A HOLLOW SOUND echoed through the building. I felt a ghostly feeling wash over my body. I looked around the hall at the statues, which were before me. The building was dark, compared to before.
Taking a step over the main doors, I went into the hall. The statues stood tall in front of me. I took another step towards the statue, which was standing tall right in front of me. The statue was standing far into the back. I glanced over my shoulder at Danny. She was standing in the doorway beside me. Her eyes were glued onto the amazing sight before us.
A step forward was all that I needed to take. I saw how Danny's eyes were glued at the structure. She was standing with her hands by her side. She looked relaxed, as she stared up at the statues.
I wondered if she was analyzing them.
The hall had a long needle located in the middle of the building. The long needle went up into the sky. It was called the CN Tower before the Hall of Heroes was built around it. Then the tower was called the Heroes Eye. But the women in the video called the tower, the Heroes Tower. She mentioned how the tower was where all of the heroes collected together. They went over all kinds of plans, and fought against them all, as one.
Looking up at the rooftop, I noticed how the glass roof of the building was gone. And with the clear sky, I was able to see the needle-shaped tower. The top of the tower was gone. I had a feeling that the top of the tower had fallen into the ruins over the years. I saw a half of a sphere-like shape standing on the peak of the tower. But the rest of the tower was gone.
I remembered the woman talking about the tower. She went on and on about the different names. And why the tower's name changed over the years. It mostly changed, because someone bought the tower and made some renovations to the exterior. I tried searching for every one of them. And saw hundreds of photos, which were taken over every time The tower looked the same. But there were slight changes to the structure over the years.
"Heroes Tower," I said as I looked up at the shattered remains of the sphere-like shape on the top. "Look." I pointed up at it. "Danny."
Danny looked up at the tower, then down at her feet. She didn't like looking up at the tall buildings. I had a feeling, it was because of how high they were. Some people found the tall buildings uncomfortable to look at. But I thought they were incredible.
I saw the same look wash over Danny's face. It was the same look that the goddess held on her face, every time someone asked her about what life was like. The look made me feel sad for her like she had lost someone close to her. And Danny looked the same way.
Placing my hand onto her shoulder, I smiled. I slipped my hand away from her shoulder. A simple touch of the shoulder was all that Danny needed, to return to reality. I knew not to ask Danny about what she was thinking. And even if I did ask. She wouldn't tell me the truth. She never spoke about her feelings. Not even to me.
I took a step back towards the statues. The inside of the building was hollow and full of dust. I was able to spot the statues. But they were filled with dust, from the years of sitting here, without anyone coming around to clean them.
The sound of my footsteps echoed through the building. I kept my footsteps short and quiet. I felt like someone was watching us. And I didn't want them to realize that I had caught on.
Walking up to the first statue, I felt small. The statue wasn't that big. But the way that the man was posed made me feel small. He had his hands on his hips and his head was looking up at the city. I looked over my shoulder in the direction he was looking at. I saw the sight, which he had admired for the past centuries. And it was a beautiful sight of collapsed skeletons with plants covering over the ruins, which stood in their place.
I walked around the man's statue. His name wasn't on the front of the statue. And he had no plaque, which was used to tell visitors about the heroes. I headed towards the back and there was nothing there. He was still standing in the same pose. And from back on, I still felt just as intimidated.
The rows of statues were right before me. I saw a few of the statues located in the back. I wondered why the statues were behind the others. They might have been newer statues, compared to the others. I felt a connection to the statues like I was meant to stand with them. Or maybe beside them.
Glancing down at my feet, I saw a piece of the roof on the floor. Pieces of the roof had collapsed over the years and had landed onto some of the statues. There were a few cracks on the older statues. But you couldn't recognize them from all of the dust, which was collected on them.
I wondered how something so old could still be standing.
Placing my hand into my pocket, I saw the crack on his face. He was standing in front of a large wall. The wall wasn't anything special. And it was written in the ancient language. I had no idea what the ancient language meant when it was written down. But the spoken ancient language was similar to others.
I heard the goddess speak in the ancient language from time to time. And had gotten familiar with the words and how they were pronounced. But the written language was too confusing. And their symbols were nothing like ours.
Looking up at the cracked face, I realized how young he was. He was a teenager, around my age. If I had to ask. He held his hands onto his hips like he was proud to be standing among the others. I wondered if the statue was new. By the looks of them, they weren't as old as the rest of them. And he looked like he was holding a smile on his face.
I looked down at the plaque before him. Just one word was written down. And I was surprised that the word was written in our language, and not in the ancient symbols, like the rest.
"Shock-wave," Danny said. "Um."
Danny stood beside me with her hands onto her hips. She didn't seem to care about the statues. To her, the building was just like the others. Skeletons of a once proud and thriving civilization, which destroyed itself. She wasn't like me. She could care less about what the ancients were like.
Looking down at the plaque on the statue, I saw how Danny's dark hazel eyes were staring at it. She was staring at the words written on the plaque-like they were familiar to her. I had a feeling that the statues were newer compared to the others, due to the symbols being in our language, instead of the ancient language.
I looked up at the teenager's face. He wasn't like the other older statues. There was something about him like he was familiar to me. I wondered what kind of stone the statue was made out of. I had never seen such craftsmanship before.
The safe zone didn't have any statues located inside it. I placed my hand up to the statue. I just wanted to get a better look at it. The sound of electricity sparking came from the platform. The hum from the electricity in the platform wasn't too loud. But I noticed it.
My hand reached for the teenager's face. He was too tall for me to touch his chin. But my hand went through his statue. I wondered how such a thing was even possible.
"Um." I wondered. "It's not solid."
Danny smiled. "It's a hologram." She sounded confused by her analysis of the statue. "I guess."
Looking over her shoulder, Danny shrugged her shoulders. She had no idea if her analysis of the statue was even correct. I saw the look on Danny's face. She was giving me an 'I'm right' kind of gaze. There was a little touch of 'I'm smart too' stare in the corner of her eye. I wondered if the ancient people had holograms all over their city. But looking over the hall, I noticed some of the statues were stone. The older statues closer to the entrance were made out of some kind of stone. But the newer ones weren't made in such away. I wondered if there was a reason for that.
A rumbling sound echoed through the building. I wondered if we had done something to make the building come to life. I had a feeling that trying to touch the hologram might've caused it. Looking over my shoulder, I looked at the front door. I saw the metal doors trying to slide. The doors went out of the wall and pushed some of the broken frames out of the way. The larger doors stayed perfectly still. I wondered if there was a reason for that.
The metal doors were thicker than the larger ones. I wondered if they were some kind of emergency protocol.
I looked back at the hologram. I thought that there was something off about the statue. And I found myself wondering if what the woman said was right. I knew the statues were not able to be touched.
Looking over my shoulder, I saw Danny. She held a look on her face like she was prepared to run away at any moment. And I completely understood why. The dead zone didn't just get its name because of the sickness that came from entering such a place. But from the sleepers, which patrolled the ancient ruins.
Danny glared at the hologram. "It's alive." She kept her eyes locked onto the statue. "We should leave."
I let out a soft sigh go over my worried lips. My mind was torn. I wasn't sure what to do. I wanted to stay in the hall and observe the statues. And a part of me knew that someone was following me. I could leave and come back later. But if we returned to the safe zone, then my father would know where we went. And he wouldn't be pleased with me.
I looked back at the face of the statue. For a few minutes, I admired the statue, before taking my eyes away from the statue. The statue was hard to look away from. I could not understand what technology was used to make the hologram function. I believe that the statue before me was made out of particles and light. But without analyzing the hologram further, I couldn't understand exactly what else was there.
A few of the statues were beginning to vanish. It was like they were fading away from the platforms, where they were supposed to be. I had no idea why they were just vanishing. They had stood in the same place for hundreds of years.
I took a step back from the 'Shockwave' statue. I wondered what the teenager's real name was. But I knew that the statue would never answer any of my questions.
Even if it could. I wouldn't want it either.
I knelt to my knees. Lowering my head, I bowed down in front of the statue. I made sure to not knock my head onto the statue's platform.
Danny kept standing strong beside me. She didn't bow to the statue. And I knew why.
Bowing was our way of showing our respect to them. But not everyone thought that the ancients were worth our respect. After all, they did destroy themselves.
Even knowing why Danny wouldn't bow. I wondered if she thought of me differently, cause I was bowing. I knew Danny's belief wasn't the same as mine. And she believed that the goddess was giving us false hope. She believed that humanity would never live in true peace. And that back when the goddess ruled over the world, she made sure to keep people from finding out the truth. Danny's not the only one who believes in this faith. And I know there's nothing I can do to change their mind. They were a strong group of people. But there were also very few of them.
Most of the time, they left the safe zone. They didn't think that the dead zone would kill them. I didn't know if what they believed was true. But they never seemed to come back.
I heard Danny curse the goddess plenty of times. Sometimes, she said it to her face. Other times, it was behind her back.
The electrical sound began to drift into the hall's silence. I rose back up to my feet. I heard a sound coming from the corner of the room. The sound was like the electrical hum, which came from the 'Shockwave' statue before me. I glanced over my shoulder in the direction of the electrical sound. I didn't know what the electrical sound meant. But as I looked over. I saw her.
Standing before me, the statue of the goddess was in the same line as the 'Shockwave' statue. I didn't know what that meant. But the two of them seemed to be close.
The goddess stood with her head looking down to her side. She held her hands folded in front of her. Her eyes were closed and she held an expression on her face like she was asleep. The goddess was wearing a dress around her body. I had never seen her wear such an outfit before. I wondered if she was uncomfortable in such an outfit. Or if she was more comfortable, in a dress.
Walking away from the 'Shockwave' statue, I headed towards the goddess' statue. I kept my hands folded in front of me. I took a deep breath, as I walked up to her statue. The walk was only a few steps. Her statue was right beside his. And she looked to be glancing towards his feet.
I remembered seeing the same expression on the goddess's face, somewhere before. She didn't look sad. And she could've been tired. But as I walked closer to the statue. I looked up at her face. I saw the smile across her face.
Danny muttered the goddess's name. "Zoe."
"I didn't know she was one of them." I looked over at Danny. "I wondered why the goddess never told us."
"There's a lot she never talks about." She reminded me. "But this place gives me the creeps." She shivered with her hands on the side of her arms. "It's like a tomb." She muttered. "Or something."
I thought Danny was right. With all of the statues lined up into a row, the place didn't feel alive. It didn't even feel like a place, where people would gather together. It felt empty. And the crumbling structure over our heads didn't help.
Danny headed towards the corner of the room. She walked towards the electrical humming sound, which was echoing into her ears. I watched Danny walk up to a dent in the wall. She must've noticed the dent from where she was standing. But I didn't see it until we were closer to it.
Following behind her, I was a little worried. I didn't want to accidentally fall through the floor to the surface below. But then, I didn't know if there was anything below us.
Danny took a step towards the dent in the wall. She pressed her hand up to the side of the dent. The dent didn't do anything. Danny applied a little pressure onto her hands. And there was a clicking sound.
The clicking sound was soft. But not a sound that I could hear.
I didn't expect the wall to move. And as I stood beside Danny, I realized the dent.
Looking at the side of the wall, I noticed that the dent was different. It looked to be an ancient device built into the wall. And over the doorway some kind of ancient device, which looked to be around the size of a pin-hole.
Taking a step forward, I walked up to the device. I noticed how the device glowed. It was a little damaged and the thin screen looks damaged. But the device wasn't broken beyond repair. And seemed to be working, just right.
I reached my hand towards the device on the wall. There was a little reflection on the shattered screen. And the thin layer of dust must've made the device unable to work.
Danny moved her hand away from the device. She seemed a little disappointed that it didn't work.
"Just another dead building." She turned away from the device. "We should get going." She took a step away, before stopping. "It's gonna get dark soon."
"Give me a moment," I told her. "Ok."
"Whatever." She crossed her arms over her chest. "You say."
Touching the ancient device, I never thought that I would get to see one of them. I thought most of the ancient devices were damaged during the disaster. I had no idea, some of them were still active.
Placing my hand onto the wall, I brushed off some of the dust. I wanted to know if my hand was compatible with the device. I touched the dusty surface and waited. After a few seconds, I pulled my hand away from the device. I wasn't sure what I was expecting to happen. The cracks and shattered screen flickered. I assumed the device was only held together by small pieces, which were behind the screen.
"Hey." I glanced over at Danny. "Where are you going, anyway?"
Danny stood before one of the statues. She held a surprised look on her face like she saw something interesting. I saw the look on her face right away. And I knew what it meant. She saw something.
Taking a step towards the device, Danny moved her hand towards what she saw. She tapped her hand onto the wall next to the device. On the wall, there was a print. I squinted my eyes, as I noticed the blood-smeared handprint next to the wall.
A shiver raced down my spine. I had no idea what the handprint meant, or why it was bloody. I placed my dust-covered hand up to my mouth. Keeping my hand away from my lips, I quickly lowered my hand. I dusted my hand up against the side of my paint. I had to get all of the dust off somehow.
Looking over my shoulder, I saw many faces in the room. The faces of the people who were idolized during ancient times. The people who could not stop the disaster. The disaster was the only thing I had very little information on. And I wanted to know more.
I had searched for weeks on the device in the kitchen. I went over the video after video. Journal entry after journal entry. Trying to find anything about the disaster. But there was nothing. It was like, the disaster didn't happen.
Thinking to myself, I wondered how old the blood on the wall was. Could it be from an ancient one? Or just someone else, who was curious like me, and thought they would adventure into the dead zone, for answers.
I had no idea.
Placing my hand up to the small gap next to the frame, I felt my mind race. I felt my fingers slip in between the gap in the wall. I felt a sharp edge around the gap. But the sharp edge didn't stop me.
I slipped my fingers in deeper.
A few wires were in the gap. I was able to feel them on the tip of my finger.
Looking down at the device on the dented wall, I wondered if the wires were just loose. I saw a few stripped wires coming out of the edge of the device. The wires were just below the gap in the wall. They were coming out of two small holes. There was also a beam below them, which I guessed was originally where the device once stood.
Reaching my other hand towards the door, I felt the handle. There wasn't anything to grab onto like the door was meant to be pushed open. I pushed on the door handle, and there was a soft click sound. The sound went echoing through the building. I pulled my fingers out of the gap as the doors slid open.
"Let me guess." Danny glared at me. "You want to explore the tomb?"
"Why not." I shrugged my shoulders. "Did you have something more exciting to do?"
"Fine." Danny crossed her arms over her chest. "After you."
I was glad that Danny wanted to know what was behind the door. She didn't show her excitement, like me. But I knew it was there. A part of me wondered if she already knew what was behind the door. Danny reached her hand for the device. I was a little skeptical about her.
A smile went across Danny's face. She reached her hand towards the door. She pushed the door open like she had used it before. I stood nervously beside her. I was excited to see what was behind the door. But the darkness before me wasn't as exciting.
I have never liked the dark. Not even when I was younger. I had gotten used to the darkness, as I've gotten older. But it's still not my most favourite thing to explore.
Taking a peek behind the door, I waited for my eyes to object. I knew Danny wasn't going to take the first step. She never liked exploring. I'm not sure why. But she always let me go into places, first.
Squeezing through the door, I stepped into the darkness. I looked around into the darkroom. The room was so dark that I couldn't even see in front of my face. I had only the light behind me, to see where I was going. And my shadow made it hard to see anything.
The creaking sound of the door echoed in my ears. I glanced over my shoulder to see Danny walking into the room behind me. She held her hand up to the door. She stood behind me with her smile still cracked across her face.
Danny slid her hand down to her side, as she joined me. She took a step into the room. I think she was trying to show me that there was nothing to be afraid of.
As Danny took a step ahead of me, the flow sparked. Within seconds, the room became a glowing pathway. I saw the pathway going down a narrow hallway. The hallway looked to twist and turn a few times. I wondered what could be at the end.
Looking down at the floor tiles, I saw the lights. The lights were between the cracks in the tiles. Some of the lights were brighter by the edge of the floor, where it met with the wall. There were flickering lights on the ceiling. But they didn't stay on for very long before they turned off.
Moving my feet over the tiles, I made sure to not step onto the lights. I didn't want to accidentally break one of them. It would be almost impossible to replace them. And I remembered how our holiday lights went out one year. All it took was one light bulb to blow and the whole cluster of lights was ruined.
Staring down the hallway, I felt a little comfortable. It took me a while to get used to the dim lights. And after taking a few turns, I realized there was nothing to be afraid of. The hallway was closed off before we arrived. But I still had no idea where the hallway was leading up.
Then we got to a long stretch. And that's when I saw it.
A second door.