Alan Price and the Colossus of Rhodes

Chapters 25 and 26

Chapter 25

 “He’s in there?”

“All the way at the top. You’ll need to get access to the roof.”

Alan suddenly felt uncomfortable. “And you’re not coming?”

Danielle shook her head. “Sorry, this is your time for answers. I went through the same thing. I’ll be here waiting for you when you’re done.”

Alan looked out of the car window at the tall corporate building. From the outside it seemed as if the structure was made entirely of steel and glass. Sunrays reflected off the windows making Alan squint to see the top of the building.

“Don’t be scared, he’s on our side.”

Alan looked back at Danielle with every intention of lying and telling her he wasn’t scared, instead he asked, “Is Michael a—a—“ he was still having a hard time bringing himself to say the word.

“Yes, but it’s not like he looks any different from you or me.”

Alan nodded, gathered his courage and opened the door. It was a short walk up the stone steps and into the large ground floor. A security desk was stationed at the front with a long aisle of elevators on either wall of the wide room.

Alan tensed, the building looked too much like the building the wind had pushed him off the first night he learned he had abilities.

Alan forced his legs forward as people walked to and from the elevators. Most of the building’s inhabitants wore trendy suits. All but a few were busy either talking on their phone or looking down at handheld devices.

Alan entered an elevator clogged with suits and briefcases. There were 107 floors. To Alan’s frustration, it seemed the elevator was set on making him visit each and every one. The ride up gave Alan time to think about what he had just seen and what he was doing. I can’t believe she healed you like that. This is so far beyond what I thought was possible. But really what did you expect? You can run at the speed of sound. If someone came to you and told you that you were an alien or a mutant, would that make more sense? Would you accept that?

Alan struggled with these thoughts and more as the steel box passed floor after floor. After what seemed like an eternity of bad elevator music, Alan reached the building’s top story. He was the only passenger riding the elevator at that point.

The doors dinged open and Alan found himself walking down a well-kept hallway. No sound, no chatter of voices on phones or clicks of shoes on wooden floor, nothing.

Alan walked down the hall passing empty office after empty office looking for the stairwell that would lead him to the roof. After peaking in and out of a few empty offices, he found the door he needed. The door was marked with the figure of a small man walking up a set of stairs.

Alan opened the exit and made his way up the last two flights of stairs to the rooftop entrance. He placed a hesitant palm on the long silver latch. He took a deep breath and walked outside.

It was bright, compared to the inside of the stairwell. Alan blinked to get his eyes used to the sun’s harsh rays. No wind pressed against him ushering him yet another descent to the street below, for that he was thankful. The building already reminded him enough of the one he had fallen off four years ago. The last thing he needed was to be tossed around by the wind again.

Eyes adjusted, Alan looked around the roof. It was a forest of air conditioning pipes and vents. Every few feet another metal outlet or steel topped pipe rose from the ground. Across the long rooftop Alan spotted what his brain told him couldn’t be possible. He blinked and squinted against his rational thought process. It was still there, a large brown desk.