Chapter 4 – Floor 0: Part 4
Mathew stayed up all night thinking about that question, going back and forth in his mind, weighing the outcomes and risks. He observed the television, listening to the commentators analyze every word the Apostle had spoken and reviewing the rulebook in detail.
Mathew came to the conclusion that none of them had a clue what was going on.
There were no new mysteries to be solved or clues to be gleaned from outside the Tower. The answers were within. The Apostle had made it clear that anyone who wanted to enter would be allowed and that some sort of entrance would appear when they were ready.
The White House had issued a formal statement, making it clear that they would not allow anyone to enter the Towers, but Mathew doubted they could enforce it. Already, lines of the old and sick were gathered around the barricades, eager to be the first to enter.
The promise of youth and cures to their afflictions were too much to ignore. And for many, they had nothing to lose by trying.
Turning off the television, Mathew went to bed, unsure whether he would join the ‘players’ entering the tower. On the one hand, he would enjoy the challenge, the thrill of making it to the top. But on the other, Mathew had so much to lose! He was on the top here. Why would he risk it all?
It wasn’t until the following day, waking up tired and bleary-eyed from his late-night news binge, that something spurred him to action.
He had checked his phone out of habit, scrolling through his multitude of text messages, when he immediately noticed that Emily had texted him. For some reason, it sent a chill through his stomach to see it.
With everything happening in the world right now, why would she reach out to him in the middle of the night?
Mathew,
I wanted you to know that I’m going to enter the Tower with my mother. The doctors didn’t give her long, only a few months. This could be the only way to save her.
I love you.
“Christ, Em! Pick up your phone!” Mathew cursed, calling her cell, but it immediately went to voicemail. Pacing his room, he tried repeatedly but couldn’t get through. On his fifth attempt, he heard the television in the living make an announcement.
“Doors have appeared in the towers! The National Guard is trying to prevent people from entering, but tens of thousands are pushing through. Wait, they’re standing aside and letting them through! The first person has reached the doorway opening, and we’re seeing a wall of light.”
Mathew walked to the living room, watching a crowd of people filing their way into the now open tower in the drizzly, early morning light. There must have been a hundred thousand people or more surrounding Central Park and spilling out onto the streets around it.
He stopped trying to call Emily, knowing that she had either turned her phone off or, more likely, left it at home as she travelled to the nearest Tower with her mother. She was down there now, in that crowd. Hartford was only a few hours away from New York. She would have driven here last night and waited for the door to appear.
Not thinking, Mathew grabbed his jacket and rushed out of his apartment. He needed to get down there now and find her. Maybe he could talk some sense into her. Running into a tower with her ill mother wasn’t the way to do this.
All the while, he thought of the sixth rule. Cooperation was encouraged.
“Goddamn it, Em. I would have gone in with you if you had just asked.” Mathew muttered as he burst out onto the street in front of his building. Central Park was only a few blocks away, but the crowd had reached his building, making a line down the road.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Sprinting ahead, he kept an eye out for Emily’s dirty blond hair. She would be with her mother, who had been in a wheelchair when Mathew and Emily were still together. The crowd was massive, and they were all moving forward toward the open tower in the distance.
“Emily!” Mathew shouted, but he had no hope of being heard over the din. There was shouting, sirens and the constant noise of the helicopter circling overhead. Not willing to give up, Mathew pushed through the crowds, slipping through wherever there was a gap.
Eventually, he entered Central Part. The pathways were packed with people, and the NYPD kept a sort of order as they directed people forward. It seemed they had given up trying to keep people from entering, focusing instead on ensuring there wasn’t a riot.
Running across the grass field, he spotted someone who looked like it could be Emily pushing a wheelchair.
“Em!” Mathew shouted, approaching the person only to see that it wasn’t her. The hair was similar, but the woman was much older than Emily.
He was beginning to lose hope, turning and looking at the crowd as it passed him. She had to be here. He knew her better than anyone. They had been together for years, ever since they had met in college. They had been inseparable, and he knew how she thought.
Her mother was all she had left. The woman had sacrificed so much to give Emily a good life. She wouldn’t let her die without trying everything she could to save her. She had chosen her mother over Mathew, and he couldn’t blame her for that. He would have gone with her to Connecticut if she asked, but she knew it wouldn’t have made him happy to do it.
“Emily.” Mathew whispered. He was near the Tower now. Its black stone surface glistened in the grey morning light. It was real. This wasn’t an illusion or a trick. The doors were in front of him, calling to him, when he saw her.
Emily was wearing a white sweater and black pants, her hair tied up in a messy bun as she pushed her mother’s wheelchair toward the open doors. The middle-aged woman was frail and sickly, her cheekbones sunken and her skin greyish-white from her illness.
“Emily!” Mathew shouted, trying to reach her. She turned around to look in his direction, her eyes searching the crowd for whoever had called her name, before turning back toward the Tower. In an instant, she was gone.
“Shit! Emily!” Mathew pushed his way forward, heedless of everyone around him. He was only a few feet away from the door when the reality of what he was about to do hit him.
He was going to enter the Tower. He was going to find Emily and help her. He was going to win, and they would all come home again.
Craning his head backwards, Mathew looked at the Tower as it rose high into the air, the top disappearing in the cloud cover above. The doors were open in front of him, calling him to enter and seek the rewards within.
Mathew took the last step and entered the Tower of Avarice.
Page Break
He was in the lobby of an office building. It could have been taken from any business park, city, or world, with marble tile floors, white walls and elegant, tasteful furniture arranged in large sitting areas.
There were large windows taking up the entirety of three of the room’s walls, and he could see Central Park and the gathering of people outside. But he was standing alone. There was no one else in the office lobby with him and no exit behind him.
“Where is everyone? Emily?” Mathew called out. He had entered with thousands of other people. How could he be the only person here?
“Hello, how may I help you today?” A voice called out. Turning to the front of the lobby, Mathew blinked in surprise.
There was a young woman sitting behind a large desk. The wall behind her had an enormous sign that read ‘Tower of Avarice.’ She wore a grey suit jacket and matching skirt, her hair pinned in a tight bun. There was a closed door behind her.
“Uh, hello. I’m sorry, but I don’t understand. Where am I, and where is everyone else?” Mathew asked hesitantly. The young woman smiled at the question.
“You’re here for the Tower? Right this way, I’ll have you registered in a moment. Name?” She asked, typing into a desktop computer.
“Mathew Larson.”
“Very good. You’ve read and understood the rules?” She asked brusquely. Mathew nodded.
“Please proceed through the door behind me. The test will begin shortly.” She explained, finishing typing on the computer. She gestured to the door behind her. Mathew heard a loud ‘click’ as it unlocked.
“Test?” Mathew asked in confusion. The rulebook hadn’t said anything about a test.
“To establish a baseline and determine your starting Blessing. It’s standard, and you may quit at any time without penalty. Depending on your performance, the rewards you will receive will change. If you prefer, you may forgo the Blessing and directly enter Floor 1, but I would not recommend that.” The young woman explained.
“Alright….are you real?” Mathew asked after he had taken a few steps toward the door. The young woman smiled again at the question.
“What a silly thing to ask! Of course I’m not real. Please enjoy your time in the Tower of Avarice.” She replied. When Mathew blinked, she was gone as if she had never been there at all. Spinning around, he looked around the empty room for her, but she was nowhere to be seen.
Feeling even more confused, he pushed open the door to the first test.