A magnificent tower stood at the central of the city of Twilight, its soaring height dwarfing other skyscrapers in shame, with no competitors to challenge it. The tower was covered with tinted glass, preventing a single soul from prying inside the building.
That was why no one outside the tower saw an elevator moving upward toward the highest point of the tower — not like they care about it.
Olive was standing in the middle of the elevator alone…
Just like his usual day, he would have to spend minutes waiting in the elevator to reach the penthouse where he lives. This has been his daily routine for twelve long years.
Sadly, whenever Olive wants to go down to go for a walk and other things, he is required to wait for ten long minutes just for the elevator to reach the bottom floor — even if he didn't want to.
At first it was frustrating, waiting ten minutes just to take a walk was not a fun thing to do after all — and that is without even considering the possibility whether you left something downstairs!
But after twelve years of doing it, he was used to it. Except the part where he would leave something downstairs once in a while...
...After Olive had hung out with the others, the three of them quickly parted their ways and headed toward the location where they planned to go to fill their free time. Their departure was quick and Olive immediately found an available cab right after he arrived at the cab stand a couple of blocks away from the café.
It took quite a while for the cab to reached its destination, yet without any problem whatsoever, it arrived at the intended place. Though, instead of dropping off at the Lockson's tower, Olive requested the cab's driver to stop a few blocks away from the tower just like he had told Sarah before, since it was a stranger instead of Eddie who brought him home.
Keep in mind, not everybody who works in Lockson's tower knew about Olive's identity, which was why he needed to enter the building quietly through the parking lots with a few people in it compared to the main entrance.
With that, he entered the elevator and headed toward the highest floor of the tower.
A minute passed by, and finally, the door slid open, revealing the vast hall of the penthouse.
Without wasting any time, Olive quickly entered it and headed to his room.
***
Thud!
Olive's backpack was thrown next to the study table right after he entered the room, and his clothes were quickly changed to cleaner ones... Soon after, he walked toward his bed and fell on it with his back facing the ceiling.
'Ah... finally.'
He lay there blissfully, not wanting to get up from it ever.
"Olly! Come down here and help me clean the storage!"
Silence...
That was what Eddie had left in Olive's room, not long after he reminded him about the storage that needed to be cleaned. The room was quite..., not a sound could be heard, but his brother's word echoed through his mind like a bell refusing to keep itself quiet after it rang.
A groan could be heard inside Olive's room, followed by a cry.
"Oh, and I made lunch too! In case you're hungry!"
Which he of course not, because he'd just eaten before he went back home.
'...Although a few bites couldn't hurt.'
***
Another groan resounded downstairs in the kitchen this time.
'I...I ate too much.'
A few bites... that was the original plan. Except, after he took the first bite, tasting the food full of flavour that his brother had made, Olive couldn't help but eat all the lunch in one go — not literally, but it felt like it.
Now, his belly was all bloated. And looking at it, he couldn't resist and poke it a few times.
Olive sighed, then got up from his chair and headed to the storage that was located at the end of a hallway which connected to the living room.
The Locksons' penthouse was vast... so vast that if Olive were to describe it, he'd say it was like a manor stuffed inside a building that often times, he would even forget what rooms it holds. There's a study room, in case a person needs to learn in a group, a gym, a buttery, and many other things he could not recall.
Why live in a manor on the ground when you can live in a manor hundreds of meters above instead!
...Right?
Olive arrived at the storage's entrance and placed his hand on the knob before turning it. The door opened, revealing a staircase illuminated by lights heading downward.
Taking a step forward, Olive descended the stairs unhurriedly.
To his left was a dusty concrete wall without decorations of any kind. To his right was a railing that worked as a barrier, showing the entire storage room without any walls to cover it.
Huge... the storage was, huge — just like the size of a movie theater where Olive would go and watch with his friends once in a while — but instead of rows of seats, the space was filled with rows of tall racks with a tons of an old unused stuff, gathering dusts all over the places instead. There were boxes, old displays, unused electronics, and crates for some unknown reason lying on the floor and on racks.
The wall was free from any decorations and paint, exposing the grey concrete along with its uneven tone. Air vents were placed on the walls so that the air could flow inside... Currently, the room was lit with dim lights making it difficult to focus on a certain spot, but just enough to not be blinded by the darkness. Lights flickered and would even go out for a moment every minute or so, resulting in him stumbling due to poor sight.
The room was shrouded with an unsettling and eerie atmosphere... that every time Olive gazed at it, his hair would stand on end.
This was why Olive would rarely go into the storage and would generally try to avoid it.
This room creeped him out...
'Where the hell is he?!'
Olive looked around, searching for Eddie. He walked and walked, poking his head at every corner of the towering racks hoping to see a sign of his brother's presence, but all there was just an eerie empty air.
Olive winced.
The tall shelves full of old junk obscure his point of view from finding Eddie. And it was most likely the same for Eddie too. If not, his brother would have come up to him by now.
'But even then, where the hell is he?!'
By now, Olive was supposed to find his brother. However, his presence remained unknown. The storage room was like a maze when it came to finding a person — especially if the person was mute or didn't speak often — so it was not surprising if Olive didn't find Eddie right away.
But why didn't Eddie call him out the first time he entered the storage anyway? He knew how hard it was to find a person in this maze-like storage, lit up by dim and flickering lights.
Unless he wasn't here at all...
A chill ran down Olive's spine.
'Oh no...'
Olive gulped.
He didn't want to stay in this god forsaken storage room all alone in the dim light. Not only was it terrifying, but it also felt like Olive was naked to all possible danger. Moreover, the chilling air the storage permeated was not helping either.
No one was there to guard his blind spot after all; somebody or something could be behind his back, stalking him while he was unguarded.
Olive froze.
'Oh god, oh god! Why did I just think about that?!'
Olive turned his head back but stopped midway out of the blue
'Should I look behind?'
Olive wanted to, but he was too scared. He doesn't want to look what was behind him — if there is one — thinking about such things that might be lurking behind was not a pleasant thing.
Clearly, such thoughts were idiotic. Why would there be a something or someone behind him after all? The moment he turned his head back, it was most likely that he would be greeted by a thin, chilling air.
Mustering up his courage, Olive finally braved and looked behind.
Nothing...
Just like he had thought.
Nothing but air.
Exhaling, Olive then looked ahead and continued his search for Eddie.
'On second thought... I should go.'
If Eddie was not in this room, then he needed to get out of here as soon as possible until Eddie arrived. Being in this room was really a thing Olive hated the most. Especially when he was alone.
Turning around along with his body this time, Olive walked toward the stairs that led up to the exit door. His steps were frantic, longing to escape the wretched storage and be free from his anxiety.
Up ahead, the stairs were just around the corner of the racks.
Then something came out of the corner when Olive had just reached it, making him stagger and fall on his side.
Startled, Olive looked up, and when he saw what was in front of him, his eyes widened.