Floor 31

Chapter 8

"You're such an idiot, Zayd!" Dream shouted.

Dream was furious at Zayd, he was the reason why Kai was injured. They were able to carry him to a room of Floor 18 where Alexa would nurse him. Kai had badly broken his wrist when he grabbed the handle. Everyone knew how mad Dream was, they all knew that she cared about Kai. And they all knew that it was Zayd's fault, but no one exactly disapproved of her shouting at him.

"We told you not to open the god damn door!"

"I'm sorry I was just panicking. I needed to get out."

"Well good job, because now Kai can barely move his hand, the hand that he uses to fight off zombies and monsters, by the way. You're so useless, how could you be so stupid?"

"I'm sorry."

But everyone could see that Zayd was just trying to escape this situation. Maybe he was genuinely sorry, but right now, he was just trying to avoid Dream.

"Out of everyone that could've survived, it just had to be you right. You can't fight, you aren't even smart and you've had such a luxurious life that you can't adapt to the world of survival. You've spent your entire life playing girls, earning money while the rest of us are starving to death. How could you be so selfish?"

"You don't know what I've been through. You hated me from the very first time we met. You don't know anything about me."

"Yeah I do. You're a handsome 17-year-old boy who plays girls for the fun of it. You earn money and spend it as if you're the richest person in the world. You're famous because you're good looking, looks get you everything in this world. And you want to know how I know all this. Because my father was the exact same as you. He was good-looking, he was a player too. He would date all these girls and when he got my mother pregnant. He married her just for fun, then he abused her. He abused me, my mother killed herself because my father wouldn't settle on a divorce, he was controlling her. I was isolated from society for years, I was neglected and beaten every day. I almost starved to death hundreds of times, so in the end. I killed my father, and right now I'm tempted to kill you too."

This was the first time Dream had ever lashed out at someone. Exposing her past to a complete stranger. Someone she had just met yesterday, it felt strange to her. Everyone was shocked to see this side of Dream. They had all been listening to her very intently, taking in everything she had said.

"What's going on?"

Everyone turned around to see Kai sitting on the bed after waking up.

"Nothing." Alexa lied with a smile. "I'll make you some food, you must be really hungry."

But Kai knew from the look on everyone's face, especially Dream's, that something was going on. He guessed that Dream had argued with Zayd but he couldn't be sure. He had just woken up in the middle of a fight, but he knew that whatever was going on, it was big. Dream stared at Kai for a second before storming off into another room and slamming the door shut. She wasn't coming out anytime soon.

...

"Why is Dream being so rude to Zayd?" Clara asked.

"Well, most would assume that shouting at Zayd would be rude. But she had every reason to bed mad. The argument did escalate to a personal level but its isn't wrong to shout at Zayd." Alexa explained.

"How?"

"Let's think about it like this. Dream cares a lot about Kai. Even though they met yesterday, you can see that they care about each other. So, when Zayd does something stupid and Kai gets hurt because of it. It isn't wrong for Dream to get mad at Zayd, it's almost understandable. Dream brought the argument to a personal level but Dream has every reason to be angry." Alexa explained.

"Oh, I guess that makes sense." Clara nodded.

"Yeah and Dream hasn't exactly had the best childhood." Alex added. "She said she was abused and neglected, she grew up differently than us. She never had anyone, she had no family, no friends, nothing."

"That's so sad."

"Yeah, so you can't judge someone for the things they do, you don't know what they've been through. The reason people are the way they are is because of their childhood and the things that influence them. Dream doesn't trust people, and that isn't wrong of her."

"I feel so bad for her." Clara commented.

"She went through something no one should ever go through. It's not easy for her to open up to people, so I guess we should all be cautious around her."

Suddenly, Kai came out of his room after resting. Despite his wrist that was all wrapped up in bandages, he showed no signs of pain or fatigue.

"Do the elevators work here?" he asked unexpectedly.

Kai out of everyone knew the most about the layout of the hotel. He knew that the elevators on the first 10 floors were broken but they were far beyond those floors. Kai knew that when this hotel was being made, it started off with 10 floors before expanding every few years. The elevators on the top floor weren't connected to the bottom elevators. It was hard to join the elevators together when renovating so they made a completely new elevator system.

"Don't know. Why?" Alexa asked.

"There's no way we could travel by stairs anymore. The entire stairway is a suicide zone, and with my injury, the elevators are our best option. They're pretty risky because the doors take a while to close and we don't know how many zombies and monsters are on each floor but..."

"One of us can check it out." Clara said. "They're not connected to the bottom elevators and we all know those don't work but maybe these elevators would work."

"It's worth a try." Alex replied. "I can fight off anything that could get in my way. All I have to do is check it out right? I'll travel a floor and back, I'll make it out alive."

"That could be really dangerous, Alex..."

"I'll be fine, Alexa." He reassured.

"I'll go with him."

Dream appeared from her room, looking completely emotionless. You rarely knew what Dream was feeling, her expression was always frozen. Like a robot.

"I'll go with Alex to check the elevators. We're the 2 people that would most likely make it out alive."

"Let's put this to a vote..." Alexa suggested.

"What is there to vote? We can do it." Alex interrupted. "We'll be fine, we can protect ourselves."

Alexa had lost this fight. She never wanted to put her brother in danger, they were inseparable after all. But she knew that Alex was right. This was the only option, they were running out of food. They wouldn't last much longer, less than a week maybe.

"Fine, but don't get hurt. Make it quick, don't make a lot of noise. Travel one floor only, and then come back. Don't do any more than that. Do you understand?"

Dream and Alex both nodded and immediately started packing. They took weapons to fight off anything that came in their way. Dream took knifes in case she had to cut anything. It was a risky job, but a necessary one. Dream trusted Alex, maybe not in the way she trusted Kai but she could rely on him. He was a fighter, and would do anything to protect the people he loved.

"Dream." Kai called just before she left.

"What?"

"Oh... umm..." Kai mumbled. "Don't get hurt, okay? You don't have to do this, it's dangerous."

"I'll be fine, Kai." Dream reassured. "Don't worry about me, I can protect myself."

"I know you can."

Dream and Kai stood in awkward silence for a little while. They didn't know what to say to each other.

"I should probably go now. Alex is waiting for me."

Kai nodded. "Okay, come back safely."

The smile Dream had on her face before she left will forever be one of Kai's favourite memories of her. It was soft and sweet, so innocent. Something that people could never imagine Dream having, the loveliest smile ever. Her eyes shined like diamonds. For a second, Kai completely forgot who Dream actually was.