Climb of Endurance Chapter 4

The city was very much not done being built, and from the overgrowth covering it, had been in a state of incompleteness for quite a while. Everyone stood at the entrance to the hall leading to the hangar, looking out over the chaos before them; not willing to move forward.

"How are we even going to figure out where we need to go?" whispered Lauren.

"The mainframe is in the center of the colony ship," Erica whispered back. "The ship builds the city around itself, incorporating itself into the center of the city, so the mainframe is going to be inside of the colony ship."

Their eyes traveled up to the hulking ship hanging in the air above them. Huge legs supported it above the incomplete city like a mother hen about to settle on her eggs.

"How are we supposed to get up to that?" asked Craig softly, glancing around at the chatter of the wildlife around them.

Nothing living could be seen other than plant life so far, but Jerry had no doubts that would change quickly if their presence became known.

"There are support columns all over the place that the buildings and infrastructure would be built on. Inside of each of them are ladders for workers and construction bots to get around. We just need to find one of them," explained Erica, looking up at the nearest column.

"Look!" hissed Lauren, pointing up above them.

They all glanced up quickly to see the worm-dragons, that had chased them into the hangar, roosting upside down like bats. The moment any of them stepped out into the open, they would be spotted and attacked.

"What do we do now?" asked Lauren wringing her hands.

"We have to make a run for it," said Craig, preparing to run.

"Wait," said Jerry, placing a hand on his arm. "The monster managed to get through here without being seen. There must be a way we can too."

"How do we know it didn't just kill a few when they attacked it and they returned to the roost?" asked Erica quietly, still watching the things.

"How do we know they even attacked it?" asked Jerry, watching as the creatures seemed to vie for the best roosting spot. "They don't seem to be looking down at all. Maybe if we just walk slow and steady, as quietly as we can, they won't even notice us."

"And if they do?" asked Craig with a frown.

"Then we make a run for it," Jerry nodded, turning to look at him.

They mulled it over, then slowly turned towards the nearest column.

"That column's our best bet," said Erica. "It goes all the way up to the colony ship with only a few other connecting supports and the debris between here and its base isn't too bad."

"If we get split up for any reason, remember: we are heading for the center of the colony ship where the mainframe computer is. If you get there before anyone else, assuming we do get split up, we need to initiate communication with the AI and see if we can get our ship repaired. Chances are this will cause the colony to continue building itself. If you succeed and no one has arrived, get back to the ship and just wait. Everyone will know that you succeeded because the colony will come alive with activity and signal us to head back too. Unless you have confirmation that others won't make it, you wait until the colony is finished to leave. I don't want anyone being left behind because someone jumped the gun and got cold feet, understood?"

Everyone nodded at Jerry's words and they slowly made their way out of the hallway, watching the creatures above them with their breaths held. The light was getting dim and Jerry cursed to himself. Of course they would be heading out into unknown territory at dusk. He didn't want to use flashlights if they didn't have to because it would attract attention.

"Should we head back to the ship until morning?" asked Lauren, noticing the dimming light.

"No, we need to keep moving," said Jerry. "We have no idea what the monster is doing and we don't need it destroying the mainframe before we get there."

"Wait, why do you think it would do that?" asked Craig, grabbing his arm.

"Shh!" hissed Erica, pointing ahead of them.

A slight green glow could be seen getting brighter as the sun sank lower on the horizon. A tiny pink creature fluttered into view, settling on a branch of a plant that was climbing up the side of one of the walls. It moved towards one of the large flowers that covered the plant.

"Is that a fairy?" gasped Lauren, moving closer to see it better.

"No!" cried Erica softly, grabbing her by the arm as the flower reached out and snapped around the pink creature.

Lauren jumped back, bumping into Erica; breathing hard in panic.

"What..?" started Craig in confusion, when the green glow suddenly got much brighter.

"Hurry!" exclaimed Erica, pushing Lauren towards the column and rushing after her.

They all started to run, reaching the destroyed door just as a soft burst of air rushed over them and the light went out.

"What was that?" asked Craig, craning his neck to look back towards where the light had been.

"It was a sentry warning," panted Erica with wide eyes. "The colony isn't completely powered down!"

"How do you know all this?" asked Lauren in confusion, looking around at the dim surroundings as if expecting something to jump out at them any moment.

"I was born on a colony ship," admitted Erica. "My parents were the chief mechanics, tasked with upkeeping the ship while everyone else slept on the long journey. They were the last of a long string of mechanics expected to die on the trip over and had me against the rules. The leadership wasn't very happy when they found out and everyone was very happy when I decided to leave the colony the moment I was old enough to jump on a ship."

"I… I never knew…" whispered Lauren in horror.

"I never needed to tell anyone before," grumbled Erica, climbing through the destroyed doorway, and looking up.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have asked," apologized Lauren, following her through the doorway.

"Let's talk more once we get up into the colony ship," offered Jerry, noticing more movement in the plants and debris around them.

"Do you think the monster guy managed to get in here?" asked Craig, waiting for the girls to start climbing before entering the cramped space.

"No," said Jerry, shaking his head. "He would have been much too big to fit in here, which I imagine is why the door is broken."

"Yeah, the damage does look to be recent," conceded Craig, glancing at the destroyed door before starting to climb himself.

Taking up the rear, Jerry tried to ignore the glowing eyes that were watching him from the bushes. They weren't attacking him, so he was going to pretend they were only watching out of curiosity and not malice or hunger. Soon he would be high above the local wildlife and wouldn't have to worry about them any longer.

The climb was quiet for the most part, only the sound of their boots against the metal rungs and the occasional breathing noise through the rebreather masks. As they all began to tire, the distance down became more and more frightening. Jerry kept his eyes planted firmly on the wall in front of him, only glancing up far enough to see the next rung to grab. Whenever someone had to pause, he carefully looped a leg through the rungs and then an arm, to give his tired muscles a rest and to keep himself from accidentally falling.

"I'm getting really tired," a soft voice said from above.

"We're almost there," replied Erica, far above them. "You can do it, Lauren. Just a few more rungs."

"I got you," said Craig gently, moving up and wrapping his arms around her, his longer arms and legs able to still reach the rungs. "You can get there, it's not too much further."

Jerry knew that Craig had to be just as tired as Lauren, but helping her allowed him to focus on continuing himself, so Jerry left him alone. He was getting too tired to even talk himself.

With Craig basically crab walking up the last fifteen feet of ladder, Jerry feared the man would slip and fall. They made it though, and Erica quickly pulled Lauren through the hatch above them.

Focusing on his breathing, Jerry continued to climb when he could, refusing to look up to gauge the distance. Noises from below him made him painfully aware that they were being followed, but if he dared to look down, the vertigo would cause him to fall.

"I need to lay down for a moment," said Craig from just above him, his legs leaving Jerry's field of vision.

One more rung and he was at the hatch. Hands were grabbing him, pulling him up just as something touched his leg.