"Mai?" I called out to my sister as I jumped up in a hurry.
"Mai!" I shouted, running around the room, checking every corner—no matter how small—in search of her.
"Damn, damn, damn." I ran to the door.
BANG
"MAI!!!!" I screamed through the corridors, looking for her.
The neighbors woke up startled and immediately opened their doors.
I kept running, shouting her name through the streets in total despair.
My teeth were clenched, my breathing ragged, tears pooling in my eyes.
When I finally returned to the hotel corridors, the commotion was only just beginning.
"DAD!!! MOM!!!"
"LAYLA!!!!"
"RYAN!!! MY SON, WHERE ARE YOU!!!"
People ran back and forth, desperately shouting the names of their relatives.
Defeated, I went back into the room once more, walked to the bed, and picked up my phone, which wouldn't stop vibrating.
Before unlocking it, I looked for the TV remote.
Beep
[… Antarctica and Europe report forced summoning to the Towers. Entering them was never a choice…]
[… The United Nations have officially raised the risk level posed by the Towers; what was once curiosity has become a public threat that must be declared war…]
[… Immediately check whether your parents, siblings, and children are nearby…]
[… Apparently, a large portion of the victims are children, youths, the disabled, and the elderly. But there are exceptions…]
[… The government, unfortunately, says the chances of their return are low. The recommendation is to prepare funeral rites…]
I laughed mockingly as I listened to the news. I know exactly what Yuri did.
"Asshole. Fucking asshole!" I clenched my fists, crushing the remote. "You took hostages!"
I rubbed my forehead once again.
Yuri said he couldn't force an awakening, so everyone has to enter of their own free will.
That is the only requirement.
In other words, Yuri can give us motivation to enter the tower—and those motivations are hostages.
Or worse still, Yuri can convince you to enter during your dreams, when you're not lucid.
In both cases, he considers that you entered of your own free will.
"Son of a bitch!!!" I jumped up from the bed, furious.
"What are the chances of him convincing children, while they sleep, to enter the tower?" I clenched my fists. "High."
"What are the chances of him convincing elderly people on the brink of death—or even the disabled—with a magical cure?" I laughed as tears streamed down my face. "High."
"What are the chances of convincing spoiled youths who have never faced a single hardship to enter the tower?" I looked at Mai's side of the bed. "High."
"What are the chances they'll survive?"
"Zero."
Sigh
I grabbed my things and looked out the window at the street, where an enraged crowd was forming and marching toward the tower.
"Now then… what are the chances the real challengers will accept the invitation?"
"High."
I grabbed my phone and unlocked it.
[… The forced summoning of Mai … has been confirmed. Please remain calm and wait for further information…]
I held myself back from smashing the phone against the wall.
I ignored the message and did some quick searches online, looking for simple rumors and gossip.
"Apparently the president's entire family disappeared…" I murmured. "Not only that—many high-ranking government figures went through something similar."
I mulled over that information for a while.
"The army won't allow us to enter at first. But soon enough the president will be pressured to authorize it; if not him, other powerful figures will act."
Sigh
"Yuri thought this through well this time." I looked at the crowd. "Everyone will enter—not just the army or the curious, but the entire country."
I snorted, turned my back on the room, and went out into the streets, joining the furious crowd heading toward the tower.
In front of the tower, a barricade of shields had already been formed as the army gave up firearms in favor of rubber bullets and batons.
"LET ME THROUGH!!! MY SON IS IN THERE!" an ordinary father shouted, trying to force a gap in the shields. "HE NEEDS ME!"
I could see tears welling up in his eyes while, at the same time, the soldier clenched his teeth, thick sweat running down his forehead.
"LET US THROUGH!!!" the crowd shouted louder and louder, the blood of every one of them boiling.
"LET US THROUGH!!!" The army's stance grew weaker by the second.
Many of them had lost their own families too. The soldiers had no conviction in what they were doing.
"BACK OFF!!!" a captain shouted. "I WILL OPEN FIRE! RETREAT IMMEDIATELY!"
He quickly signaled for the soldiers to prepare tear gas.
"IS THIS HOW YOU TREAT THE PEOPLE YOU SWORE TO PROTECT???!!!"
"This is getting dangerous…" I said through clenched teeth, looking for a way through.
Suddenly, I remembered that night on the balcony—my eyes fixed on the convenience store that later gave way to the tower.
My eyes widened in realization.
Immediately, I searched my pocket for my keys and went around the crowd, heading toward one of the surrounding apartment buildings.
My apartment faced the tower.
"I'll have to act fast!" I clenched my teeth, sprinting up the stairwell until I came face to face with the door.
Gulp.
"Don't think about anything—just run!"
Click.
I unlocked the door, taking a deep breath.
BANG
I slammed it against the wall and shot through the living room, then reached the balcony, where I stepped on the railing and gained momentum
My muscles flexed to their limit as my eyes took in the agitated crowd below.
I jumped.
"UP THERE!!!" the captain shouted as the crowd stared at me in midair, astonished.
One of the shields rose toward me.
"Go fuck yourself, asshole!" I shouted, pushing off it and hurling myself inside the containment line.
Dozens of soldiers stared at me, batons in hand, eyes wide.
Without giving anyone time to react, I ran as fast as I could.
"GET HIM!!!"
With clenched teeth, they charged at me, trying to knock me out.
WOOSH WOOSH WOOSH
Dozens of strikes rained down on me, and I nimbly dodged every one of them while continuing forward.
BANG
I slammed my shoulder into one Soldier in the way, knocking him down, and kept moving.
WOOSH
I dodged, kicked him away, and kept moving.
WOOSH
"HAAA!!!" I grabbed the baton above my head and struggled against the tense soldier.
BANG
I headbutted him.
And kept moving forward!
I kept moving forward!
I had to move forward!
Gasp, gasp, gasp.
Fewer and fewer soldiers appeared ahead of me as my breathing grew heavier and heavier.
"ARGH!!!"
My body was weak, protesting against all the superhuman effort I was demanding of it. Thick sweat ran down my entire body, making my clothes stick to my skin.
Even so.
I continued.
Moving forward.
Finally.
From the top of the stairway,
I looked back, where hundreds of ordinary civilians fought against the army, every one of them wanting only to advance up the stairs.
Uncles who owned small grocery stores.
Grandfathers who loved to have barbecues with loud music on the weekends.
Family men incapable of harming a fly.
They were just ordinary people, but even so…
They were the ones most willing to face the dangers of the tower.
They were the ones who wouldn't think twice about throwing their lives away for those they loved.
I turned my back on them, waving.
"I'll be waiting for you there," I said, crossing the mystical fog toward the unknown.