Stormbreacher - Book 1 of Titanomachy Series

Chapter 10: Pale Man

I wasn't even out of breath when I reached the abandoned buildings. That's what adrenaline does for you, when you're scared cold for someone's life.

The three abandoned buildings didn't look too different up close than from a mile away, save for some plants and vines that you could only see from up close. The perimeter was sealed off with a rusting barbed fence, decorated with signs every thirty feet or so that read "RESTRICTED AREA—DO NOT ENTER." A few of them had, rather appropriately, been ripped right off. And the fence itself wasn't even that much of a bother—there were spots where it had rusted away or where people had clipped through it using wire cutters. I was soon able to find a gap and wriggle under, stepping into the oh-so-dreaded land of unenforced restriction.

The buildings themselves were a lot scarier than the fence, though. They were ugly, decadent things, crawling with vines, bushes, and even the occasional small tree. Dad had told me, back in the days when he lived with the family, that this had been a meteorology station before the city of Veridian became a thing. Looking at it, it made sense; there were a bunch of old, rusting meteorology instruments sitting pretty at the top of two of them. Like, y'know, wind vanes and whatever. That kinda thing.

"Hey! Look! I found a toilet!!"

This was followed by uproarious eight-year-old laughter, and I am ashamed to say that it honest-to-God scared me shitless. I glanced up towards the buildings and frantically tried to make out any movement through the dead buildings. I couldn't see nothin'.

But I could shout.

"HEY!!!"

The laughter abruptly fell silent. I began storming towards the direction of the kids and screamed, "YOUR MOTHER IS LOOKING FOR YOU!!!"

Still no response.

"I HEARD YOU MAKE A BAD TOILET JOKE!!!"

Still still no response.

"Great," I growled. "Sting?"

I extended my arm for Stinger to crawl onto. "Stinger, go find them for me and then come back to tell me where they are. Don't show yourself. Got it?"

"Got it."

Stinger paused to change color, matching the same mottled gray of the buildings, and took off into the night. I jogged after him, following him up until he disappeared through one of the higher floors of the buildings. I ran into the decrepit first floor and sprinted for the stairs in the back corner of the room.

I didn't realize what I was getting myself into climbing those suckers until I was on the fifth floor and I was already winded. There were at least five more floors to go until the top. At least. I think this was a fifteen story meteorology station—what kind of freaking meteorology station is fifteen stories tall?!

I think my dad lied to me.

I had to sit down and rest for a little bit on a stair. Gee, that sucked. I am so bloody weak.

Stinger suddenly appeared beside me from the bottom stair and scared the crap out of me again. "Athena! Athena!!" he exclaimed.

"What?"

"They're not at the top anymore. They took the elevator down to the bottom."

I nearly threw myself out the nearby window. "They what?!" I shrieked. Jesus Christ, I sounded like my mom.

"They...they took the elevator. They went to the bottom."

"There's a working elevator in this ancient building?!" I exclaimed. "And I didn't hear it working?"