It was a rather awkward walk back to the kitchen, Abigail kept everyone a good distance away from Paige and Nick was left to awkwardly fill that space. Paige didn’t care, she once again linked arms with Nick and happily trotted along. Nick realised he hadn’t properly prepared his family at all once they passed through the door into the dining room.

There were teams of people picking up bodies and carrying them out of the hotel. The room was still filled with bodies though, all left in different grotesque positions. Lily let out a scream as soon as she saw everything. Maddy, Henry and Abigail all blanched. It was an incredibly morbid sight to behold. Nick was surprised at how easily his mind was accepting it all. He could camly look at everything and regard it simply. It was a horrible sight, but that was all. There was no intense emotional reaction.

That was until Nick remembered the group he’d been roaming with that morning. They had been in the room just before he left, had they been caught up in all this? Nick quickly scanned the room but couldn’t find any bodies that resembled Frank’s hulking physique. It wasn’t a guarantee but it made Nick feel better. He liked Hardy, Kitty, Betts and Frank.

He hoped that the group managed to survive whatever trouble would be rocking the floor for the foreseeable future. Nick had his own concerns to grapple with right now though, namely the fact that Lily was looking at him with concern laid thick in her eyes. What had Abigail told them while he wasn’t there? Nick had realised that Paige likely had more control over his thoughts and actions than he was aware but it couldn’t have been that bad right? Nick didn’t really know what to think at the moment. His thoughts were a mess and if he was honest, he was working mainly on autopilot right now.

The group made their way down the centre of the room, where a clear pathway had been left through the carnage. Nick heard his sister begin to sob and he wanted to turn around to console her but it really wasn’t the place to do it, so he kept the group pressing forward. The sight didn’t get much better when they made it out into the car park though. The bodies were literally just being dumped right off the edge of the car park without decorum. It was a sight just as morbid as the bodies. People with stoney faces were just dumping the dead and heading right back in to get more bodies.

Nick focused on what was happening out in the car park. Reggie was standing there talking to a stern looking man. Rina and the recruits were standing in a group off to the side, impassively watching everything take place. Paige led everyone over to Rina.

“Well, let’s get a move on. We’ve got quite a bit of ground to cover.” Rina said, unceremoniously taking off deeper into the car park.

Just as the group was leaving Reggie called out the group. “Leaving so soon? Please feel free to come back any time! If you want to get in contact with me, Darmer here will be running the floor from now on. Though I’m sure we’ll be seeing plenty of each other.” The man finished with a grin.

Nobody in the group responded to the man and they simply kept walking. Paige brought out a crystal that lit up the area surrounding the group, revealing at least 20 metres in each direction. It was the most powerful of light crystals Nick had seen to date. The group stayed pretty silent for a while, everyone seeming to process what they’d just experienced. Nick knew that he certainly had a lot to work through, but his heart just wasn’t in it right now. His mind was a mess and full of too much to get through.

Though one sight in particular was sticking with him. It was the sight of Doyle walking calmly out of the kitchen. That moment struck deeply into Nick’s psyche. Nick knew that he himself wouldn’t have reacted the same way at all, Nick would have yelled, run and fought any way he could to avoid the fate Doyle had. The man just accepted his fate though, and instead of being defeated by it, it had given him confidence. He walked towards his death with a straight back and a steady pace. The image of it was haunting to him. Each time his thoughts strayed a little he his mind would recall the image.

Nick eventually gave up on trying to sort through any of his thoughts for the moment and mentally retreated. He focused internally and found comfort in his usual friend. The energy that was ever unaffected by the troubles of his mind, the only time he’d seen it impacted was by a literal poison. The person who had poisoned him was right next to him, why was he letting her just pull him along? Nick shook his head. Now wasn’t the time for thinking. It was time to switch the brain off and instead focus on the energy.

Nick paid no attention to the outside world, he let Paige guide him alone and just focused on the energy inside him. He paid close attention to its movements, watching as it came into contact with some sort of invisible surface. Nick had always assumed that the energy was just trapped inside of him, as it never strayed outside of his ‘body’ unless he asked it to. As he watched closely he realised that it wasn’t his physical body limiting the movements of the energy, but a strange barely visible film that overlapped with his body. Nick was so caught up with his new discovery that he barely noticed as he was led down the ramp and onto the 70th floor.

It was only when the people guarding the massive walls that surrounded the ramps recognised Rina and Paige and began to drag open the massive gates that Nick snapped back to reality. The sound of the gates grinding against the floor disturbing his tranquil state.

“Back with us Nick?” Paige asked with a smile.

“Uh yeah. Sorry.” Nick said with an awkward chuckle.

“How the hell did we miss this?” Lily gaped.

“I don’t even remember leaving the car.” Henry said. “Hey, where did we leave the car? I love that car.”

“We left it on the ramp between the 69th and 70th, though it wasn’t there when I was chasing after Tony. No idea where it would be now.” Nick shrugged.

“If it was a working car then someone could have taken it to the Parklands.” Rina chimed in. “People always need working transport.”

“So there’s hope she’s still out there.” Henry said with a glimmer in his eyes.

That earned a laugh from everyone, except the recruits, who couldn’t laugh. Though Nick was sure that they at least blew some hot air out of their noses, if they had noses. Wait did they breathe? Nick decided to keep an eye on the recruits' chests for a while.

The group moved through the gates once they had been fully opened and were met with quite the sight. It wasn’t anything unfamiliar for Nick, but Henry and Lily hadn’t been to the 75th floor like he had. The pair were awed by what they saw. The car park was completely lit up, crystal lamp posts set up periodically apart, covering every inch of space with a warm light. Absolutely no shadows in view. People were just strolling about alone or in groups, walking at a casual pace just enjoying their company. It was an environment worlds apart from the car parks filled with shadows and monsters.

The pathway leading deeper into the car park was a new sight for the entire family. Unlike the 75th floor’s painted road, this one was tiled. Uniform stone tiles stretched as far as the eye could see. Where the heck did people manage to get tiles from? Was there a tiled room in the hotel that people harvested them from? Nick then imagined a grumpy cleaner entering a room and finding it completely stripped of tiles, which made him smile.

Lily and Henry were exclaiming at the sights before them which made Nick grin. If the 75th floor was anything to go by then the central hub of this floor would be an absolutely awesome spectacle to behold. Rina seemed to enjoy the reaction of the family, a wide smile spreading across her face.

“All this stone actually comes from a place near where my family lives, you know?”

“Really? Do people mine in the Parklands?” Nick asked.

“Now and then yeah. People used to do it a lot, but there isn’t actually much demand for stone in the last few years. Once the main towns had been built, there wasn’t as much of a need for large quantities of stone.” Rina explained as they kept walking.

It was then that the central hub of the room began to dawn on the horizon line and Lily and Henry exclaimed. A sea of tents and small stone buildings stretched across the horizon, it looked like a small city.

“You guys are in for a treat. This is the largest market in the hotel.” Rina said with a laugh.

As the group approached more details of the market could be made out. There was a huge amount of people just swarming around the place, making it look like a massive hive. People were constantly ducking and out of small stone structures and tents. Merchants and traders were yelling out and trying to attract customers to their stalls and shops. People of all shapes and sizes were haggling with each other over various goods. It all culminated in a feast for the group's eyes.

“This is amazing.” Lily said, awed by it all.

“It is. We’ll be heading straight through though. We need to make it into Parklands proper as quickly as we can.” Paige said, earning a disappointed groan from everyone, including Rina.

“Can’t we show it off just a little bit? They’re Latecomers!” Rina argued.

Paige looked at her companion with a deadpan expression. “You heard what Reggie said. You know the implications just as well as I.”

Rina sighed in response and everyone kept moving. They entered the crowds and everyone grouped up tighter to avoid getting separated. Though that wasn’t quite as necessary as the family thought it would be. The crowd was more than willing to make space for the group, and there were two obvious factors at play. Half of the crowd saw Paige, seemed to recognise her and moved themselves clear of her path. The other half saw the girl in a black dress with a giant stone floating behind her and then proceeded to walk in a different direction. The result was like a parting of the red sea for the group.

It also drew a lot of attention to the group. People watched in interest as the group made their way through the market. Everyone except for the Executioners looked pretty awkward under the public gaze, though none looked as uncomfortable as Abigail. The girl looked almost nauseous. Her eyes darted around the crowd and she was sweating profusely. Maddy had gotten close to her in an attempt to make her feel a bit more comfortable, but it didn’t appear to be working very well.

Nick felt like it was only right to try and do his part to help. So he awkwardly wrestled his arm free from Paige’s, which left her pouting. Her pout was like a dagger in his side, making him feel like he’d wronged the poor woman. He ignored the feeling though, he had a friend to help out. Nick made his way to the back of the group and hung next to Maddy and Abigail.

“You mentioned the rock is a bomb. How big of an explosion though? Like big enough to take out this entire market?” Nick asked.

Abigail scoffed. “Easily. This bad boy would absolutely decimate this place.”

“Whewww, sounds like a right piece of work. Where can I get me one of these?” Nick asked.

“As if. The guy that makes stuff like this is a pretty secretive dude. I only happened to meet him while exchanging notes on an experimental type of ritual.”

“Wow, sounds like you must know some pretty important people then?” Nick continued.

“Of course, I’m a very well respected member of the community. I’m the go to gal for any warding business.” Abigail said, puffing her chest out in pride.

“Good thing I got to know you then Abigail.”

“Nick, you can call me Abby.” Abby said with a small smile.

Nick managed to keep the conversation going long enough that the group made it through the market and out the other side. The entire road was flanked by market stalls for the foreseeable distance, but the crowd steadily died down and it was now just people travelling to and from the market. There were considerably less eyes on the group now. Maddy pulled Nick to the side.

“Thanks Nick. I really appreciate it.” She said with a smile.

“What are friends for?” Nick replied with a smile of his own.

Nick then made his way back to the front of the group where Paige quickly relinked her arm around his.

“And you’re good with people? What an absolute delight you are, Nick.” Paige said with a giggle that sent tingles down Nick’s spine.

“You really are vile aren’t you?” Abigail suddenly called out. “A monster, rotten to the core.”

Nick frowned, why couldn’t everyone just chill out for a bit. They were in a new place, they had cool new sights to take in, why not just relax and enjoy it?

“You certainly have quite the vile mouth on you, don’t you?” Paige fired back.

“That’s rich.” Lily scoffed.

Goddamnit, now his sister was getting involved.

“Oh I assure you, my mouth is immaculate.” Paige replied with a sultry purr that made Nick blush.

“Whore.” Abigail remarked.

That one seemed to strike a chord in Paige. Her expression turned horrid, her yellow eyes seeming to glow for a moment. Nick noticed that the small crystal hanging from the crude necklace around Abby’s neck glowed in response.

“Not so tough with a ward stopping your tricks huh?” Abigail smirked.

“I could gut you in a moment, child.” Paige stonely remarked, pausing the entire group.

This time it wasn’t Nick that stepped in to settle things down.

“Okay okay, let’s keep things civil everyone.” Rina said. “Paige, you’re a big girl and you don’t have to respond to the insults of a literal child.”

Abby stuck out her tongue at Paige and Paige growled in response. Nick and Rina sighed. It was going to be a long remainder of a journey.