Dust blew loose as I unfolded the brochure, uncovering years of buildup. Reading through the pages wasn’t exactly possible, though, as it was still too dark to make out anything. Instead I put it back and looked around. Some potted plants that would have bloomed had died long ago were near the entrance, and a red carpet ran from where I stood to the doors outside. The windows were covered in grim, but the red light from the timer spilled dust-filtered shadows into the room.
I moved towards the front, and pushed through the glass doors. The entrance of the hotel faced back towards the living part of this city, the barrier probably only a short distance away. Tables with burning candles and lanterns that flickered with life were still visible, but a decent distance away. No one appeared to be out and about. It was strangely satisfying, being on this side of the barrier, where no one had been unless they turned. Even those that did walk this path, they didn’t know what they were doing, or so I assumed.
Motioning to the right, I couldn’t help but look deeper into what hadn’t been seen before. Lights from the living part of the city sort of spilled over here, giving a backdrop, but the rest of the center of this city was darkened beyond sight, like not wanted to be seen. The clouds above twisted, shadowing the rest. Straining, I gave an honest attempt to see, but there wasn’t a chance of it. I inhaled and turned around, aiming back towards where I’d come from.
A scream, or what sounded like one, erupted in the distance. It came from behind, and from deep within the blackness of the city’s center. A wind picked up, carrying another distant scream. Then silence. For an exhausting moment there was nothing but pure, deathly stillness.
I must be hearing things.
I stood still and strained to hear anything else, yet nothing came. So I turned around and began walking back to the living.
Another scream roared into existence, much closer this time, coming from somewhere off to my right, slightly angled back towards the center. I stood motionless, waiting, unable to move, my feet made of stone. Then another sounded from a different direction, but still coming from the black. It was a woman’s voice, high pitched, crying murder. Yet it sounded deeper somehow, uglier. More screams came, all sounding so different, nearly inhuman.
The cold metal of my handgun felt snug against my waist. I had nearly forgotten about it, and it was unbelievable that I hadn’t lost it initially when I fell through that opening in the skyscraper. It demanded my attention, and I found myself holding it, aiming at the multiple locations from where I’d heard the screeching. But my hand failed to grip the handle effectively. The gun swayed, threatening to fall.
More shrieks bellowed from my left and right, so much closer than the rest. Beads of sweat formed on my forehead as my legs trembled in this unnaturally cold environment.
A scream shattered the world only ten feet in front of me. Something was running through the darkness, but it was only a shadow. It looked human, then again it didn’t. The blue radiance of the orb in my hand wasn’t enough to light it. I tried to squeeze the trigger, but the gun fumbled in my weak grip. The firearm tumbled to the ground.
My ribs hollowed in protest as I turned back. Screams suddenly reverberated from all around, as if a mob had formed from nothing and were in chase. My legs failed to move, as a horde of figures broke through the shadows like nightmares unleashed onto the living. Vicious howls finally set my feet in motion, trying my best to run towards what I knew.
I grasped my side and held the sphere close. I couldn’t let them get the sphere.
A scream sounded in my right ear, only feet away. Something clawed at my shoulder, tearing the cloth of the sweatshirt. I didn’t mean to look, didn’t mean to slow down. But it was enough for something to catch up, crashing into my back and sending me crashing to the concrete, waiting for whatever it was to finish me off.
Chapter 12: Late Enough
The sphere’s blue light, cradled in my right hand, winked out as I rolled end over end, over the threshold and back into “Downtown”. I looked back. Whatever had been making those sounds was gone, along with any notion that they ever existed.
There was no one around; not a noise escaped into the evening air. I got up and took a seat at the closest table, placing the sphere in the middle of the surface. It remained dead, no light emitting from its etched surface. I wanted to doubt it would light again, like my imagination had created this magical device and the steam ran out of this strange dream.
Maybe I drank too much. Maybe I didn’t even climb that damn tower. But the sphere remained, my eyes fixed on it. This was no dream or alcohol-fueled hallucination.
My head slammed into the table. It hurt to not understand any of this. Slowly, my face twisted so my cheek rested on the tabletop, my eyelids shut. I could almost fall asleep right there, but waking up in the morning to an angry human mob wasn’t really a thing I wanted to do.
Sighing, my eyelids fluttered open. There was only one place that was still ablaze with light at this hour. I wondered if dawn was coming soon, but I thought I still had some night left. I stood up and stuffed the palm-sized orb into the sweatshirt’s front pocket. I didn’t know why it was so luring, or what was calling for me as I ambled over for a look. A bar loomed through the large glass window out front, and nobody stirred inside. This was, long ago, the only place left with a large supply of spirits. It’d been awhile since I’d been here, at Sierra’s bar. Lifting up on my hood, I covered my face and entered.
The door dinged with a new customer as I walked through. The place was virtually empty except for a few stragglers at the back table. They had fallen asleep on the top of the table and around the ground. There was another group at the counter, somehow still at it, even this late. But I doubted they could do anything but lift another shot glass to their mouths. They didn’t even notice the bell ding, nor my entrance. The lights were low enough, as the lanterns were scattered about, and flames were low.
I didn’t know why I was there, didn’t know why I risked being seen. I thought that I probably couldn’t make the trip back home just yet. I’d most likely would faint, I was so tired. I didn’t need a drink that was for sure. But being off the street was that much better, hiding in plain sight once. I thought back to the girl that cried thief as I looked down at the sweatshirt. Something as simple as this nearly got me dismembered.
The bar itself was rustic and old. Not terrible, just different when compared to the rest of this city’s broken architecture. Most everything was wood, from the bar to the stools to the floor and ceiling. There was a massive mirror behind the bar showcasing the surroundings, though pieces were broken off and missing.
The person who discovered this place had found a cellar full of fine wines, bottles of liquor, and boxes of beer. I remembered trying beer when we’d first tested it, but it apparently hadn’t aged well compared to the rest. It didn’t get us drunk like shots of vodka and glasses of red wine.
The floor was sticky with whatever substance was left over from this night’s party. I took a seat at a round table. There was standing water or alcohol coating the surface. I wiped the excess free with my sleeve, spilling it over the side. Placing my hand back down on the wood, I drummed my fingers, trying to ease my mind.
“What ya have?” an enchanting young voice came from nearby. I looked over and saw a pretty girl tossing her hair and chewing on the end of her finger. It was far too late for anyone to be working. I played along, though. It’d been a rather tough night, and she was pretty enough to take my mind off things.
“Huh?” I asked.