The train arrived at Station 9, and Alex hurried to catch his connection.

  The bus he boarded was a sleek and autonomous long city cruiser with double seats and an aisle wide enough that it never felt cramped. Massive glass panels offered a sweeping view of the streets as the sun dipped lower. The ride home was standard: favorite playlist in his ears, eyes drifting over the passing city.

  When the bus finally slowed to a stop, Alex pressed the button above his seat. A sharp ding cut through the murmur of passengers. The doors hissed open, and he stepped out into the late afternoon air.

  This wasn’t his usual stop. Different bus lines meant different routes. This one dropped him a few blocks further from his apartment, just past a row of street vendors setting up their carts for the evening rush.

  He adjusted the strap of his bag and started walking. The hum of the bus faded behind him, replaced by the scent of roasted peanuts and frying dough.

  “Probably from the vendors,” Alex sighed softly. Catching himself instantly. ’Thinking aloud again, Alex.’

  He had always been a self-talker. He didn't know when it started, just like he didn't know why he struggled to maintain eye contact with strangers.

  ‘Then again, maybe it's normal,’ he reasoned. ‘Who is truly comfortable staring into the eyes of someone they don't know?’

  He dismissed the thought as his building came into view. But first, he had a quick stop to make. Two blocks from his apartment stood a small corner store: Mrs. J’s Shop.

  He pushed the door open. The bell above chimed softly, and the familiar scent of spices and laundry detergent greeted him.

  Mrs. J was at the counter, her reading glasses sliding low on her nose as she scribbled into a ledger.

  “Hello, Mrs. J,” Alex said, waving a hand casually.

  Mrs. J gave him a quick glance and a small smile before returning to her notes.

  Moving through the narrow aisles, every shelf was crammed tight. Stacked with everything from canned goods to snacks to the little household items that always seemed to disappear when you needed them most.

  He made a quick round, grabbing the essentials: six packets of noodles, a tray of eggs balanced carefully in one arm, a chilled drink from the back fridge, and a pack of gum. It wasn't much, but it would make the evenings easier.

  At the counter, Mrs. J rang everything up with practiced ease. She slipped the eggs into a paper bag before tucking the rest into plastic.

  “Long day?” she asked without looking up.

  “Yeah,” Alex replied with a faint smile, tapping his card against the reader. “But at least it’s over.”

  She nodded knowingly, handing him the receipt. “Your grandmother called.”

  “Oh yeah? What did she say?” Alex asked, curiosity slipping into his voice.

  “Oh, you know.” She paused, tilting her head slightly so she could peer over her glasses at him. “Like always. She wants me to keep an eye on you.”

  A smile tugged at Alex's lips. “Of course she did.” He grabbed the bag. “Thanks, Mrs. J. See you later.”

  “Bye, Alex.”

  He stepped out into the evening light. The sun was setting, casting long shadows across the street. The air had cooled, carrying faint hints of the pastries that had tempted him earlier.

  As he walked, the streets buzzed with life. People returning home, others heading to night shifts, groups of friends laughing on corners. It was all… normal.

  Reaching his apartment building, Alex stopped. He stood by the elevator, his eyes shifting between the metal doors and the stairwell.

  The memory of the morning crashed into him. The man in the black hat stepping out of the elevator. The grin.

  ‘Was it my imagination?’

  He thought of Clara, too. How she had appeared just as mysteriously. Was his mind playing tricks on him? Or was the dream bleeding into his reality?

  “No…” Alex whispered.

  With a heavy sigh, he turned to the stairs. He wasn't taking any chances. He’d seen enough horror movies to know that elevators were death traps when things got weird.

  Minutes later, he arrived on the third floor, out of breath but safe. He glanced at door 302, Clara’s apartment and nodded at Mrs. J’s door, where the radio still played softly.

  He unlocked his own door and slipped inside.

  “Man, I'm so tired,” Alex groaned, locking the door behind him.

  He stumbled to his room and collapsed onto the bed like a rag doll.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  ‘We didn’t even do anything today… how am I this drained?’

  But he was too exhausted to chase the thought. Sleep pulled him like the moon pulling the oceans and the last thing he saw was the red light of his alarm clock blinking [20:17] in the darkness.

  Then, the world dissolved.

  *****

  Alex found himself clinging to the side of an impossibly vast tower that stretched into a blood-red sky. The tower was a monolith of black obsidian, covered in jagged ledges, hidden doors, and treacherous pathways.

  He wasn't alone.

  Hundreds of people were above him. Thousands were below. Everyone was climbing in a frantic, chaotic surge. The structure shuddered periodically, and sections of the wall crumbled, sending boulders of stone and dust raining down on the masses.

  The air was filled with screams. This wasn’t a silent struggle… It was a battle for survival, and the boulders didn't seem to fall at random, they targeted, aiming for anyone who hesitated.

  Alex climbed, his heart pounding against his ribs. His arms and legs burned, drawing on every ounce of strength to pull his weight up the rough, rocking surface.

  Holes pierced the tower’s skin, some as small as a golf ball, others wide enough for a handhold. They provided footing, but they also hid dangers.

  “No, please! Help me!”

  The scream came from below, just to his right.

  Alex glanced down. A man had frozen in place. From one of the holes, a long white snake slithered out. Its shiny scales shimmered under the red sky, its eyes narrowed as if piercing the man's soul.

  It wrapped itself around him in a flash.

  “Help!” the man screamed.

  Snap.

  The sound of breaking bones cut through the wind. The snake unhinged its jaw and swallowed the man’s head. His grip failed. He fell backward, vanishing into the clouds below, the snake still coiled around him.

  Alex watched the horror unfold, a new, profound fear rising in his bones. He looked at the holes he was using to climb, terrified of what might be waiting inside.

  Crash!

  A boulder smashed into the wall beside him, spraying him with dust.

  ‘Focus,’ he commanded himself as survival instinct clashed with fear, but there was no time to hesitate. He became hyper-vigilant. He wasn't just climbing, he was scanning. His eyes darted everywhere, tracking falling rocks, watching for snakes, avoiding the bodies that plummeted past him.

  “It's a difficult climb…” Alex whispered, his voice lost in the wind.

  As he ascended, a faint whimpering sound drifted from a shadowy alcove, a hole wider than the others.

  He braced for the worst, leaning in slowly.

  Inside huddled a girl, trembling and sobbing. Her leg was pinned under a piece of rubble that had fallen during the last tremor. She looked younger than him, dressed in a black dress and white blouse that was torn at the shoulder.

  Alex stared, taking in her pale, frightened face and tear-filled eyes.

  Whoosh.

  A boulder swept inches from his head, the shockwave nearly knocking him loose. He looked up. The scene horrified him.

  A rain of boulders was descending. Not one or two… countless. The crimson sky was filled with falling stones. They clashed against the tower, against each other, and against the climbers.

  ‘Move,’ his instinct screamed. ‘Get to the ledge.’

  A protrusion of rock jutted out a few meters above him, an overhang that offered shelter. If he climbed now, with everything he had, he would make it. He would survive.

  However,

  He looked back at the girl. He couldn't just leave her. But how? Her leg was pinned. Even if he freed her, could she climb? Could she make it to the ledge before the sky crushed them both?

  Alex froze for a heartbeat. Survival fought humanity.

  “Quick, grab my hand!”

  Compassion won.

  Alex jammed his foot into a wide hole for support. He grabbed the girl's arm with one hand and lifted the boulder pinning her leg with the other. Adrenaline surged through him. The rock shifted. It was lighter than he expected.

  He pulled her free. “We have to climb! Fast!” he shouted.

  She grabbed the smaller holes around them, trying to pull herself up, but she flinched, a cry of agony escaping her lips. Her leg wouldn't hold her weight.

  Alex’s gaze darted between the falling sky and the ledge. Time was racing against him.

  “Get on my back! Hold tight! Now!”

  He didn't wait for an answer. He pulled her onto his back. He began to climb.

  His muscles screamed. His remaining strength had barely been enough for himself, and with her added weight, every pull was torture.

  “Damn it,” Alex gritted his teeth as boulders roared past, bringing dust and tremors. Screams filled the air. Blood trails painted the black stone. Alex ignored it all. He had one goal.

  Reach the ledge.

  “Duck!”

  He flattened himself against the wall as a massive boulder smashed into the spot where his head had been a second ago. The wind whipped his hair violently.

  The ledge was close. Just a few more meters.

  Slip.

  He lost his footing on a loose stone.

  “What?” Alex whispered.

  Gravity took over. His hand slipped. The distance between them and the ledge grew instantly as they slid down the obsidian face.

  He scrambled, fingers clawing at the stone. His hand snagged on a sharp protrusion of rock. The jolt nearly dislocated his shoulder. He dangled there, gasping, the girl clinging tightly to his neck, her eyes shut, her breathing rapid and shallow.

  “Damn it,” Alex gritted his teeth. His muscles shook violently. His lungs burned for air.

  “We're... not... going to make it.”

  His fingers began to slip. The sweat, the exhaustion, the weight, it was too much. One hit from a falling rock, even a pebble would send them to their doom.

  He closed his eyes, awaiting the inevitable.

  But then…

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