The Tower

Alex

"Hey! Slow down! You're dragging me behind!" Alex chuckled as Jake jogged to keep up with her pace. "Oh dear... I guess we don't have to do anything important tonight do we?" Jake frowned a sarcastic look on his face, "No I don't think so, maybe you should carry me!" Alex dropped backwards falling into Jake's arms as he struggled to keep her up. "Shit Alex, don't just do that." He laughed righting her as she smiled at him, "You could get hurt." He pushed a stand of her hair behind her ear. "Get off me you creep!" Alex giggled, pushing him backwards and running away, "Come on we have a job to do!"

Jake stumbled after her down the dimly lit street.

She could hear the pit patter of what she was told was rain on the sealed roof. No weather entered D.C. Nothing from the outside world was ever getting in. Alex longed to see what it was like. To have your hair blow about you, feel the cold of the rain and the heat of the sun. To feel anything other than dread.

"Finally got me then," Jake had caught up to the now walking Alex, "I didn't think you were gonna catch me there!" She looked down at his face a dark expression hung over it. "Jake?" Nothing. "Jake talk to me what's wrong?" Still nothing. She stopped grabbing his shoulders and turning his to face her's. "Why won't you talk to me?" Alex studied what she could of his face in the darkness.

Something was wrong. "Jake?" she tilted his head towards her own. "Jake!" One eye glowed bright white and the boy's body went limp, a small trickle of foam coming from the side of his mouth. "Oh shit! Jake talk to me please!"

Alex was panicking. She could feel her chest getting tighter. Each breath heavier and more frequent. Tears rolled from her eyes. "Come on Jake don't do this too me please." Her words became gasps. Her breaths became gasps. The tears were uncontrollable.

She couldn't hold Jake up any longer. He dropped to the cold pavement, sending a chill down Alex's spine. She dropped with him rocking backwards and forwards. Trying to breath through sobs. Her vision started to clear as fewer tears ran down her cheeks. Jake was shuddering. His glowing eye flickering like a firefly trapped in a jar.

Alex sat there, head in hands breathing slowly. Trying to regain her composure

She looked up.

A light in a window.

"Fuck."