Sixty Flights of Stairs(OPEN)

[q]

Chris pulled his wrist out of grabbing range. He hadn't even noticed her attempts at feminine wiles. It was one of many things that was totally lost on him. "No. There's a small chance that something could go drastically wrong. Small," he emphasised. "I mean, there's a small chance that anything could kill any of us. Who's to say that someone won't screw up with the water supply and poison everyone? A meteor could be heading towards us right at this second. Just being here could kill us. But here we are. Taking a risk I know I'm taking is much less dangerous than letting things happen." As he talked, he began walking to the edge of the roof. By now, he stood at the edge. He could see the road, all the way down, out of the corner of his eye.

"All of us here can do plenty of things that would kill normal people. I mean, look." He put one foot on the short wall separating him from the drop. He could feel the electricity crackle at his feet. It was enough.

With that, he walked straight over the edge. His feet were stuck to the walls of the skyscraper. Absentmindedly, he admired the view. He couldn't imagine many people looking at the city from an angle like this.

[arie]

Seph stared at him through his entire 'we are in danger just standing here' speech, not bother to say a word. As he walked over to the edge of the roof, she opened and closed her mouth a couple of times without saying anything. He wouldn't step off,would he? But as he stepped on the edge, Seph said something like this "What the flip are you doing?"

And when he stepped off? Seph almost fainted. As a matter of a fact, she did faint. Her eyes had rolled into the back of her head and she swayed in place for a few seconds. By the time he had stepped off, Seph was well in control of her body.

She ran over to the edge and squatted,staring open-mouthed at Chris. "That was cool but you, Christopher, are insane" she said, moving to sit on the edge.

[q]

"I was just making a point," Chris said, though he seemed pleased with himself. It wasn't any different from walking on a wall a foot above the next available surface, so it was difficult to feel anything much when he was on his own - except maybe satisfaction that it had actually worked. His compulsion for logic stopped him from feeling impressed, but seeing someone else a little green from the shock factor was nice. It made him feel more impressive.

"Doing that," he continued, walking back over the ledge to the safety of the roof ,"isn't so different from being struck by lightning. In principle. So." He paused. It really wasn't any different. It was just another way of taking a small risk to become better at control. "If you're there for the next storm, it'll control the risk factors, to an extent. And the results will probably be impressive to watch... But don't worry, you don't have to go." He was tempted to add that he was going to ask other people living in the Tower to help out, too. But the more the merrier. He found the concept a little strange, but maybe she would feel guilty over him going to do something he was already going to do. And then her own conscience would force her to go, too.

[arie]

An irritated sigh escaped her lips as she looked at him. Did he really think he was that sneaky? Maybe it was his clueless innocence but sometimes Chris really didn’t realize who he was talking to. The person he was talking to was Sephara Kyle, a girl who was able to prank the socks out of you, any given day.

But then again, there was this nagging thing known as a conscience. And the thing known as a conscience wanted her to stay and it wanted her to help Chris. This is why she stood up and walked back to her deck chair, pulling off her tunic and throwing it down on her bag, sloppily.

“Alright, I’ll help you” Seph glared at him. “But if I get killed I’m blaming you.”

(Notes: Do you want to fast forward a couple of hours?)

[q]

He grinned. "Don't worry, you'll be fine," he said, following her back to the deck chair. He didn't think of apologising for ruining what might have otherwise been a relaxing day for her. He hadn't even thought it would disturb her, when she would be able to see something amazing like close-proximity lightning. Already, he was thinking of all the things he should bring next time he came up. Despite being low on energy, he was raring to run down all those stairs to get the equipment up here in time.

"As long as you don't move too close to a lightning rod." He'd have to work out how close 'too close' actually was first. He'd have to do quite a few calculations, actually... He hadn't originally considered having anyone else there when he got struck by lightning.
If he believed in such things, he might have thought meeting Seph on the roof after a night spent waiting for a storm to be a sign. In reality, he considered it to be a stroke of minor inspiration. Why take such a great risk on his own? Others would help minimise it.

"And I'll, er, dig out some safety kit for you. Just in case," he added quickly.

----

It was already raining pretty hard when he had brought the last of his equipment up. The storm had been sudden, the storm clouds sneaking up behind the city. But Chris was not caught unprepared. A few rather precarious-looking metal rods were scattered around the roof. Some bright red cables were attached to a box, covered in a translucent plastic bag. Out of breath from all the stairs, he sat down, leaning against the exit. The rain felt nice on his face.

The sound of thunder made him jump. The afterimage from the lightning sat on his eyelids. Still a mile or so away, but it would move closer. He could get it to move closer.

But first, he would wait. He had left a few notices around the Tower, spammed some Titans' email inboxes. And there was Seph, who had been guilted into helping out. He had left bits and pieces of safety kit near the notices, but there wasn't much. After all, he didn't need it. Being protected from electricity was pointless for him. He suspected he would have to gather it up again later. Not all of the occupants of the Tower would have come dashing up all those stairs at such short notice. The storm had been sudden, after all. It was a shame that he hadn't thought of inviting people along sooner, really. But if all went well, he would be better prepared next time.

Idly, he watched the clouds whorl, tapping a rhythm with his fingers against the ground. The wait was going to kill him before the lightning got its chance.

[arie]

Now would be a really good time to mention to him that she did not like storms. A crack of thunder sounded echoed off in the distance, but it still sounded so close that the poor shivering girl wanted to run down all the sixty flights of stairs and complain to Lucas.

But she didn’t and it wasn’t like he could do anything to stop the force that was Chris. Because the stupid thing known as a conscience had guilted her into staying. Sephara Kyle huddled further under her tunic, drawing her knees closer to her chest. Of course she could still feel the rain through the thin material, but it made her feel better to hide.

Shaking her head free, she glanced in the general direction of Christopher Campbell. The guy was insane, like certifiably insane. He had guilted her into sitting on a beach chair and waiting for a storm to come.

It was funny how quickly the weather could change.

One minute it was all bright and sunny and the other the clouds were coming and rain began to pour. “I BETTER NOT GET ELECTROCUTED” she shouted, her voice fighting to rise over the crack of thunder that was starting to sound very, very close to her.

[q]

"What? Oh, you'll be fine!" Chris shouted back. "Though you should probably stand a little closer to the door... Oh, and don't forget! Bring that over!" He pointed at the box with red cables, still covered in a plastic bag. He needed to make measurements while he had the chance, but he wasn't sure if he would be able to move very much after the first step was a success. And he certainly wouldn't waste an opportunity like this.

He eyed the storm clouds, jumping a few inches off the ground when another crack of thunder sounded nearby. That was his cue. Getting to his feet, he moved out to the centre of the roof. His legs were shaking, but it wasn't from fear. Fear was for other people. He was excited. A little nervous, but excited. He had had the idea, done the work to back up how it probably wasn't insane. There was even a storm. It was all coming together.

He took a few deep breaths, ignoring the rain soaking his t-shirt and jeans. He didn't even notice if it was cold. Empty of charge, he could focus completely on the task at hand: attracting a lightning bolt closer. He could feel the accumulated charge from the rubbed clouds, but it was so far away. He reached up, as if to tempt it down. In reality, that wasn't too far off. He was trying to become more like a lightning rod. Lightning struck again, but he didn't jump. He could feel it bend towards him. It was close, somewhere behind him. One more ought to do it, he thought vaguely. The background chatter that was always bouncing through his brain was toned down to almost nothing now. He couldn't afford to be divided.

The lightning was going to head to the roof of a skyscraper across the street, but he sensed the exact second it was about to strike. His entire focus went into that split second, luring the bolt closer.

Chris felt it strike him, not by the sound it made when it did, not by the light before it vanished, but by the overwhelming pressure of something. It was like a person slightly bigger than he was was living under his skin, trying to force its way out. He fell to his knees, trying not to let the sudden burst of charge overwhelm him. He had to keep calm, keep calm, logical, but he couldn't quite string a thought together. Some of the white-blue electricity left his body, a few sparks jumping onto the ground. Most of it went to the nearest lightning rod, which held. He could feel it crawling over his skin, and when he was able to open his eyes for a second, he could even see it. Tiny blue sparks were dancing over his body, jumping onto the ground, vanishing.