Living Building

[Author's Note: This was written for the fourth and final week of the /r/Fantasy NaNoWriMo Short Fiction Writing Contest in 2017. This one won, but I blame that on the fact that week four was underplayed. The theme was buildings that are alive.]

The tower slept. It pulsated in the moonlight, snoring and swaying in the darkness. I grabbed onto the lowest jutting brick and began my ascent.

The wind blew, and I clutched to my hold as I climbed. I dared not use a spike for fear of waking the tower. I climbed and clung for hours. My hands were ragged and raw, my arms burned and ached. Halfway up the side, a flock of pigeons flew by. I lost my grip on corner, and only by grabbing the window ledge was I spared from one last leap. I took a few breaths before bringing my other hand up. After a short break dangling there, I resumed my climb.

At the top, I pulled myself over the ledge. I did my best to clean the grit and stone from my bloody hands, wiping them with a stinging alcohol cloth and wrapping them in bandages. That done, I had less dexterity, but from here on out, everything would be less precise. I pulled the sword from my back scabbard and walked up to the dish. Small creatures, the sort that made their home on and around the building, scurried away as I approached, startled by me, or possibly trying to alert their host. At the dish, I swung my blade, severing the feed horn. It clanked to the floor of the roof.

I lay the sword across the top of a chimney. From my pocket I produced a device, a bundle of wires and lights. This I stuck on the dish. It lit up, and the building started to tremble below my feet.

I had little time. I removed the duffle from my back, emptying its contents before me. With clumsy hands, I assembled what looked like a fancy elliptical machine. I was halfway through my double check when the building rocked below me. Hopping on the machine, I hit the red button. The tower spasmed, and then was still. I could hear it breathing, no longer staring. The lights of its eye windows shone out upon the skyline. I pulled the lever at my left. In response, the tower picked up its left foot and stepped it forward. The top swayed a bit, but I was getting the hang.

I made the building take several steps more, crushing the infrastructure below. The thing made a sort of growling howl, realizing that it was no longer in control. I turned the top of the building, peering out over the other buildings, into the sea beyond. The sun began to peek above the horizon, but closer still were the telltale bubbles of Tiamat emerging from the sea.

I walked the building to the shoreline, but when I saw her head, I began to run. She roared, and a mixture of fire and steam emerged from her mouth. My building roared, bellowing a cloud of smog. It would be a close battle, but one I needed to win.

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