Page 32 of Blood Red Woes

Please let it be the end of the journey. Please, please, please let it be the end of the road. I’m tired, and as much as I hate people in general, I also kind of miss not being alone—and I know I’m not alone because I have Rune, but it’s not the same. He’s not a physical person. Sure, we talk and I bug the shit out of him, but it’s just not the same.

I ride the river’s course as it weaves through the flatlands, and the closer I get to the tower, the bigger and taller it becomes. It seems so out of place here, so far away from any other sign of civilization; I wonder why places like this became a refuge for knowledge. Maybe they were only refugesbecausethey’re so far away from everything else.

I hop off the river before it juts away from the tower, landing on my feet on the small, pebble-ridden shore. After refilling my leather skin flask, I adjust the bag on my shoulder and walk closer to the tower.

The beautiful pinks in the sky have given way to dark purples, the blue in the sky turning more azure as it slowly fades to black, stars already peeking out. The tower stands tall amongst the field of grass around it, easily ten or more stories tall, made of smooth stone. I can’t help but wonder as I gaze up at its height, how the hell people managed to build this. It’s impressive. Here’s hoping the inside held up as good as its outer shell has.

I walk toward the wooden doors. Twice as tall as me, the doors are shut, and I pray they’re not locked. I can always bust through them, but that’ll leave them wide open at night—and I plan on sleeping in there regardless of what I end up finding.

I reach a hand out to the door and grip the large metal ring that must be like a doorknob, only instead of twisting, I’m using it to pull the door open and let myself inside. Not a single bit of resistance, so the door opens easily, and I slip inside without a word.

The inside of the tower is dark; there are no windows here. I spotted some on the higher levels, about halfway up, but here, right now… there’s no light at all. I’ll have to wait until daytime tomorrow to see if there’s any candles in here to light while I search the place.

I don’t move right away. I give my eyes a moment to adjust in the darkness before I spot a stairwell that follows the square outline of the tower. Up it goes, probably to the top, where there is hopefully a bed waiting for me.

Don’t know what makes me do it, but I say, “Hello?” The air inside the tower is stale, at least down here, on the lowest level. I can’t imagine anyone has opened the door to the tower to air it out in a long, long time.

“Expecting to find someone here?” Rune mocks me.

I don’t answer him right away. Instead, I listen. I listen for anything. Rustling of papers, the scurrying of feet; something that would tell me I’m not alone in here. But, surprise surprise, I don’t hear a thing.

I’m alone.

Alone with Rune. If that ain’t the theme song of this…

“No,” I tell Rune as I head for the stairs. “I was just checking to make sure nothing’s gonna come running at me. It’s bad enough I have to climb all these stupid stairs.” At least the stairs seem to be sturdy, so as I begin the climb, I don’t have any concerns that I’m going to fall and die.

“Oh, poor you. It must be so hard to have legs and be forced to use them.” The sarcasm practically drips off Rune’s voice. He’s lucky he’s not physically here, otherwise I’d be tempted to punch his ass for that comment.

Floor by floor I go up. Unless I run into beds, I figure I’ll head to the top so that way I can work my way down in the morning. My legs are going to kill me after all these stairs, anyway. I’d rather get the pain over with tonight.

You might think that all the hiking I’ve done here would’ve built up some resistance and endurance in my calves, but you’d be wrong. Something about steps makes things so much harder. I’m out of breath by the time I hit the fifth floor, and my legs are burning at the sixth.

I’m high enough in the tower that there are now windows, so I can see better. The floors I pass are full of bookcases and dried up herbs in dusty vases. Another looks to be an area where the researchers ate, nothing but rows of tables lined up side by side.

The tower ends up being twelve floors, and big shocker, the beds are at the tippy top—where there also happens to be a small balcony. I want to collapse on the nearest bed once I’m donewith the stairs, but my curiosity drags me to the balcony so I can check it out.

No door between the balcony and the inside of the tower, so I walk right out. It’s only maybe four feet off the tower, and the stone railing is about as high as my chest. Still, I can see over it, and what I see is a world of night, the flat plains all around. The river and the plains are the only steady things in the landscape, and the moon that hangs high above my head lights everything with silver.

The place is beautiful during the day, but at night? It’s fucking magical. Being so high, surrounded by nothing, is unlike anything I ever experienced.

I pick up my arms and lean them on the stone wall in front of me, breathing in deep as I take it all in. “My dad would’ve loved this,” I whisper. “He loved nature. He loved going for hikes in the woods. We’d always go off the trails and get lost. He always said that’s the best part: the adventure.”

“Where’s your father now?”

“Dead,” I say, my heart aching in my chest, just like it does anytime I bring him up.

I know I’ve talked to Rune about him before, but I never got into detail. Even though it happened so long ago, it’s still like it was yesterday. Grief is a funny thing, deceiving in the way it always hangs around. Sometimes you’re fine, and other days you catch yourself doing something and you’re suddenly thrown back in time and you remember just how much you miss them.

I swallow hard before I say, “He was everything to me. My best friend. We did everything together. As a kid, you never really think about the end, so when he died, I was lost for so long. I was only ten. I hated everything. Everyone. I blamed the world when he got sick.”

Rune stays quiet for a bit. He is tentative when he asks, “And your mother?”

I shrug. “Never in the picture. My dad said she loved me, but she couldn’t stay with me. I don’t even know who she is. It’s like she dumped me on my dad and never looked back. She didn’t care enough to.”

It’s been so long, it’s crazy how bad things still hurt. How my heart aches when I talk about it. Everyone expects you to move on because years have passed, but how could a kid who lost everything ever really get over it? Some things stay with you. Grief, distrust, hatred for the world and jealousy for all the kids who had normal families.

“That is…” It sounds as though Rune doesn’t know what to say, like he’s being overly delicate with me, and I don’t like it. “…quite unfortunate. I’m sorry, Rey.”

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