The other thing Chuck noticed as they drove up to the second tower was that the path they had been following didn’t continue past the tower. He didn’t know if that was a good thing or not. He had a feeling that even though the path stopped, they would be forced to continue their journey.
They had arrived during the day and from what Chuck could see, the second tower looked identical to the first, save one important fact. As he and Tess walked around the tower, they couldn’t see a way inside. There was no door or anything else for that matter.
He tried yelling and pounding on the wall but nothing happened. They decided to expand their search around the tower but still couldn’t see anything. With nothing better to do, they set up camp near the tower to wait. R2 got out of the back of the pickup and started patrolling around the area.
“I wonder if we arrived too soon?” Tess asked, looking up at the Tower. “What do you mean?” Chuck asked, chewing on the foul tasting food they had scavenged along the way. He had somewhat gotten used to the taste but still longed for something better.
“Well, if we had to walk or were in a regular wagon then it would have taken much longer.” Tess replied, smiling at him. “That’s true, but if it is anything like the last tower then we were probably watched the whole time.” He replied, looking up at the tower and giving it the middle finger in his mind.
He liked being around Tess but was tired of being here, wherever here was. He wanted to sleep in a real bed and eat real food again. He had definitely lost some weight on the trip and the pickup hadn’t fared much better. There were more worrisome noises coming from the old pickup. Chuck had noticed a few more leaks as well. It was a miracle it was still running and driving with all it had been through up until this point.
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Chuck was honestly surprised it had made it through the wastes, but he was glad it did. He didn’t think it had too many more adventures left in it though. Tess must have sensed his sour mood and tried to cheer him up. They hadn’t had the energy to fool around much but now that they finally reached the second tower they could relax a little bit at least. Not much sleeping was done that night.
The next morning they woke up and looked around the tower again but nothing had changed. Neither of them could think of anything new to try so all they could do was keep waiting. In the meantime they scouted the area for anything edible and Chuck tried to do what servicing he could on the pickup and their gear.
Another day passed and they both hiked up a nearby hill to see if they could spot anything but there was nothing that looked artificial. There were no ruins nearby or any other structures or roads. At this point they were both starting to get concerned. What were they supposed to do? There were windows higher up the tower but there was no way to get to them and the slick material the tower was constructed of made it unclimbable.
It seemed like they didn’t have much of a choice but to wait. There was no point in going back to the first tower and there didn’t seem to be anything past the second tower. The only thing that could get them home was whatever power controlled the towers. Chuck was getting tired of waiting and had the feeling someone was toying with them. He fervently hoped a door would appear soon.