already burned through the day and I’m realizing there’s no way that Abbott’s going to take us into the Deep Creep this late. By now, we’re already tired just from all the marching and inspections, plus I’m pretty sure that they’re about to start telling people to get out of the halls. Security’s technically the only people that are supposed to be out after ten unless you’re going real quick between rooms. Not that I ever cared but, you know, some people do. They’re not very strict about the rules on my floor, but down here? Yeah, I could see why they’d want everybody locked up early.

  Anyway, we’re making our way down the final stretch of hall when Abbott motions toward an empty elevator shaft. “We’ll be making our way through this descent point when we start out tomorrow. As you are all aware, the staircase access is sealed up with concrete below Floor 21. After the incident last month, that was reinforced with steel plates to make sure that nothing could get through. Whether that holds or not, we have yet to test. Let us hope we never have to.”

  I’m trailing at the back of the team, so I’m the last to look down the elevator shaft. It’s just a wide open jaw with a pitch black throat. No elevators are allowed to run, not even up on the upper floors. That probably has something to do with the fact that the cables are all snapped. Yeah, seems like that’s likely. So, I take a quick look inside to try and find anything we’d use to get down, and then I spot a ladder near the entry. It freaks me out thinking that we’ll have to use that, but I mean, I’m not exactly going to go jumping down the shaft either. After the hallucination I just saw, it’s probably not the smartest thing to linger too long, but as I’m looking down, I feel like the darkness is rushing at me. My eyes get stuck and for a minute the world is spinning. It almost retches the food out of my stomach before I’m able to yank my eyes away. I’m stumbling, but the group’s way ahead of me, and since I’m already feeling tense, I decide it’s best if I catch up. I jog to get back with Tommy, which punishes my jerky stomach in a way I’ll be feeling for hours, and we finish the walk to our room.

  Even if it’s not nearly as comfortable looking as the place we stayed on Floor 1, you can at least say that the room we’ve been given is clean. There’s no signs of the Creep, which to me is almost impossible to imagine considering where we are. Everything’s clear of infestation, the lights are bright, and there are a bunch of mattresses spread out on the ground. The Tower must take a lot of care to keep this place looking nice.

  Abbott motions to the mattresses as he walks to the next room. “This is your last reprieve before we descend into the belly of the beast. I’d recommend you all take the time to cheer yourselves and get a good night‘s rest. After tomorrow, there won’t be many chances to take things easy. We’ll keep a steady pace, day in and day out, until we reach the access point to Polar North. Once there, we’ll establish a base of operations from where we can launch into the next leg of our expedition. Afterward though, there’s no way to predict when we’ll have another chance to rest. It would be best if you took this time to get your bearings.”

  We all settle down, and I instinctively grab a mattress near Tommy. It bothers me that at this point I call it instinctive, but whatevs. The two of us settle against the wall, and I realize this is probably the last time we’ll actually be able to chill against a surface without having to worry about Creep sliding down our shirts. At least having a chance to breath is nice, and I like the fact that we can make sure we still have all of our teammates. There’s eleven of us, and Abbott makes twelve, but he apparently mooched the master bedroom for himself.

  Our commanders are pretty notable because they’ve all got a red strip around their helmets. Captain Sunny Allen stands out the most, since he’s basically the second in command. If Abbott were ever to go down, Sunny’d take over. And, I mean, you could do a lot worse. He’s a lot easier going, has about a hundred laughs or smiles to share, and basically helps keeps things cool between us and the commander. I'm surprised he's so positive, since he’s a Floor 19 guy, which has to be pretty terrible. And just, you know, for your information, him without a shirt? God. He’s like a piece of black metal. You couldn’t find a soft spot on him if you spent all day poking. Not that I’m necessarily saying I want to.

  But I’m not saying I don’t.

  Then right behind him you have the lieutenants, the vets that’ve done this before. First up’s Valerie Pena. She’s actually pretty quiet and doesn’t say much when Sunny and Abbott are around, but getting on her bad side’s not what you’d call a good thing. I mean, I’ve seen her verbally beat down people. Like, they’ve literally cowered as she chewed them out. Weird, since you’d think that since she’s from Floor 5 that she’d be a little more chill.

  John Start’s another one of our vets. He’s from Floor 15 but you’d never be able to tell. This guy can pound your face into the ground. I’m not even sure Abbott can take him. Start’s also kind of our weapon’s expert. Then you’ve got Michael Shields, our medic. He’s another one from Floor 5 but wants to work in the labs up on Floor 3 after he finishes his service. He’s pretty nerdy, but you can trust him with a gun and, probably more important, you’re going to need him if you ever get injured.

  The rest of us are rookies. Utada Koda’s from Floor 7 and she’s the smallest one here. Abbott’s been training her to scout for us because, the way he puts it, she’d be able to get out of trouble the easiest. He’s kinda right. She’s super quick and can dodge just about anything you throw at her. Personality wise, Shreya Bhasin’s her complete opposite, a real intense girl from Floor 14. She’s not what you’d call ‘fond’ of people from the upper floors and she barks a lot. Her bite’s not bad either, and she’s a good fighter. I know it’s unrelated to say this, but I love her eyes. They’re like giant almonds plugged into her golden brown skin. Too bad she’s such a jerk all the time.

  Of course, you can’t forget Joanne McLeod. I’m not sure whether to call her psychic or what, but obviously she’s got that super power where she can kind of tell when something bad’s going to happen. It’s not like Abbott’s told anyone about why she’s on the team, but knowing what she can do makes me kinda not want to talk to her. I know she can’t read my mind, it’s just, I dunno. I don’t want to risk it, I guess. The last two girls on our team are Jamila Okafur and Tiffany Anne. Jamila’s a future Morale officer for sure, which is weird since she lived her life on Floor 19, too. Nobody else on the team is from deeper down than her and Captain Sunny. Meanwhile, Tiffany Anne’s, like, way different. I mean, Tiffany’s cool, but what you think about when you remember her is how good she is with computers. She’s basically a walking calculator that can hack her way into jus
t about anything. She likes to go by the name Dodger, and yeah, that’s an awesome nickname. It makes me hate the one the kids gave me.

  Jazzy Jackie?

  Whatever.

  So, it’s not that I’m an interior decorator or anything, but I can tell from the room’s size that, once upon a time, it belonged to a family with at least some influence. I mean, it’s big. There’s even a fake fireplace on the back wall that’s actually on. In some weird way, it’s nice to see the fire burning, even if my mind’s reminding me it’s a fake. There are two doors on opposite sides of the back wall that lead to different parts of the apartment, so I’m guessing that at least one goes into the kitchen. That means there’s a dining room back there somewhere, but the thought of food just makes my queasy stomach roll until I feel myself gagging.

  It’s so distracting that I jump a little when a big figure drops down in front of us. His teeth flash out from behind his dark skin as he claps his hands. “What’s up, guys,” Sunny asks. “I’m just checking around to make sure all the rookies are feeling okay. Not freaked out yet, I hope.”

  Tommy chuckles. “Me? Please. It’s this one you’ve got to keep your eye on,” he says as he elbows me.

  I slap him with a frown before looking at the captain. “And Tommy’s kind of a dirty liar, so no, I’m fine. I mean, I kinda thought I was seeing something when we first got down here, but it went away.”

  Sunny nods. “Hey, it’s nothing to worry about. First time this far down, it’s pretty usual for rookies to hallucinate. After you get some rest, your brains will get on the level with the stuff in the environment. I’m not saying you’ll get used to the hallucinations but, yeah, you actually will. Just a natural part of getting adjusted to the Deep Creep.”

  “So, you’re saying the hallucinations don’t actually go completely away. We just, what? Learn to ignore them?”

  “Pretty much. It’s different for everyone, but most people start seeing less of them. You two have been put through all the conditioning and evaluations, so I don’t see why it’d be any different for you guys.”

  “I freaking hope so,” I say as I yank the helmet off my head. “I really don’t want to be the first one to have a freak-out down here.”

  “Well, there’s always one or two cadets who have a hard time in the Deep.” His eyes circle the room and I’m kinda impressed he seems so shockingly nonchalant. “So, you guys like it down here?”

  Tommy grins as he sorts through his pack. “Like it? Is that something people say yes to? The entire floor’s crapsack.”

  “Come on my man, don’t be that way. I was raised just two floors up. Now, I know you two can’t imagine it, but we actually get used to living this far down. You have to, right?”

  “Dude, I can’t even try to imagine. Thinking about all those hallucinations, plus the food situation?”

  Sunny shrugs as he leans back. “You get two types of people that come out of here. One, people that are always pessimistic about everything. They take a tough approach. Kind of understandable, right? It’s a defense mechanism. Then you get people like me that just learn to laugh everything off.”

  “Kinda reminds me of Commander Vick from the last Scavenging.”

  “Are you kidding me?” Sunny asks with a burst of laughter. “Me and that kid are like two peas in a pod. We just laugh and smile the day away. What else can you do when you’re this far down? If you’re always negative, the Creep will get you.”

  “I’m pretty sure that’s the approach I’d try to take,” I say as I feel my mood picking up, at least a little. Having everyone in here together and laughing, with the fire going in the background, actually makes this seem kind of normal. “So, I’ve been wondering about something. I mean, just rumors I’ve heard about living this far down. Mind if I do a Q and A?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. You’d be the one thousandth rookie I’ve known to ask me something about living on these floors,” he replies as he squeezes off a wink. “Go ahead and shoot. Not literally, though.”

  “Well, it’s just that I’ve always heard stuff about people down here. The Runaways, first of all. I’ve heard that people trying to get away from Tower Authority come down to Floor 21. I guess that my other question’s kinda related, since I’ve also been told that people come down here on purpose to expose themselves to the Creep. Like, they actually enjoy tripping off of the hallucinations.”

  “Hah. Funny you ask that. Not many really want to get into that topic. Too scared of getting in trouble, I guess,” he says as he points around the room. “Yeah, we got them. Little known fact is that there are runaways scattered everywhere in the Tower from Floor 16 down. The lower down the Tower, the farther out they go. You learned about those others wings of the building, right? North, east, west? Well, that’s where you find them, out where Security won’t go. Remember that this place is pretty big, so if you run far enough, people will eventually stop chasing you.”

  “Right. I’ve kinda heard that before, too.”

  “Now, we got the two groups. The Junkies you’re talking about? They’re different from the Runners. Runners are just trying to get away, maybe because they know they’ll go in for Reinforcement if they get caught, or maybe because they’re just tired of living under Tower Authority. The Junkies can go back to their homes if they want to, just as long as they don’t make any trouble with all their little trips they like to take by dosing on the juice.”

  His eyes kind of just drift off as he chuckles. “Funny part is, you get people from both those groups that end up in the Deep. We don’t talk about it much, but there are ways to survive down there. Human beings are funny like that. Once in a while, we catch sight of them, scratching around and looting for supplies. Never seen them deeper than Level 40. The Creep gets too bad for that. You see the signs, though. Creep that’s been burned away to make room for beds, or Pocket Space Generators that have been looted but we haven’t documented.” He taps on his tablet. “Each looting we do gets noted, so when we find a site that’s empty and it wasn’t us, well, we just assume it was one of them. Thing is, I couldn’t tell you why the Junkies stay down here. I get that the Runners are trying to stay out of trouble, but with the Junkies, well, let’s just say I think they’re a bit too close to the Creep. That stuff will mess with your mind, but you two know that. We teach it all the time. Doesn’t take much for an untrained man or woman to hallucinate so bad that one day they just wander off into infested parts of the Tower. Even happens to Scavengers some times.”

  Tommy interrupts. “But they never give you any trouble is what you’re telling us?”

  “Them? Hell no. Actually, they try to stay out of our way, which is probably best for them and us.” Then Sunny pauses and he holds out a hand. “But there is one group that does get scrappy. Might as well tell you this since you’re bound to find out anyway, at least if you’re on the job long enough.” My ears twitch and suddenly I’m leaning in to hear him. “See, there is this one group. Real weird type of guys, not Runners and not Junkies. We call them Cultists.”

  I can feel my skin crawling at the name. “Cultists? Sounds pretty ominous . . .”

  “You’re telling me. Truth is that the Cultists are fanatics. I’m assuming I don’t have to tell you two about the Book of the Tower. Hell, we have our own form of Sevenths Day down on the lower floors, same as you two have your version on the upper ones. These Cultists though, they don’t buy into all those stories about the Builders. Actually, it’s the reverse. They’re really into the Hellverses.”

  “So, you’re telling me there’s a creepy group of fanatics down here that think the verses about human beings getting wiped out is a good thing? Just, you know, to be clear.”

  “You got it right, Jackie,” he says with a point of his finger. “They think we’re supposed to end up going into the Darkness. At least, that’s what we’ve been able to gather. It’s a bit hard to really find out what they believe, which I’m sure you understand. What we know is they live only beneat
h Floor 21, deeper in the Tower, and they leave behind a lot of weird symbols and writings all around. Mean S.O.B.’s, too. We’re talking about guys that aren’t afraid to attack us if they think we’re doing damage to the Creep. That makes them a real pain once you’re below Floor 40.”

  “Okay, so, these people actually enjoy the Creep? Like, they think we’re supposed to merge with it or something?”

  “Hard to say for sure, but that’s been my guess.”

  It makes no sense to me. “Why though? I mean, what do they get out of it?”

  “Well, we’ve been trying to get our hands on a copy of their texts for a while. No success yet, but who knows? This may be the time we do. All I have to say is if you see someone coming at you wearing a gas mask and an outfit that looks like a lab coat, you may want to fire before they get too close. These guys pack heat.” He smiles like he’s talking about a fond memory or something, then pries himself off the floor. “Anyway, I’ve got rounds to make with the rest of the rooks. You two sleep tight tonight. Going to be a long day tomorrow. Hell, it’s going to be a long week.”

  The captain has way too much pep in his step as he walks over to the next group and drops down in front of them, like he thinks he’s at camp or something. I watch him for a second before falling back onto my mattress. “Is it me, or does this feel like it’s getting uber weird the further down we go?”

  “I always thought it felt weird, Jackie,” Tommy replies as he folds his arms like a pillow behind his head. “That didn’t shake you up or anything, did it? I can always hold you tight if you need some comforting.”

  My mouth slacks open as I give him a pair of dead eyes. “You’re kidding.”

  “Of course I am. Come on now, I thought we could have a few laughs by this point.”

  “Yeah, sorta, except for that whole having to face off against crazy Creep worshipping Cultists thing.”