Quinn slowly opened his eyes, peering at the blue sky above him as he awoke. He was in a daze, his mind was slow and foggy, his muscles throbbed with pain. His chest ached and his eyes watered.
Was all of it, just a dream? Liz… Cally… Winston… did that really… Quinn slowly sat up from the white floor, his mind still trying to comprehend what happened. He rejected it, rejected the deaths of his companions he had grown close to. Ones he fought with, tooth and nail. Were they really gone, dead in only a split second.
He didn't know how to feel. Sad, Angry, Scared, or nothing at all? He felt empty, learning the truth of this mansion, its ruthlessness and rejection, its pain, it tore him apart inside.
Beside him, Kiara had awoken. Her breathing was heavy, her mind scattered. She was having a panic attack, caused by the painful memories that began to overflow her. Tears rolled down her eyes, falling to the open floor.
Alec awoke as well, but he continued to lay on the ground and stare up into the open blue sky. The smile that once filled his face had been erased by the scene of blood and flesh.
No one spoke, they didn't want to. They sat in silence, taking in the feelings of sadness that were shared between them. Their minds were stained with the images of horror and terror.
Still in a daze, Quinn looked across the white floor, looking for someone missing from the group, one who had exited the layer alongside him.
Breaking the silence, Quinn searched for words before speaking in a quiet voice, “Where is Lex?”
Alec leaned up, looking across the open floor. Kiara did the same, scanning her surroundings for Lex. His orange hair and his amber eyes. His smile that could brighten an entire room, where could they have gone? Returning to reality, they stared at each other with bloodshot eyes.
“He fell with us, I saw he fell with us. He should be here.” Kiara spoke with a quivering and almost demanding voice. The fear that Lex could be missing, even dead, haunted her.
“Where could he have gone?” Alec questioned.
Quinn held his head before turning towards Alec. He was slowly beginning to regain his sanity, “There are likely two options, neither of which I am fond of…”
He paused, barely capable of speaking the words he needed to say, “He either died and wasn't capable of entering the next layer, or this mansion is playing a twisted game.”
“Twisted, but how so?” Alec looked at him, curious eyes watched the man standing in front of him.
“I am saying that he would likely have been separated from us. Either taken to a separate section of this layer, a different layer entirely, or had been placed somewhere different inside of the mansion.”
“Then we can’t save him?” Kiara’s eyes looked tired. Her face was pale and her lips trembled with each word spoken.
“Unless we come across him sometime soon, we likely won't be able to save him. All we can do is hope that he is safe.”
Kiara’s hand slammed against the floor in anger. Her teeth were bared as she let out grunts of pain as her fist began to cover the floor in blood. Quinn rushed over, holding back her arms to prevent her from hurting herself any further.
She thrashed and wrestled with Quinn, trying to break free of his grasp, but she quickly lost all of her strength and fell backwards into Quinn. Her eyes began to tear up once again, “It could have been me… If I had rushed in first instead of Liz, I wouldn't have been here.”
“Don't think like that, it will only make your pain worse.” Alec walked over to her. He smiled a painful smile, trying to comfort Kiara even though he felt in his heart the same pain she felt.
Kiara wiped away her tears, “I'm sorry…”
“Don't be sorry.” Quinn interrupted her. After helping her to her feet, he stared up into the blue sky above them, “This mansion, what is gained from any of this? Why do we have to go through such pain?”
Alec joined Quinn as they stared up into the sky, “A test, maybe? Maybe an opportunity?”
“An opportunity? For what?” Quinn looked at him with an inquisitive expression.
“Who knows, but I don't think we will find out anything just standing around here.” Alec walked to the edge of the white platform they stood on, “Whoa, this is new.”
Quinn walked beside Alec, followed by Kiara. Kiara wiped the tears from her eyes before staring down to see what Alec meant. Her eyes widened in astonishment.
Quinn had the same look as he stared down into the void of blue skies and white clouds below him. There was no land, only the empty air.
“How are we supposed to escape from here?”
Alec pointed to his right where a small white platform floated in the air, “I spotted it earlier. It seems to be the only direction we can go.”
“Then you are saying we have to jump there?” Kiara's expression grew gloomy.
Alec shrugged his shoulders, “Unless you have a better idea.”
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Kiara opened her mouth, attempting to speak before closing it quickly after. She couldn't come up with a better plan, so they would just have to attempt Alec’s idea and hope they don't fall.
Quinn took a step towards the edge of the platform, standing before the floating platform opposite of him. A small gap separated the two platforms. With one false move, Quinn would go plummeting into the void.
“The Tower of Nightmares. How does this count as a nightmare?” Quinn looked at the platform in front of him. After preparing his footing, he took the jump, landing on the opposite platform. He breathed a sigh of relief before making room for Kiara and Alec to jump.
Alec was the next to step up. His eyes looked at the platform keenly before leaping into the air and landing on the other side.
“I think it is based on different fears a person can have. Spiders, Darkness… or more the fear of what is in the dark, these are all fears a person could have. If I were to take a guess, this seems to be the fear of heights”
Kiara looked at the platform in front of her. She watched it carefully, fear of falling began to overtake her. Still, after gaining a running start, she jumped into the air before landing on the next platform. She closed her eyes and rested with relief after landing on the other side.
Once Kiara landed on the platform, another platform suddenly arose up from the void. Its size was slightly smaller than the one from before.
Quinn looked at it, making sure it would not move before taking another leap, landing on the other side, “I think you may be right. Let’s just hope that what is to come will be much easier than the layers so far.”
“It seems there are no monsters on this layer. At least, none that we know of.” Alec jumped across between the platforms as if he had already gotten used to the void beneath them. With ease, he landed on the next platform.
“Let’s just hope it stays that way.” Kiara once again built up her speed before taking a leap across the void. Her stress began to rise as she landed on the floating platform.
Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she walked towards the center of the platform and watched as another platform, once again smaller than the one they currently stood on, rose up from the void.
After taking a careful step, Quinn jumped to the platform with ease. Alec had done the same.
Once the other two had safely made it onto the next platform, Kiara had attempted to make the jump.
After flying in the air to the much smaller platform, she landed on the edge. Her foot began to slide out from underneath her as she tried regaining her balance in hopes of recovering.
Alec was the closest to her and after watching her almost fall he grabbed her back and slightly pushed her onto the platform. She regained her footing and looked at Alec, “Thank you.”
Alec returned her comment with a smile, “Just watch your step.”
The platforms had begun to get smaller and smaller. While the first platform was able to fit multiple people, the platform they currently stood on was barely able to fit the three of them.
After Kiara had fully made her way onto the platform, another small platform rose from below. It was small, only being able to fit one person.
“We’ll have to jump to the platforms one at a time from now on. So far, the platforms would rise up when all three of us had made it safely, but there isn’t a way all three of us could fit on that. Let’s hope the next platform rises up with only one of us on there.”
Expressing his worries, Quinn began to take the first jump. He landed onto the small platform, barely being able to stand on it. After worry began to build when no new platform showed itself, a new platform suddenly appeared. Quinn breathed a sigh of relief before jumping to the next platform.
The new platform had not gotten smaller than the one before it, leading Quinn to believe that this was the smallest they would get.
Alec looked at Kiara, her eyes squinted as she looked at the small platform. Before taking a jump, he tried calming her, “It’s alright. You just need to be careful of where you step. Do you think you’ll be able to make it across?”
Kiara looked at him, the worry beginning to fade from her face, “I’ll be fine Alec. I’m sorry for being so… distant, anxious, fearful. Ever since the spider layer, I haven’t been myself.”
“What we all experienced, it wasn’t normal. If you were still the same after witnessing all of that, I would have been more worried.”
“You’re right. Still, I will try my best to do better.”
The worry and stress in Kiara’s heart had changed her and she knew it. She was instantly dealt with during the tenth layer, and she couldn't even get in an attack on the ninth layer before Liz was helplessly killed in front of her. She could do nothing to save her.
Kiara had felt worthless, but from now on she would do better than before, or she will at least try.
After nodding at each other, Alec began to ready himself before leaping into the air and landing on the next platform. Quinn, who had been watching and waiting, turned his head back around and leaped to the next platform.
Kiara with newfound confidence followed after them. They jumped to each platform that would rise from the void, no end seemingly in sight.
As Quinn progressed, he noticed that the sky that was once distant had seemed to be closing in. The clouds had begun to surround them, slowly blocking his vision and making it harder to see.
As if realizing what had occurred, the floating platforms began to glow a white ethereal light, guiding the path for the trio to progress.
Quinn jumped slowly into the fog, watching for any movement or suspicious activity that would indicate an attack or a trap of some sorts. Through the thick fog, he saw nothing. After failing to look around his surroundings, he continued to jump to the continuous platforms.
In a fear that something could have happened to the others and to indicate his location on the platforms so they would not jump to the one he was currently on, he yelled out behind him, “Are you guys still there?”
Alec quickly responded, “Yeah we’re here. Start calling out when you jump so we know when we can go next.”
Similar to what Quinn had come up with, they began to call out when they landed, making sure the others heard before moving on.
After a few minutes of jumping between platforms, the fog began to thin and Quinn’s sight began to return. After jumping once more, he looked ahead of him through a clear sky in awe and wonder, “Whoa.”
Alec heard Quinn’s surprise and furrowed his eyes in curiosity, “Sorry, but did you just say whoa?”
After Quinn moved and Alec jumped forward, he realized why Quinn had such a surprised look.
Kiara, who was still in the back, jumped out of the fog and stared forward with her mouth agape.
A white cathedral, ethereal and breathtaking, floated in the air in front of them. Its size and beauty was impeccable, as if it was designed by the greatest of architects and was chiseled out by the greatest constructors. Stained glass panes lined the walls with frames of silver and a giant silver bell sat at the highest peak of the cathedral.
“Is that where we are supposed to go?” Kiara yelled to the men in front of her.
“I think it is.” Quinn replied slowly, unable to draw his eyes away from the majestic building.
Alec looked at the cathedral breathlessly before looking down and smiling, “Lead the way then.”