There was nothing but steel rods, loose chunks of building material, and open air where there used to be a wall. This was where the sky scraper had somehow managed to crack and lean to its left without completely falling apart. Floor forty-one was now the last floor that I could levelly stand upon.
The office complex was leaning at an extreme angle, nearly horizontal. The crack in the building had caused a massive portion of the wall, which was now the ceiling, to crack and fall off. The floor was now the just windows, most of which no longer held glass panels.
Rubble was piled all over while some of it must have caused such an impact that it tore right through where I needed to walk. The hole in the ceiling traveled through four more stories before becoming whole again. Rot consumed parts of the walls and most of the furniture. Everything felt upside down, backwards and inside out. At least somehow the actual walls were intact and looked decently able to hold weight.
Hopefully after a few stories I could look closer at what I had come for: the timer. But a slight problem reared its head as I stared down through the cracks in the floor. The far side of this building was over the barrier. I had never been so high up while trying to cross over, but could only assume the effects would be the same. If the pain came at the wrong moment it could send me straight out one of those glass-free windows.
I took a deep breath and crept slowly forward. The floor pitched at a slight, upward angle. Desks, tables, and bookcases made formidable obstacles. Some rested in the open windows, as gravity hadn’t taken a toll just yet. I turned my flashlight’s beam to see a clear path against the hateful red glare.
Gently, gingerly, I climbed around, through, or over whatever was in the way, stepping where the support appeared best. The walls moaned and creaked, but held. My heartbeat stuck to my throat while my temples throbbed. It was far colder up there too, my breath coming out in long, visible waves. I was thankful I didn’t toss the sweatshirt away on the climb.
The flashlight’s beam cascaded over the open floor. It was weird to see the stairwell above me hanging on by threads of steel rods. Some objects were still latched to the walls, held on by cords plugged into outlets. Light fixtures were fastened to the walls on my left and right, upside down. Paintings swung gently in the wind, thin wires screwed into the plaster the only thing keeping them from falling through the holes in the floor. Though the mess was disorienting, nothing compared to looking down.
I soon came upon a soft, cream-colored sofa that lurched halfway through an opening. Unlike gravity, the weather hadn’t been so kind to it. Rain had brought mold and the couch was literally being eaten away. I looked down through the opening and saw that the sofa would eventually fall through, smashing to the ground after a long fall. Just thinking about it made a shiver run up my back.
I made my way through the next few floors with relative ease, until floor forty-five came into view. The floor had crumbled away. The steel rods that once lined the wall were pushed outwards, as if some sort of force had blown right through it. The opening carried on for about a full floor before the building became solid once more.
I was grateful to have ceiling once more between me and the dark clouds, but had no idea how I was going to get to the other side of the broken building. That red glow of the numbers had increased tenfold, indicating how very close I was to the source.
A humming came from up ahead as something mechanical buzzed to life. Machinery that only electricity could power was operating, and my mind was at work trying to understand what it meant. However, I had to first solve the dilemma of how to cross this breach.
I looked at the left wall and saw it was intact. I took off the extra hoodie and my shirt, pulling the shirt to thick shreds and wrapping it around my hands. Then I put the hoodie back on. Aiming for the first vertical row of windows, I cautiously climbed into the open air. I reached the top window and started to move horizontally, crossing the few feet between windows without an issue while making sure not to look down.
A jolting notion came over me as I stopped and looked over the gap that divided the next set of windows. A good six feet separated the two sets. Worse, not even a scratch was etched into the glass of the closet one. A draft rose around me, and a cold gust swayed the building as if it would tear to pieces at any second. Just how the hell could I cross the divide? It was too long of a stretch, and I couldn’t exactly jump from here, but there was no other path.
A slight moan escaped up from the cinder and concrete wall. Just the tiniest crack appeared near my feet. It splintered the window sill in half and traveled out. The wall thundered as plaster sprayed all around. The crack widened into a breach that threatened to send the entire structure tumbling to the ground. My head whipped from side to side to find an escape. The only way was forward. The set of windows down and to the right were glass free. I had to jump for it.
No time to think.
No time to wonder.
I putting my feet on a splintering wall and gained some leverage. Thunder exploded above as if eager to see the show. I pushed off the wall with almost too much force and sailed awkwardly through the air. The flashlight tumbled from my grip and spun end over end. I still refused to look down even as I fell.
The target window came closer. Everything became detached. Time slowed.
My hands flew out in all directions, reaching for the opening. Plaster fell like snow. Somehow the raining bits of paint chips and plaster reformed into a time when I was a kid making a snowman when tiny flakes of snow began to fall gently from the sky on Christmas Eve.
I touched the sill of the window with my left hand and held fast. My body hit hard against the wall. The shock loosened my grip, but a few fingers managed the keep. It wasn’t enough though, and before I knew it I lost the sill and was falling again.
I didn’t comprehend what had happened, not right away. I had a hold on the opening, what happened? What was going to happen? Everything that had occurred ran through my head at lightning pace. From the events starting two years ago to this exact moment. It was everything in an instant.
I looked over, still in slow motion, and watched as I flew past the end of the wall. I made a lame attempt to reach out and grab something, but I was just too far away. I think I already knew that. This was meant to be my end. I closed my eyes and let the fall take me.
Chapter 10: Luck vs. Fate
A sudden jerk brought me back as the falling stopped. I looked around. My stop didn’t make sense, not until I felt the fabric around my neck tighten, snugger than it should have been. I slowly raised my right arm above my head and touched the steel rod that had caught the hood of my borrowed sweatshirt. This damn sweatshirt had saved my life.
I was hanging on by a thread, though, and grasped the rod, pulling with all the strength I could summon. It remained steady. The structure above didn’t seem to be crumbling anymore. The rod itself pointed out at a ninety degree angle before jutting up and back into the building. I managed to pull myself back up and stood upon the rod without it rocking. Several other rods weaved and crossed each other, making for a handy ladder back into the broken building.
After a few tense minutes of climbing I was back on solid concrete. I touched the outside of the building, trying to find a way back in. The steel rods led me to the other side of the gap, but not back through the hole in the floor. I was stuck on the outside, looking through one of the lower windows that still had glass. The window itself was too small to fit through, like most of the others. I had to go up.