Connected

Heights

RYDER

"HOLY FUCKING SHIT!"

WARNING! HEART RATE RISING! PANIC ATTACK IMMINENT!

"Ryder! You need to calm down love, the gravity gloves you have on will stick you to the buildings glass no matter what."

Demi's voice was soothing,but the fact remained that I was scared shitless. The wind billowed up here, and my jacket flittering about didn't make it feel any safer.

How high up was I?

30,000 feet above ground Ryder

Thanks...now I feel even more terrified.

Don't look down. Don't look down. I repeated that phrase over and over again in my mind, time after time until I nailed it into my skull.

I climbed higher,slowly ascending up the glass exterior of the towering skyscraper that housed Mitroviç robotics.

"Server room should be two floors up." Raven said. "Floor plan shows you're right beneath it."

"Hear that Ryder? Almost there."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah...Almost the-"

You know when you're in a situation? A bad situation? You think about the worst things that could happen? And then...they actually happen?

My situation couldn't have been worse. Right as I reached to pull myself up further, my grip...slipped.

My breathing halted and my heart skipped a beat. I slammed my left palm against the glass in a desperate attempt to save myself. The suction stopped my fall entirely and I clung to the side of the building.

"FUCK! FUCK THIS! FUCK THIS SHIT I'M CLIMBING DOWN! THIS WAS A FUCKING TERRIBLE IDEA!"

The air was thin, so hyperventilating only made it harder for me to breathe.

WARNING! HEART RATE AT 490 BEATS PER MINUTE! PANIC ATTACK IMMINENT! HYPERVENTILATION WARNING! LACK OF OXYGEN DETECTED!!!

What was I thinking? Fucking...idiot! What was I thinking, oh this would be a fucking spectacular idea! It'd be so much easier to bypass all the security if I just climbed up! Fucking great! Fucking spectacular! Didn't take into account that maybe I'd never been this high up before?! In my life?!

I should've just...fucking snuck in. I could've figured something else out but nooo, no I had to be a fucking idiot and choose the hard way.

"Ryder..."

"I can't do this..."

"Ryder listen to me."

"I can't do this. I can't do this..."

"Ryder...just focus on my voice." Demi said. "Just breathe...in...out."

I followed Demi's instructions, trying my best to stop hyperventilating before I blacked out.

"That's it...just take it easy. You can do this..."

"She's right Ryder. You've got this, just one floor up and you should be at the server room."

I got this...I can do this...I can do this...

I kept climbing, keeping my head up, facing toward my goal. A few moments later,I was staring directly into the server room. Several flashing blue lights lit up the otherwise dark interior.

"I can see the server room!"

"Okay, now, you need to place your left hand a bit more to the left of the glass." Raven said.