Ascent
Page 31
“Sir, help is here!” a guard shouted as he ran in. More followed, in seemingly endless numbers. The chamber was apparently as unpleasant to them as it was to the Nameless. Every single one had to squint.
“Are you—?” Another one tried to say something before the sight in the middle of the room rendered him speechless. The rest were not far behind.
“Help will not be necessary,” the Nameless said. He raised one hand, letting them see that he held an automatic pistol.
“Monster!” a guard shouted, cocking his rifle. At the same time, several others took a step back.
So quite a few of them knew what he was, or at least had an idea, the Nameless concluded. That was good news. It seemed that he had a chance.
“Drop the gun, asshole!” one of them said.
“No,” the Nameless said, putting on his most inhuman smile. Careful so as not to draw fire, he rose from his seat, the pistol trained nowhere in particular. They should all see me at this point. He looked around. There were close to fifty people, and more kept coming.
“Surrender and we may spare the girl,” the guard said.
“She lives?” the Nameless asked.
“She’ll have a better chance if no one shoots her,” the guard said.
I see, the Nameless thought. All the more reason to go through with this.
“Your leader is dead!” he shouted abruptly. “He lies broken at my feet! How is that possible, I ask you?”
No one replied. Luckily no one shot neither, so he continued.
“The time has come for the masks to come off! I stand before you not as a man, but as a god! Fear me, and live! Worship me, and thrive! This will be the new way of things!”
Someone else cocked his rifle. I will have to cut this short.
“You presume to shoot me?” he shouted. “Fine! I will spare you the trouble!”
The gun still in his hand, the Nameless pressed it against his heart and pulled the trigger. The gunshot echoed across the chamber, followed closely by several others. Shot in many places, he fell back, crashing into a sitting position on the throne.
“Crazy bastard,” someone said.
“He might’ve been crazy, but look at what he did to the boss! And we know he wasn’t human,” someone else added.
“To the sheriff too!”
“Never mind that. He’s dead. This is over.”
“But what now?”
A loud murmur slowly filled the room, getting louder and louder by the second.
“You are going to obey me like you did the late Sun God here,” the Nameless said as he rose, his voice piercing the racket.
“What the…?”
“How?” someone else said, dropping his rifle.
“I do not die!” the Nameless shouted, spreading his arms and letting everyone get a good look at his reweaving flesh. “I do not hurt! Repent your ways and be forgiven!” Somewhat slowly, he kicked the Sun God’s body. As it collapsed, the head almost separated from the rest. “Resist and suffer this!”
Slowly and one by one, guards started dropping on their knees. As they lowered their rifles on the reflective surface, the Nameless realized that he had won.
“Forgive us!” a man shouted.
“We didn’t know!” another one said.
“What are we to do?”
Instead of saying anything, the Nameless sat right back on the throne. It had been a horribly long day, and he was due some rest.
“Spread the word,” he said, the chamber’s acoustics spreading his voice far and wide. “Tell everyone what happened here. Babylon is under new Management, and nothing will ever be the same.”
The men alternated between exchanging glances and merely staring at him.
“What do we call you?” someone asked.
“I am the Nameless,” he said. “And you will call me Lord.”
Epilogue
David Torres left the amphitheater and made his way home. As always, the permanently crowded walkways of the second floor made the trip painfully long.
Slow day, slow way back, he thought as he slipped in between a pair of particularly sluggish people. Despite the recent rumors of turmoil upstairs, things did not seem to change at all down here. The guards had all seemed rattled one day, and then nothing else happened at all. Everything was just as peaceful, uneventful, and boring as always.
For a while he practically stood in place, taking approximately one step per ten seconds. The only thing that prevented him from falling asleep was the knowledge that he would soon be home. Expensive or not, getting that high-up apartment was the best idea he’d ever had.
“Excuse me,” he said as he separated himself from the mass. They continued to the general rooms, while he needed to take a detour right.
Finally, some breathing space.
The act of approaching the gate always gave him at least some semblance of relief. However, this time David remained on edge. Is something wrong? He sprung from his usual post-work haze, instantly noticing that there were more guards than he was used to.
“This is him,” one of them said as he pointed toward David.
“Is…?” Torres stopped in his tracks. His heart started pumping faster. “Is anything wrong, officers?”
“Not much,” another guard said, slowly approaching. David had never seen him before. “You’re just wanted up above.”
“Why?” David said, reflexively taking a step back. Are they investigating the whole thing with Bones?
“Don’t make this difficult,” another unknown guard said as he approached. Two more followed suit. “We’ve had ourselves some really, really bad days.”
For a split second, David considered turning tail. The image of Patricia that flashed before his eyes completely wiped that idea from his mind.
“My daughter,” he said, sweat trickling from his brow. “Is she alright?”
“She’s perfect,” a guard said. “And we’ll make sure she stays that way. All you need to do in kind is to come with us.”
“Fine,” David said, turning to his side. “Lead the way.”
“Stay close,” one of the men said as they encircled him. “This’ll be faster than you’re used to.”
As the guards commenced their shouting and yelling, the crowd dispersed within moments. Like bugs before a flame, the mob hugged the surrounding walls, allowing the small group to go through as fast as they wished.
“They call me Moses,” one of them said as he signaled for David to start moving.
Usually such an arduous task, this time the act of getting to the elevator hub was over within minutes. With the whole bunch of them within a single lift, David was on edge again.
“And you still won’t tell me why you’ve come for me?” he said.
“We don’t know,” the one calling himself Moses said. “All we’ve been told is to get you up. Gently.”
“Ah,” David said. Some relief, at least.
Minutes passed in silence, and the doors started opening. David squinted from the natural-looking lighting. Compared to what he was used to, it was way too intense.
“No time to admire the sight,” Moses said, pointing to a door in front of them “You’re to go inside there.”
“Alright,” David said as he exited the elevator. He proceeded forward, looking through his fingers. For whatever reason, the smell of soap was strong in the air. Do they wash this place that frequently?
Room Number One. He tried grabbing the knob, but it was missing.
“Yeah, don’t worry about that,” Moses said from behind. “Just push it and go in, then go left. That one’ll be busted up as well, but it doesn’t matter.”
What the hell? David wondered, but did as he was told. Once inside, he noticed that instead of a room, there was yet another hallway. He went to his left, pushing that door in as well. So, this is a museum of some—
“David! Please, take a seat,” Bones said, pointing to a chair. In the center of a room filled with Native American artifacts, he sa
t behind an expensive-looking table. He was dressed in a jet-black suit of highest possible quality.
“Bones?” Had David seen a talking white elephant, he’d have been less surprised. “What’s going on here? Did you call for me?”
“Indeed I did,” Bones said with a smile. “I would have done it a few days ago, but urgent matters needed my attention. Not that this is any less urgent.”
“So…” David snuck a peek at the table. Several books about various subjects were liberally spread over it. “You’re working for the Management now?”
“Close,” Bones said, again pointing to the chair. “I am the Management now.” The way he said it, he was either insane or telling the truth. It was difficult to decide which was worse.
“Just one question,” David said as he took his seat. “How?”
“There will be plenty of time to discuss that,” Bones said, leaning in. The smile disappeared from his face. “I have called you up here with a proposition, David. Accept it, and you will never lack for anything again. Neither will Patricia.”
“I’m listening,” David said, leaning back.
“You are good with business, yes?” Bones said as he took up one of his books. It appeared old and haggard, and it was difficult to read the cover. “I am not. No matter how much I read, I still understand next to nothing.”
“Not surprising at all,” David said. “People did used to go to school for that, you know?”
“I do,” Bones said, putting the book down. “I also know that this place needs a competent man to manage its assets, or it will fall apart. It needs you, David.” He leaned back, spreading his arms. “I offer you this office, as well as lordship over the entire floor. You will be my right hand, and together we will reshape Babylon.” He smiled again. “Into something grander.”
For several seconds, David was silent. Just when it seemed that Bones was about to speak again, he rose and approached the table.
“Where do I sign?” he said, extending his right hand.
“Nowhere,” Bones replied, rising to accept the handshake. “I need no assurance when dealing with friends.”
THE END
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When he is not lost in apocalyptic imagery, M. T. Miller enjoys the finer things in life: video games, junk food, and a whole lot of procrastination. Follow him on Twitter @MillerNameless
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