The Necropolis

by PJ Hoover

  “We liked your store so much, we decided to check out some of the other locations,” Heidi said.

  “And we came to find out where you get all that illegal stuff you sell,” Andy said.

  Morpheus cleared his throat. “Most of it’s not illegal here in Atlantis.” He narrowed his eyes. “What are you doing here anyway? How did you get here?”

  “We were about to ask you the same question,” Benjamin said. “What’s in the back of the store?”

  Morpheus stared at them a few seconds more before shrugging, and then he looked at Mantis.

  Mantis laughed. “By all means, follow me.”

  He led the way to the back of the store and then down to the basement. And much like the Lemurian Silver Touch, Mantis’s basement, too, was filled with strange moving things in jars and objects that looked like they came from other planets.

  “What is all this stuff?” Iva asked.

  “I see genetically engineered species aren’t confined to Lemuria,” Gary said, picking up a jar off the shelf.

  “Oh, if anything, it’s the exact opposite.” Mantis rushed over to Gary and took the jar out of his hands. “Atlantis far surpasses Lemuria when it comes to genetic engineering.” He lowered his voice. “There are so many experiments going on, we’re actually able to get early samples for next to nothing.”

  “But these things are living,” Iva said. “That’s cruel!”

  “According to Statute C-64, located in the Genetic Engineering Research Campus itself, early sample experiments are not considered living,” Mantis said, looking to Morpheus for confirmation.

  Morpheus shrugged and nodded. “That’s what the rules say. So that’s what we go by.”

  “Genetic Engineering Research Campus?” Gary and Aurora said it at the same time, and Benjamin was sure he saw matching drool coming out of their mouths.

  “Don’t get any ideas,” Benjamin said. “We don’t have time to visit any research campuses. We’re here on business.”

  “What kind of business?” Morpheus asked.

  “We’re here for a party,” Heidi said quickly.

  Benjamin relaxed at her answer. He hadn’t the faintest idea how to respond, and even though the party excuse was a lame one, at least it was true.

  “And which party is that?” Mantis said.

  “Oh, just some museum opening,” Heidi replied.

  Benjamin willed them to stop asking questions, but apparently his powers of telepathic persuasion still needed some refinement.

  Mantis gasped and widened his eyes. “Not the museum opening?”

  Benjamin shrugged. “It’s nothing special. Just some silly art display.”

  “Nobody around here’s been talking about anything else for the last week,” Mantis said. “It’s impossible to get on the list.”

  Andy picked some random thing up off a shelf. It didn’t move which Benjamin took as a good sign. “Not for us,” Andy said.

  Benjamin glared at him. This was not the time for bragging. But then he remembered this was Andy; with Andy it was always the time for bragging.

  “So what can you tell us about this museum?” Aurora asked. “I mean, what have people been saying?”

  “The rulers themselves are attending,” Mantis said, switching to telepathy.

  Hoping that this conversation might lead to something, Benjamin threw his best mind block up around the group.

  “Is that unusual?” Iva asked.

  Mantis looked at Morpheus and then back at the students. “Very unusual. The rulers don’t come out in public at all; but people are saying they’ve even been an integral part of the planning for this event.”

  And then, if there was such a thing as lowering a telepathic voice, Mantis did. “I actually came upon a certain item just today which you may be interested in.”

  “What is it?” Heidi asked.

  Benjamin could feel her excitement. Or maybe it was his excitement. Sometimes with the Alliance bond, it was hard to tell.

  “Think of it as something of a backstage pass,” Mantis said, pulling a scanner from his pocket and held it up for them to see. “One simple transfer of the codes in this little baby, and you can get in anywhere.”

  “But we already have access,” Andy said. “We’re on the list.”

  “You may be on the main list,” Mantis said, “but I guarantee you aren’t on this list yet. This list is only open to a select few. This is your ticket to getting behind the barricades—right up next to the exhibits.”

  Benjamin’s mind flew to the Moai. He’d figured they’d be right there for public viewing and that he’d be able to walk right up to them. But maybe that wasn’t the case. Maybe they did need this pass to get closer.

  “How did you get this?” he asked. He didn’t want to get his hopes up too high in case it didn’t work.

  “We have a contact within the ruling family,” Mantis said. “This contact approached us to sell this.” And then, as if sensing Benjamin’s doubts, he continued. “It’s real. And it’ll work. Let there be no doubt about that.” And he scanned it in front of Benjamin’s heads-up display.

  CHAPTER 15

  Enter Stage Left

  They left The Silver Touch with only two hours until the museum opening. The Midas twins suggested a place to stay in the city, so after checking into their rooms, they changed clothes and headed right back out. Well right back out if you took into account it took the girls over an hour to get ready. Not that it wasn’t worth it. But still. Benjamin had to pace the room to keep himself from going insane.

  Back out in the streets, it would have been impossible to miss the event. Telegens thronged to the museum, and the streets were backed up for miles. By the looks of it, most of the people weren’t even on ‘the list’ to get in, so Benjamin shoved his way through them to the floating red carpet leading to the museum.

  He’d managed to restrain himself until now, but just as they passed through the DNA scanning barrier, he put up a mind block around just Heidi and himself.

  “You look beautiful.” He had to say it—no matter what kind of reaction he risked getting.

  Heidi blushed. Even under all her makeup, he could see her face turn red. He’d thought she’d be angry, but there wasn’t even a tinge of anger in the Alliance bond. She linked her arm through his, and they walked into the museum together.

  The Atlantian Natural History Museum put the Lemurian version to shame. This wasn’t just a museum—it was an entire ecosphere sealed off from the outer city.

  Gary stopped, and Benjamin could tell he was scanning his heads-up display.

  “My display just got updated with the museum specs,” Gary said. “I can’t believe this place. The list of library annexes alone is enough to suck up a whole lifetime.”

  “Which is precisely why you won’t be visiting any of them,” Benjamin said.

  “But the one on telegen evolu—” Gary began.

  Benjamin shook his head. “None of them. We aren’t here to see libraries.”

  Gary sighed and turned around. “Well, we should at least split up and scope this place out.”

  Andy scowled. “I was about to suggest that. Iva and I will head to the second level. Gary—you and Aurora stay here, inside the atrium. And Benjamin, you and Heidi check the public access to the displays.”

  Benjamin kept his mouth shut. If Andy wanted to pair him and Heidi off, who was he to argue?

  And then he felt the presence. “Cory’s here.” He opened his mind up just enough to send out a telepathic feeler.

  “Good,” Andy said. “You and Heidi can find him.” He consulted his heads-up display. “Meet back here in an hour.”

  Cory’s presence helped take Benjamin’s mind off Heidi and remind him why they were here. They hadn’t teleported all the way to Atlantis so he could walk around holding her arm. They had work to do. Benjamin had to find the Moai, and, using the access codes they’d just gotten from the Midas twins, get close enough to talk with them. The Moai had a
message for him. They’d refused to give it at Easter Island and made him follow them here. Whatever it was they had to say, Benjamin wasn’t going to miss it.

  He unlinked arms with Heidi. “I think we should get some food and try to blend in.”

  She nodded. “Sounds good to me. I saw the dessert table back that way.”

  “Dessert!” Benjamin said. “I mean real food.”

  She scowled.

  “Okay,” he said. “You go get dessert, and I’ll get dinner. Meet back here in five minutes.”

  Benjamin headed over to the buffet table. It consisted of weird squares of meat and wrapped things that might be vegetables, but it smelled like a piece of heaven. He started piling things on his plate.

  “You act like you’re hungry.”

  He turned at the sound of the voice, and found, in a red dress, a girl so pretty, she put Iva to shame. Her blond hair was about the same shade as his but way more shiny and long, and when she smiled, feelings of contentment filled him. Her eyes pierced into him to the point where he almost wanted to look away, but he couldn’t force his eyes to move.

  He managed to laugh. “Yeah, I guess so.”

  “Is that your girlfriend with you tonight?” the girl asked.

  Benjamin glanced over to the dessert table and saw Heidi. And all at once, something strange happened in his mind. He found that he wanted to talk to this girl, and he didn’t want Heidi to see him doing it. Before Heidi could sense him watching, he looked back at the girl and shook his head.

  “No, not my girlfriend,” he said. “Just a friend who’s a girl.”

  “She’s pretty,” the girl said.

  “Um, I guess so,” Benjamin said. But not as pretty as you, he thought, but he didn’t voice it. Still, he found himself mesmerized and couldn’t pull his eyes off the girl. “Are you from around here?” He knew it sounded stupid, but he wanted to say something—anything—to keep talking to her.

  The girl nodded. “You could say that.” And then she looked over at the dessert table. “But I see your friend is finished getting her plate, so I won’t keep you.”

  “Maybe we can talk again?” he asked, hating the fact that she was breaking up the conversation.

  “Maybe,” the girl said and then turned and walked away.

  Benjamin watched her until she blended in with the crowd. And then he kept watching her until even her blond hair and red dress were no longer visible.

  “What’cha looking at?” Heidi asked.

  Benjamin jumped; he hadn’t heard her walk over.

  “Oh, nothing,” he said, hoping she wasn’t reading his mind.

  “Seems like a pretty interesting nothing,” Heidi said. “Does she have a name?”

  Was Heidi jealous? She still had a smile on her face, but it felt too carefully placed.

  “I was just talking to someone about what all this different food is.” He motioned down to his plate. And then he laughed. “But to tell you the truth, I’m still not sure.”

  Heidi balanced her plate with one hand and again interlinked her arm with his. “Why don’t we head over there and eat? Then we can finish looking around.”

  As hungry as Benjamin was, he only picked at his food. He hadn’t even asked the girl’s name. How stupid was that? And rude. She probably thought he was a total loser. But she’d come up to talk to him in the first place, which was strange in itself. She’d probably just noticed his confusion at the buffet line.

  “You know, Josh and I are having a few problems,” Heidi said.

  Benjamin lifted his head to look at her. Where in the world had that come from?

  “Uh, really?” Benjamin had no idea how to respond. Why would Heidi even bring something like that up in the first place?

  Heidi nodded her head. “Yeah. He’s been acting really possessive lately. Trying to control every little thing that I do.” She sighed. “He didn’t even want me to come on this trip.”

  Benjamin thought he caught a glimpse of red fabric through the crowd and looked over, wondering if it was the girl. But then it disappeared.

  “Yeah,” Heidi continued. “I’m actually thinking of breaking up with him tomorrow when we get back to Lemuria.”

  “You are?” Benjamin asked. “But what about going on double dates and stuff?”

  Heidi rolled her eyes. “I’m not going to keep dating Josh just so I can go on double dates.” She punched Benjamin lightly on the shoulder, and Benjamin glanced down as she did it. That seemed a little bit out of place.

  “Anyway,” she continued. “I can just hang out with you.” She lowered her voice, though with the noise in the room, there was no reason to. “You know, I’ve been doing some thinking about what happened in the teacher’s lounge.”

  That caught Benjamin’s attention. “You have?”

  She nodded. “Yeah. I mean to be truthful, I’ve been thinking about it a lot since it happened.”

  Benjamin just nodded his head slowly, afraid he’d say the wrong thing if he opened his mouth.

  Heidi sighed. “I know it wasn’t a mistake. We shared something special back in the tunnels at the Crags.”

  Benjamin caught the red fabric out of the corner of his eye again and turned to look. It was the girl he’d talked to earlier. Her back was to Benjamin and as soon as he saw her, she began moving away. He had to talk to her again. Find out her name, if nothing else.

  Without thinking about anything else, Benjamin stood up. “Hey, Heidi, I need to go to the bathroom.”

  “Right now?” she asked.

  She arched an eyebrow, but Benjamin didn’t stop to think about it. “Yeah, right now. I’ll be right back. Just wait here for me.”

  He walked away in the direction of the red dress. Benjamin had no idea where the bathroom actually was, but in a place as big as this museum, there was bound to be one in every direction.

  As he followed the girl through a maze of corridors, Benjamin thought he lost her. But then, just as he reached a set of doors, he saw her again, at the end of a long hallway. She hadn’t looked back, and Benjamin was sure she didn’t know he was following. She pushed a button to open a door, and disappeared into another exhibit hall.

  Benjamin reached the door and pushed the same button, but the door didn’t open like it had for her. And then he remembered the special codes the Midas brothers had given him. He flashed his eyeball in front of the reader, pushed the button again, and the door slid open.

  CHAPTER 16

  Exit Stage Left

  His first thought as he went through the opening was that the girl in the red dress had vanished. With the time he’d lost opening the door, she’d have had plenty of time to disappear. And his suspicions were pretty much confirmed; she may as well have teleported away.

  His second thought was that he didn’t care anymore. There, across a big stretch of grass, stood the three Moai from Easter Island. Benjamin couldn’t believe his luck. He’d had no idea how to find them, but luck had led him right to where he needed to go.

  As he walked across the grass, he realized he wasn’t inside anymore. They’d been placed in an outdoor exhibit, and the stars overhead shone down and reflected off the lake next to the Moai. Signs had been posted all along the grass walkway. Beware! Danger—Proceed at your own risk. Unstable Exhibit!

  And even though Benjamin felt like he’d almost accomplished his task, he remembered how the Moai had acted before. Would they show the same wrath they had on Easter Island? Maybe that’s why the signs had been put up in the first place.

  He realized he should probably have someone else with him. Back on Easter Island, Iva’s stepping into the square had been the main reason for their coming to life. And now Benjamin wondered—would they even deliver their message to him alone? Whatever it was.

  Ignoring the warning signs, he walked right up to the monolithic monsters. But under their giant forms, Benjamin felt his mind fill with doubt. Was he too close? Should he go back and get his friends? But he didn’t want to contact Heid
i just yet. She’d be furious that he’d snuck off like this, and he didn’t feel like arguing about it right now. He figured first he’d try to get the message himself. He ran his palms over the base of the largest Moai.

  “Benjamin?”

  Benjamin heard the voice in his head. “Cory! Where are you?”

  “In the main exhibit hall,” Cory said. “Where are you?”

  Benjamin didn’t feel like telling Cory just yet either. “I’m looking at one of the exhibits.”

  “Is Heidi with you?” Cory asked.

  Benjamin shook his head even though Cory had no way of seeing it. “No,” he said. “I had to go to the bathroom.” But it was a lie and Cory would know it. Benjamin tried to push the thought out of his head. He ran his hands over the statue’s base, until he found some engraved letters. He squatted down to get a better look.

  “Are you alone?” Cory asked, and even through the telepathic link, Benjamin felt the anger in Cory’s question.

  “Well, kind of,” Benjamin replied.

  “I told you not to go off alone,” Cory said. “Don’t you remember what I told you about the oracle? Our other sibling could be working against us.”

  “Yeah, I remember,” Benjamin said. “But it’s only for a second. I couldn’t bring Heidi to the bathroom with me, could I?”

  “Benjamin,” Cory said. “You didn’t have to go to the bathroom.”

  Busted. The sibling link between them was way too strong.

  “Listen, Cory,” Benjamin said. “Don’t tell Heidi, but I was following this girl.”

  “What girl?” Cory asked.

  Worry flooded from Cory to Benjamin. But looking around, Benjamin knew there was nothing to worry about. “I don’t know. Just some girl in a red dress. I couldn’t stop myself. But she’s gone now.”

  “Listen, Benjamin,” Cory said. “Turn around and leave.”

  “It’s no big deal,” Benjamin said.

  “It is a big deal!” If Cory had been speaking, he would have shouted it.

  “You’re overreacting,” Benjamin said, pretending he didn’t sense Cory’s anger. “But it doesn’t matter. I’m leaving. I’ll meet you in the main exhibit room.”