Part 6 - Infected

Chapter 118 - Everest

Miles fiddled with his hair as he waited. He, Michael and Liam were on the run, hoping Gwen would find Max who could put all this right. The INTF had signed its own death warrant if it dared oppose a High Elder God. Still, that High Elder God had to get here first. Liam slid into the seat on the other side of the table.

"I'm sorry about the helicopter and the eye."

"It's good. I've been hit worse."

"Not really."

"I've been killed before. I'd say that's worse."

"Alright, I'll give you that."

There was a slightly awkward silence, then Liam said:

"I'm scared. Here I am, the most powerful being in the world, and I'm scared."

"If you're scared, it mean's I was right in thinking you aren't a psycho."

"How reassuring."

"You said you could hear voices."

"Millions of them. Like the narrative above calling for me. They tell me to run, they tell me to hide, they tell me to kill."

"Schizophrenia."

"Not the normal kind. Hey, how are we gonna deal with this thing inside of me? I want to get out of it now. I've fixed the world, although some people think I just broke it more."

"One guy's fix is another man's problem. You can't make everyone happy."

"No. No. I guess not."

"As for the SCP stuck in you, we'll work it out. The INTF has a way of dealing with the others like you. Maybe we can adapt it? I know some people who can work it out."

"Stanley and Lisa."

"Sure, and a couple of others. We'll figure it out, I promise. We just have to get our names cleared first."

"The clock's ticking."

Sarah shook her head at what Gwen said she was going to do.

"You're mentally unfit for this."

"Didn't some guy break his back, get told he'd never walk again, then went and climbed Everest to prove a point?"

"Bear Grylls, I believe. But that was different. The mind is more powerful than the body."

"The mind is pretty useless without a body, which Miles might not have if the INTF get him before I can find Max."

"There is a point you have to see you have reached the limit."

"And Everest isn't mine."

Sarah rolled her eyes.

"Well, it's your decision. I'm your counsellor, not your queen. Do what you wish, but if it kills you don't say I didn't warn you."

"Thanks for your support."

An Ares touched down carefully at base camp. Gwen, Stanley and a few other people disembarked. The jet shut itself down to offload supplies. Stanley handed Gwen her rucksack which she took and slung on her back.

"There'll be oxygen tanks in camp two. Are you sure you want to do this alone?"

"I have to. Nobody is crazy enough to climb the world's tallest mountain with the Empress."

"I'd go with you but I belong in a lab, not up a mountain."

"Thank you, Stanley. If I freeze, I'll make sure they keep a nice spot for you wherever I go."

"Good luck. With Everest and with Max."

"That's if he's even up there. He might send me to Mars."

"I've got a good feeling this time."

Setting off from base camp, Gwen felt positive. She was well rested and had her goal at the front of her mind. Even if Max wasn't here, she would still have achieved something not many people could truthfully boast about doing. The first day took her up a steep glacier to camp two. By the end of it she was tired, but still felt like she had what it took to reach the top. As she settled down in her tent, she became aware that the air felt much thinner. Still, what could go wrong?

"That's what could go wrong." Gwen muttered as she stared into a pit

Her bag was much heavier since she was carrying a large oxygen tank. That wasn't the problem, though. The ladder that usually stretched across the infamous crevice had fallen away and lay battered and broken somewhere deep down at the bottom. Since nobody had put up a replacement, it was likely she was the first person to climb the mountain in a while. In that case, was Max really at the top? Yes, he probably teleported himself there or something. Gwen dropped her rucksack and rolled back her sleeves a little, ignoring the bitter cold that tore at her skin. She took a running jump, hitting the wall on the other side about five metres down.

"Don't look down." She muttered to herself.

It wasn't the height that scared her, just the impenetrable darkness of the glacier which threatened to swallow her. She stuck onto the wall, climbing it quickly and pulling herself back over the edge. When she was certain she was far enough away that she wouldn't fall in if she slipped, she fired her webs and yanked her rucksack over to her. Pleased with herself for figuring it out, she continued on her way.

Camp three was hard to reach, and Gwen found herself fighting for breath when she reached it. She barely had the strength to put up her tent, but battled through and snuggled down into her sleeping bag after a meal. She dreamt of her son's happy face when she reached the top, and of Miles' sheepish grin when he was allowed home again. They would be welcome sights for her exhausted mind and body.

So this was it: the final climb up to the ridge and then up the steep slope to the top of the world. Gwen set up her oxygen apparatus before leaving and was glad for it. The climb to the ridge was slow and hard, but the view from the top was incredible. The walk along it was perilous with steep cliffs falling away either side. At one point she slipped and fell with her face staring down one side and her feet hanging over the other, but she picked herself up and dusted the snow off then kept dragging herself one foot after another. In all her life and death, she had never felt so utterly exhausted. Not even the might of Khahrahk had pushed her to this limit. She began to wonder if Mount Everest was a god in itself, breaking the bodies and souls of petty mortals who thought themselves strong enough to conquer the slopes of its kingdom. The thought was obviously ridiculous, but it distracted her from the final climb she could see just a few hundred metres ahead. At its top she could see something, but she wasn't entirely sure what. When she reached the final slope, she couldn't see it anymore but she wanted to know what it was. With that curiosity, she forced herself to keep pushing upwards clinging to a slightly loose rope which probably wouldn't take her weight if she slipped and fell off the edge. In addition, her web shooters were buried under three layers of clothing so by the time she had them out, she'd be nothing more than a pile of broken bones added to the tally this mountain had claimed.

It took almost an hour, but at long last the world stood below her, not rising above at any point. Gwen stretched her arms wide and let out the best yell of victory she could with the breathing apparatus stuck in her mouth. When she was confident the whole world knew she was on top of it, she turned her attention to the object. The object turned out to be a small hut hanging precariously off the edge of the mountain. She approached the door, her spider sense telling her her son was just a few metres away on the other side of the wall. She raised her hand and knocked. Suddenly, she was inside. It was a cosy little place with a small fire burning in a fireplace. A table was positioned in front of it and a small couch in front of that. Behind it was a bed with comics piled up beside it like a table. At the bed's foot rested Furore Mortale, Max's sword. Max himself was sitting with his back to her on the couch, staring into the fire like it held all the answers. He was sipping a hot chocolate, wearing what Gwen thought was his spider suit but quickly realised was just a hoodie designed to look like it.

"The hut's pressurised." He said in a monotone voice.

Gwen pulled the mouthpiece out and breathed in the normal air, removing her jacket and rucksack.

"Hey Max." She said, relieved to rid herself of all the heavy gear.

He didn't react.

"The world's gone crazy since you left."

"I know."

"Any chance you could come back, set things right? Your dad's being hunted."

"I know."

"So?"

He didn't reply, just continued to stare at the crackling flames.

"Grace misses you. So does Jacob and everyone else. Nothing's really happy without you around."

"I can see everything. Jacob isn't worried; he's certain I'll be OK."

"I miss you."

"Cool. Well you know where I am if you want to see me."

"Max!"

He put his hot chocolate down on the table and turned to face his mother. Gwen didn't try and turn away to avoid being blasted with the vision that followed.

She was floating in emptiness, a void once filled but now lifeless.

"All I see is death; death I could have stopped. Every person I look at has the same word written on their forehead: 'dead'. You know how it feels to fail, now this nothingness is what I feel on top of that."

She felt just like she had when she was being carried to Minus One by SCP-3812: non-existent.

"You didn't fail, Dei Volente."

She tried to use his given name, but couldn't.

"When does victory cost so much it's just defeat with a crown on top? Seven octillion: the number who died when the Tree burned. For you it's been a couple of weeks; I've sat on this mountain for over a billion years, just glancing at every face. Seven octillion to save less than a quadrillion."

"But those seven octillion live on in Bastria. If Khahrahk had won, he would have destroyed it as well and we'd all be completely gone."

"I've made made my decision. You'll know when the time comes."

Gwen found herself sitting on the couch with a steaming mug of hot chocolate in her hands. She looked around to see Max staring out the window. In his hand was Furore Mortale, its blade glistening in the dancing light of the fire.

"Max?"

He bowed his head.

"Max…yeah. People called me that. Maximilian Morales-Stacy. I've been here so long I forgot my own name."

If it was possible, Gwen could have sworn she felt her heart break. She put down the hot chocolate and pulled him into a tight hug.

"I love you." She whispered.

"I know…Mum."

"Please come back with me. We need your help."

He pulled away and nodded.

"First I want to see Grace. I barely remember her face. I just remember I love her."

Crossovers in this Chapter

- SCP Foundation