Floor 31

Chapter 3

"That's impossible." Dream said just as Kai finished fixing the blueprints.

"Not after a zombie apocalypse."

"How could the elevators become so... deformed?"

"Monsters most likely. The pipes and vents were crowded with monsters and zombies when I last saw them. Elevators are broken down; all the wires are snapped. Even the stairway is dangerous."

"So, what do you suggest we do?" Dream asked.

Kai sighed. "Hard to say. Stairs are our only option at this point. They're not safe but they'll work. Unless you want to jump out the window."

Suddenly, there was a loud shriek. No one knew where it came from. It couldn't have been a human, it was like coming from the speakers.

"What is that?"

"I think it's coming from the speakers outside. You know the big ones that turn on at noon." Dream explained.

Kai nodded. The speakers started making loud squeaky noises. Echoing through the hotel. Dream and Kai could hear the loud beeps that came out of the speakers. One by one, a short beep, pause and then a long beep. All in different patterns. Dream's brain was firing up, she was trying to figure out what this all meant. It was a code. Someone was trying to send a message.

She was counting every single beep that the speaker made. "It's Morse Code." She concluded.

Dream grabbed out a piece of paper and started jotting down everything she heard. The message wasn't very long, no more than 15 letters or numbers.

"It ended." Kai said.

But Dream was busy translating all the codes. As a young girl, she had memorized Morse code, it was almost like the language was burned into her brain.

"It says F1, 3 people, N.I."

"Someone was trying to send a signal. They were trying to get help."

"Yeah, this means there are 3 not infected people on Floor 1. I'd assume teenagers or university students. Barely any adults memorize Morse Code these days." Dream explained.

"Should we... help them?" Kai asked.

"Don't know. You said that Floor 1 was packed with zombies and monsters. It'd be dangerous but that could also lead us to the grocery store."

"So, is that a yes or no?"

"I think yes. They need help and if I were in their position, I'd want someone to help us. Plus, more people means we'll have a better chance of survival."

"So, let's go. Start getting ready, pack up everything. We'll probably never get to see this place again."

Dream nodded and began rushing around the apartment. Packing all the food and weapons. She folded up all her blueprints and documents that could lead them to safety. This apartment was basically her whole life, she had stayed here for years. It was weird having to pack everything up so quickly.

"Have you ever umm... killed someone before?" Kai asked.

The way he said it. Dream knew that Kai had killed someone before. Runaway teens have always had a past of hurting someone, but killing someone. That meant you had to run and hide for the rest for your life. That's why Dream never came back.

"Yes."

"Really?" Kai wasn't expecting this answer. "You seemed pretty umm... innocent to me."

"That's how I get away with things. I manipulate people into thinking I'm an angel, but I'm an insecure murderer."

"I've killed someone too. 2 years back, when I was stealing something. I killed someone, she was a teenager working at the cashier. I needed money and food, I was desperate. I didn't mean to kill her, it just sort of happened. She wasn't giving me the money, she was persistent. She thought I didn't have the heart to kill her, and then I pulled the trigger."

Dream paused before telling Kai her story. "I was maybe 10 or 11... I killed my dad. But this time it was on purpose. In the court, everyone ruled it as self defense since he was abusing me. But in reality, I just wanted him dead. I wanted him out of my life, he hated me. He starved me, neglected me and beat me. I was a child, I had never gone to school, didn't have anyone to rely on. I didn't know anything about the real world. At first, I thought that it was normal, I thought this was how life was. But as I grew older, I started to realize that this wasn't how it was supposed to be. So, I killed him, I was smart enough to kill him. That was how the police find out about my existence. I was supposed to go to foster care, I was supposed to have a new family. But I ran, I didn't want to live this way."

"Where's you mum?"

"Dead." Dream replied bluntly.

"Sorry."

"It's fine. You don't need to apologize for something that wasn't your fault."

Dream was finishing up the last of packing. There wasn't much of her to pack anyway, she never bought or kept anything worth bringing with her.

"So, what's the plan?" Kai asked.

"There is no plan except take the stairs to Floor 1. That's it, there's nothing to plan. Kill every monster or zombie that you see but don't make too much noise because that'll attract more creatures. And most importantly, don't get bitten."

"Got it."

Dream didn't exactly know what was going on. Every word she said just poured out of her mouth, she couldn't control herself. This was the first time in a long time that she had actually talked to someone, someone that cared. She didn't what it was about Kai that made her open up to him. Maybe it was because he had also run away, maybe it was because she was desperate for help. She needed someone to listen, she needed someone to care, she needed a friend.

Her whole life, she was isolated from society, this was the first she was going to bother remembering someone's name. She knew no one yesterday. She never cared about anyone. She always believed that trust and friendship was a luxury. Maybe that was true, maybe it wasn't. But here she is, talking to a boy she had just met. A boy that had also run away from home, a boy that had also killed someone. A boy that was hiding, just like her. He understood her, he listened and he knew that she had a soul.