William Wenton and the Lost City

by Bobbie Peers

  “She can’t hear you, William,” a raspy voice said from the darkness behind him.

  William froze. He immediately knew who it was.

  “Turn around, William,” the crackling voice continued.

  Slowly William turned and looked into the darkness where the voice had come from.

  “Good boy,” the voice said. It was closer now. William could feel someone’s rancid, cold breath on his face. But he still couldn’t see anything except darkness.

  “You’ve come a very long way to see me,” the voice continued.

  William kept quiet. He pushed himself against the wall behind him in a desperate effort to get away from the creature in the dark.

  “What do you want?” William asked. His voice trembled with fear. All the memories about what had happened in the bunker under Victoria Station came back to him. He could feel Abraham Talley’s dry, bony hands around his throat. He had been after the luridium in his body then—was that what he wanted now, too?

  But how could he be here? He had disappeared through the Crypto Portal. Had he teleported down here? To the Mariana Trench? It seemed a little too extravagant. Going all the way to the Himalayas, just to teleport to the bottom of the ocean.

  But Abraham Talley was here. William was sure of that. What did he want?

  “What do you want?” William said again into the pitch black in front of him.

  “Isn’t that obvious?” Abraham hissed from the dark. “I want you, William. You belong with me. Together we could do great things.”

  “You are not here,” William said. “You can’t be. You’re just a voice in my head. Go away!”

  William pressed himself toward the cold wall at his back as lights started to blink around him. Thousands of tiny dots of light flickered to life. It was like a clear night sky filled with stars. Had William not been in the extreme situation that he was, he would probably have thought that this was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen. But he had no time to think about beauty now, because together with the light, there also appeared something else. A dark figure stood before him. Partly illuminated by the tiny dots of light.

  It was Abraham Talley.

  He seemed younger now than the last time William had seen him. His shoulders were broad and powerful. His arms and hands sinewy and muscular. He was wearing a black suit, like he was on his way to a funeral. His beard was no longer gray, but black like the darkness that had just surrounded them. His dark eyes seemed to glitter from the light. And a smile spread across his face.

  “Still don’t think I’m here?” Abraham asked with his dry voice.

  William didn’t reply. He felt his whole life flashing before him. His childhood in England. The escape to Norway. His time at the Institute.

  Was he about to die at Abraham’s hands? Was this it? Was this how it all ended?

  Desperately William looked around. There was nowhere for him to go. No escape. Nowhere to hide. Abraham Talley finally had him. And now he would finish what he had started in that bunker below London.

  “I can give you anything you want, William,” Abraham said.

  “Then let me out of here,” William said. “I want out.”

  Abraham let out a little chuckle.

  “Nice try,” he said. “I want you to join me,” Abraham continued. “If you listen to your heart, you know that I’m right. Me and you . . . we’re the same. We have the same fantastic stuff inside of us. Luridium. You know what I’m talking about. And I know you can feel the connection.” Abraham came a step closer.

  William pushed so hard against the wall behind him, his whole body hurt.

  Abraham stopped right in front of him. He lifted a hand and placed it on William’s shoulder.

  “You can help me bring luridium back to earth,” he said softly. “Back to where it belongs. Back for a new beginning and a new world.”

  “And what would happen to all the people on earth if the luridium returned?” William asked. He could feel anger rising in him.

  “They would all be saved, of course,” Abraham said.

  “Saved?” William repeated.

  “Yes,” Abraham said, and smiled darkly. “They would merge with luridium, just like you and me. Only on a much greater scale.”

  “You’re crazy,” William said.

  Abraham halted. His smile dropped away, and his dark eyes settled on William.

  “What did you say?” he snarled.

  Suddenly William didn’t feel so brave anymore. Abraham leaned in even closer, and William almost choked on his acrid breath.

  “You will give me the key to the box,” Abraham said. “You will hand over the antiluridium. It belongs with me.”

  And now William understood what Abraham was trying to do. He was after the only thing humankind could use to prevent luridium from taking over the world. He wanted the antiluridium. All this was a clever ploy to trick William into giving it to him.

  “NEVER!” William screamed at the top of his lungs. “I would rather die than give it to you!”

  Abraham leaned back and looked at William. His face was almost startled. His eyes filled with surprise.

  “You really mean that, don’t you?” he said.

  “Of course,” William said, and pushed away from the wall.

  “Then you’re free to go,” Abraham said. But now his voice seemed softer. Almost like a woman’s voice.

  “Excuse me?” William said.

  There was a soft click behind William as the door opened. William turned and looked at it. White light from outside shone into the pyramid.

  William turned to look at Abraham again, but he was gone.

  William stepped outside the pyramid.

  “William,” Iscia said, and threw herself around his neck. “I thought it was a trap when the door slammed shut behind you.”

  “You’re a tough negotiator,” Phil said. He was standing a little farther away, together with the woman in white.

  Iscia let go of William and looked at him.

  “You made it, William,” she said, her eyes welling up. “You made it out. You passed the test.”

  William looked at Phil.

  “But Abraham . . .” William motioned behind him. “He was inside.”

  “It was a hologram, just like me,” the woman said, and smiled softly. “We can’t risk giving the antiluridium to someone who would buckle under pressure. Even if they are the best code breaker in the world.”

  Phil came toward William and stopped right in front of him. He extended his hand, and they shook.

  “It’s been a real pleasure getting to know you, William,” he said. “It’s time for you and Iscia to head back.”

  “You’re not coming?” William said.

  “My job is finally done,” Phil said. “It’s time for some recreation.” He smiled. Then he pulled the remote from his pocket. He pointed it at the huge pyramid, and with a zap, it shrank back down.

  “It’s yours now, William,” the woman said. “Use it with care.”

  Phil picked up the pyramid and handed it to William.

  “Guard it with your life.”

  William nodded and took the small object in his hands.

  38

  William and Iscia were back in the submarine. It was cold and dark. The deep thrum of the engine throbbed in the distance. William looked around. He was alone in the control room.

  “Iscia?” he said, but there was no answer.

  “Iscia!” he tried again, a little louder. All he could hear was the hum of the submarine’s engine.

  The TV screen on the wall was dark. A couple of glowing fish swam by. There was no sign of the pyramid on the seabed.

  The orbulator sat on the floor in front of him. The mysterious symbols were pulsing. William could hardly fathom that he was so close to an orbulator full of antiluridium. But he had to wait to examine it. He had to find Iscia first.

  “Iscia!” he yelled again.

  “Here!” he suddenly heard from behind him.


  William turned around and spotted her as she came through a small door at the far end of the room.

  “Are we the only ones here?” She looked around.

  “Yes,” William replied. “Where were you?”

  “I wound up down in the machine room,” she said, trying to brush an oil stain off her jacket. She looked at the glowing orbulator on the floor. “What happened? Do you think we were inside that or inside the big pyramid down on the bottom?”

  “I don’t know,” William replied. “But it looks like I succeeded in solving the code.”

  Iscia smiled. “Yes, you did.” Her smile vanished as she continued. “I hope we see him again.”

  “Me too,” William said. “But I do think Phil was ready for a break. Millions of years is a really long time. Just think: He was alive when the dinosaurs were.”

  Iscia nodded.

  William walked over to one of the walls, which was covered with control instruments.

  “There should be some kind of transmitter here somewhere,” he said, his eyes sweeping over the blinking buttons.

  “That?” Iscia pointed to an old radio.

  William turned it on. The speaker crackled. When he tuned it to the Emma 2000 wavelength, the crackling was replaced with pleasant elevator music.

  “Welcome to Emma 2000,” a familiar woman’s voice said. “The best way to travel. All you need to do is plot the coordinates for your destination, and Emma 2000 will take you the rest of the way.”

  “Do you know the coordinates for London?” William looked at Iscia.

  “To return, enter the return code: zero zero zero,” the woman’s voice said.

  William exhaled and keyed in the code.

  “Thank you,” the voice said. “Localizing Emma 2000.”

  William took a couple of steps back and grabbed on to a handle on the wall. They stared at the dark screen.

  “Can you believe Emma can dive this deep?” Iscia asked.

  Before William had a chance to respond, something popped up in the darkness on the screen: a small glowing fleck, which was growing. Gradually, as it approached, William was able to make out the tentacles of the enormous teleportation octopus.

  “Prepare to dock,” the woman’s voice announced.

  A resounding boom echoed through the large submarine, and everything around them shook before it grew quiet again.

  “Docking complete,” the woman’s voice announced. “Prepare to teleport.”

  William and Iscia stared at each other. A distant rumble spread through the metal hull.

  “Teleporting in five . . . four . . . three . . . ,” the voice said.

  The electronics sparked. Iscia’s hair stood on end.

  “Two . . . one . . .”

  ZAP!

  It felt like they were being pulled upward with tremendous force before they flopped to the floor again. Powerful waves hit the outside of the submarine.

  William and Iscia lay still, side by side. The submarine rocked back and forth like an enormous cradle.

  It soon calmed down and then was completely still again.

  “Do you think we’re there?” Iscia asked, standing up.

  “We’re about to find out.” William got to his feet. He glanced at the screen, which showed only static.

  Then he walked over to the ladder that led up to the hatch.

  “We don’t know what’s out there,” Iscia warned. “Goffman might be waiting for us.”

  “We don’t have any choice,” William replied. “It’s not like we can stay down here.”

  William climbed the ladder. He grabbed the locking wheel and twisted as hard as he could. The round hatch opened with a loud click, and William pushed it up.

  He cautiously stuck his head up and peeked out.

  They were back in the reservoir.

  Black smoke rose from half of the bus, still over by the entrance. The other half of the bus was lying upside down a little way away.

  The solid iron beams in the ceiling were deformed and glowed red like coals. Damaged power cables crackled. William shuddered. He turned around and looked down at Iscia, who was right below him.

  “It looks like the water is electrified,” he said. “And it’s a complete mess up here. But I don’t see anyone else.”

  “That doesn’t necessarily mean we’re the only ones here,” Iscia said.

  “I’ll go first and check,” William said. “And then you come after me with the orbulator.”

  “Okay.”

  He grabbed the handle. Time to get going. They had to get out of there. And the door by the bus was the only exit.

  William clenched his teeth and climbed through the hatch. The smell of burning rubber hit him.

  39

  William let go of the ladder on the outside of the submarine and stepped onto the edge of the concrete pier.

  Iscia followed his progress from the hatch up on top. William turned around to survey the reservoir. The massive iron exit door was only ten yards away, and it was ajar. For all he knew, danger could be waiting for them in the corridor beyond it. He had to check before he could signal to Iscia that it was safe to come down with the orbulator. They couldn’t take any chances now that they had the antiluridium. Cautiously he moved toward the door. He carefully stepped over the downed power cables that lay sparking on the wet concrete floor.

  William looked at the smoldering wreckage of the bus partially blocking the entrance. The heat radiated at him, and his face was hot. He took off his jacket, wadded it up, and held it in front of his face. It was so hot it felt like his hair might catch fire. He mostly wanted to run to the open doorway and keep going out into the cool, dark corridor beyond. But he didn’t know what was out there. He had to be careful.

  William stopped at the door. The heat from the bus wreckage was almost unbearable.

  “William!” he heard Iscia yell, but he had to focus. Without turning around he raised his hand and gestured for her to wait.

  He leaned forward and peeked out into the corridor. It was long and dark. A few old lightbulbs gave off enough light that William could see there was no one there. It would have to do. They needed to get out. And up.

  “William!” It was Iscia again.

  “There’s no one here.” William turned around. “We need to get—” He stiffened when he saw who had joined them.

  Goffman stood motionless, staring at William with crazy eyes. The same unpredictable roaming gaze that Cornelia Strangler had had. Something had changed in his face. He was more Cornelia than Goffman now. And most of all, his face was aglow with lunacy. Big sections of his hair had been singed off. One whole side of his face was covered with an enormous burn. The fingers on his mechanical hand moved restlessly back and forth.

  William didn’t know what to do. Iscia was trapped in the submarine. If she came ashore, Goffman would get his claws on her and the orbulator. If she jumped into the water, she would be cooked by the live electrical wires.

  “Where is it?” It was no longer Goffman’s voice, but rather Cornelia’s.

  “We don’t have it with us.” The words tumbled out of his mouth.

  “Rubbish!” Goffman yelled. “You passed the test. Otherwise you wouldn’t have come back. Where’s the antiluridium?”

  William’s eyes were drawn back up to Iscia again, but he regretted it right away. He didn’t want to shift Goffman’s attention away from himself. As long as he kept Goffman talking, Iscia had time to think of some way to save them.

  “Does she have it?” Goffman asked, staring at Iscia with his crazy eyes.

  Before William could say anything, Iscia raised the orbulator and held it over the edge.

  “Should I let go of it, William?” Iscia asked. “That’ll at least stop him from getting it for a while.”

  William looked down into the dark water. He knew that if she dropped the orbulator, two things would happen. First it would be fried by thousands of volts, and then it would continue on down into the murky dept
hs. He remembered what Phil had said. No one knew how deep this water actually went. It would take forever to get it back again.

  “Wait,” William said, staring at Goffman.

  There had to be a way to talk some sense into him. William was sure that the old Goffman was in there somewhere, behind those freaky eyes and all the craziness.

  “What happened to you, Goffman?” William asked. “Did Cornelia’s hand do this to you?”

  “Goffman has only himself to thank for this. That fool just couldn’t leave the hand alone.”

  “Huh?” William said. Now Goffman was talking about himself in the third person, the way he’d done back at the Institute.

  “Goffman isn’t here anymore.” Goffman’s face sneered.

  “What do you mean? I can see that it’s you.”

  “This is just his body. He’s not home in here anymore. There wasn’t room for us both. I won. And now it’s just me.”

  “And who are you?” William asked, even though he already knew the answer. A part of him wanted to cry. Goffman was gone, and they might never get him back again.

  “You know full well who I am.”

  “Cornelia.” The name left a bad taste in William’s mouth, as if he could taste that burned smell that always followed her.

  Goffman smiled. Or, well, apparently it wasn’t Goffman anymore. It was Cornelia, William’s worst nightmare. She was back.

  “Goffman realized he had made a terrible mistake the first time he tried the hand,” Cornelia continued. “But by then it was too late. The hand had already transferred me to him. And there wasn’t any way for him to get rid of me. Slowly but surely I took control of his body.”

  Cornelia paused and trained those crazy eyes on William, as if she really wanted him to understand what she was telling him. She was going to win them over.

  “He resisted me as best he could, tried to save all his precious robots, retired them and hid them up in the attic. He had an intentional falling out with Benjamin so he would quit and leave the Institute. He probably didn’t want Benjamin to see him transform into me.”

  Cornelia looked up at Iscia, as if to make sure she was still there. Then her dark eyes returned to William.