The Search

Chapter Three

After trudging up a few flights of stairs, we finally stopped, out of breath. The hologram on my watch had disappeared, and in it's place had the words 'Recharging...'.

We sat on the base of the steps panting. I slid the back of my hand across my forehead and pulled the canteen of water out of my backpack, taking big sips.

"Easy there." Violet said. Her face was drenched in sweat, and hair stuck flat against her forehead and on her cheeks. I looked down at my canteen of water, now half gone.

"What floor are we on now?" I asked remembering Nancy's advice about keeping track.

"64," Violet gasped for more air. "Floor 64."

I caught my breath, as the hologram on both our watches turned on. It projected what we last commanded it to show: the warriors. I watched Violet's gleamy face go white as she watched the hologram. The warriors were currently at the base of the tower, in a full on battle.

I thought I knew my stuff. Back at home.. At home. Where was home? Suddenly something hit me. I couldn't remember anything from back home. Sure, certain things stuck to my brain, like playing Clash of the Zombie Knights all day. But names were gone. Faces were just barely a blur of color. I have to talk to Violet about this, I thought, but seeing how ghostly her face looked projecting flashes of light, I decided it had to wait.

Anyway, I played plenty of violent, graphic video games at home. Nothing could compare to this.

In the image, men fell to the ground. Spears and arrows were flying in every direction imaginable. Suddenly, a loud clash knocked both of us out of our disbelief.

"Noah, the windows!" Violet scrambled to her feet, pulled me with her to the one of the windows, and slammed her shoulder against the glass. The window swung open and we looked down. My eyes widened. Below us, warriors yelled out as they fell to the ground. Even from this high above the ground, the visuals of the battle was horrifying.

I looked at Violet.

"What do we do?" A high pitched shriek make my skin crawl.

"At this point, there's no point in going down stairs." Violet pursed her lips. "I mean, you can see what's going on down there, can't you?"

I nodded grimly, trying hard to ignore the cries of the warriors.

"I guess that means we need to go up," I shrugged my backpack on, and gestured for Violet to follow.

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We didn't talk much on the way up the stairs. Violet and I kept a steady pace the entire way up, and only stopped a few times to take a sip of water. By the time we had reached floor 90, my stomach was rumbling so loud that I was starting to feel self-conscious. One time, Violet glanced at me and said,"You know, your stomach is right. We are going to need to find some food soon."

At the 99th floor, Violet was collapsed on the ground heaving fast. I sat beside her and offered her some water.

"We are almost there. Just one more flight," I took a deep breath in. "Of stairs."

Gradually, we gained enough strength to get back on our feet. I brushed the dust off my pants, and offered Violet a hand. She took my hand. Her grasp was weak, and her hand felt limp in mine.

"You alright?"I asked her. "You don't look so good."

Violet grinned. Even in the scenario we were in, she still had the will to give out good vibes.

"Don't worry. I usually do. In fact, I usually look more than good." She flipped her hair sarcastically. "I usually look great."

"Okay,"I said, not knowing how to reply. I shrugged and said,"well at least now you don't need to worry about your make up getting smudged from climbing the stairs."

She smirked and started up the stairs, pulling me along with her. I'd almost forgotten that we were still holding hands. Violet's grip tightened and I decided not to fight it. I mean, not that I mind. Wait, no that's not what I meant. You know what? Let's forget this happened.

The 100th floor wasn't what I had expected it to be like. The room looked the same as all the other floors we had to climb past, but It was smaller. Instead of the two giant windows, one solid, metal door stood in front of the mouth of the staircase. Beside me, Violet caught her breath. I didn't blame her. In my head, I knew we were thinking the same thing. Assuming this door wasn't a trap, (Which I was totally expecting. I mean what giant, scary, metal tower doesn't have traps?), the door must lead somewhere. Hopefully, outside, and away from this creepy tower.