Isolation

Chapter 47

Vera saw it first.

"Oh, my god," she said. "It really is here."

"What, you didn't believe me?" James said.

"It's not that... it's just so... big."

Vera wasn't kidding. When they left the forest, the tower massivly presented itself to the open sky. MiMO boxes hung off the sides near the top, most of them fallen to the ground long ago. There was lots of rust on the structure, most of it around the concrete pad it was sitting on.

"That thing is unstable," she said.

"We must be at the right place," Aiden said. He picked up a steel rod. "There's all kinds of scrap here."

"Well, this is it," James said. "Where's the cable?"

"It's supposed to be over there," Vera said, pointing to the tower's base. "They're wrapped in black tubing and go all the way up to the top."

"Okay, so... where's the tube?"

Vera rubbed her forehead.

"It's... it's been cut."

"Cut?"

"Yeah, look at the pipe at the bottom. It's like someone cut it clean from the base."

"Which means..."

They followed the metal supports up the tower. Almost a hundred feet up they could see the black tubing attached to the side.

"It's up there," she groaned. "I was afraid of that."

"How much do you need?"

"Not a lot. Fiberoptic cables are easy to attach. Three feet should do it."

"Then I'll go up and get some."

"No, let me go," she said. "If you cut it the wrong way, it'll waste it. I'll need your sword."

"Do you think you can handle it?"

He removed his scabbard and handed it to Vera. She put it on her toolbelt.

"It's just a big knife," she said. "A really big, really sharp knife."

"Just don't cut yourself. I don't want to have to come up there and rescue you if you have just one arm."

"I'll be fine. Just keep an eye on the troublemaker over there before he steals a gun or something."

"Wow. That's just hurtful," Aiden said jokingly. He kicked around some trash.

"Be careful," James said.

"Don't have to tell me twice," she said.

She stood at the base and looked up. She could make out her target. It felt like it was miles away. She touched the rusted metal with her foot. It didn't move. She didn't know what else to expect.

"Here goes," she said.

She grabbed one of the crossbeams and pulled herself up. The tower groaned.

"Don't make that noise," she said. "God, I hate that sound."

"Pretty sure that thing has a weight limit!" Aiden called up to her.

Without looking down, she flipped him the bird. She was one of the skinniest girls on the ship. James shook his head.

"She's gonna beat you up one day, if you keep that up," James said.

"Nah, man. The girls love me."

He crossed his arms.

"Who?"

"Well, there's... Vera..."