Huffing loudly, the two Salamanders push forward. Electricity arches between them like an electrified blue rope. Videus takes a step back, letting them do his bidding.
Ammon and I stand immobile, but as the electrical arch gets close, it sears the air and the edge of my trouser leg. I stumble backward, pushing both of us toward the open doorway.
Between the heat of the tunnel and the blue electrical arcs of the Salamanders, the pressure is extremely oppressing. It’s hard to breathe—and sweat instantly pools at the small of my back, only to dry out and start all over.
The Salamanders push us onward, and Ammon and I continue to stumble down the hallway. To the right, a large half-moon desk comes into view. The check-in station for those who work here. It’s the entry point for the Crematorium. The desk is vacant and no one else is anywhere in sight.
Is this intentional?
How much advance warning did he have that Ammon and I would be here? Did Videus ensure he’d be alone?
To the left is a series of large loops with old-fashioned keys dangling nonchalantly. Almost as though they’re decor for a place in a torture chamber…and I suppose they are.
The Salamanders continue herding us down the hallway—past the desk, past the keys, and on to a series of doors. Each door is like the others, large and see-through, with an electrical current pushing through them in a very similar way to the checkpoints in the Helix. With one difference—a large clear keyhole hovers in the middle of the open space.
“You won’t be able to manipulate these doors, Everblossom. If you try to escape, you’ll be incinerated down to your DNA. I kinda hope you try, but then again, where’s the fun in that?” Videus says, his voice oddly cheerful for a place like this.
I try to slow us down, to take the time to peer into each cell as we pass by. Sunken faces, wide eyes peer out—but none are familiar from what I can tell. In one cell, a man sits crouched down, hands huddled in front of him as he cradles handfuls of his own hair.
I keep my eyes open wide, taking every nuance I can in. Videus has to be keeping Kani here somewhere.
“Keep moving it along,” Videus says. “There’s no need for stalling. This is the beginning of your new life.”
I shiver away the thought. Any length of time in here would seem like an eternity.
We walk for a couple hundred meters and suddenly the series of doorways and cells branch off in a large honeycomb-like maze. No longer are the cells buried in rock, but divvied up into glass cells as far as the eye can see.
I stop short, looking at the sea of bodies as they meander aimlessly inside their confinements. The heat is unbearable, as if the source of the intensity is here—but all I see are people.
“What have you done to them?” I say, turning around to face Videus.
“What I’ve had to. You still don’t get it. You don’t understand how you’ve destroyed everything. How all the suffering leads back to you. All these people—you’re the reason they’re here. In my hunt for you, they’ve been the casualties. I’ve tried to make them useful. To turn them into something I can endure. But these ones—they’re the ones who refused to break for one reason or another. So instead of regaining their freedom by working for me as a Labot, they’re stuck here. They’ve been most useful in my studies toward understanding what makes the Daughter of Five so goddamn special.”
My eyes widen and Ammon tugs at my arm. His fingernails dig into my skin.
“They’re not all here,” I say, jutting my chin out.
“Of course they’re not,” Videus spits. “I’m not stupid. I know which are better suited elsewhere. Take your little pet, for instance.”
Ammon whimpers, hiding completely behind my body. I feel his small frame begin to shake uncontrollably.
“What about him?” I prod, searching for my own information.
“Well, for starters, he was a pet project of mine. One of utmost importance—so I kept him elsewhere. Consider it a diversified investment of sorts. I had to be assured he’d be safe. Granted, I didn’t know you’d go looking for him. But all’s well that ends well,” Videus sneers. “Synchronicity is a funny thing.”
“Why keep him in the cavern like that? Why did you need to starve him, or beat him, and shackle him?”
“Oh, my dear, Everblossom, all will be clear in time.”
“Comforting,” I say, channeling Kani.
I glance around the space, looking for Kani’s trademark long black hair and green streaks. She’s no where to be found. At least, not anywhere I can see in the sea of bodies in front of me.
“Now, this is how things are going to work,” Videus says.
His Salamanders take their queue, circling around us and penning us together.
“I’m going to take the boy and return him to where he came from.”
“No—” Ammon screams. “No, I can’t go back there. Please, please Runa—don’t let him put me back in there. I—I can’t go back to the cave. Please.”
My mind races, trying to find a way out of this. A way to keep Ammon here.
“Why would you need to do that? You said it yourself. You have what you really wanted—me. What difference would some small little boy make to you now? Look at him, he can barely stand and you’re scaring him senseless,” I say, trying to tug at some threads of reason, hoping one might lead to something.
“Nice try, Daughter of Five. But this little boy, as you put it, has some very interesting capabilities. In fact, if I didn’t know better, I would say he’s more dangerous than you are. It’s just a pity the prophecy was about a girl—a daughter. Otherwise I would have pegged it on him to be the one to try and stop me.”
“Maybe you’re right,” I say, “Maybe Ammon is more special than I am. But he wouldn’t hurt anyone. And he’s no threat to you. Let him go.”
“Because you say so? Oh, Everblossom, I’ve been through this so many times in my head. I know exactly what I’m doing. And why I’m doing it.”
I snicker.
“Enlighten us then—you’re just going to kill us anyway.”
Videus chuckles and raises a hand, pointing to the sea of people beyond.
“Do you see them? Really see them? Mothers, fathers, daughters, sons. Some as old as ninety. Some as young as two. Take a good, long look for me,” Videus says.
Giving a backward glance at Videus, I turn around and look again. Not a single person has glanced our way. Not a single one has offered acknowledgement in Videus’ direction. They continue on their strange, broken patterns. Some shuffle from side to side. Others walk in circles inside their cells. A few are on the floor, hands in their heads or holding their ears. He’s right, too. Young, old. They’re all here and separated by thick sheets of glass. Not a single one of them is trying to get out. None are yelling, screaming, hitting the glass. It’s like they’ve all given up.
In one of the cells a few rows back, a small child, no more than three lies on the ground. Such an odd thing, because they’re so active at that age. At first, I can’t tell if she’s still alive, except when you watch her for a few moments, you can see her arms move. They flop suddenly, almost as if she’s seizing. Then stop again.
“Help her—that little girl needs help,” I cry, pointing her direction.
“She’ll be gone soon enough,” Videus says, a hint of amusement in his voice.
I swallow down the bile that arises. This man is so sick. He’s torturing people here. He’s killed those in my bloodline just to get to me. Crafting his blood snow statues from their dead corpses. The blood mask he wears is simply another symbol of his obsession.
I turn back to him.
“What happened to you? What could possibly make a person do this?” I say, suddenly overcome with a fierce sense of sorrow.
Videus snickers.
“We’ve already had this little chat, Everblossom, dear. It’s time to stop stalling.”
With a flick of his finger, five of the cells ignite into a set of searing hot blue flames. I k
now the intensity of the heat instantly because it hits us where we stand. The screams of pain that escape those in the cells lasts no more than seconds before they’re snuffed out completely. When the flames cease, nothing remains in the cells except for a thin layer of gray on the floor—ash.
A silent scream erupts and I cup my mouth. The little girl—the three year old girl is gone.
“Let’s make something perfectly clear. You will be going into one of these cells made especially for you. Once I have the information I require, you will greet the blue flame. If I don’t get what I require, five more of these—” Videus stops, his blank bloody face staring out over the room, “people will be incinerated.”
Distain drips from his voice and a shiver creeps up my spine, coiling like a snake.
If I give him what he wants, I’m dead. If I don’t, innocent people will die.
I take a deep breath, turning to Videus, “And if I give you what you want. What will become of them?”
Videus laughs, “Why would that be your concern?”
“Well, there isn’t much incentive in your offer,” I say, trying to be more brave than I feel.
Ammon whimpers, sinking to the floor at my feet.
“You’re not overly in a position to bargain for anything,” Videus says, still laughing.
“If you want me to cooperate—I need your word. You need to promise me that everyone will be let go. Give them new NanoTech clothing and set them off on their own. If they make it in the woods, at least they aren’t here. If they don’t—then the onus is on them,” I say.
“And why would I do that? What difference would that make?” Videus says, distain dripping in his voice.
“Because if I don’t get what I want, you won’t. I already know when you do—you’ll kill me. Then you’ll kill all of them. So what difference would it matter to me that you’re taking them out five at a time? At least those are the lucky ones. They have less time to endure this hellish place,” I spit, my loathing for this man bubbling to the surface.
Videus paces, hopefully considering what I’ve said.
The Salamanders huff menacingly, waiting for an order from their master.
“Very well. You have my word. Once I have what I’m looking for, I will release them all,” Videus says slowly.
“And how do I know you’ll keep up your end of the bargain. I’ll be gone, after all. I need assurances,” I say, jutting my chin out.
“Runa—” Ammon warns. I know he doesn’t want me to push Videus too far, but I have a plan now and I need to see it through.
I’m met with silence, and just as I start to think Videus will simply kill us—he grunts. Walking to me slowly, he places his forefinger and middle finger between my eyebrows, touching the center of my forehead. It’s not what I expected, but the results are almost the same.
Suddenly overwhelmed with images given to me from Videus, I see everyone being released. I sense his admission and promise to follow through. There’s no hidden agenda in it. The people here simply don’t matter more than the information he seeks. I see them being released, to fend for themselves—but still free of their confinement. I see Ammon being let go to find his way back to where he belongs. Before he removes his fingers, I get a flash of something else—perhaps something he didn’t meant to transmit, but something important just the same.
I see a flash of a boy. No more than ten years old, laughing, and playing. His golden hair dancing in the sunlight as he runs and hides behind a snow covered tree. The feelings connected to it are so overwhelming, they bring tears to my eyes, and a heaviness to my heart. This is why—what it’s all been for. On some level or another, Videus once loved this golden haired boy, full of light and laughter.
He removes his fingers, taking a step back.
“I assume that’s sufficient,” Videus says, clearly unaware of the additional details he’s passed along.
Swallowing hard, I nod.
“It is,” I say, my mouth suddenly dry.
“Runa—you can’t possibly trust this guy,” Ammon says, groping at my arm, his voice a higher octave than before.
I bend down, looking Ammon in the eye. I understand now, why I was meant to find this brother of mine. Ammon is tied to Videus’ desire for vengeance and the deep seeded pain he feels. He’s searching for recourse—and a ghost that’s all. After witnessing the memory, Ammon has a similar build and is of similar age to the boy in Videus’ mind. Of course, this is who he’d use against me, he’s an archetype in this sick man’s mind.
It’s also why I know he’ll be safest if I cooperate now—at least in some form.
“Ammon, everything is going to be alright. Nothing bad is ever going to happen to you,” I say, trying to reassure him.
Shaking his head, he keeps repeating, “No, no, no…”
I stand up.
“I want him to be the first let go. If you release him, I’ll cooperate fully. Right now,” I say.
Videus takes a deep inhalation, and begins pacing again.
After a moment, he turns to me and says, “Done.”
Immediately, the Salamanders surrounding us shift around, herding Ammon away from my grasp and back the way we came.
“No—Runa, no! You can’t possibly trust him. Please, don’t do this—” Ammon screams as he’s pushed further and further away. “I need to stay with you. I need—”
Videus grabs hold of my wrist and drags me along the corridor. A squeal of surprise erupts from my lips, as I’m forced to leave Ammon and follow along. I claw at his hand, trying to pry away from his grasp.
“Let me go—I’ll follow you,” I say.
Videus drops my hand and stops moving. Swooping his hand out in front of his body, he motions for me to take the lead.
“Your new home is up ahead,” he says, jabbing me in the side to continue on.
Lamenting not getting a proper goodbye, I realize I can use it to fuel my cause. I need to get out of this—to get back to him and be a part of his life. To make sure he’s safely gotten away from all of this.
Passing by glass cage after glass cage, the people inside are devoid of their innate spark. I don’t know what Videus has done to them, but it’s as if no one is taking up residence inside their own bodies anymore. None of them look our way, nor show any kind of sign they are afraid for their own lives. It’s like they simply—exist.
“What have you done to everyone?” I ask, unable to help myself.
“When you play with people’s minds in order to search for something you seek—this is what you get. Now, it seems they’re nothing more than flesh and bones…and blood,” Videus says.
It occurs to me, a sudden flash of insight, this is why he agreed. This is why they mean nothing to him. They’re no longer here—no longer inside their own minds. They’ve vacated and who knows if they’ll be able to be brought back.
Oh—what have I done?
I take a deep breath, suddenly overcome with a mixture of anxiety and despair.
“Welcome to your new home,” Videus says as we come to a final glass cube.
Raised up higher than the others, the cage of glass is vacant. As we near, a set of three glass steps appear, granting us access to the space.
“Get in,” Videus says, jabbing his finger into my side.
I take a final glance at the people surrounding me.
It’s all my fault they’re here, just as Videus said.
My mind starts spinning in all various directions, and I feel the ancestral blood coursing through my veins begin to ignite. With a simple glance, I can distinguish those here who are blood tied to me, and those who are not.
Videus was so close—more than not are somehow tied directly to my bloodline.
I step into my glass cage and Videus follows.
Once we’re both inside, the cube seals itself, then the glass frosts over—an opaque white.
A glass chair rises from the floor, along with several tables covered in metallic tools of various shapes and siz
es.
“Shall we get started?”
5
Traeton
IF I GOTTA DEAL with this damn intruder in my head, I’m gonna at least make the most of it. Let’s just see how Videus likes me knocking at his door. Gathering up the tools I need to back Runa up, I start by stuffing everything into a pack. I’m well aware there are a ridiculous number of ways this could go sideways. How could it not? But that’s not really the point. I need to do something while I’m still me. If Videus gets close enough, I’ll need something to take him out. Something small and discreet.
I walk the aisles of weapons and grab an electric blade. It’s god knows how old, but I’ve got no doubt it’s effective. Plus, it’s different in that it only becomes a blade when you grip it tight. Hell, it could even come in handy if I need to throw a wrench into the Helix’s electrical system. Nothing like a good power overload—as long as I’m not attached to the damn thing.
The intruder continues attempting to break back into my mind. Desperation fills his pleas and I stop for a moment in the spirit of gloating.
“Yeah, how does it feel? Knowing you want to say something, affect change, and you’re trapped in there?” I say, my own pain bleeding through my words.
There’s one difference between the two of us. Curiosity is stronger than any direct order. At least for me. Always been that way—just ask Delaney.
I take a seat for a moment, closing my eyes, and resting my head on the table. As much as I hate it, I need my own intel.
“What can I expect when I get into the Helix? Has Videus amassed his army of Labots?” I ask, quietly trying to hear the answer that comes.
It comes like static, bits of words at first.
Better…stay…torture…
“Torture? Torture who?” I growl.
If he’s hurting her—so help me, I’ll kill Videus the moment I lay eyes on the bastard.
The separation between the intruder and I is ironically cumbersome. If I can’t get rid of him, I wish I could at least interrogate him properly. This is bullshit.
The Complete Pendomus Chronicles Trilogy: Books 1-3 of the Pendomus Chronicles Dystopian Scifi Boxed Set Series Page 52