Jason Luthor - Floor 21

But there are a bunch of glass tubes sitting against the wall, plus some microscopes. I mean, it’s pretty obvious they’re testing something here, since I can see that half the room is separated by a glass wall. I can’t tell what’s inside, but way way way in the back is a different vent. It’s not connected to the one I’m in, so, I’m guessing, there are two separate ventilation systems? How does that make sense? Why would they need that?

I’m guessing there’s something in the air back there that they’ve got to keep separate from the rest of the Tower’s air circulation. Maybe.

I never really stopped to think about whether or not there would be anything toxic in the air as I wandered through the labs. Now I’m creeped the hell out.

Anyway, I’m already kinda, well, edgy is putting it mildly. Super-freaked, on the other hand, is an excellent way of saying it. I mean, here I am, in the labs, doing something I know could get me taken by the goons in Security. Now what if I told you that that wasn’t the big reason I’m freaked out?

Those two scientists I was talking about? Yeah, well, get this. The one with glasses turns to his friend and says, “Have you finished up with that Creep sample yet?”

“No,” the other guy says. “I haven’t been able to get it to calm down. It’s really volatile right now.”

“Is it acting up?” glasses guy asks. “You know, they’re going to need it for Reinforcement. They’re running low on supply.”

“Yeah, I know,” he says. “It’s getting harder and harder to stabilize samples, though. The Creep samples are acting up a lot lately. Ever since that situation last year.”

“Right. When it got really, really angry.”

“Well, you know what happens when we make it upset. We should have known better.”

Excuse me, but what the heck are they talking about? The situation last year? Could they be talking about what happened on my birthday? Because… I mean, it did happen a year ago. I can still hear all the gunshots. I remember… people didn’t come back after that night. And the one thing I do know about the Creep is that it gets angry and aggressive. I mean, come on, that’s exactly what happened when I turned sixteen. It’s the whole reason we were on lockdown.

Anyway, these guys know something.

Worse—what did he mean when he asked if the other guy was done with the sample? All these years, and I never even thought they might be experimenting on the stuff. I mean, it’s stupid to think they wouldn’t, but still. I just always assumed that we were, you know, smarter than trying to experiment on stuff that literally has us trapped in the Tower.

But you want to know the worst part?

Why did they say they were going to need it for Reinforcement?

What do they do with it in Reinforcement? Did they use it on Danny somehow?

God. Maybe I’m wasting my time here on Floor 3. Maybe I need to just shoot straight to the top.

Maybe I need to just get to Floor 1.

I haven’t talked about everything I know about the Creep. Why would I? It’s not like there’s an encyclopedia about it you can just pick up.

Here’s the thing, though. Nobody really likes to say it, but everyone kinda knows… if you don’t take care of the Creep, it’ll take care of you. Like, I’m not saying that it’s going to come after you. It’s more like… I dunno. It’s like mold. Except mold that grows on you. Just not too often, but every kid’s raised to be scared of the Creep. That’s the whole reason you’re not supposed to touch it. I mean, besides the crazy hallucinations you’ll get.

I never really knew whether to believe it or not, but there’s a kids’ story they tell. Everyone knows it ’cause everyone hears it growing up. It’s about this girl, Creepy Sally.

Creepy Sally in her home. Creepy Sally’s all alone. In her room on Floor 16. She wished to be a beauty queen.

But Creepy Sally couldn’t be. ’Cause Sally’s pretty creepy, see? Got the rot all down her arm. Now Creepy Sally causes harm.

Roaming down the halls at night. Always trying to pick a fight. One thing, child, that you must do. Is run before she catches you.

Security tried to put her down. But Creepy Sally’s on the prowl. Got the Creep all in her skin. Now Sally’s paying for her sin.

So, yeah. Basically you don’t want to end up like Sally. If you want to believe the stories, she used to live down on Floor 16. Kinda a loner type, but who wouldn’t be so far down in the Creep? Maybe too much of a loner. The story is she’d kinda just lay around in bed all day. Maybe she was angry or depressed, but she stayed in one spot so long the Creep got her. I mean, it started to grow on her. Grosses me out just thinking about that stuff starting to get into your skin and your blood.

Funny thing is, nobody can ever say what she looks like. I mean, if this really did happen, it happened on Floor 16. I’m guessing Security would take her down if she ever tried to come up the Tower.

Then again, the nursery rhyme does say they tried to put her down. Which, you know, means they failed. Which means she’s strong enough to fight back against Security.

God. I don’t want to think about that.

One boy I knew said that when the Creep gets in you, that it starts to make, like, bubbles in your skin. Then the bubbles start to ooze. Then you start to grow lumps all over your body as the Creep spreads.

Why am I thinking about this while I’m crawling through panic-inducing vents and can barely see three feet in front of me?

It’s becoming overly apparent that I like to torture myself.

Also, yeah, I’m coming up on Floor 2, so I’m getting antsy. It won’t be much longer before I find out if there’s a way to climb even higher.

I crawl over Reception Hall and stare down. It’s funny seeing it empty, from the air, like I’m some flying invisible god. Receiver Garry’s still in there. I can see him moving back and forth once in a while, putting things away. He’s muttering as he does this, so I stop to listen to him as he talks. I’ve never thought of him as crazy, but I don’t think talking to yourself is a great sign.

I recognize the first part of what he’s saying, though.

“On Firsts Day, the Builders erected the Tower. At that time the world was covered in Darkness, and the Tower rose from the depths of the Creep.

“And the Builders said, ‘We must be a light.’ And the light of the Tower became a beacon in the Darkness.”

Chapter 1, Line 1, The Book of the Tower .

We all have to recite it every Sevenths Day. It’s kind of a reminder that the reason we’re supposed to be on our best behavior isn’t just, like, to survive. Receiver Garry always says that if we’re not a light in the Darkness, the ones that were taken away, into the skies, won’t come back for us.

That’s pretty crapsack of them if you ask me. What sort of plan is that?

Speaking of which, why did we get left behind in the first place?

Anyway, I’m not surprised as Garry goes onto the second line. “On Seconds Day, the Builders said, ‘We must be separate from the Darkness,’ and the gardens of the Tower were separated from the Creep to give life to all those that would follow.”

So, yeah, thanks, Builders. I really appreciate the fact that we were left to survive in a tower filled by the Creep. But, hey, at least we’ve got the garden. I mean, no reason to try and take us with you or anything. Obviously I prefer eating black tainted vegetables to getting out of here.

Although, now that I think about it, they never mention whether the Builders stayed behind or left with everyone else.