He was gently brought back from his sleep, and found Kur squatting in front of him.

“Hey man, sorry to wake you up so soon, but we need to start walking,” he said.

“Walking?” Nar asked, confused.

Kur smiled and pointed at the yellow arrows at their feet.

“Oh…”

Nar sat up straighter. Corridor, yellow arrows, Pressure. Yes.

“Yeah, we are Climbing after all,” Kur said. “I wish I could let you sleep for longer, but I think we should get going.”

“Yeah! Yeah… Of course!”

“Alright, we’ll leave when everyone’s ready. Drink some jell-o, okay? Gotta stay hydrated in this heat.”

“Will do.”

Kur patted his shoulder and left him be.

Nar looked to his side and found the empty spot where Jul had slept. He searched the party and found her talking in hushed whispers with Gad, at the very front of the party.

Nar reached for his pack, next to him, and carefully pulled out a jell-o, making sure no one could see how little was inside of it. He couldn’t hide that his pack was the smallest of the bunch, but he didn’t want anyone to actually see just how little was within.

He lifted the hand sized, transparent container to his mouth, and flicked the soft, self-sealing, sipper open with his tongue.

Ah…

That first sip was divine. He hadn't realized just how dry his tongue was, nor how parched his throat felt from breathing all that hot, Pressure air.

He drank another, greedy gulp of the brown, black flaked gel, and forced himself to seal the pack again, before he drank the whole thing.

Somehow, he felt even thirstier now. However, he had to ration.

In terms of food, his dad had gone hungry so that Nar could leave with a full stomach, so he should be able to last at least another five to six days before he had to start dipping into his even lower reserves of crackers.

He squished the jell-o pack around in his hands.

His dad had sacrificed much for him.

The Clean controlled their supply of food, and sometimes, they decided to be cruel. To see if they could starve them out, or at least eek even more work out of them. That meant going through long periods of shifts without any food at all. And the adults suffered the most, giving whatever they had to their children, all of them pulling together for each other's kids.

Nar frowned.

Now that he thought of it, with his new knowledge of time, he realized that some of those periods must have gone on for months!

The crackers were nutritionally dense, made to keep workers satiated and working. However, months was a long, long time.

Darkness growled within him. Here he was, worrying about these Clean and about their sleep over his, and sacrificing his status to carry them through the Pressure. But after all they had done, who were they to deserve any of his efforts? His sacrifice?

“Everyone ready?” Kur asked.

Nar stuffed his jell-o back into his pack. The smallest pack in the party, scrunched up by the sacrifice of his dad and others. He tried to keep his expression neutral. He hoped he succeeded. It was not easy.

“For now, we’ll just walk,” Kur said. “We’ll see how things go and decide on what to do as we go.”

It was about seven thirty in the morning when they started walking again. It was the first time they actually moved in their intended, proper formation, following after Gad.

They were somehow rested, and Nar was completely healed.

However, the first few minutes were tense.

They didn’t know if they had been allowed to rest and recover, and if now, the night’s respite was over, and the Pressure would come for them once again. But when nothing happened, hushed conversations slowly broke out amongst the party, and people relaxed.

Nar kept to himself at the back of the party.

If not for his apprehension for the darkness that followed him closely, as arrows winked out behind them, he would have strayed even further from them.

He had unwillingly opened a torrent of dark memories and emotions, and was having trouble putting the lid back over them.

The hours drifted by.

Nar felt like he was walking in place.

The corridor was endless, featureless and unchanging.

Always the same yellow lit walls and ceiling.

Always the same yellow glowing arrows at his feet.

The span of visible corridor in front of them was always the same length. And the same could be said for the little bit behind Nar.

It’s like it's meant to make us go crazy, he thought, rubbing his eyes.

At some point, the conversations died.

Hours, walls, arrows.

It all blurred together, and the more he walked, the more his grip on reality slipped through his fingers. As though he walked in a dream, not even sure if he was fully awake.

“It’s coming!” Jul suddenly shouted.

Nar was startled awake and looked around him. Had he been asleep? But he had been walking…

“It's twelve thirty now,” Kur said. “This was around the time we exited yesterday, right? When we first got hit?”

Nar focused on Kur’s voice, pushing his mind back into a fully awakened state. He just barely managed to catch Jul’s nod.

“So, does that mean that the whole thing is about to start again?” Tuk asked.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“We’ll find out,” Kur said. “Everyone down! Quick!”

They dropped to the floor, searching for comfortable positions.

Nar had just gotten himself seated, with his back propped against the wall, and his sword at his side, when it hit him.

The noise, the heat, the weight, the pain.

It engulfed him, just as it had the previous day.

And like that last hit of the previous day, it felt worse. Much worse.

Again, it felt like it went on forever before he finally passed out, and like always, he was the first one to wake up once more.

He felt blood dripping down his nose. He tasted its metallic tang on his tongue. He also noticed that the Pressure was still there, simultaneously crushing and burning.

For a few seconds, he focused only on breathing and piecing his sense of self back together.

His head was killing him, threatening to explode with every heartbeat.

Ringing filled his ears, though it wasn’t enough to mask the hiss of the Pressure. And all over him, he felt all the other plethora of symptoms, pains and sores that he was starting to grow used to.

A few moments later, Cen woke up.

“Are you okay?” she asked him, after she had stabilized herself into a sitting position.

Nar raised a thumbs up.

“It’s still here…” she murmured.

She looked around her.

“How long were we out?”

“Oh…” Nar said. “I haven’t checked.”

He pulled up his UI.

“12:37,” Nar said.

“So, about seven minutes for me, and less for you,” Cen whispered.

She licked her dry lips and swallowed her bloody saliva with a grimace. She squinted her eyes, as though the simple effort of thinking was hurting her further. It probably was.

“Next time, can you try to time it when you wake up?” she asked him. “It will help us see if we are doing better or worse. As-As soon as you can, I mean!”

“Of course,” Nar said.

Her brother mumbled awake next to her, and soon, both Tuk and Jul were up.

“Ugh, not again,” Mul complained, staring at the three sleeping party members.

Tuk threw him a glare, though this time he didn’t say anything.

Probably not worth it, Nar thought in agreement.

“I’ll help you,” Nar said, speaking to Tuk.

“Thanks, man. I appreciate it.”

They repeated the whole process again, of loading up people and weapons, and got on with getting out from under the Pressure.

********

“Thank you,” Gad said.

“No worries.”

Nar stretched his back.

Around him, the party waited in an atmosphere of tired, weary anticipation.

They had gone through four Pressure hits already, and everyone was hoping that the fifth, and worst one, would be the last for the day.

However, there had been no guardians attacking them today, which was a break in a pattern they were still trying to grasp at.

“Everyone, rest!” Kur said, almost needlessly. “Nar and Jul, you guys okay to keep going?”

Like before, the two of them had the most stamina out of all the others, and had endured the day better than they had.

“Yes,” Jul said, and Nar gave the party leader a nod.

“Thank you, really guys,” Kur said, closing his eyes. “I’m sorry for making you...”

“Just sleep,” Nar told him. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Thanks, man. Will do.”

Kur was barely holding on. Every single one of them looked absolutely destroyed.

Despite his earlier emotions, he had mellowed out throughout the day. Other than Mul, the others were all kind, and did their best for everyone else.

Actually, despite his many protests, not even Mul had to be told or forced to carry the weapons, and he always helped him get Gad onto his back of his own volition.

He had started to wonder, if maybe there was just something there he didn’t know or understood.

To the Clean, Climbing usually meant to be cast out by your family in hatred. Usually, though not always, it was a great shame for a family to have one of their own turn selfish traitors. Those left behind always had to pick up the slack for those who had taken up the Climb. Afterall, the quota cared not one bit for who stayed or who went. It was, as it always had been, had to be met.

Also, everyone knew the Climb was deadly. With all the horror stories told around, a worker needed a pretty strong reason to want to leave.

Nar had his.

Jul had hers, he thought, with almost certainty by then. He could still be wrong, though he doubted he was, unfortunately… As for all the others, they would have to have had their own reasons as well. Something compelling enough to be worth abandoning their families and risking an agonizing death out there.

So, he tried to be a little bit more patient with the Clean. Maybe, they had gone through things he could not begin to imagine.

Mul still got on his nerves though, testing his new found desire for patience and understanding.

The man complained non-stop. He was rude to Jul, an ass to Tuk and to Nar and, well, basically everybody else except for his sister. Cen tried her best to rein him in, but she was tired, and there was only so much she could do.

Nar risked a quick glimpse at the lengos. He held a cracker in his hand.

“What are you doing?” Cen asked.

“I’m hungry.”

“We ate before we left!” she said.

“That was two days ago!”

“Mul, we need to ration,” Kur said.

The brawler glared at him. “We’ll be given food. Or are you eyeing mine?”

“What? No!” Kur said, looking genuinely flabbergasted at the suggestion. “I just don’t want us to run out! We have no idea when we'll find a dispenser.”

“Mul, put it away!” Cen said. Her tone promised violence.

“Tsk!”

With a kid’s attitude, Mul threw the cracker back into his pack.

Nar turned around and rolled his eyes. Maybe the lengos was just a brat after all. No reasons needed for that one. Some people were just like that.

“Everyone, get to sleep!” Kur said, annoyed. “We don’t know if the next hit will be the last one again or not, so don’t waste any time!”

Those last words, he delivered straight at Mul.

The two of them had a bit of a stare off, before Mul conceded and looked away.

“Wake us up if anything happens,” Kur said.

“Thanks guys,” Tuk said, sleepily.

“Yes, thank you,” Gad said. “Hopefully this is the last one.”

Soon, everyone slept, and Nar resigned himself to another hour and fifty minutes of endless brooding and pacing.

Eventually, the time came, and Nar and Jul woke them all up again.

“Alright,” Kur said. “Let’s see what happens.”

As expected, the fifth wave swallowed them. Like the previous day, it was even worse. Far longer and torturous than the four that had preceded it.

And when Nar came too, he struggled to get his thoughts into enough order to check the clock.

About six minutes. Just like before… And no Pressure! Thank the Crystal!

The lack of it was so comforting he almost slipped right back into sleep.

Despite the pain raging through him, and the blood running down his nose, the relief he felt at not having to carry Gad again, and knowing that rest wouldn’t be far, was indescribable.

Almost to the second, Cen woke up a minute later.

“It’s gone,” she whispered. “Thank the Crystal!”

She looked at him, a question in her eyes.

“Same again,” he said.

She nodded. “Thank you.”

Nar didn’t keep track of Mul, Tuk, or Jul’s wake up times. He left that to Cen, who seemed way more interested in keeping track than he did.

The others woke up, spoke briefly, then went back to sleep.

It had been decided that, if the Pressure was gone and done for the day, that they wouldn’t disturb the others. Kur and Gad would take over from Nar and Jul, and they, in turn, would be replaced by Tuk and Cen.

Mul would sleep the entire night, and tomorrow he would be on watch, and somebody else would sleep instead.

As for Viy, the spear woman was having a really bad time of it. She hadn’t woken up once throughout the whole day after that first hit. Gad and Cen had taken turns to attend to her, checking up on her in between Pressure hits to make sure she was somewhat alright. Other than that, there was nothing they could really do for her.

Nar sipped a tiny gulp from his earlier jell-o. The topic of food was his newest concern.

How would he justify not eating in front of the others?

Maybe he could lie, say that he ate during his watches. But Jul, or somebody else, would be with him during those times. Kur had been adamant that two people would always be on watch together, to make sure both keep each other awake and to double the eyes and ears protecting the party.

That didn’t leave Nar with many other options.

Best I can do is nibble a bit. Pretend I’m eating… Maybe I can say I’m not hungry. Because… Of… The Pressure! Yes, maybe I can say that.

Worst case scenario, he would have to eat when they ate, and pray that his own food lasted long enough to make it to that first, promised dispenser.

Crystal… Those things are real, aren’t they?

He shook his head. They had to be real.

They were being allowed to rest. Surely, they would get food as well? And maybe a toilet? He hoped he didn’t have to do his monthly visit in the dark behind the party.

Crystal. Just the thought of it made his stomach twist into a knot.

Of course, any thoughts of a blasting were quickly dismissed. They’d be lucky to find a toilet, much less a blaster to get cleaned up.

He lifted one arm and considered his sleeve.

I wonder if they’ll give us new clothes too…

He had been shredded in that one fight. His sleeves, especially, were little more than tatters, barely holding on by a few threads.

With a sigh, he rolled them up. Without a shield, he figured he would probably suffer a lot of hits to his arms. And without knowing whether or not they would be deserving of new clothes, he decided it was best to try and make the current set last as long as possible.

He only had two other sets of clothes after all, and he knew they hadn’t seen the only and last guardian in their Climb. He didn’t want to have to make the Climb in tatters. Or worse, naked.