Survivors

They sat there, waiting, for what seemed like hours. Looking for any type of sign that their mom was better, but nothing changed.

Ellis let out a heavy sigh.

"Maybe we just need to keep pouring a little bit of the potion into her mouth every day so it can build up in her before it can help her. They'll call us if her condition improves."

Ellis said as Solara glanced at him before her eyes drifted to the floor.

"Yeah, maybe you're right. I was just hoping she would wake up."

Solara said as her tears began to wet the floor below her.

"I know, I was too."

Ellis said as he patted Solara on the head and ruffled her hair. They both said goodbye to their mom and left the room.

"Is the apartment still okay?"

Ellis asked as he pushed the down button on the elevator.

"Well, it looks like crap over there but not because of the monsters."

She said jokingly as she let out a little laugh and they walked into the elevator.

When they got down to the lobby hundreds of people swarmed around them. Ellis grabbed Solara's hand and got in front of her, shoving people out of the way so that Solara didn't get encircled and trapped by the mob. They got outside and Ellis went around the back of the building to the dumpster and retrieved his armor and halberd.

"Holy crap! What is that thing?!"

Solara almost shouted in excitement.

Ellis looked around to make sure no one is in earshot before responding to her.

"It's called a halberd. I got it in the Tower from the Imp King after I killed him."

"Can I hold it?"

Solara asked like a kid in a toy store.

"Sure, you could try. It's pretty heavy though."

Ellis laughed.

"What? You don't think I'm strong enough to hold a silly little hal… what's it called again?"

Solara said, attempting to seem tough.

"Halberd, and it really is heavy. I had to put a lot of points into strength to even be able to swing it properly."

Ellis said, waving the halberd around with relative ease.

"Pfft, hand it over, I got this."

Solara retorted back as she jumped up and down, hyping herself up.

"Alright, if you're sure."

He reluctantly passed the halberd over to her.

As soon as Solara had both her hands on the halberd, Ellis let go and the halberd slowly began falling over. Solara huffed and used all her strength to make the weapon stay upright as it dragged her to the ground.

"Holy smokes! What is this thing made out of?"

Solara said through her clenched teeth.

"Do you want help?"

Ellis chuckled at his sister slowly being pulled down by the weight of the halberd. She nodded her head furiously and he reached out his hand grabbing it effortlessly.

"Are you a superhero or something? I swear that thing has to weigh at least three times as much as me."

Solara huffed, trying to catch her breath.

"Like I said, I had to put a lot of points into strength to be able wield it, but I still haven't had the chance to use it."

Ellis said as he gathered the rest of his armor.

They began making their way back to their apartment. People were scattered around scarcely; the street they were on used to be brimming with people but now... Ellis looked down at the ground as he thought about how many people had probably died from the monsters.

Why would monsters come out of the Tower? If I was sucked inside the tower to fight monsters why would there also be monsters released outside? What is Zenith's game? Maybe the Tower isn't the only part of the game.

Questions upon questions built up in Ellis's mind as they walked home. Eventually, they got to their rundown apartment. The building looked untouched from monsters even though there were a couple buildings around it that looked half destroyed.

I guess even monsters don't want to be near this place.

Ellis opened the door and looked inside. Trash littered the floor making the already cramped one room apartment feel even smaller. Clothes were strewn about and half eaten plates of food were covering the table. After inspecting the mess that was their apartment, he turned to look at the culprit.

"Sorry, I kind of freaked out when I figured out that you were gone. It's been a bad month okay."

Solara said as she makes her way into the kitchen and starts getting pots out of the cupboard.

"What are you doing?"

Ellis asked her curiously.

"Well, I'm guessing that you haven't had a decent meal in a while, right?"

Solara smiled at Ellis and he nodded his head slowly, looking down at the ground.

"I don't have much for ingredients, but I do have everything to make some good old spaghetti, maybe even some meatballs with it."

She said as she began filling up a pot with water.

"Thank you."

Ellis murmured. He couldn't begin to articulate how much he missed his sister, and her cooking.

"Now, while I make this, you go take a bath. You smell absolutely terrible."

Solara said as she shooed him away. Ellis smiled slightly and headed into the bathroom. He looked in the mirror. His could barely recognize the person staring back at him in the reflection. His hair was mangled and greasy, strands of hair hung in front of his face. His face had become more chiseled and stronger. Dark lines sunk in below his green eyes leaving him with a perma-tired look. Practically every inch of him was dirty. He looked down at his shoulders and arms. He was a lot more muscular and taller than before he entered the tower.

He turned away stepped into the bath area and closed the sliding door. He started taking off his clothes. He literally had to peel parts of his attire off him because they were so soaked in blood and sweat that they stuck to his body. He hopped into the shower and turned on the water. Using a bucket filled up with hot water, he poured water over his head repeatedly, rinsing months of filth down the drain. He spent thirty minutes scrubbing himself down, trying to get every last drop of the Tower off him. After he rinsed himself off, Ellis laid down in the shower. He closed his eyes as the warm water enveloped him.

Is this a dream? Am I still in there lying on the ground? I thought I would never get out.

After a while, he finally managed to gather enough willpower to end the sublimity of his shower. Ellis dried off and then wrapped the towel around his waist before he slid the bath door open. He walked into the other half of the bathroom and discovered there was a neatly folded change of clothes set out for him on the countertop below the mirror. Ellis slipped into his clothes and wiped the steam off the mirror. He could recognize himself somewhat better now.

He walked into the kitchen and the sweet smell of spaghetti and meatballs wafted into his nose.

"Just in time!"

Solara said as she finished putting helpings of meatballs on top of two bowls filled with pasta and tomato sauce. They both sat down at the table and Ellis took his first bite of real food in months.

"Mmm."

Ellis groaned audibly. He felt like he was in heaven.

"it's just spaghetti and meatballs, you don't have to sound like you're making love to it."

Solara scolded him as he shoveled another mouthful of pasta into his mouth. Ellis swallowed the mouthful of spaghetti and looked at her warmly.

"Thank you for making food for me. I've really missed your homecooked meals."

She looked down sheepishly before opening her mouth to talk.

"I really discovered how much I need you when you weren't here. I never appreciated how much you do for me, and for mom. I haven't been able to pay rent, but the landlord has been pretty nice about it. I took up a job a week ago, so I've been able to slowly pay for it, but I haven't been able to pay for any of the hospital bills."

Ellis smiled sincerely at her before his mind began to wonder.

Shit. I forgot the doctor wanted to talk to me. I'll have to find him tomorrow when I bring some potion to mom. I need to find another job too. Maybe the grocery store would take me back, if it's still standing and open for business. If not, the warehouse might, But that would definitely be a last resort.

Ellis trailed off in thought as his sister talked more about what had been happening when Ellis was gone. She paused and noticed that Ellis was gazing off into space. She snapped her fingers right in front of his face and he jolted back to reality.

"Oh sorry, I was just thinking about how these monsters and the Towers will affect everything. Also, I need to figure out how I can make money to pay for the bills so I can get my life back on track, and more, importantly yours."

Ellis said as he began eating his pasta again.

"Yeah, about that. I've had to miss some school to work and haven't been able to study so my grades have dropped a bit. I've still tried to keep up with the homework, but I'm falling behind."

Solara looked away with disappointment in her face.

"It's okay, if it was me, I would have just stopped going all together. I'm proud of you!"

Ellis said, patting Solara on the head.

They finished up eating and did the dishes before getting ready for bed. While Ellis was brushing his teeth, Solara crawled onto Ellis's makeshift bed on the floor and tried to get comfortable. Ellis walked out of the bathroom and saw her laying down on his bed.

"What are you doing? Did you forget where your bed is?"

Ellis asked, looking down at her on the ground.

"You haven't had a bed to sleep on for months while you were gone, so I figured you should get the real bed for a night. Only one night though! This bed is hard."

Solara said as she moved to make herself comfortable yet again.

Ellis looked down at her and smiled faintly.

"Thank you, goodnight."

"Goodnight. Now get over there before I change my mind!"

Ellis made his way over to the bed. He pulled back the covers and laid down.

Ahh.

It felt like clouds were hugging his body. He looked up at the ceiling and was grateful for surviving the Tower and being able to come back to his life. Soon after that, he fell asleep.

He awoke to his sister putting on her shoes.

"Where are you going?"

Ellis asked through a yawn.

"I have to go to class, and then to my job after class. I probably won't be home until later tonight."

Solara explained as she put her coat on and headed for the door.

"I'll see you when I get home?"

Solara asked as she opened the door. Ellis nodded. Solara smiled slightly, then it faded away.

She made her way out the door. The apartment shook softly as the door shut.

Ellis fell back asleep for another six hours. It was probably the best sleep that he'd ever gotten before. Ellis rubbed his eyes as he sat up. He turned at looked at the clock. It was noon.

I have to go to the hospital to talk to Dr. Medicus and then give my mom a few drops of the potion. Then, I have to go to the grocery store. Hopefully it still exists, and they take me back.

Ellis began to get dressed. As he walked into the kitchen, he saw a note on the counter.

-I made breakfast for you, it's in the fridge. When I get home tonight you better be here!-

Ellis smiled at the note and pulled the fridge open to see an egg and cheese omelette. He joyfully ate his breakfast and then finished getting ready. Ellis reached for where his bike should be but remembered that he had left it in the field before he went into the Tower.

I'm probably faster than a bike now anyway.

Ellis grinned to himself and headed out the door.

Ellis had to pay close attention to where he was going to make sure that he didn't trip on any rubble, but he made great time speeding through the city on foot. With all the rubble a bike would have slowed him down anyway. When he got to the hospital, it was still packed. He pushed his way through the crowd, got his paper quicker than everyone else and headed to the guards. They gave him a nod as he walked past them to the elevator. When he got off the elevator, he could see Dr. Medicus about to turn a corner. Ellis rushed to catch up to him.

"Dr. Medicus!"

He shouted and the doctor turned his head around. He gave Ellis a slight scowl when he saw him and walked toward him.

"What happened to you yesterday? I told you to come find me when you were done visiting."

Dr. Medicus questioned Ellis with a stern look.

"I'm sorry. Honestly, I completely forgot about our conversation because I was so happy to see my mom and my sister."

Ellis said, hoping the doctor would believe him.

"Well anyhow…"

The doctor said, unconvinced.

"I needed to talk to you because we haven't received a payment from you in over a month and it's been adding up. If you cannot pay at least $10,000 by the end of this month, we will have to pull the plug on your mother. There is just too little space for the amount of people that we need to take care of. I'm sorry that it has to be this way, but we can't keep giving her all of these resources for free."

Ellis couldn't believe it.

$10,000 by the end of the month? How in the world will I be able to do that? That's in two weeks. I'm doomed. My mom is going to die because I left her and Solara alone.

"I...I'll get the $10,000, I promise."

Ellis stuttered out not wanting Dr. Medicus to see the helplessness in his eyes.

"I hope you do, boy."

He said as he patted Ellis's shoulder then walked away. Ellis stood there for a few moments, trying to figure out what he could do. Even if the grocery store does take him back, he wouldn't be able to make enough money in two weeks. He could go to the warehouse and try to ask them to work as much as possible. It would be easier because he was a lot stronger. He needed to get moving and start making money immediately.

He quickly went into his mom's room and poured a few drops into her mouth. She still looked the same as the day before. Ellis kissed her on the forehead and headed back down to the lobby. He pushed passed the crowd of people and walked outside. He was about to leave when he overheard a group of people talking a few feet away from him. His eyes widened and he walked over to the group and interrupted their conversation.

"Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. Are there really people who have come out of the Tower?"