FLOOR 21: Judgement (The Tower Legacy Book 3)

by Jason Luthor

  I wasn’t trying to be mean. I just didn’t get why you would only let Mike or your parents call you that. I just wanted you to trust me, you know? Even after we became closer, I guess I never got to that point with you. You still hated it every time I tried to call you that, but I get it. It takes a long time to repair a relationship, and we just never quite got over the past, because you still kept getting irritated every time I tried to call you by your nickname. Jacko. Well, I guess I deserved it. It was hard for you to trust anyone after what happened with your family. After that kind of betrayal, I get why you threw people like me away as fast as you could. Maybe we never got the friendship completely repaired, but I’m glad we were able to be closer.

  Even if it took coming down here for it to happen, I’m glad I could be your friend, because you couldn’t ever make any. If I helped give you a little of what you wanted, then all those weeks of you being defensive and insulting me were worth it. I guess that’s what I’m saying. You didn’t have the family or the friends. You couldn’t even really think about a boyfriend outside of maybe Mike, and he was outside your dating range for most of your life. As far as I know, you never even really dated anyone. Most people take all of that for granted because it just happens for them. It didn’t happen for you though.

  Maybe what I’m trying to say is that the name of the song you like, “A Life in Roses,” sounds beautiful, and I guess you didn’t have a lot of beauty in your life. Well, I’m going to try even harder to make sure you get that life you never had. Of course, obviously, that starts with finding you. After that? Well, we’ll just take it one step at a time. We’ll get this little family of ours clicking. I know that’ll mean more honesty, more trust. You know, all that good stuff. We’ll fight hard to make sure you can get back to your parents one day. Not that I know how long it’s going to take, but I want you to be able to get back those years you lost. You didn’t have the chance before, but you deserve to have some real time with your family. Everyone deserves that, but you especially, considering everything you’ve done for us.

  Now, I can’t do anything about the boyfriend thing. I’m really not sure about any of the guys back on the upper floors, and I don’t know if you’ll ever start feeling about Mike the way you used to. Really, I’m stupid enough with my own love life. I mean, who knows what Dodger thinks about me half the time? I don’t even want to imagine. But, what I know is that I’m going to be there for you. I’m going to be there to make sure you have at least a little of that life you missed out on. That life in roses.

  Jackie’s New Recording: Seven

  I’m not really sure how much more I can emphasize that seeing a new hallucination is always a little bit mind boggling, because you’d think that, after seeing enough of them, you’d get used to it. The thing is, it’s not the visual of seeing a hallucination that trips me out. Okay, obviously it’s a little unsettling to see the world changing, but it’s the feelings that bother me. It’s like someone else takes over my soul and I’m experiencing their emotions, like I get hit with this tidal wave of feelings.

  It came out of nowhere this time too, and just when I was just starting to feel better. Well, I was starting to feel physically better. The meds I got from the fabricator were some super powerful drugs. But mentally, obviously, nobody likes seeing a looming specter of death chasing them through a disease filled hallway. Then there’s the persistent sensation I’ve been feeling lately that my life has been one gigantic series of never-ending mistakes. All that’s come together to regularly make me feel miserable. Still, all things considered, I thought I was doing at least relatively okay. Or, at least I was, until I found myself standing around in the hall, listening to someone calling for me.

  The worst part was that I’d really just wanted to have a normal day. At least, as normal as things get here. You know, find some food, maybe kill a few Creepers, then get some rest. The meds were helping, even if I still feel like I was dragging my leg a half step too slow. Otherwise, things were going good. I was happy. I had a stash of new supplies I’d found. That’s as great a day as you can ask for in a place like the Tower.

  And then I hear it.

  “Anna.”

  I freeze up completely at the call and start desperately flashing my light around. All I’m seeing is Creep and plastered walls, at least until my eye catches something. It’s faint at first, but it’s definitely light. It’s vivid, just far away. At first, I think it’s the crimson light from the Stranger, but it’s not intense enough. It’s pretty intriguing though, and my natural curiosity—which, might I just say, is going to get me killed—starts dragging me through the halls. As I’m getting closer, it’s almost like the colors are stretching out to meet me. I realize the light’s not crimson, but rosy, and soon I’m walking through a lit hallway and listening to that voice.

  “Anna. Hurry up!”

  Hearing the name makes my heart start to rush, and I feel as if all the pain I’ve been going through just kind of washes away. My feet pick up the pace, and I feel my heart thump against my chest, harder and harder, as I start to turn the corner. When I do, I find myself staring down a hall with a single door. I’ve barely got any control of my legs anymore, like I’m moving without even telling myself to, and before I have time to stop what I’m doing, I burst into the room.

  The whole place is full of warm, rose tinted colors. It’s small, but it makes the light feel magnified by a hundred, and there’s clearly a single computer desk in what’s otherwise an almost entirely empty room. Still, it’s not the size of the room or the almost overpoweringly strong burning I’m feeling in my chest that really gets me. What gets me is the guy sitting at the desk, just smiling in my direction. It’s just so excruciatingly comforting to see him there.

  “Johnny?”

  He looks up at me and just grins like a misfit. “Anna. Surprise!”

  “Surprise?” It’s totally taken me off guard.

  “Yeah. They’re moving me up the ranks just a bit. After all the fuss I was throwing about the experiments I saw, the company decided to terminate my temporary position and give me something just a bit more important.”

  “More important? What do you mean?”

  “It’s the whole reason I asked you to come all the way down here. They’re shifting me into the biological research department. Do you know what that means, Anna?”

  “No? I mean, obviously no. I don’t know what you’d be doing there or anything.”

  “Research. Actual, real research. Well, technically I’ll be assisting the researchers, but I’ll be participating in some top-level experiments. You know, really getting my hands into the thick of it. They’re going to show me some of the basics of the work they do down here. That’ll really give me a leg up when it comes time to start applying for research positions down the line.”

  “Johnny, that’s . . . that’s just way too awesome. So, they’re going to give you a chance to work with . . . what, exactly? Is this research for medicine or something?”

  He shakes his head. Actually, he kind of looks like he’s a little shy to say it. “It’s . . . well, you know all the problems that the company’s been having with Carthage.”

  “You mean the people threatening the foundation of civilization as we know it? Yeah, I think I might have heard of them.”

  “Exactly. I’m under the impression most of my work will go toward biological weapons. It’s not the prettiest subject, but the company’s desperate to find a way to score some significant victories.”

  “Yeah, no, I get it. I mean, it’s not like life’s always pretty.”

  “That’s the truth of it.”

  “So, any idea why they’re giving you this . . . promotion? Is that what this is? A promotion?”

  “Of a sort,” he says with a laugh. “I’m still an unpaid temp, but the experience I’ll be getting is far better than what I had before. As for why they’re giving me the job, well, I can’t say for sure. Maybe they noticed that I saw that experiment of the
irs and decided they might as well let me in on the secret.”

  “You’re not being serious, are you?”

  “Anna. Of course not. You think I’d want the job if I seriously thought it was for that sort of reason?”

  I instinctively inhale so deeply that I almost go lightheaded. “Okay, it just would have seriously made me stress if it had anything to do with that.”

  “No, no. It’s okay. Really. I’m just sorry I got you so worried about me. I should have kept that story to myself. It was really just me getting into a bother over nothing at all.”

  “No. Johnny, I want you to tell me about that kind of thing. I like hearing what’s going on in your life.”

  That makes him smile even wider than before. “If you’re trying to make me blush, then I won’t let you before I give you your present.”

  “My present?”

  He doesn’t bother answering before he reaches around the side of his desk and pulls out a vase. It’s capped with a dozen roses so big they’re as large as my hand, and I almost fall back in shock as he sets the whole thing in front of him. “Pour vous, mademoiselle.” He grins. “Sorry, that’s about all the French I can muster up.”

  “No, it’s . . . it’s fine,” I whisper. I’ve never seen roses like this in my life. I mean, I’ve actually literally never seen roses anywhere but in a movie. “Johnny. Why? It doesn’t make any sense. Shouldn’t I be the one getting you something to congratulate you, or—”

  “Of course not. This is me thanking you for supporting me every time I had some outlandish dream about what I wanted to do with myself. You’ve always been incredibly supportive, and I know how much you love these things. I thought you’d be delighted to have some.”

  “No, I am.” I’ve already stepped up to the desk and wrapped my hands around the base. The glass is carved with swirling designs that look like they’re rising up and practically exploding into the roses. “I can’t even begin to comprehend how to start saying thanks.”

  “You don’t have to. You know I’d do anything for you.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Of course I would. I love you.”

  “Johnny.” I can’t deal. It’s too much. I literally feel like my stomach is flipping and my chest is contracting. “Johnny, I . . .”

  When I look up from the vase, faster than I can blink, he’s gone. Everything’s gone. The walls are papered in Creep, the chair’s empty, and the computer’s obviously been dead for forever. But . . . that’s not the worst part. The worst part is looking down and seeing what’s left of a shattered vase in my palms. Whatever roses were there disappeared a long time ago. They’re dead, just like everything else here. Johnny might have been here once, but it’s been centuries. Just remembering him there though, smiling at me and telling me he loves me . . . I fall into the chair and just bury my head in my hands. I’m bent over the desk and just shaking for more time than is probably safe. In the back of my head, I keep worrying the Creep is going to respond, but I don’t want to care about that for a minute. I’m tired of always having to suppress everything I’m feeling just to survive. It’s like it’s all boiling inside of me and I can’t keep a lid on it anymore. So, I have to feel this, even if it’s painful. Even if it kills me to think that I keep losing everyone. Johnny. My parents. My friends.

  They’re all gone.

  Jackie’s New Recording: Eight

  You can get beat up or feel like you’re going crazy, but nothing really beats watching what you thought was reality twisting in front of your eyes. I’m almost entirely confident that I’ve become more aware of it. At one point, I’m walking the halls when I notice the Creep is starting to morph. It doesn’t happen all at once, but I definitely start seeing the walls thinning out. Normally, I’d think that’s a good thing. It’s just, as it keeps receding more and more, it becomes obvious that there are figures underneath. Bodies. Well, skeletons, anyway.

  When it starts happening, I don’t really pay attention to what I’m seeing. I mean, I think I notice something that looks like a bone or something sticking out of the wall. Maybe I’m just so desensitized to this stuff by now that I’ve just given up on getting shocked. I don’t know. Anyway, I barely notice this first bone, but then there’s another and another. A few are sticking out of the wall, but a lot of them are trapped behind this translucent layer of Creep. It’s so thin you can see right through, and pinned against the wall are skeletons with their mouths hanging open and their arms stretched out, like they were caught screaming.

  At first, there’s just a few of them pushed up against the floor or dangling from the roof, but as I’m walking, I start seeing more. It goes from one or two every few minutes to two or three all piled up against each other. The longer I’m walking, the more of them there are. Some of them even look like their arms or legs were snapped when they got caught, because I can actually see places where the bone broke. It makes me cringe, at least a little, because I’m still worrying about the state of my own ribs.

  What really gets me is that, the deeper I get, the more of them there are, until the hall’s filled up from top to bottom and left to right. I’m literally looking at entire walls of skeletons and stained bones. They all look so desperate. Some even look like they’re reaching out at me, like they can see me and they want my help. Who knows how long they’ve been dead though? Kelly made it sound like it might have been centuries. Then again, it’s not as if I can be sure there really are bodies or not. The hallucinations kind of sneak up on you. Plus, I have that vibe, like this weird feeling I get when I’m about to start tripping out of my own head. It feels pretty strong as I’m walking, so it’s hard to tell if what I’m staring at is just my mind flipping out, or a real hallway made of bones. That’s another part of what’s bothering me. Not all of these guys got dragged to the walls. I can feel hard bone under my feet while I’m walking, and a look down shows the entire floor is covered in them. They shift around and crunch every time I take a step. I’m literally walking in a hall of bones.

  I guess that’s about the same time I notice that I’m walking through a set of doors. If it’s possible for things to be worse inside than outside, well, they are. Again, it’s a wall to wall Creep fest, with skeletons pinned everywhere and desks where it looks like people got caught. At the opposite end of this giant room are windows that reach up the ceiling and stretch from one end of the place to the other. On the other side of the glass, there are all sorts of what look like miniature versions of the engine that powers the Tower. There’s also some other stuff that makes me curious, like these huge, circular machines you could step through if you wanted. They almost look like gates. Once upon a time, these things were probably powered. Now, the only light’s coming from up above me. Things are clear enough that I can see a bunch of shattered tubes along the walls, like the kind I’ve seen Creepers grown in before.

  Now, I’m not sure when I notice him, but at some point, I turn and see this guy standing over against the wall. He’s . . . well, he’s hard to describe. He’s big. Not like, Director Kelly big. He’s not muscular or anything, but he’s got this huge stomach that practically falls over his belt. His face isn’t even really a face. It’s like, there’s this huge mouth there, and the guy’s grinning because he sees me. How he sees me though? I mean, he has no eyes. The top of his head trails off into this long, thin piece of muscle and skin that falls behind him, like a skinny tentacle or some pointy hat that’s drooping in the back. It makes his head look triangular, which is weird when you see it against that big circular stomach of his. His super thin arms dangle to the side, and his body’s covered by a lab coat that drops to his ankles. Still, as he’s waddling my way, I swear I can see two more arms underneath his coat that are resting on his stomach. They’re tiny, with fingers that look like they’ve shriveled up, but they’re definitely moving. Beneath the coat, he’s wearing pieces of whatever’s left of his shirt, which isn’t much and leaves most of his belly out in the open. At least the guy has the decency to
wear some pants. His feet, on the other hand, look like insect claws.

  What bugs me the most is how aware he is of me. I’d even say he was happy to see me if not for the fact that his mouth is so creepy. It’s dangling open the whole time he’s coming my way, but I can still make out teeth the size of knives. He makes this crazy grin anytime he’s not licking the air with his tongue. I guess, even if he’s not just like a Creeper, he at least has the weird Creeper tongue. It’s not that I’m bothered by the thought of him talking to me, considering all the crazies I’ve spoken to by now. It’s how he looks at me. He just stands there for a second with his head cocked to the side. The skin’s grown over where his eyes should be, but it’s like he’s staring through me. Then he starts walking a circle around me, looking at me from head to toe. To be honest, I couldn’t tell you what he’s doing. At least, while I’m standing there, it doesn’t look like he wants to kill me.

  “You are the coal man.” He says it, and it sounds like he purposely pauses to separate my last name. “Jackie. Alias, the magnificent killer. The dark angel.”

  “Yeah. That’s what everyone keeps telling me.”

  “Genetic makeup of the angel is weak. Human.” He stops circling for a second to stare me in the eyes. “But so were these, once.”

  He raises a hand and starts twitching his fingers, like he’s grabbing at something. When I look over at the wall, I see skeletons sliding to the ground. They’re propped up by the Creep, which starts to work its way around them. I’m actually watching as muscle starts to build around their arms and legs, wrapping around their faces until I’m left staring at three Creepers. They just stand there, like they’re oblivious to me. “Did you do that?”

  “Standing in a genetics and biology lab. The one you see before you was once genetics expert. Doctor Geller.”

  It makes me suck wind. Didn’t Johnny say he was going to be working in the biology department or something? “You were a scientist.”