FLOOR 21

by Jason Luthor

  Who am I kidding? Of course, I will.

  Anyway, I’m going to use the vent access to head up to Floor 3. You know, all those rooms you can’t access there? The labs? Well, I’m going to check ’em out. I want to see if Dad’s okay.

  Plus, it’ll be a good chance to see how far up the vents I can really go. Because if I can, well . . . you know.

  I’ll be visiting Floor 1.

  Recording Twenty-Two

  Rule 1 of the Air-Vent Explorer’s handbook says that before you go crawling through an air vent, make sure you’re small enough to fit.

  For the record, I wrote the handbook. I think I’m also the only air-vent explorer.

  See, not everyone can do this. It’s basically only for people that aren’t, well, big. I’m strong, but I’m still a thin girl, so it’s not exactly hard for me to fit in these. If Tommy tried this, he’d probably get that huge head of his stuck.

  Other things. You need tools. I’m wearing a small bag around my waist, and it’s got everything I need to get in and out. For instance, I brought a screwdriver and wrench with me.

  But, man, was it a pain getting those things.

  So, of course, we don’t exactly have, like, spare stuff sitting around. Stuff gets sparse in the Tower. My friend Ben does lots of time with Maintenance, though, so he has access to these kinds of things.

  You know, I had to promise him my next three candy bars? Damn it.

  Whatever. I got what I needed. If you want to know what happened to my last tool bag, well, let’s just say I dropped it. And what I mean when I say that is that my bag must have dropped about twenty stories down a vent infested with Creep.

  So it’s technically seen more of this tower than me.

  Mom left for Sevenths Day fairly early, like she normally does. Dad might not be around, but she still sticks with her schedule. So everyone leaves for Reception. Meanwhile, I hide in a Cleanup closet. Those are about the only safe places to get in and out of the vents without Security finding you. Especially right now. There’s one not far down the hall from me, so I scouted it to make sure nobody was inside. That doesn’t take much. If you knock and someone answers, you just explain that you think you saw some vomit or something in the stairwell.

  Those guys get right on it.

  Removing the vent cover and replacing it is the most important part; otherwise people will know you’re moving around in them. The vents in this tower are pretty big, I guess because of all the machinery they have running things, but that doesn’t mean they’re spacious. Anyway, a wrench will take the grate off, but you can’t forget to replace it once you’re inside. If the grate looks too loose, then someone might notice that you’re in there. I’ve used this Cleanup closet a few times, and nobody’s noticed me use it yet. I don’t think.

  It’s impossibly slow work crawling my way upward, not to mention hazardous to my skin. Rule 2 of the Air Vent Explorer’s handbook is to wear some padding, so I brought some of the elbow and knee guards I use when I fight. Some of the edges of those vents are real sharp, and you don’t want to go bleeding through a grate.

  Rule 3 is probably my most important rule, though. Bring a flashlight. I’m just saying, have you ever crawled through an air vent before? It’s dark. Really, you can’t see your palm from the wall sometimes. The only light you get is whenever you’re passing by a vent that leads into a room. Which, by the way, is a cool bonus. I get to hear some insane conversations sometimes. But that’s totally not the point.

  The point is, I’m here, taking a break for now. I’ve been working my way upward for about, oh, an hour now, and I just need to chill for a second. Though, total truth moment here, it’s kinda scary. It’s definitely super-dark. Doesn’t really matter if I look straight ahead or at the ceiling because, well, it’s all as black as my heart. Kidding. Just on days when I’m angry.

  People will be coming back from Sevenths Day soon, so the only good thing I can say is that I’m getting close to Floor 3. I’ve probably mentioned that the Tower is huge. Yeah. Like, if you can get lost in the halls, imagine trying to move around in the vents.

  I seem to have the instinct for it, though.

  Anyway, after people get back from Sevenths Day, things will be empty up there on Floor 2. So, no problem, right? If I get really desperate, I can probably just exit through one of the closets near Reception Hall.

  Anyway. Break time’s over. I need to get moving before I sweat so bad that people start getting a whiff of my stank through the grates.

  Recording Twenty-Three

  I don’t find anything too unusual, but to be fair, I don’t really know what I’m looking for. Most of what I see is, I dunno, usual lab stuff. At least, what I think should be in a lab. Lots of worktables, computers, whiteboards, all that stuff is here. Earlier I saw a big work space, but the only stuff there was a bunch of solar panels.

  The one thing I’m sure of is that there’s lots of cool stuff lying around.

  Lots more than I thought, actually. So, like, the rooftop. The solar panels are rare, right? But that work space had to have had, uh, at least a dozen of them. So, what the hell? Also, it kinda looked like there were a bunch more stored away in a locker. I couldn’t really make it out, since the doors were closed, but the front of the locker had glass windows. Anyway, I’m just saying that from what I could make out, it looked like there were tons more.

  Um, it also looks like people in the Science department attend Reception. I guess even they could use the encouragement. Kind of depressing if you think about it. The only guys keeping us alive need to go to a guy like Receiver Garry to keep their spirits up. Not that there’s anything wrong with Garry; it’s just, do you really want your Science department getting advice from a guy who says it’s best not to ask questions?

  Do you really?

  Anyway, nothing important to report so far. None of these labs look like they have anything supersecret or anything. Just a bunch of solar panels that they keep trying to convince us are really extremely rare.

  Recording Twenty-Four

  Damn damn damn. I’ve been sitting here for, like, twenty minutes. Yeah, that’s a lot of wasted time. I couldn’t move, though. Two guys were here, scientists, and they both decided now was the perfect moment to chitchat. Great. It’s not smart to move in the vents when people are right next to you, so I had to just wait. And wait. And wait. Finally those two walked off.

  I did hear something, though. Also, I should probably describe what I’m looking at.

  So, the lab below me. It’s not like the other ones. I mean, it’s still nothing too strange, but . . . I dunno. There are a ton of vials around it, and a lot of computers running . . . some program. I don’t know, lots of math stuff is going across the screens. They’re not working on anything mechanical here; I can at least figure that out. Mom’s told me about her lab before, and she says they have lots of plants and stuff in glassed-off areas where they run experiments. That’s not what this is, either.

  But there are a bunch of glass tubes sitting against the wall, plus some microscopes. I mean, it’s pretty obvious they’re testing something here, since I can see that half the room is separated by a glass wall. I can’t tell what’s inside, but way way way in the back is a different vent. It’s not connected to the one I’m in, so, I’m guessing, there are two separate ventilation systems? How does that make sense? Why would they need that?

  I’m guessing there’s something in the air back there that they’ve got to keep separate from the rest of the Tower’s air circulation. Maybe.

  I never really stopped to think about whether or not there would be anything toxic in the air as I wandered through the labs. Now I’m creeped the hell out.

  Anyway, I’m already kinda, well, edgy is putting it mildly. Super-freaked, on the other hand, is an excellent way of saying it. I mean, here I am, in the labs, doing something I know could get me taken by the goons in Security. Now what if I told you that that wasn’t the big reason I’m freaked out?

/>   Those two scientists I was talking about? Yeah, well, get this. The one with glasses turns to his friend and says, “Have you finished up with that Creep sample yet?”

  “No,” the other guy says. “I haven’t been able to get it to calm down. It’s really volatile right now.”

  “Is it acting up?” glasses guy asks. “You know, they’re going to need it for Reinforcement. They’re running low on supply.”

  “Yeah, I know,” he says. “It’s getting harder and harder to stabilize samples, though. The Creep samples are acting up a lot lately. Ever since that situation last year.”

  “Right. When it got really, really angry.”

  “Well, you know what happens when we make it upset. We should have known better.”

  Excuse me, but what the heck are they talking about? The situation last year? Could they be talking about what happened on my birthday? Because . . . I mean, it did happen a year ago. I can still hear all the gunshots. I remember . . . people didn’t come back after that night. And the one thing I do know about the Creep is that it gets angry and aggressive. I mean, come on, that’s exactly what happened when I turned sixteen. It’s the whole reason we were on lockdown.

  Anyway, these guys know something.

  Worse—what did he mean when he asked if the other guy was done with the sample? All these years, and I never even thought they might be experimenting on the stuff. I mean, it’s stupid to think they wouldn’t, but still. I just always assumed that we were, you know, smarter than trying to experiment on stuff that literally has us trapped in the Tower.

  But you want to know the worst part?

  Why did they say they were going to need it for Reinforcement?

  What do they do with it in Reinforcement? Did they use it on Danny somehow?

  God. Maybe I’m wasting my time here on Floor 3. Maybe I need to just shoot straight to the top.

  Maybe I need to just get to Floor 1.

  Recording Twenty-Five

  I haven’t talked about everything I know about the Creep. Why would I? It’s not like there’s an encyclopedia about it you can just pick up.

  Here’s the thing, though. Nobody really likes to say it, but everyone kinda knows . . . if you don’t take care of the Creep, it’ll take care of you. Like, I’m not saying that it’s going to come after you. It’s more like . . . I dunno. It’s like mold. Except mold that grows on you. Just not too often, but every kid’s raised to be scared of the Creep. That’s the whole reason you’re not supposed to touch it. I mean, besides the crazy hallucinations you’ll get.

  I never really knew whether to believe it or not, but there’s a kids’ story they tell. Everyone knows it ’cause everyone hears it growing up. It’s about this girl, Creepy Sally.

  Creepy Sally in her home. Creepy Sally’s all alone. In her room on Floor 16. She wished to be a beauty queen.

  But Creepy Sally couldn’t be. ’Cause Sally’s pretty creepy, see? Got the rot all down her arm. Now Creepy Sally causes harm.

  Roaming down the halls at night. Always trying to pick a fight. One thing, child, that you must do. Is run before she catches you.

  Security tried to put her down. But Creepy Sally’s on the prowl. Got the Creep all in her skin. Now Sally’s paying for her sin.

  So, yeah. Basically you don’t want to end up like Sally. If you want to believe the stories, she used to live down on Floor 16. Kinda a loner type, but who wouldn’t be so far down in the Creep? Maybe too much of a loner. The story is she’d kinda just lay around in bed all day. Maybe she was angry or depressed, but she stayed in one spot so long the Creep got her. I mean, it started to grow on her. Grosses me out just thinking about that stuff starting to get into your skin and your blood.

  Funny thing is, nobody can ever say what she looks like. I mean, if this really did happen, it happened on Floor 16. I’m guessing Security would take her down if she ever tried to come up the Tower.

  Then again, the nursery rhyme does say they tried to put her down. Which, you know, means they failed. Which means she’s strong enough to fight back against Security.

  God. I don’t want to think about that.

  One boy I knew said that when the Creep gets in you, that it starts to make, like, bubbles in your skin. Then the bubbles start to ooze. Then you start to grow lumps all over your body as the Creep spreads.

  Why am I thinking about this while I’m crawling through panic-inducing vents and can barely see three feet in front of me?

  It’s becoming overly apparent that I like to torture myself.

  Also, yeah, I’m coming up on Floor 2, so I’m getting antsy. It won’t be much longer before I find out if there’s a way to climb even higher.

  Recording Twenty-Six

  I crawl over Reception Hall and stare down. It’s funny seeing it empty, from the air, like I’m some flying invisible god. Receiver Garry’s still in there. I can see him moving back and forth once in a while, putting things away. He’s muttering as he does this, so I stop to listen to him as he talks. I’ve never thought of him as crazy, but I don’t think talking to yourself is a great sign.

  I recognize the first part of what he’s saying, though.

  “On Firsts Day, the Builders erected the Tower. At that time the world was covered in Darkness, and the Tower rose from the depths of the Creep.

  “And the Builders said, ‘We must be a light.’ And the light of the Tower became a beacon in the Darkness.”

  Chapter 1, Line 1, The Book of the Tower.

  We all have to recite it every Sevenths Day. It’s kind of a reminder that the reason we’re supposed to be on our best behavior isn’t just, like, to survive. Receiver Garry always says that if we’re not a light in the Darkness, the ones that were taken away, into the skies, won’t come back for us.

  That’s pretty crapsack of them if you ask me. What sort of plan is that?

  Speaking of which, why did we get left behind in the first place?

  Anyway, I’m not surprised as Garry goes onto the second line. “On Seconds Day, the Builders said, ‘We must be separate from the Darkness,’ and the gardens of the Tower were separated from the Creep to give life to all those that would follow.”

  So, yeah, thanks, Builders. I really appreciate the fact that we were left to survive in a tower filled by the Creep. But, hey, at least we’ve got the garden. I mean, no reason to try and take us with you or anything. Obviously I prefer eating black tainted vegetables to getting out of here.

  Although, now that I think about it, they never mention whether the Builders stayed behind or left with everyone else.

  I’m going to bet they left. Jerks.

  Whatever. Garry stops reciting and kinda does this thing where he looks around, like he’s nervous. At first I think he might have noticed me, but the vent I’m in is pretty high. So high that I’m kinda scared it’ll break and dump me onto the ground. I mean, getting caught would suck, but I’m pretty sure I’d bust a few bones if I fell from this far up.

  Anyway, I watch as Garry glances around. Then he looks up, right at me, and I freeze. I swear he must be able to see me, but it has to be too dark in the vent. A second later he glances away before tumbling onto his knees.

  Then he begins to cry.

  I can’t tell what’s going on at first. Really, I think he’s laughing. Then his voice slows down, and his shoulders begin to shake. Garry buries his face in his hands and leans over, until his head’s touching the ground, like he’s begging for mercy. Then he just starts to wail. I can feel the hairs on the back on my neck dancing as his crying gets louder, like it’s vibrating inside the walls of the vent.

  It gets inside my skin, and I just feel . . . I don’t know, man, like I’m all in my feels. Then he stops crying for a moment and starts to talk again.

  “In those days the Children of Men will be taken, snatched up from the Darkness. They will be taken out of Darkness and into the Light.”

  Yeah. That’s another basic line we all learn, too. It’s one of the most
important ones. If we didn’t think we had a chance of leaving the Tower, life would suck more than it already does. Thing is, Receiver Garry doesn’t stop there.

  “The Children of Men will go down into the Darkness. They will not return. They will stumble at the temple. They will vanish into the night. In that day, all the light of the Tower will be snuffed out.”

  I stare at him for a long time and watch as he slowly peels himself off the floor. He’s looking like a ripe tomato, and I can see the front of his shirt is stained from all the tears. It would be pathetic if it wasn’t so depressing. I can’t help wonder if Garry is normally like this when nobody else is around, or if he’s just a crying mess today of all days. Because if he’s normally like this whenever he’s not putting on a show, then that doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence in me.

  About that last line he quoted. It’s called a Hellverse. Something about The Book of the Tower is that it’s got contradicting information. Some parts say that one day we’ll get out of here. Others say we’ll get consumed by the Darkness.

  I guess I know which one Garry believes. Problem is, I don’t know if it’s because he’s usually like this, or if it’s because something’s been going on recently.

  I really don’t want to believe that it’s because of what’s been going on recently.

  Recording Twenty-Seven

  I would like to say I quickly found out that it takes a while to get to Floor 1, but pretty much the opposite is true. When you use the stairwell, it seems pretty quick, but that’s because they go straight up the tower. The vents don’t really do the same thing. After going past Reception Hall, I ended up circling back before the vents started to slope upward. The thing about using these to get around is that it’s exhausting. I’m sure most people haven’t had to crawl around a lot since they were babies, so most people don’t realize you get real tired real quick. Like, so tired you want to pass out. The only thing that keeps you going sometimes is the fact that you’re, you know, freaking stuck in a vent. It’s claustrophobic and you can’t get comfortable. Sometimes I even start to feel my chest burn and my breath get short.