Free The Keeper of Dawn by J.B. Hickman

exaggerated distance, leaving my
imagination to fill in what couldn’t be seen.
    “We getting close?” Chris asked, aiming his flashlight up
the neck of the tower.
    The stairwell extended into darkness. There was no end to
it. I was about to tell Chris we could climb all night and not be there, but
then a wave of dizziness went through me. Instinct told me to close my eyes,
but I wanted to fight this. I wanted to overcome this weakness. With the tower
soaring overhead, I searched desperately for an end to the repetition. When the
stairs began to tilt, I shifted my weight. Too late did I realize my imbalance
and lurched forward, hands shooting out, palms open, just in time to catch
myself. The flashlight landed to my right and started to roll toward the edge. I
reached out just in time, but the vertigo wasn’t through with me, and I only
served to speed it along its course.
    “Shit!”
    The cone of light shook sporadically over the walls before
righting itself, speeding straight down like an arrow with a golden tip,
exposing all the stairs we had just climbed, dropping through the many feet of
darkness, its life winking out at the very point we had started, impossibly far
below.
    “Good go—”
    Derek was cut off by an agonized gasp.
    I looked up to find Benjamin standing with his back pressed
to the wall. His eyes were squeezed shut, his body frozen in place.
    “You okay, Ben?” Chris asked as we crowded around.
    “Jake just dropped his flashlight,” Roland said, putting a
hand on Benjamin’s shoulder. “It’s nothing to worry about.”
    At Roland’s touch, Benjamin’s lips stopped trembling. He was
completely motionless except for a dark stain spreading from the crotch of his
pants.
    “He’s not breathing,” Roland said.
    “Come on, Ben,” Chris said. “Take a deep breath for us.”
    I stood behind everyone, feeling guilty as hell for dropping
the flashlight. Benjamin still hadn’t moved. His face was turning a dark shade
of red.
    “He’s got to breathe,” Roland said.
    “Goddammit Ben, breathe!” Chris yelled.
    Finally Benjamin took a gulp of air.
    “That’s it,” Roland said. “There you go. See, there’s
nothing to be afraid of.”
    Benjamin continued to take erratic intakes of air. His eyes
remained shut as he spoke through teeth that, once unclenched, wouldn’t stop
chattering.
    “I sh-sh-shouldn’t have l-l-looked d-d-down. I sh-shouldn’t
have d-d-done that. I … I even t-told m-myself not t-to d-do it … b-b-but when
that flashlight went …”
    “Just relax,” Roland said. “We’ll get you through this.”
    “We can’t go back now,” Chris said. “We’re nearly at the
top.”
    “Chris, he’s terrified. We’re getting him down. Now .”
    The roommates faced each other; neither said a word. Their
confrontation, or whatever it was, ended when Chris took a step back.
    “Try opening your eyes,” Roland suggested to Benjamin.
    With an effort, Benjamin’s eyes fluttered open.
    “Is that any better?”
    “A … a little. Yes, a l-little. It’s just that I … I can’t
move.”
    “Not at all? Not even a single step?”
    Benjamin made a noise that was probably meant to be a laugh,
but it came out like a squeal. “This happened once b-before. I looked over the
side of a cl-cliff and my whole b-body … l-locked up.”
    “Okay, so that other time, how did you get down?”
    “They had to … carry me.”
    “Oh man,” Derek muttered.
    “Can you try taking a step forward?” Roland asked.
    “I’ll try,” Benjamin said, his face hardening. He took a deep
breath and steadied himself. His shoe slid forward maybe an inch at most, but
then he shook his head, sending built-up tears down his cheeks. “I’m sorry. I
can’t. I … I t-tell you what. I’ll just wait here while you guys go t-to the
top.”
    “Alone?” Chris asked. “In the dark?”
    Benjamin whimpered.
    “We’re not going to leave you,” Roland assured him. “Just
hold on a second. Can you do that