Rumbling pervaded his being, glass rattling as Scott's eyes flicked between the live coverage on his TV and the very real tower of stone rising from the ground outside his window. He blinked, taking a sip of his coffee as he tried to determine if he was still dreaming. The awful taste of the instant blend he'd retrieved from his motel's 'breakfast buffet' assured him this was real. Even in his nightmares, the coffee wasn't this bad.

Less than a kilometer from his second-story motel room in the small town of Mackenzie, the towering edifice already dominated the skyline. It'd only started growing a few minutes earlier yet the smooth grey pillar was already casting an enormous shadow.

The tower on TV wasn't the same one as outside his motel window. It was a similar tower off the coast of Hawaii. As he watched, the ticker at the bottom of the screen indicated they had reports of towers rising in other locations as well. Over a dozen confirmed sightings. Probably more, since most of the sightings thus far were on the edge of civilization. The closest to real civilization was off the shore of some city called Lagos. Scott was pretty sure that meant it was in Europe somewhere.

Reading the ticker as it scrolled across the tv, Scott heard a loud crunch. Glancing out the window, he was just in time to notice a distorted shimmer in the air, shattering windows on the edge of town. Without thinking, Scott threw himself to the floor, pulling his bedspread down and over his head. A second later he was thrown against his bed as his window blew in. The cheap linens blocked most of the shattered glass, though he felt the sting of a single cut across the back of where his left hand held the blankets.

Scott waited in the dark as the rumbling continued, lamenting his choice of getaway locations. He'd been looking forward to hiking the nearby Rockies, the mountain range that Mackenzie was nestled next to. In fact, if Scott was right, the Tower emerged from the rubble of mount Morfee. He couldn't help but laugh when he caught himself mentally adjusting their climbing order.

It was unlikely he'd be climbing anything in the near future.

After a few minutes, the rumbling finally stopped. Scott peeked over his bed. It seemed the Tower had finished. His room was a mess. The hiking gear he'd neatly stacked beneath the window was torn open and his TV's screen had been smashed. The lights were out, the only source of illumination, the reflection of the morning sun glancing off the Tower. Scott wasn't sure if the power was out or if the bulb had been smashed like the TV. And it didn't really matter.

He was grateful that he hadn't taken his boots off as he stepped on the broken glass. Scott quickly checked the bottom of his pack for the separate pocket where he stored his first aid supplies. After confirming they were intact, he stepped outside, inspecting his hand more closely in the morning light. Just a scratch. Hardly worth worrying about. He carefully made his way back inside his room to the mini-fridge, pulling out the half-empty bottle of vodka he and Katie had been working on last night. He took a swig and poured a dab on his hand, gritting his teeth at the sweet burning sensation. Scott had always known it was a little weird how he enjoyed pain if he knew it was for his benefit.

He liked to imagine it was similar to the way you could have a pleasant ache after exercising.

Shaking his head, Scott exited his room, taking in the changes. Half the motel was on an angle, thrust upwards then left there. He couldn't be certain, but he imagined the ridge of stone radiating out from the tower just behind that part of the motel was likely responsible for the local change in landscaping. With the amount of destruction he could see, he was a little surprised that his car's alarm wasn't going off. That damn alarm was more sensitive to bumps and shakes than his mom's false hip.

Dismissing the thought of his car, Scott started towards Katie's room. It was only a few doors away, but her room was in the now-slanted part of the motel. As he was picking his way across the broken floor towards her room, there was a loud thunk followed by the door to Katie's room swinging open.

"Goddamn, what a beautiful sight," Katie proclaimed, stepping free of her room while holding the door for support. Despite being on the more damaged side of the motel, it appeared Katie had weathered whatever that blast had been better than Scott had. He stopped in place, raising his hand to get her attention right as her dark brown eyes locked on him. "Oh, hey Scott. G'morning."

"Morning," Scott replied, as he took in her sparse ensemble. Katie was only wearing her black bra, a pair of very short jean-shorts and her hiking boots. He'd seen her in less, given their rather complicated history, but after witnessing the destruction of their motel, he'd expected her to emerge loaded for bear. It was a not-so-secret fact that Katie spent time in less than legal activities overseas. Her stories tended to focus on what she did in her off hours, but Scott didn't miss that she came back with new scars every time.

Scott freaked out when she returned with a pair of scars on her chest and back. Something had missed her heart by less than an inch, but Katie had refused to tell him about it. It had caused their first breakup.

Katie raised an eyebrow at him, giving him a slow wink before turning her gaze outwards while tapping her chin as she mumbled. "Wow. It really…"

Scott smiled at her as he climbed next to her. They weren't dating at the moment, but they'd never stopped being friends. Which had caused issues with several of his later girlfriends. Including his most recent, Miranda. Miranda had demanded that Scott needed to stay in Calgary. But Scott had climbed half the Rockies with Katie. And they'd been planning this trip for months.

So, Miranda had been another girlfriend he'd broken up with.

"You okay?" Scott asked as he grabbed the railing which swayed slightly in his grasp, the bottom having torn loose when the building shifted.

"Splendid. God, it's good to see you." Katie drew him into a strong hug, nearly crushing the air out of him. It reminded Scott of the hugs she gave him after a particularly bad tour. After releasing him, she linked her arm with his as she stared at the tower. "Where do you think it came from?"

"No clue," Scott answered while enjoying Katie's closeness. He always felt more himself around her. "It's not the only one. The news was showing them popping up all over."

"Really, they're on the news? Does that mean… One sec!" Katie was already climbing over the rubble to get back to her room as Scott studied the looming edifice before him. He leaned over the railing, straining his neck to see the top, but it stretched out of view. The railing shook as he drew himself back, reminding him that this probably wasn't the safest time and place to be sightseeing.

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"Damn. No service. Figures," Katie grumbled as she came out of her room. Scott watched her wave her phone back and forth as she moved closer in her quest for a signal. Scott dug out his own cellphone, confirming that the network was down. The motel's wifi was down too, but given the destruction, that didn't surprise him.

Voices drifted through a nearby door, a deep voice yelling in that same tone Scott's dad used to have when he was deep in the bottle, back before things changed. Scott found himself banging on the door before he could think better of it, Katie still linked at his elbow as he called out, "Hey! Everyone okay in there?"

He tried glancing in the window, but the curtains were drawn. It'd probably sheltered the occupants from the flying glass.

The voice cut out, then Scott heard a muffled thump followed by the scraping of the door as whoever was inside tried to pull it free. After some grunts and curses, the door popped free revealing a cleanshaven man with dark black hair, a clean suit and the squarest glasses Scott had ever seen. The man drew himself up, but stopped, looking over Scott's shoulder. "Jesus Christ," the man mumbled before turning around, "Mary, get the hell out here. You're not going to believe what broke the damn window."

"He seems nice," Katie said, pulling Scott towards her room. "Let's grab our stuff. We need to get moving before…"

"Before what?" he asked even as he let her pull him towards her room.

"I just… It's not over yet." Katie shrugged as she started throwing things on her bed. Scott was shocked when she tossed the, probably illegal, handgun she carried with her off the side of her bed.

"You're not bringing your gun?" Scott asked. Sure, he was more of a rifle kind of guy, but Katie had always liked having a handgun when they were climbing. It had come in handy a couple of times too.

"Won't be much good without ammo," Katie answered distractedly, then paused, as if she realized just how much that sentence didn't make sense. "Shit. I actually have ammo again. Haven't had ammo in… God? Years?" So saying she grabbed the pistol and tucked it back in her pack.

"What are you talking about?" Scott asked. Katie was getting weirder. Which wasn't entirely unusual. She had a habit of knowing things that made her react in ways he thought were strange. But this time there was a tower the size of a city just outside the window. And Katie always had ammo.

"Look. I'll explain everything. Soon. But for now, we need to get moving. You've got your stuff packed, right?" Even as she asked, she bundled her sheets in her hands, stuffing the wadded up mess under one arm.

"Mostly. It got torn up a bit by the explosion. Or whatever that was."

"Good. Let's grab it and go." Katie led by example, stepping outside while tying the top of her hiking pack closed with one hand.

Scott followed behind her, admiring the graceful way she picked her way down the tilted balcony. His own descent was less smooth. Once they'd reached his room, he stowed his unused first aid kit then grabbed one of the overbleached towels from the motel's bathrooms. Using the towel as a patch for his torn bag, he tied it closed before joining Katie where she was testing the makeshift rope she'd made from her bedsheets.

"What's that for? Why don't we use… Oh," Scott said as he spotted the twisted remains of the only staircase leading to their balcony.

"Yeah. Figured it'd be easier this way. Probably overkill, but we've got a long day ahead of us. Rather not twist an ankle before we've really started." Seemingly satisfied with her work, Katie tied one end of her blanket rope to his door handle before throwing it off the balcony. Before Scott could respond, she followed the blanket-rope, sliding out of view.

Scott moved to the edge, tugging at the blanket-rope a few times before carefully climbing over the railing. Back when he was twenty, he might have felt compelled to copy her, but now that he was in his late thirties… Well, he still almost copied her, but he was aware that if he screwed up, he'd have to live with the aches and pains.

So, instead, he was in the process of carefully climbing over the rail when the man in the suit emerged from his room with the woman he guessed was Mary right behind him. She was tall, with the kind of purple-dyed hair that only looked good when you put in the work to maintain it. Which she had.

Scott paused where he was standing, his feet placed firmly on either side of the rope as he considered if he should say anything when Katie called from below, "Come on, Scott. Hurry up."

Scott glanced down, and when he looked back up, Mary was disappearing back into her room, slamming the door. The man in the suit was staring at the tower, probably locked out of his room. Which Scott decided wasn't any of his business.

He slid down the bedding, landing beside Katie's old jeep, Betsy. Katie wasn't waiting idly. Instead, she was sifting through the chaotic mess that had recently been her backseat. The mess was more of a result of their drive than the tower looming over them.

"What're you looking for?" Scott asked.

"I'm trying to find… Ah hah!" Katie pulled the half eaten pack of twizzlers from beneath a rumpled pillow, sticking one in her mouth immediately. "God, I missed twizzlers."

"Missed twizzlers? You ate half the pack last night?" Scott pointed out as Katie slid into the front seat, turning the key. He wasn't sure what was up with Katie, but he was starting to get worried.

The engine firing up drowned out her response as Scott got in beside her, as much out of curiosity as habit. He wasn't sure they were going to get far with how torn up the ground was.

He was about to say as much when Katie slammed the jeep into reverse before he even had his seatbelt on.

"Holy shit Katie!" Scott exclaimed as he nearly slammed his nose into the dashboard.

"Sorry. Need to make up time. Probably should've waited on the twizzlers, but like I said. It's been a while."

"Yeah, about that… Are you okay?" Scott asked carefully while buckling his seatbelt. She hadn't mentioned much about her latest trip out east, but Scott was wondering if something had finally caused her to snap.

"Will be. Look, I don't know if we've got time for me to tell you everything, but I'll try to cover the basics." Katie stopped talking as she guided the jeep over a cracked section of road. It was at such a steep angle, Scott worried the slightest bump would cause them to roll over.

"First off. The Towers of Ascension, that's what these things are going to be called, they're not finished deploying or whatever. Things are about to get much worse."

"Worse? Worse how?" Scott asked as they crested the concrete ridge.

Katie eased the jeep down the far side before answering. "They're going to crack the planet open. A lot of people died. Are going to die."

"Should we warn someone?" Scott asked as Katie floored the pedal, sending the jeep lurching forwards.

"If we'd had more time, I would've. Or if the phones were working. But I'm not sure we're even going to make it."

Scott was about to ask where they were going when Katie reached the end of another much wider ridge. She turned so sharply that Scott was certain they were going to tip over. But Katie accelerated while leaning hard on the steering wheel, slamming the jeep down before racing along the ridge. Directly towards the tower.

"Wait? We're going towards the tower? Didn't you just say it was going to tear open the earth?"

"Yeah. And the only safe place in a hundred miles is at the base."

Scott looked at the dark stone as the jeep bounced and jostled its way across the top of a jagged ridge that hadn't been there a half hour ago.

This was not how he'd expected to start his long weekend.