Veronica crested the hill and saw Jason standing by the tower wall, smoking a cigarette. He was wearing the same thing he had worn at the walk. He turned his head as she approached him and raised a hand in greeting.
"Hey," he said as she came up to him. "I was beginning to think you wouldn't come."
"Well, I was debating it," she told him, "but you made the view sound so amazing so I figured why not, right?"
Jason nodded, the corners of his lips turned up in a smile. He blew out a stream of smoke and flicked the cigarette away.
"Shall we, then?" he asked, and he lead the way around the tower as Veronica followed. "Nice outfit, by the way," he mentioned, his head half-turned.
Veronica felt her heart skip a beat as her cheeks flushed.
"Thanks," she said.
They didn't speak again until they reached a door on the opposite side of the tower. Jason stepped up to it and reached into his jacket, pulling out a roll of cloth tied with a string.
"Are we doing anything … illegal?" Veronica asked tentatively.
Jason pulled out two small wire instruments before dropping to one knee and fiddling with the lock.
"Yes," he said curtly. "You can go now, if you want. I won't stop you."
Veronica swallowed. "No, I'll stay."
Veronica didn't speak while Jason continued to pick the lock, concentration on his face. Finally he made a small sound of satisfaction and the barrel of the lock turned easily. He stood up and put the tools away, then grabbed the door handle and pulled it open, holding it for Veronica to enter. She stepped into the pitch blackness inside, Jason following and shutting the door behind them.
Veronica couldn't see a thing. She heard their footsteps on the hard concrete floor echoing around, but that was it. Then, to the side and behind her, she heard a scraping noise followed by a small click. The interior became flooded with light and Veronica had to blink for a second while her eyes adjusted to it.
When she was able to see, Veronica looked around in awe. They were inside of a huge concrete column that stretched up for almost 100 feet. The interior was mostly empty except for some metal piping that ran up the sides, equipment on the ground floor, and a circular staircase that hugged the wall and wound all the way to the top.
"Wow," Veronica said as she craned her neck upwards. She spotted a door at the top of the tower, where the staircase ended. "Is that where we're going?"
"Yep," Jason said, and he started for the base of the stairs. Veronica followed him and the two began climbing up.
It was a long way to go, and Veronica's body was not used to so much exercise. She wasn't able to move as quickly as Jason, even despite the fact that he was a smoker. When they were partway up the stairs and the distance between them had grown, he slowed down without saying anything, allowing her to catch up and continuing at a slower pace.
~~~
Finally they reached the top of the stairs where the door was.
"Do you … have to pick this one too?" Veronica asked, trying to hide her heavy breathing.
"No, not this one," he told her, and he opened it out onto the observation deck. Jason walked through, holding the door open again for Veronica to follow. He closed it behind them, the sound of the heavy metal cutting through the silence of the night.
Veronica was immediately captivated by what she saw. Jason was right: the view here was incredible. She walked up to the railing and looked out over the landscape of the night. There were thousands of lights from the many homes below, all blinking in the distance. She could see them for miles, a vast ocean of dark speckled with pinpricks of light.
Up above them the sky was devoid of clouds, affording them a magnificent view of the stars. They were high enough up that there was no light pollution, allowing the stars to shine through like brilliant diamonds on a black backdrop. Veronica held tight to the railing and tried to take in as much of the view as possible.
"This is incredible," she said in a hushed voice. Jason stepped up beside her, placing his hands on the railing.
"I come here when I need to get away from things or be by myself," he said.
A cool wind blew past them both, sending chills down Veronica's back.
"Do you find that you need to get away from things a lot?" she asked.
Jason kept looking ahead. "Sometimes," he said without turning.
Veronica looked back out, staring down at the numerous lights below.