Chapter 33 – Floor 4: Part 1

Mathew’s sudden arrival was beginning to attract a crowd. Dozens of people were standing in the streets, staring at him. They even came from the large building with the ‘Aurora Trust’ sign on the front. It was a bank if he wasn’t mistaken about what he could see through the large windows.

He had stepped off the street and onto the sidewalk to get out of the way of traffic, but none of the cars were taking the opportunity to move.

Mathew felt like an alien visiting Earth for the first time. He was half tempted to ask someone to take him to their leader when a cop car pulled up, its red and blue lights flashing as it sped toward them. Stopping in the middle of the street, an older man got out of the vehicle.

Wearing a cowboy hat and a uniform with a silver badge that read ‘Sherrif’ on the front, Mathew’s eyes were drawn to the large pistol belted to his hip. The man had one hand resting on it as he approached while his other was held up in a halting motion.

With a large, grey mustache and tanned skin, he looked to be in his fifties.

Instinctively, Mathew held his arms out to his sides, palms visible to demonstrate he didn’t have a weapon. Mathew wasn’t sure if a gun like that could hurt him now, with his Body stat and the protection of the Coward’s Brand, but he certainly didn’t want to test it.

At this moment, the Silver Wristband took the opportunity to vibrate. Burning letters appeared on the brick wall beside him.

Floor 4 – A Community in Shock.

Over the past week, Arlen, Texas, has been rocked by a series of disappearances. Men and women of all ages have been going missing without a single trace. The local police are baffled, and even federal intervention could turn up no evidence of what happened to the eight lost citizens.

Objective: Find the cause of the disappearances and eliminate it.

“Woah, now, you stay right there.” The sheriff said, pausing as he saw Mathew’s head turn toward the blank wall for a moment. After reading through the summary, Mathew turned back to the officer.

“You want to tell me who you are and what you were doing showing up in the middle of the street? We got a call that you just ‘appeared’ from a flash of light, and you’re dressed awfully strange, son.” The sheriff asked.

“I’m supposed to help you with some disappearances? Eight people are missing, and you don’t know what happened to them. I’ve been sent to give you a hand.” Mathew answered.

“You were sent? By who?” The Sherrif asked suspiciously. First, they had people going missing all over town, and now a stranger just happens to show up offering help. The sheriff wasn’t a fool. The culprit could be standing right in front of him.

Mathew sighed, knowing he wouldn’t believe what he was about to say.

“The gods. I’m a ‘Champion’ from the Tower of Avarice.” Mathew nearly winced as he said it. This was clearly Earth, and he suspected it was the past. No one had heard of the Tower until it appeared during Mathew’s time. They wouldn’t have a clue what he was talking about.

To his surprise, the Sherrif nodded.

“It’s about time! We’ve been asking the gods for help for nearly a week, when this all started. But I’m sorry, I’m going to have to ask you to prove it.” The Sherrif said, relaxing slightly at Mathew’s statement.

“Umm… Alright.” Mathew replied. Looking at a large, empty spot on the street, Mathew snapped his fingers. A small fire appeared above the black asphalt, burning merrily for a moment before dying. Mathew was just thinking about what else he could show to the man to convince him, when the Sheriff spoke.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“A Blessing! I’m sorry to have doubted you.” The Sherrif said, standing upright and removing his hand from his pistol holster. He turned to the crowd.

“It’s alright, folks, a Champion has arrived! We’ll get all this straightened out in no time.” He called out, and Mathew saw the crowd nodding their heads and happily discussing it amongst themselves.

“I’m sorry, but this is Earth, right? And you all know about the Tower and the gods?” Mathew asked.

“Of course! You’re not the first Champion we’ve had arrive in Texas over the years. Although, you’re the first to visit Arlen. The feds told us to expect someone like you to arrive, but they weren’t exactly sure about when.” The Sherrif said, stepping forward and holding out his hand.

“Albert Curtis. I’m the Sheriff of Arlen County, Texas.” The man said, gripping Mathew’s hand tightly.

“Mathew Larson, I’m from New York.”

“An American! Good, that makes things easier. Come on, I’ll give you a lift to the station, and we can go over the case.” Albert said, leading the way back to his squad car. The crowd had begun to disperse, assured that the Sheriff had everything in hand.

Buckling himself into the passenger seat of the cruiser, Mathew was struck by the vintage interior. There wasn’t anything electronic aside from the radio. It smelled like cigarette smoke, and Mathew rolled down the window a bit with the old-style crank on the side of the door.

“You’ve said that other Champions have come here? Do you have a Tower as well?” Mathew asked as the car started, and the Sheriff began to drive slowly down the street. He would occasionally wave at a passerby while they talked.

“No Tower here, but the Champions all talked about it. Every time they came, the papers were full of stories about them.” Albert replied.

“Do they always come to investigate disappearances?” Mathew asked curiously.

“Not just missing people, but anything otherworldly that we can’t figure out ourselves. Ever since the Pit was discovered, Champions have been coming more frequently on account of the strange things they find inside and the objects they pull out.” Albert explained, making a right turn at a bright red stop sign.

“I’m sorry, the Pit?” Mathew replied.

“The Pit, it’s a giant hole in the ground they found a few decades ago over in California. It created a real mess at the time. The army was called in to secure it, but people kept dying.” Albert continued.

“I wasn’t a part of that, and the papers were never allowed to write about what happened in detail, but rumour is that some kind of creatures kept coming out and attacking people, dragging them off down into the Pit. Took a lot of Champions to clear them out, and then the army sealed it off.”

“But they keep discovering new entrances, and people keep finding ways to go in there past the blockade to grab stuff.” Albert described, and Mathew was shocked by what he was hearing.

“Why the hell would they want to do that?” Mathew asked. He couldn’t imagine regular people voluntarily facing some of the things he had seen on the other floors. If Champions were visiting the Pit, Mathew had no doubt there was Aether to be earned there, and it wouldn’t be easy to get.

Without levels and Blessings, most people wouldn’t stand a chance.

“People are crazy, plus I heard the things they find are pretty valuable. Magic and such. I don’t know much more than that. Ben Olson, down at the heritage society, can tell you more. He even got a couple of things from there, bought them when he was in the army.”

They were quiet for a moment, and Mathew watched the buildings rush past his window. It was pleasant to be back in a place he was more familiar with. Not a medieval setting besieged by monsters or a city like Bellmare where sacrifices sustained their lifestyle.

Still, it wasn’t home.

“Can you tell me the date?” Mathew asked.

“July 17th.” Albert replied.

“And the year?” Albert looked at him, confused by the question at first, but nodded in understanding after giving his appearance a quick once over.

“1958.”

“Ah. Thanks.” Mathew muttered in resignation, looking back out the window.

“I’m guessing from your reaction and your clothes that isn’t the answer you wanted.”

“I was expecting it. I just don’t understand it. It was 2023 on my Earth when I entered the Tower. And there certainly wasn’t any Pit in California.” Mathew explained. Albert was silent for a minute before changing the subject.

“What did you do in New York before you were a Champion?”

“Lawyer.”

“Criminal?”

“Contracts. I don’t know how helpful I’ll be in your investigation. If you and the ‘Feds’ already reviewed it.” Mathew admitted, and Albert just smiled and shook his head.

“I’m sure you’ll be a help. We were looking at their activities before they went missing, looking for evidence and such. I’m sure with your experience, you’ll think of something out of the box.”

“Sure. I’ll give it my best shot.”

“Here we are.”

The car pulled into a small brick, two-story building with ‘Arlene County Sheriff’s Office’ on the front.

Entering the office, Mathew was greeted by two of Albert Curtis’ deputies and their secretary. Waving them off before they could speak to him, Albert brought Mathew to the back office, where stacks of files covered a table, and pictures of the missing were posted on the walls.