Linux dug through the endless clothes, weapons, and food that they brought with them. Why would they would even attempt to carry so much stuff while injured? He picked up a pistol from the bag and threw it back in. There was no reason to keep them since the most they could do was just hurt for a second.

“Helona?”

Linux heard Kauss say his girlfriend’s name. She wasn’t supposed to come with them, and he knew she was smart enough to not leave without a weapon. Unless if she grabbed one of the weapons from his lab and followed them, that wouldn’t surprise him in the least, but he hoped she knew better than that. Turning to greet her, he froze as he saw what was actually happening.

A tail stuck out of the ground, covered in blue scales, and circled in the air by the beast under the ground. The surrounding air shimmered like a fire would cause air to ripple. The tail entranced Kauss as he saw something different compared to what it actually was. Then, he took one step forward.

Shooting up and holding Kauss back was the only way to stop him from dying. The beast was not to be messed with, especially when he didn’t know how to properly defend himself. It’d be like sending a kid to fight in a war.

The beast, sensing that his prey was once again saved, sunk its tail back under the ground. Kauss shook his head, wondering where Helona had just disappeared to. Then the shaking began. It was charging them from underground.

Kauss, broken from his trance, placed the vase in one of the bags and pointed his knife forward. Linux unhooked his staff and prepared to jam it into the ground again. It was closer this time and faster. The beast’s full form launched out of the ground before he could even do anything. Kauss always imagined what a true monster looked like. Now that he knew, he wished he’d never looked.

The beast’s tail was a scaly blue, and the scales stuck out like many hardened knives. The body was one giant lump of meat and brown fur. Tiny spikes ran down along its spine from neck to tail. Six legs broke out from its body, insect in nature. They were long and broken into two sections, making it easy to walk with such weight holding them down. Its feet ended with two claws sticking out of each foot in order to grab onto any prey that comes across it.

However, the most horrifying part was its face. A hairless and scaless neck was topped with a furry, insectish face. Its mouth was small and unassuming, with two mandibles sticking out of the corners. Its eyes were what freaked Kauss out the most. The eyes weren’t on its face. Instead, they hung above it, being connected by two stringy pink lines of flesh.

Kauss froze with fear as the monster’s shadow covered him, blocking out wherever that constant light was coming from. He remembered that Linux called it the sun whenever they were talking about the sky. Unable to focus on the matter at hand as death came crashing onto him, there was only one thing he could do. That was to go out fighting.

Holding out the knife and screaming at the top of his lungs, he prepared to stab at the beast. Before any of them could connect, Linux whacked him with his staff, sending him flying out of the way. He jumped out of the way straight after, landing and rolling on the ground. The monster fell, landing on its six legs that gripped the ground beneath it.

“Kauss!” Linux shouted. “What the fuck were you doing.”

Getting up, he had no clue how to answer that. He’s always been told that if he saw death coming, then just stand his ground and fight back at whatever cost. Deal as much damage as he could before going cold. He was so focused on that mantra he didn’t even realize that he could get out of the situation.

The beast turned to Kauss and ran after him again, sensing out that he was the weak link. The earth trembled with each step it took. He wasn’t going to stand around and let himself die this time. Holding up his knife, he prepared to stab the beast between its eyes.

“Get out of the way!”

Kauss heard the warning, but he wasn’t going to move when a prime opportunity to kill it showed itself. His worries went on deaf ears as he waited for the right time to strike. Then the smell came. The smell gave of the same putrid nature as eggs being left out over a period of time. That smell was all too common down in the first floor when someone had a grudge against someone else.

Finally taking the warning, Kauss jumped out of the way as the beast’s mouth ignited, and fire blasted out of its mouth. It came to a halt, trying not to set its fur up in flames. Its eyes glowed orange like a demon’s, keeping a constant watch on him without turning its head.

Kauss ran to Linux’s side, deciding that staying together would be the best solution for them to get out of this alive.

“What were you thinking?” He scolded. “You could have died straight away.”

“Sorry that I didn’t know that thing could breathe fucking fire.” Kauss said sarcastically.

The beast turned around, saliva dripping onto its face. It breathed heavily, smoke bellowing from its mouth and nostrils. They raised their weapons again, now fully prepared to face the creature.

“We won’t be able to kill it.” Linux warned. “We can only drive it back. And whatever you do, don’t get separated.”

Kauss nodded, understanding what he was up against. He knew the tower was dangerous and expected feral creatures, but nothing like this. They needed to drive it away in order to get their stuff, otherwise coming out here would be for naught.

The beast charged, mouth wide open for another breath attack. It wasn’t fast, losing most of its speed when above ground. Kauss and Linux ran out of the way, separating but making sure they stayed within eyesight of each other. Fire shot out of its mouth as they dodged the blast. He could feel the intense heat and knew that if he was caught, no amount of electric magic could fix him. It made him wonder what the point of the device even was if they could still die so easily.

Linux opened the center of his staff, exposing the device from within. Grabbing the bottom, he pointed it like a wand toward the beast. Lightning shot out of the tip, hitting it straight on. It roared with pain and fury, but the wound was little more than an annoyance.

The beast began digging under the ground again, using the claws on its hand to dig out dirt. Its claws were curved with an indention on the bottom, so it acted like a shovel as it moved its way underground. It fully submerged itself under the dirt and dug its way toward Linux.

This time, he was prepared and fast enough. Making sure the lightning was pre-ignited, he jammed it into the earth. Lightning broke the ground beneath it, hitting the beast’s head. It launched itself out of the ground head first.

Linux had the advantage at the moment, but he couldn’t be too lax when fighting. The beast kills a multitude of people every year, after all. It wouldn’t have such a reputation if it could go down so easily.

The beast’s tail came out of the ground last, and he was indeed right about not underestimating the creature. With one flick of its tail, it sent Linux flying in the air. He hit the ground hard, breath being pulled out of him. He could hear his back crack as his spine crumbled.

Kauss ran to the creature, taking the pace of the battle into his hand. He stabbed at the creature’s neck, but it moved forward, so he only stabbed the body. It was only a pinch to a monster with such a size, so it brushed off the stab like it was nothing.

Kauss looked at the button on his knife. It wanted to be pressed, and he felt as if there was no other choice. Risking his own safety, he pressed the button. The blade glowed red, losing any pinkish hue it may have had. Lightning circled the blade, arching and spasming across edge and hilt. Some of the lightning hit his hand, burning his skin. Clenching his teeth, he endured the pain and kept the knife steady.

The beast roared again as its insides began being cooked from lightning. It tossed its body, flinging Kauss off of, the blade leaving its skin. It took more damage than it ever took in a fight before. In a desperate attempt to flee, it dug its way underground once more. The ground rumbled as it fled from the scene, healing and preparing for the next death match.

Kauss stood with the knife in his hand. Several spots on his hand and wrist were charred black, the pain being similar to if he were placing it in an open flame. Some of the charred skin vanished, returning to its normal color, if a bit slowly. The device was healing him, and the pain faded as the burnt skin began reparing itself.

He walked over to Linux, holding his arm. His arm was broken from being flung off at such a high speed. The pain was more annoying than actually painful though. It was possibly a minor fracture and nothing serious. He could feel the bones in his arm mending as the device released electricity inside. The fact that electricity could somehow heal people was still bizarre to him, but he had to accept the reality. The tower isn’t a place for people to think logically.

Linux groaned on the ground, unable to stand. His spine was broken and he couldn’t feel his legs. Thankfully, the device was healing him, but the pain was still something he’d like to avoid. He reminded himself to thank Kauss for driving away the beast, cause if he hadn’t they’d be dead.

“Want me to help you up?” Kauss said, reaching him. He held out his working hand, waiting for him to grab on.

“Sorry, but my legs aren’t exactly working now.” He responded. “Thanks, by the way.”

Kauss sighed and sat by him, knife in hand. If the beast came back, there was nothing they could do. They both knew that, but he still kept his knife out in defiance of death. However, they could still hear death knocking. What they didn’t know was the time they had left to open the door.

After a few minutes, Linux’s back was fixed enough to stand. Feeling returned to his legs, and he stood with renewed vigor. There was still an ache running down his spine, but it fell to more of an annoying pain rather than pain that made him want to die.

They organized their bags again, this time much faster. Kauss kept on lookout, but he also helped every now and then in order to quicken the process. They finished packing the bag, and it was filled with one set of clothing for every one person. Grandmamma sat in between the rest of the clothing, finishing their time out here.

“Why only this much?” Kauss asked. “I expected at least a bit more.”

“You can’t weigh yourself down with useless stuff. Imagine the Tetson attacking and you have your hands filled with all of those clothes.”

“Tetson?”

“The beast we just fought.”

That was the name of the beast? It wasn’t as intimidating as he was expecting a name for that monster to be. If anything, the name made it sound more like a pet than a monster that could take several human lives if it so chooses. He looked around at the several holes the beast created while rummaging underground. That’s when a question came to his mind? If it could go underground, then why does it not just infiltrate the towns.

“Hey Linux.” Kauss called to him as they began walking away from the fighting grounds. He asked him the question, expecting an adequate answer. However, he just looked ahead without even so much of a glance in his direction.

“I’ll explain it later.” Linux said. “After all, you three need to learn how these weapons work anyway, so I’ll just explain when we start practicing.”

Kauss exhaled, accepting the answer, but still wondering what he was planning. He said he was going to teach them how to use the weapons, so would that mean he was going to just give them a weapon without them making a scene? Then an even bigger question came to mind.

“Hold on. If everybody on the floor hates people from the first floor, why do you trust us so much that you’re giving us such dangerous weapons?”

Linux hummed to himself as he looked to the sky. He was wondering how he should even explain it to him. It was simple in his head, but when said it out loud, it could appear confusing. Sighing, he decided he would just say it how he imagined it.

“I just don’t think everyone from the first floor are all bad.” Linux explained. “A few years ago, when I was still a young child, a woman came up from the first floor.”

Kauss held in his breath as he heard him say that. He knew his mother had come to this floor, but he wasn’t expecting her to be brought up out of nowhere. He wasn’t even planning on asking since he assumed she just went up to the next floor right away.

“She was a nice woman. My Dad and the town helped her, giving her supplies that she needed, giving her a temporary place to stay, but they didn’t give her a weapon. Dad wanted to give her one to help her climb the floor, but the council said it was forbidden. Others came from the first floor before her, but one day they stopped, only being mentioned in history books. However, the time they were coming up, they caused massive turmoil. Because of that, they didn’t trust her enough to give her something that could potentially level the town.”

“So, she forced into our home while we were away, stole a weapon and left. People caught her, so she injured some, but killed no one, and escaped.”

That sounded like something someone from the first floor would do. His Mom was just as ferocious as the most intimidating people down there. No one lives there and leaves with a pure mind.

“However, that isn’t the real story. My Dad gave her a weapon and let her escape. She climbed the tower and people questioned him. They wouldn’t kill him, but if he told the truth, then they would make him their prisoner and force him to continue making weapons and machines. So he came up with the lie and people believed him.”

“The council’s worries were proven real, so they came up with a new law. If someone from the first floor ever showed up, then they’d kill them on spot before they did damage.”

Kauss absorbed all the information about his mother. On one hand, he was glad that she went up the tower, but that meant it would take longer to find her. His hope of her being alive grew bigger as he imagined her somewhere just a few floors above them.

“My family trusted the first floor people. After all, one of them helped us take the floor from all the wild beasts around us. The stories she shared to Dad told of a rotten society down there, but just the fact that people like those two existed, shows that there’s more to people than meets the eye.”

With all that said, they walked in silence. The wind blew past them, rustling flowers nearby. A few insects went from flower to flower, depositing something on the stem. Whatever it was, he wouldn’t know, since he didn’t have the time to wait and see.

Silence made Kauss aware of all too many things. Far off, in between some trees, another beast, like the one that preyed on the Linyol, was fighting a pack of creatures. They were slim to the point he could see their ribs, but they moved gracefully around the smaller of their kind, most likely the children. Their fur was as green as the grass around them. Their ears round tipped, but perked up in alert.

They growled and bared their teeth, attempting to intimidate the beast with no effect. It ran at them, attempting to charge past. It smashed through the front line, sending them flying. As it ran, it snatched up a baby in its mouth and ran off with it screaming with its last breaths.

The scene was gruesome and something that he was all too used to. However, with a simple turn of his head, he’d also spot a flower swaying in the wind, spreading its pollen for the new generation. The world was cruel, but there was something in that cruelty that shined as bright as the sun. As the beast ran, taking the life of a child, the flower bloomed, creating its own new form of life.

Silence was all too powerful of a thing. Its existence made people actually look around them and inside them. Only when no one is speaking can a person truly see the world for what it was.

Silence in the first floor exposed the cruelty of the tower. Cruelty wasn’t uncommon here either, but there was also something else. Kauss looked at the bag he was carrying where grandmamma rested. With the news of his mother leaving this floor alive, there was only one thing he thought.

Maybe you were right, Grandmamma. He thought as the sun began falling as the afternoon came to pass.