29 The Climb

Word of advice for when climbing an elevator shaft shirtless with two insane women who are likely obsessed with you

Don't

Cane had thought that the hard part would be the extremely long and treacherous climb or the whole not falling but instead, it was the CONSTANT bickering between Alice and Jasmin that were driving him up the wall

They had all agreed that a truce was necessary during the climb as a mistake could cause their deaths or more specifically Cane's death as he had no way to survive the fall with his abilities and his powers would make it impossible for them to save him with their abilities. So, a fragile Pease had been made between the two girls, but that didn't stop them from constantly arguing with each other while climbing behind him

It was nothing too crazy or serious just the constant childish name-calling and insult you might expect between two competitors

"Stop staring at Cane you Bitch!" he heard Alice call out behind him, making him slightly concerned for his sanity as this was the twentieth time in the past five minutes, he had heard one of them say something like this "I Swear to god if you look any harder your eyes are going to pop out your mouth!"

"Oh, and you're soooo much better you drooling Fuck!" Responded Jasmin in a voice that seemed to be a mix of childlike distaste and God-level annoyance "don't think I haven't noticed how closely you're hugging the ledges he climbed, it's the closest you'll ever get to him!"

They had been climbing for nearly twenty minutes at this point and he was ever so close to throwing himself down the shaft he had just clambered up, letting out the first words he had spoken since the start of the climb he yelled

"IF YOU TWO DON'T SHUT THE FUCK UP I SWEAR I'M HAVING YOU PUTT IN SOLITARY UNTIL THE END OF MY CONTRACT!"

He yelled so loud that his words echoed in the shocked silence for nearly an entire minute before the two inmates seemed to exit their shock and yelled simultaneously

"CONTRACT!?" they seemed to only have realized one part of his outburst and he couldn't help but feel quite irritated before realizing himself what he had just let slip

Shit

"Mr. Barlow…" he heard Jasmin coo behind him, shivers going down his spin and sweat gathering on his forehead at her frozen tone "does the phrase "end of my contract" imply that you will be leaving eventually and are not a permanent employee here at the catacombs?" he eventually shook off the shivers, but he could feel two gazes practically Flaying him with their gaze behind him

Clearing his throat and pulling himself up a few more meters up the ledge, his arm glistening in sweat he answered "*Ahem* Y-yes I am employed under a temporary contract"

"AnD HOw LoNG WIlL tHAt CoNTraCt Go fOR?" he couldn't see Alice but as he sped up his climbing, he could see slight purple reflections coming off the nearby steel

"One year in total" he answered trying to regain his confidence and put some steel into his voice "after that I have to handle some… family matters"

As he said this, he felt both gazes leave him and the atmosphere get a little less heavy, he had expected Alice to back down a little when he mentioned family matters but was surprised that Jasmin also calmed down… then again knowing her she could probably guess what form of matters he was talking about from his voice

After that, the climb was quiet aside from the random groan or grumble from the hard work followed by what felt to be a gaze staring a hole into him from above and while he couldn't see them, he guessed they might be using him as a form of motivation… whether because they were trying to do as well as him or soothing else, he didn't care to think about

Eventually, he finally reached the door to the ground level of the facility and pulled himself up to it, thankfully there was an actual platform he could sit on unlike before where he had to hud the beams and wires to take a small break. it was the same door he had originally come through except now was marred by claw and knife marks, evidence of the girls fights on the way down

Within a few seconds, the two girls pulled themselves up to the same ledge as him and the next two him, either side. They were all breathing heavily and drenched in sweat, their clothes stuck to them and his bare upper body made him seem as if he escaped a rainstorm

Taking the rags left of his shirt that he had torn apart and divided amongst the group as hand protectors off and using them to wipe himself off he began to manipulate his ability

See his ability was the nullification of abilities within a ten-meter space this didn't mean he couldn't alter the shape of said range, while the field always took up ten meters and was always thinly surrounding him, he could shift it to the side or horizontally as he was doing now

Tipping the field towards the right he moved it off Jasmin and allowed her the use of her powers, which she immediately felt and looked towards him shocked before noticing the look he was giving her, a look that said "Behave" before nodding towards the elevator

Jasmin turned her gaze towards the marred steel and her eyes turned red, raising her hand a red mist seemed to exhaust out of it and collided with the door, and nearly in awe he watched as the likely reinforced steel melted like butter

Eager to exit the elevator he jumped out immediately…

And didn't see the two girls give each other one last glare before they each grabbed one of the left behind rags he had used to wipe his sweat