Kingdom Gone

FT. SERVER

Thanks to Sam fixing up a car, we reach the facility just before sundown.

And ironically, it's a castle. Built right into the side of the western wall of the Utopia. A tributary of the the Pishon river bends southward just before the hillside, creating a moat that surrounds the castle's perimeter. And to top off the whole thing, thunder grumbles in the distance. We all stand by the river, looking across at the creepy structure.

"What do you see Nijah?"

Nijah closes her eyes, and cocks her head to the side. "It's hollow. It might've been a museum at some point, but most of the walls have been torn down to make space for two main spaces. The bottom is humming with machinery, so the servers are probably there. But the top isn't getting any power. So if the console is upstairs, someone's gonna have to crawl around the outside and turn on the generators on the roof."

We all look at one another.

"Not it!"

"Not it!"

"Not it!"

"Not it! Dangit!" Sam groans. She points across the water. "How are we even going to get over there?"

Nijah answers her question, not by responding, but by expertly shrugging off her bow, knocking back an arrow, and firing it at the castle. We watch it disappear, then hear a loud snapping sound on the other side. Nothing happens for a few seconds, then a groaning sound that I could feel in my chest permeates the air. Something large slowly falls towards our side of the river, seeming like it's going to squish us, then lands less than five feet in front of us, the air it displaces knocking us back a step.

It's a drawbridge.

* * *

The storm arrives just when I found a manageable way up the castle.

The others already made their way inside, but of course old Sam has to do all the heavy lifting, again. I swear these guys couldn't survive without me.

Part of the castle wall had collapsed years ago, leaving a nice pile of rubble up to a second story window. Each window on the upper floors seemed to have small sills sticking out a few inches on the smooth stone wall. That should work.

I managed to climb the rubble to the window, but as soon as I put my foot on the outcropping, the pile of debris shifted, and with the added rain, it all crumbled down to the ground, putting it way out of reach. Well, there's no going back now.

I squint through the downpour, estimating the next window was maybe 10 feet up and to my right. No way I could make that jump, but I could go halfway if I made my own handhold.

Ignoring the fear, I pushed off with both legs across the side of the castle. Quickly getting past the feeling of being in open air, I waited until I reached the peak of my jump, then dug my fingers into the brick above me. My metal fingers broke through it like cardboard, carving out a large chunk of stone. And it held.

The rainwater began to pool into the new crevice, which proceeded to pour directly into my face. I pulled myself up, my bionic arm holding me effortlessly, and looked up for the next window.

The thick stormclouds blocked out whatever light there was from the sunset, so everything looked black. My clothes were fully soaked now, but at least it wasn't cold.

"Increase exterior lights to 100% brightness." I said.

The castle wall turned green as my arm became a glowing beacon. I blocked the light from my face and tilted my head to the side to get a good look. I could just barely make out the next outcropping. Lightning tore across the sky, followed less than a second later by a thunderous bellow.