The Climb

The beginnings of a story I wrote a long time ago, no idea where I was planning on going with this

I’ve been going for so long now, I don’t know where the bottom is. Where is it, where is it?? Or do I keep going to the top, to find success, to find a way back? Will I even make it back? Too many questions. Keep climbing. And so I go. I move past things I barely recognize, past creatures I think are normal, except for that red glow, of course. That I still am not used to, but hopefully I do not have to be, not for long, anyway. Focus. Keep climbing. These rocks are slippery, the moss coating it all in a slime that sticks to the fingers. The vines don’t help at all, and this mountain seems to create holds that seem impossible to reach. If you make it to the top, the glow will disappear, or so the legend goes. Ah yes, the legend. What a strange story. So many people going on this journey, only one known to return to our village. She told this fantastical tale of monsters, battles, the climb, and of course, that glow, which haunts her to this day. FOCUS. You haven’t climbed in a while, and the roars are starting again. Right. Keep climbing. Why is that glow above me? I thought it was more of something that chased you, something you had to outrun. Unlike those… things, which I’m not sure I could escape if they ever caught my scent. But what were they? They look a lot like squirrels, but bigger, and somehow more… evil, I guess. Maybe more like dogs? I’m not sure. That’s not a good description, but I don’t possess the words to accurately describe them. They carry the glow with them, that much is obvious. Oh look, the glow is gone from above me! Maybe it wasn’t there at all? Idiot! You have to keep going! Right, sorry. Keep climbing. How do I know what that glow will do? Maybe it doesn’t hurt, maybe I can continue on if it reaches me. I mean, it’s just a glow, how bad could it really be? Those legends are just that, legends. Stories. They aren’t really that true. And she never actually touched the glow, just came close. But those creatures definitely have. They carry that glow with them. I wonder if that glow corrupted them, if they were normal at one point, but then the glow reached them and morphed them into something unrecognizable. Or maybe it wasn’t the glow that did that to them, but rather they created the glow. Maybe the glow makes it easier for them to get me. UPWARDS, MORON! Right. Keep climbing. Why did I have to be chosen? That I still do not understand. Why is it that, of all the people in the village, I had to do this? Ben would have been better at it, and Kiera is a much faster climber. Craig knows how to defend himself better, and Sarah could probably create some kind of plant cocktail to protect herself from the glow. Why did they choose me? There are much more qualified people, and if I fail, who knows what will happen to me? To my family? Maybe I’m just underestimating myself. Probably not though. I’ve been pretty average my whole life, and I’m ok with that. I’ve never really wanted anything more than that. And yet here I am, and now I need to figure out what to do. I could just give up, just let go and let the glow get me and see what it does. I could also just keep going and see what happens. I’m so tired though… There! A ledge! I can rest there for a second. Ah, there we go. It feels like it’s been forever since I’ve been able to rest. The glow looks far away now, and the creatures haven’t been seen in quite some time. Maybe I could stay here a while. Maybe I can wait here and think about my decision. FOOL! The glow draws closer! Right. Keep climbing. I wonder if my parents are somewhere around here. I know they didn’t make it, but maybe I can find where they died, maybe give them a proper burial. Maybe they didn’t make it this far. Maybe I won’t make it as far as they did. I have no way of knowing. This mountain seems to grow the more I climb it, I feel like I have made no progress. I wonder if I am simply seeing how long I can outrun the glow before it envelops me and takes me like the rest of those who had gone before me (except Lucy of course, though she will not say how she managed to escape. My guess is that she was touched by the glow and driven mad by its power.) Maybe there’s a cave somewhere up further where I can stay that the glow cannot reach, that I can hide as it passes by. I doubt it, because I feel like someone else would have found such a cave and also escaped, not just Lucy. CLIMB!! Right, sorry. Keep climbing. And so I go. I wonder how much further it is. Maybe it just goes on forever.

A viewing deck. A large window displaying tropical scenery, the side of a mountain to the front of the window. Two men dressed in military uniforms walk up to the window, watching a young man climbing the mountain. A red glow emits from underneath the man as he climbs. “Sir, is this still necessary? I understand why we used to do it, we had to make sure they were ready to live on the surface, but we’ve come a long way since then. Our technology has improved, we have ways of acclimating them to the new environment. We don’t need this exercise anymore. Besides, is the climb the most important part? We need soldiers now more so than climbers.” “I understand your concern, truly, but this is the only proven way to work. And with the losses we suffered over at New Dallas Pass, we need reliable soldiers. I don’t want my 6 covered by some kid who could drop at any second because he can’t stand up to the pressure. That’s not even counting the atmospheric differences, which we haven’t come close to perfecting yet. I need people who can climb naturally. I can teach a kid to shoot, I can’t teach them to climb the Spires, not the way they need to climb anyway. There will be a time for your way, Vern, but now is not that time.” “Don, I – I mean, Sir, I respectfully disagree. This exercise makes almost half the people who emerge catatonic for a year or more, and then there’s Lucy, who we still–” “Who?” “Lucy, the one who made it back to the village. She’s spreading tales about the ‘glow’ and the ‘creatures’.” “Ah yes, Lucy. She’s not causing any trouble, in fact, she seems to be encouraging the climbers to better train for their climb. Better climbers are all I’m looking for at this given moment. Once the Spires are gone, we can focus on a more peaceful society. We’re not there yet.” “Yes sir, but I mean, the ‘glow’? The ‘creatures’? What do those accomplish?” “Vern, you know why we need the creatures. It’s the reality they will face, they need to be able to react correctly to how they move as they’re scaling the Spires. Take this young man here, 687492, excuse me, Peter is his name now, my apologies, he understands how to react to the creatures. He doesn’t engage, doesn’t linger, doesn’t stare. He just keeps moving. Yes, these are… over the top, I’ll grant you that, but it’ll be less of a shock for them once they’re on the Spires. As for the glow? They have to be encouraged to keep going. The creatures do this somewhat as well, but the glow is something they cannot control, and at this point, there’s the belief that it will cause them some sort of harm if they touch it. It drives them to keep going, to accomplish their goal and achieve their purpose. It’s what they need to reach their peak form. Without that push, they would be nothing. They would be content to waste away their lives down below, never knowing what all there is beyond their limited scope. We push them to better themselves, to reach out beyond their small village and see what else is there.” “Is that such a bad thing? To let them live in a little naivety? We have to force them to complete this ‘ritual’, why is that so necessary? Why can’t we have a civilization down there that lives their lives and then up here use our technology to breed soldiers?” “How does that help us? Up here, in reality? It’s a nice idea, but it’s not practical. Besides, if we did this, and we lose, what happens to them down there? Two things will happen: either they will die off, or they will find their way to the surface and suffer a massive shock at the sight, and then they will die off. There’s no middle ground. The ritual exists to find the strong who can help our cause, who can scale the Spires and destroy them. We both know our civilization can’t last with those Spires standing all around us. We take care of those who fail, despite what your update reports to me indicate. Vern, I’ve been doing this for 32 years now, I know what I’m doing.” “sigh Yes sir, I understand. Oh, look. Peter is at the fifth checkpoint. It’s further than I expected for him. I’m impressed. He’s getting close to the Pass. How do you think he’ll deal with the Spire?” “I think he will do well. He’s got a good head on his shoulders. He’s both smarter and stronger than he thinks. I have high hopes for him.”

They wait, watching as Peter continued to climb, muttering about how his progress was unexpected. Peter simply continued as he had been doing, nearly slipping a few times, but finally finding himself at the Spire. It was apparent he was confused, for he had never seen anything like this, and why should he have? This thing was foreign to most. But, his instincts took over, and continued up the Spire, passing through its webbed crevices with ease and scaling the slimy surface gracefully.	

“Sir, he’s almost made it. We haven’t had anyone pass the entire test since, let me check here, oh. Sir, you were the last one to make it all the way. Is this why you wanted to watch this young man?” “Partly. I didn’t know if he would make it this far or not, to be truthful. But I had a hope. Let’s go meet him at the entrance, it’ll be nice for him to see someone there. Welcome to your real home, grandson, welcome home.” “Sir!”, shouts a man, sprinting in and hastily saluting, “They’ve breached the wall, and they’re setting up a new Spire! We need reinforcements at the Outer Sanctuary as well as on the Eastern Front near Bezos!” “Understood, Commander. You have my blessing, transfer any forces you need. We must hold them off from breaching the Inner Sanctuary. I have matters to attend to here. Vern, accompany Commander Evans, will you?” “Yes sir, of course. Good luck with Peter.”

Don watched his grandson finish the climb, a climb that had crippled most people and left them unable to walk for such a long time. But Peter was different. Perhaps he could lead them to victory, perhaps he was the one spoken about in the prophecy. Don walked to the entrance to greet him, hoping this time, things would end differently.