Chapter 52: Dark Tower
On the outskirts of the city, there was a tall dark tower made of concrete. It was supposed to be an office building on par with those crowding the downtown, but with cheaper rent and more parking space. However, its construction was never finished -- the company responsible for building the tower went bankrupt, and the owner of the land it was built on never resold it, hopelessly waiting for an opportune moment to recoup their losses. As years passed, the chances of continuing the construction became slim, and the price of this lot of land, marked with the unfinished monstrosity, never rose. Almost a decade later, it was still abandoned, looming over its surroundings like a grey ziggurat. The tower was protected with a rusty wire fence, but getting in and out was no problem for local kids, street artists... and wayward wraiths.
I found the familiar spot where the links of the chain fence were torn from their support beams and pulled on the cold wire, making an opening wide enough for Mickey to crawl through. Making sure that no one was around to see us, I followed him and headed for the tower, scanning the area with my Ability.
’What is this place?’
I looked up.
’A monument to someone’s stupidity. It has been like this since I was in middle school.’
’But why are we here?’
’To get money.’
Inside the tower, the air was damp and stale. With no lighting, it was filled with deep shadows and lines of stark light falling from the empty windows. It was also filled with trash, dust and fading signs of vagrant squatters that had used the tower as their temporary shelter throughout the years. I guided Mickey to the nearest stairwell and used my Ability to light our way.
’We’re going all the way up. Pace yourself.’