Wonderer's Wish World 2: Evolutionary Rebirth

Climb to the Sky

Day 2

Location: Millory, Bottleneck City

Time: 10:39 PM

The stair entrances on the first and second floor weren't there any more, covered up by walls as if they had never been there in the first place. When he asked, a person walking by told him that they had looked in the walls and found lock mechanisms that seemed to have sealed up both entrances long ago, for some reason.

When Darius also asked if they could get it open, the person had blanked, saying: "Why would we do that? They were sealed up for a reason."

The maintenance ladder on the outside of the building was also a no go. When the small trio had gone out to look for it, they spent more time looking that they would have thought, because it turned out, while there was a ladder, it was high above them and impossible to reach, because the bottom part that went to the ground had snapped off years ago in a terrible storm.

Now, all that was left was the elevator shaft in the basement. But that was blocked, too. However, this block was... different, than the others.

"But we need to pass," Ai pleaded. Yes, they had reached that point. But the stationed guard remained as immovable as ever.

"Sorry," she grunted, not sounding sorry at all. "It's for your own safety. Grown ups with actual armour have went down there with weapons and dinosaurs, and they never came back it. There's no way I'm going to let actual kids pass."

Darius huffed, crossing his arms. "We're not your 'average' kids, you know."

The guard only gave him an impassive look.

"Why didn't they come back?" Greg asked, obviously confused.

"They died," the guard answered flatly. Greg tilted his head.

"OR... whatever down there is SO GOOD they just decided to stay," he offered. The guard only rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, sure," she said. The guard crossed her arms and pushed out her chest. "Look, you can stand there and try to convince me all day, but I can tell you right now, it won't work. Even if I wasn't ordered to sit here and watch the stairway, I still wouldn't let you through. You weren't hear when we sent those people down. You didn't here their screams for help... you didn't sit here too terrified to move as those screams turned... inhuman... and you weren't hear when it went silent, and something finally came flying out of that hole: a bloodied, torn off arm with human teeth marks on it. You..."

The guard trailed off, working her jaw for a couple minutes as she tried to continue... but couldn't. Finally, she straightened, a determined look coming across her face. "This is not a joke. I'm never going to let you down here."

Darius and Ai exchanged glances.

"Okay," Darius finally told her. "Okay, we get it. We'll stop bothering you. Sorry."

The guard visibly relaxed. "Don't worry about it, I can tell you didn't know. There's a lot you don't know here, so be careful, okay?"

Darius nodded, grabbing Ai and Greg, despite their protests, and pulled them away. He dragged them behind the corner, and then stopped.

"Well, I don't think convincing her is working," Darius announced dryly. Ai nodded.

"She takes her job very seriously," she noted. "Should we try distracting her, then?"

Darius nodded. "Yeah, that might work. But what should we use?"

Ai motioned downwards, at their feet. Darius glanced down at their feet, and his eyes widened.