4 The Empty Void

Leon collapsed with a contorted face and a bent leg, a cruel irony that the one who gave hope to others seemed to lose hope himself.

A resistance had emerged, pulling Leon into its grip. His gaze rested darkly on the collapsed entrance.

Suddenly, Leon felt a swift slap on his left cheek. Kaiden had slapped him.

"Stop wallowing in self-pity. I'm trying to find a way out here, so I need to concentrate."

Chaotic thoughts swirled in Kaiden's mind. Could they even climb the skyscraper?

Initial thoughts were negative, as skyscrapers have smooth walls that are impossible to scale without equipment. Maybe they could crawl through the debris and hope for gaps higher up.

But that seemed unlikely, as the building was on the verge of collapsing. Searching for climbing gear in stores?

That would take too long, and Kaiden didn't even know of any nearby shops.

Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he beamed with anticipation. "What is it?" Leon asked curiously.

"You'll see," Kaiden said, full of excitement.

Kaiden seized the steel cable and clung to it like a newborn to its mother. He wrapped his legs around the rope and crossed one leg over the other, with the rope in between for better mobility.

Even with just one arm to use, he somehow managed to pull himself up. When he reached the height where the building no longer collapsed, he clamped his thighs around the rope and held on with one hand just above his head.

He made himself as small as possible because the wind at this height was extremely strong.

Kaiden began to swing on the rope, similar to a swing, but he also executed slight circular movements to counteract the wind.

He swung and swung, but he knew he couldn't hold on much longer, as his strength waned. In reality, he was amazed at how well he had done so far.

As these thoughts raced through his mind, his grip strength weakened, and despite all these thoughts flooding Kaiden's mind, his grip strength faded uncontrollably, and he involuntarily let go of the rope.

He fell and fell, but luckily, he had let go at just the right moment. He plummeted forward toward the open window.

If he had let go half a second earlier or later, he might have become a kind of "spaghetti Bolognese" now.

****

Kaiden leaned his head slightly out of the window and looked at Leon, who was performing the same risky maneuver.

With both arms at his disposal, Leon was faster and had already covered half the distance.

Just as Kaiden was about to shout that he wanted to go ahead, he felt a strong gust of wind. Leon was thrown in one direction for about five seconds, while Kaiden almost flew out of the window.

Although Kaiden was caught by the wind and suspended in the air, he managed to react just in time. He clung to a roughly ten-centimeter thick rod with his weakened hand.

Like Leon, he now seemed to be flying through the air. Meanwhile, Leon saw this and tried to pull himself up using only his hands. Due to the strong wind, he appeared weightless or carrying less weight.

This allowed him to continue climbing, and he managed to cover almost three-quarters of the way up.

The sudden strong gust of wind subsided, and Kaiden changed his position from a horizontal swing to a jerky horizontal form, putting more weight on his arm.

But he knew that under no circumstances could he let go, or he would plummet to his death.

However, to his despair, this time it wasn't his grip strength that was his downfall, but the ten-centimeter thick rod; it snapped as soon as he changed to the horizontal position.

Kaiden was about to fall and made one last attempt to grab the edge. He might have succeeded if it weren't for the rain making the conditions slippery, causing his fingers to slip.

In his desperation, he called for help and wildly flailed his arms and legs. As time passed, everything seemed to happen in slow motion.

The extremely fast raindrops seemingly froze in the air, his swinging friend appeared motionless, and the hissing sound of the wind disappeared. So, this is what it felt like, moments before death, relaxing yet terrifying at the same time.

It happened, the impact, and then the ensuing nothingness, the empty darkness.

****

"Why does my back hurt so damn much?" Kaiden thought.

Confused, he opened his eyes and realized he was still floating in the air.

"Why am I moving?" he wondered.

Suddenly, he felt that the pain in his back was caused by Leon's leg.

Leon reached for Kaiden, wrapped his arms around his waist, and swung with all his might toward the window. The added weight increased their momentum, and they both safely made it into the building through the fairly large broken window.

Kaiden lay motionless and stunned on the floor.

"I thought I was going to die," he murmured softly.

Leon heard it, laughed, and said, "Not with me, buddy."

He reached out his hand, which Kaiden gratefully accepted, allowing himself to be pulled up.

Leon looked at Kaiden and urged him to hurry, as they had already lost a lot of time. Kaiden agreed, and they set out to climb the skyscraper.

****