The Pillar of Ascension

I sat there infront of the large crowd, with my jacket fully zipped. I hated tours in the outside of the pillar. It always froze me up whenever I gave them. The pay made this look like a walk in the park though. Anyone would freeze to death for one thousand dollars every three tours they give. Lots of people came, so giving three tours was as easy as cake...

However, one tour made me wonder why so many people were coming in the first place.

They were all very high power people, and heck, even the president of the united states came to see what all the buzz was about! Man, whoever got to give THAT guy a tour must be the most luckiest man in the world. It was strange though...I heard when the president asked to test the pillar, the manager FREAKED, and told him to go back to America, and never come back! Yeesh...

I really wondered what went on with that room that those test subjects went into. They said that it wouldn't work for a very long time...

and this one, singular tour, changed that all dramatically.

It was late at night, and my shift was just about over. I was one more tour to my fifth one-thousand... and not a lot of people came in at this time. Only about five people showed up, and one of the tourists had a little kid that was wearing a really puffy coat. I kinda envied him for having such a heavy coat. I didn't even have anything like it, all I had was my light black hoodie, and I was lucky that it wasn't even that cold out today, especially with Antarctica's weather! A sighed into my mask, and took out a flare. It was hard to see with all this snowy fog going on, so we always had flares so that everyone could see.

I lit it and waved it in the air. "Alright everyone!" I said, gathering everyones attentions. "The tour will begin soon! I'd like to request that all cellular devices and, or cameras be turned off!" I said in my official voice. This was normal protocol for the tour. "Anyone that is seen or heard with any of those devices will have it taken away from them! Is that clear?" I warned, as I waited for my response.

Everyone, except for the little kid, nodded in agreement, as they took out their phones and turned them off. I nodded as I held my flare high, so that everyone can see. "If you would all please follow me into the building..." I hollered, as I walked up to the terminal and placed my ID card into it. The large airlock doors opened up, and we all walked inside. The doors closed behind us, and the room instantly heated up. I unzipped my hoodie, and exhaled, as the second airlock door opened. We all walked out into the open hub, where everyone was working. I unlit my flare, and threw it away into a nearby trash bin. I motioned for the guests to follow towards the tour area, giving a bit of story to the 'Pillar of Ascension', as we all called it. Then I noticed something...off...

Where did the kid run off to...

I stopped the tour, and looked to the man. "Excuse me sir, didn't you have a child with you?" I asked. He looked to his sides, and then started frantically searching. "Oh dear god..." He said, as he began to hyperventilate. "W-Where did he...?" He was going to finish, but he was too scared to even speak about it. I patted his shoulder. "It's alright, I'll find him..." I said, as I looked around. "Did anyone know where he went?" I asked. One woman pointed towards the room. "I think I saw him go that way!" She said. I blinked, and then cursed inwardly. "I want everyone to stay here! Noone move a muscle until I come back, is that clear?!" I yelled out. Everyone nodded, before talking to eachother. I didn't care what they were talking about. This is a direct violation of almost all the safety rules. If that kid somehow ended up in the stairway, not only would I lose my job, I would be banned from ever setting foot near the premises ever again! There goes that six-thousand a day...

A began to sprint towards the Stairway, the same place that the kid was going to. I had to find him, no matter the costs. What if he got hurt or something? That wouldn't be good on my report.

I skidded to a halt, and looked around. Not a single soul in sight...well...except for the kid inside of the stairway... I walked up to the kid, and sighed. "Hey, why did you run off?" I asked. He looked up to me, scared, as he backed away. He had something in his hands. "Hey, don't worry! You're not in trouble! Just come with me back to the-"

That's when he did it. He punched me across the face. What the hell?! I was going to hit him back, but then I realized what he was doing.

He was going to start up the stairway. That thing in his hand was the key to turn it on. MY key!

I ran at him, going for an attempt at tackling him, before the warning alarmed, and I stumbled in my fear and confusion. The ground began to sink below us, and I gasped, as the ceiling opened up before us. This wasn't good. I really hoped it wasn't ready yet. I ducked, and covered my head, as I waited for the worst, before the warnings died down, and all the lights turned off. What just happened? I looked up at the sky, as a sudden chill hit me. It was very...cloudy... That's when me and the kid were suddenly launched into space. I gasped for air, and held my breath, and grabbed onto the kid, as we were literally sent flying through space. I thought I was going to die right here, right now...

But I was wrong. There was still air to breath, even in space. It was a strange feeling, breathing in space. That cannon sent us up here so fast that I barely even noticed that we had left the atmosphere...

It was almost blissful...

and then gravity tugged me towards another planet. I was still holding on the kid, and I could feel his jacket ripping while we started to plunge down. I grabbed onto him, and I could barely hear him crying for daddy as we fell onto an unknown planet. It looked strangely like earth except...it was a bit off. I don't remember there ever being a castle on a mountain side.

And thats when I felt the HORRIFFIC pain course through my body, I had made contact with the cold, soft ground, and not only bruised my entire back. I got rugburn from the damn grass there! It hurt like holy hell, but I thought I could have made it. I coughed. Did I really never scream the entire time this happened? That would be a first...and I'm also the first person to ever use the stairway...now here's a really good question...

How do I get back?