'Oh gods, why do you do this to me?'
I did not want to go up the clock tower, but yet, here I am.
The clock tower went up three hundred and fifty feet in the air, all made of stone, while the roof had a pyramid shape. At the top of the tower, there was a place where you could easily view the whole campus. Right below that section was the face of the clock, showing the time to everyone on campus.
The elevator seemed to be out, so we had to climb those three hundred and fifty feet. "Come on, Eirian, you may be injured, but you should be able to handle this much," Ael said as he was in front of me.
"How would you know! I'm the one in pain!"
I held on to the railing, trying to use it to help me get up these steps. Each step feels harder than the one before.
*Creak*
'Nope, not doing that.' I thought to myself, hearing the creaking of the stairs.
"Guys, is this even stable?" I asked.
"Stop being a wuss. What are you afraid of, heights?" Ael let out after my persistent whining.
I gave no reply, finding it hard to meet his gaze.
"You're kidding." He said, breaking the silence. "You can put your life on the line, but when it comes to heights, you can't?" I could start to hear Ael burst out into laughter. "Come on, you were literally going to make a chaos pact not even a week ago. You were going to go insane."
"Yeah, but at least I wouldn't be conscious for it!"
Amiel stepped in between our banter and moved toward me. "Here, let me help." He grabbed my arm and placed it around him so I would have an easier time up the steps.
"Thank you." I still held on to the railing, for fear of falling.
'At least I won't get as tired as easily.'
"No problem."
"Alright, lover boys, let's get going." Ael turned, making his way up the steps.
"Fuck you!" I snapped back at Ael.
He simply chuckled.
As we made our way towards the top of the tower, I could start to see sunlight peering through the wooden hatch door. Ael, opening it, exclaims, "And we're here!"
Not falling far behind, Amiel and I make our way through as well.
"Thank you for the help," I say as he lets go of me.
"Of course."
I sit down on the floor, trying to regain my stamina. I may have recovered for the most part, but my stamina was still shot. Knowing so, I lay on the ground, placing my forearm over my eyes and closing my eyes.
"You have to see this, Eirian," I heard Ael's voice as he looks outward onto campus.
"Rather not."
"But it looks so nice up here."
"I still rather not." I don't move, still lying on the ground.
"Yeah, not giving you a choice."
I could feel him as he grabbed my hand, pulling me to my feet, dragging me to the edge of the tower.
"What the-"
I try to stop and get away from his grip, but I'm too tired to do so. His grip was strong.
"Let go!" I shouted.
"I want you to see this." He continued to push me.
"I said no thank you!"
"La la la," He says, ignoring every single word I said. I begin to see more and more buildings over the edge until I can completely see the base of the tower.
"Oh fuck."
"Isn't it beautiful!"
"Get me away from here!" I turned toward Amiel, hoping he would come and help me, but he didn't even give me a second glance; he was too focused on drawing his map.
"Just look, and I'll let you go back."
"Fine, just let go of me!"
As he lets go of me, I straighten out my clothes, "Thank you, damn."
Finally, looking out at campus, I could see what he means. There was fog beyond the trees, but for the most part, everything else was clear. It was gorgeous.
I could see birds flying past me, hear the wind roar up here, and, far away, I can see the mountain, standing strong and tall. The campus was more beautiful than ever before.
"Achoo."
"May the gods bless you." I turned to see who had sneezed, but both Ael and Amiel seemed at a loss.
"Who sneezed?"
"Wasn't me," Ael replied.
"Me either," Amiel added.
"Then who was it?"
"Achoo"
Another sneeze echoed, this time, I think I heard it from below me.
"May the gods bless you?" I questioned, even as I say this.
I looked toward Amiel, pointing at the hatch so he could check it. Maybe someone was behind us. After doing so, he turned toward me and shook his head, telling me no one was there.
'There's no way, right?' Trying to face my fear of heights, I began to peer over the tower. The sight of being so high up daunted me, but regardless, I checked. No one was there. I point to Ael to do the same on the other side. As I check the adjacent side, I see a girl sitting on the edge of the tower just sleeping.
"Ummm, Ael." I turned to speak to him.
He turned toward me. "Yeah?"
"Come over here for a second." I pointed over the edge so he could check it.
"Hmm," he hummed. "Well, you don't see that every day."
Amiel, being curious, does the same.
"Do you guys recognize her?" he asked.
"Nope."
"Me neither."
Most of the people here on campus at least knew each other's faces if not their names. We spent all our days here; it would be weird if we did not. But she—she was someone whom we all did not recognize.
Amiel, placed his pointer finger on his chin, thinking, said, "Let's try to talk to her? She might know what happened here."
"That doesn't sound bad, but how are we going to do that?" I asked.
"Well, probably best if someone heads down there." Ael took a pause to think a bit more, "The only issue is that Amiel, well, he is too blunt for people, and well, for me, I have been getting the idea that I am a pain in the ass." He turned toward me, letting me know what he was thinking.
"So that leaves only one choice." He pats me on my shoulder, "You got this right?" He holds a smile with a thumbs-up in the air.