Max was caught off guard by the question. They were supposed to be thinking of a way through their predicament, not getting to know each other better. Plus, he wasn’t sure how much of himself he wanted to share.

“I want to become a climber because I’m looking for someone on the upper floors,” said Max.

He’d leave it at that.

The silence settled on them once more, until Casey broke it again.

“Are you not going to ask me why I want to become a climber?”

She looked up at him. Her previously dejected face now looked full of irritation.

“I...uhh...”

Max was at a loss for words suddenly. He figured she wanted him to ask the question and yet somehow he was struggling to get the words out.

“Casey—why do you want to become a climber?”

She smiled with a devilish grin. “There’s a lost treasure hidden on the higher floors of the tower and I’m going to be the first to find it.”

Before Max could ask about what treasure she was referring to exactly, he had an idea.

Treasure.

Treasure map.

Clues.

He looked around. Maybe their way back to the teleporter wasn’t so hopeless after all.

31

“C’mon, this is unfair,” said Cyrus back at the arrival teleporter. “You should go out looking for them now. What if they’re dying out there? You’re letting them bleed to death.”

The instructor kept his eyes on the forest around them and ignored the boy’s pleas.

“Hmph, fine don’t listen to me,” said Cyrus. “When my father hears you let two student climbers get killed on the second floor, I’m sure you’ll be in deep trouble.”

The instructor simply lit another cigarette and took a puff, continuing to ignore the boy.

Cyrus gave up and stomped away.

What did he care, the test would be over in ten minutes anyway. Those two would fail and quite possibly be dead.

Cyrus would just stand there smugly until that happened. That was his new plan.

Then through the thick labyrinth of trees appeared the silhouette of two figures.

“Look!” shouted another student. “I think it’s them! They made it back!”

“There’s no bloody way that’s them,” muttered Cyrus.

They would have had to travel a great distance away from where they started, killed eight monsters, and then made their way back through the undecipherable forest. Very few people survived in the endless forest without a map, so it was pretty much impossible for those two weaklings to have lived.

The silhouettes got closer until the new kid and the fake-vein were in view. They were limping and had some dirt on their clothing, but they were very much alive.

The new kid grinned as he reached the instructor.

“Did we make it back in time?”

* * *