Afterglow { ‘a book for Eli’ Part III }

The wind shrieked.  Ice cold.

Tiny, fine raindrops lashed Eli’s face and stung his eyes.

And still he held on to the wet, slippery ledge.

It had only been twenty seconds or so since he had fallen through the rotten window frame and slid down the short portion of tiled roof.  But it felt like he had been holding on for half an hour.  His fingertips were screaming.

The broken window through which he had come was only two feet away.  Once again, he tried to reach this with one gloved hand.  An inch short.  His arms were getting weaker by the second and he knew he would only be able to try once or twice more before having to let go.  He had no idea how high he was and did not want to look down.

Moving first with and then against the cruel wind, Eli went through the motions of rocking from side to side.  Slowly and then fast and then the rocking became swinging.  As he was travelling forwards, he again thrust out his hand – and this time he managed to grasp the window frame.  He resisted the temptation to stop and take a breath.  Instead, he immediately set about pulling himself up higher.

The wind shrieked.  The rain lashed.

Eli struggled.

*          *          *

  He thought it would take forever to get his breath back.  He lay flat on the dirty wooden floor, shaking and gasping for air.  Slowly as time passed his heart slowed and he mused about how close he had come to dying.  Not the first time in his life he had ridden this train of thought.

Moving himself into a sitting position, Eli looked around once more at the room.  This was what he had been doing before making the mistake of putting his weight against one of the arched windows.  This same window was now open to the elements and a portal for rain and snow.  He saw nothing of great interest, so started up the stairs.  He did not know how many more floors there were in this structure.

*          *          *

The coins had brought him here.  It seemed they mapped most of his journeys these days.  There was a particular coin which was supposed to be special; so special it could bring a person untold riches in a trade.  If the trader was wealthy enough of course.

Many men knew of this coin and many knew what picture it bore.  Yet Eli had the advantage.  Because when he had seen a drawing of this fabled treasure, he recognised the tower on it.  In fact, he had seen this building in the distance several times and had always been intrigued by it.  And now he was inside that very tower.

There was nothing to be found on the next floor.  Or the one after that.  But after climbing the stairs yet again, he saw he had reached the top.  He also saw that this room was different altogether.

Around the circular walls of this room were several seats and tables.  There was also a large cabinet on the wall.  Eli’s heart skipped as he saw coins behind the glass doors of this.  And within a few feet of him was the coin he had been searching for.  He stared in awe at the vine covered tower upon it.

Eli did not expect the doors to open but he tried them anyway.  No.  Without any hesitation he smashed the glass with his elbow.  But he then paused to remove his glove before carefully reaching inside, avoiding splinters of glass.  This item was something special and he wanted to feel it in his hand.  Yet no sooner had he picked it up, bright red beams of light splashed across his skin.  He grasped the coin tightly and pulled his hand back.

Something else was happening.  A loud noise suddenly sounded; a shrill beeping sound quite unlike anything he had ever heard before.  So loud that it hurt his ears.

Feeling suddenly disorientated, Eli stowed the coin in his jacket pocket and quickly made his way back down the stairs.  He now had what he had come here.  It was time to go.

*          *          *

  Although he was nearly at the lowermost floor, the high pitched sound was still loud.  He wondered if it could be heard outside above the wind and whether there was anyone else nearby to hear it.  He soon had his answer.  As he completed his descent and stepped outside he saw a figure in the distance.  And the man held a weapon.

The rain had now turned to snow.  As Eli instinctively crouched and slithered back into the entrance of the tower, he kept his eyes on the new arrival.  He stood about twenty feet away and he had yet to see him move.  Time passed and the sky began to darken.

Just as Eli was beginning to wonder if the figure was a real person at all or merely a trick of the light and snow, it slowly began to walk towards him.  The man was wearing a full-face mask so it was impossible to take in any details.  What Eli was still unsure of, was if the man had seen him exiting the tower.

As the stranger continued to walk in his direction and the snow fell increasingly fast, Eli knew he was going to have to move.   Hoping that the near-blizzard would keep him hidden, he scurried fast and low around the outside of the tower.  As soon as he thought he was out of view he ran.  There were several small buildings not far away and he decided to head there.

Once he had hidden himself, he would decide what to do next.

Meanwhile he had found his treasure.

 

© MAIN IMAGE AND ALL IMAGES ARE STRICTLY THE COPYRIGHT OF MIK SMITH 2022

(a LOT of work here guys and I do NOT want it half-inched)

{  FOOTNOTE – Eli and his adventures have been inspired by so many amazing movies, stories, musicians, artists and photographers.  So, regarding influence and inspiration, I would name – Andrei Tarkovsky, Ridley Scott, Fritz Lang, Richard Matheson, Berni Wrightson, Dean Koontz, Roger Dean, Rodney Matthews, David Bowie, Walter Tevis, John Wyndham, Gary Numan and John Carpenter.  There are probably others I have forgotten.

Without the imagination and creation of these individuals I would not be writing stories like this now and Eli would not even exist.  Thank you all, you masters of fantasy and science fiction.  }