by Travis Hall
Baldar’s expression remained steady as he scanned the four teens, looking each one in the eye. He knocked his feet together, stood straight, placed his hand upon his chest like a salute, and then parted the group and moved into the dark tunnel.
“He’s a very serious individual,” Almas said, smiling halfheartedly. His eyes suggested that there was more to the story. “I’ve got to do some progress reports, so I want you to go with Baldar. The main chamber room is amazing. I wouldn’t want you to miss it.”
“Are you looking for something?” Allora asked, squinting her eyes like a hunter stalking its prey.
“Just trying to find out this place’s history,” Almas replied. “Always searching for the truth.”
He smiled and then walked back into the large chamber.
Allora looked over to Tanner. “Why do I feel like—”
“You’re hungry?” Tanner said, grabbing Allora’s helmet. He then placed his index finger on the plastic facemask and puckered his lips. Then he mouthed, “They can hear everything we say.”
“Yeah, I’m totally hungry,” Allora said, remembering the intercom system that linked everyone.
“Could definitely go for a burger,” Dax said.
“Or a smoothie,” Katie said, patting her brother on the stomach. “You’ve been packing on a few too many pounds.”
“That’s my football weight,” Dax replied, standing up straight with his hands on his waist. “What about you, fatty? I saw what you posted on the scale.”
“That’s muscle weight,” Katie said, mimicking her twin brother’s stance.
A deep, raspy voice interrupted the argument. “Are you coming?”
They all peered around the corner into the tunnel. Baldar was standing fifty feet away. They followed the gnome down the tunnel, peeking into the rooms that lined it. In the corners of one of the rooms were enormous, twenty-foot vases that hugged the ceiling. In another room there was spiral shelving with old, dust-covered remnants of books. Allora went into the room. On the ground were old pieces of deteriorated parchment. She was about to touch one of the crumbling books when a sharp voice screamed into her intercom.
“Don’t touch that!” Baldar said, tensely stomping into the room. “Are you insane? That artifact is thousands of years old.” He grabbed her frozen, outstretched hand and yanked it down. “Any exposure to our oils and bacteria could completely ruin these relics. Don’t touch anything!”
“OK,” Allora said, rolling her eyes at the gnome as he trudged out of the room.
At the end of the tunnel, the archway opened to a domed room with large, metal double doors. Baldar had to jump to grab the brass rings that hung in the middle. He pulled while standing on the tips of his toes. The metal creaked and shuddered as the crack in the middle opened. A slight breeze blew outward. From his pocket, Baldar pulled out a few translucent orbs that he sparked and tossed inside the dark room. The orbs’ light showed an expansive, circular inner chamber, sunken into the ground. The pillars that lined the exterior of the circular room bent at the ceiling, connecting into an intricately designed archway-like dome. At the base of the pillars was a series of marble seats that were falling apart. Chunks of stone littered the floor. In the center was an elevated marble throne that faced the horseshoe. They walked toward it, inspecting the chamber like awestruck tourists. Brutus and Grunt hung back, standing at attention at the door.
“This is where the founding guardians met,” Baldar said. His monotone voice suggested boredom and annoyance at being a tour guide. “This was the room for the original council, which was led by Zeus, who was the leader of the guardians during and after the Titan Wars.” Baldar went up to the seat in the middle of the room and pointed. “He sat here.”
“Really?” Allora said sarcastically. “Thank you so much because I couldn’t have deduced that myself. We are just simple people with small brains.”
Baldar glared at Allora, turned his head as though listening to something through his helmet, and then stalked off toward the double doors.
“Stay here. Don’t touch anything,” he said, leaving the room.
“How many times do you think he’s going to tell us not to touch anything?” Dax said.
“I heard that,” Baldar’s voice said through the intercom.
“I was kidding,” Dax replied.
“I’ve got an idea,” Tanner said, huddling up with the other three. “Outside intercom link off.”
The robotic woman’s voice came on. “Please choose private com links either by visual selection or vocal name identification.” Tanner pointed his facemask to each of the others, which displayed each of their images in small, round, live links along the left side of the facemask.
“Confirm private com link, and shut off outside com link.”
“Private com link confirmed,” the robotic woman said.
“How did you know how to do that?” Allora asked, smiling.
“They had a couple of the suits in the transport, along with the manual. I was a little curious, so I read a few pages while we were flying down here. Comes in handy, huh?”
“You sure it worked?” Dax asked.
“Try it out.”
“Hey, Baldar, I just knocked over Zeus’s chair, and it broke into a thousand pieces, you small, crazy dwarf.”
They waited for an angry voice to echo into their ears. Nothing happened. Allora nudged Tanner flirtatiously and smiled.
“Nice work,” she said. Then she turned to look around the room, walking toward the center. “What do you guys think they’re trying to find down here?”
“Maybe they’re looking for the Eye,” Katie suggested.
“Nah, I think they’re trying to find exactly what we are,” Tanner said, following Allora to Zeus’s chair. “Almas said it himself: they are looking for the truth.”
“I’m just wondering what they’re going to do when they learn that truth,” Dax said.
“What do you mean?” Tanner asked.
“Zeus and the other guardians went to a lot of effort to cover up the truth about the Titan Wars,” Dax said, placing his hand on the armrest of the large marble chair in the middle and staring at the backrest as though trying to look into the past. “I just have this sinking feeling that the events of that war were meant to stay secret for a reason, and I’d hate for that secret to get into the wrong hands.”
“I agree,” Tanner said. “That is why we need to find the scroll before anyone else.” He placed his hand on top of Dax’s. “We need to swear on Zeus’s throne that we will do whatever it takes to retrieve the Scroll of Alexandria before anyone else.”
Katie placed her hand on top of Tanner’s. “I swear by Zeus.”
Allora placed her hand gently on the top. “And by Uncle Ben.”
They all looked at Allora, realizing the seriousness of her comment. A slight chill ran down their backs and the hadrons within pulsated from the sudden emotional jolt. Allora pulled her hand back slowly and moved behind the throne, searching for a distraction from her thoughts.
“Well, now what?” Dax asked.
Katie, Tanner, and Dax discussed the next steps while Allora ventured to the back wall. A mural had recently been restored, uncovering a beautifully painted depiction of an epic air battle with what looked like dragons, flying horses, birds, discs, winged warriors, and fire throughout. Allora moved to the right, feeling a slight sensation coming over her, like she was living a dream. Her eyes started to gloss over as she scanned the mural, and her mind flashed suddenly. Then she saw a small eye staring back at her, like a sentry. Her mind flashed again to an outstretched arm that was much longer than hers. Without conscious control over herself, she placed her palm on the Eye, feeling the hadrons flow into the wall. The ground shuddered and opened up beneath her. Allora dropped into a black abyss, screaming as she fell.
chapter
ELEVEN
Jade Cube
Her suit suddenly ballooned, creating pockets of air within. Allora hit the grou
nd, rolling down a hill of sand that had accumulated at the bottom of the trap door. Rocks and sand plummeted from the ceiling, crashing to the ground. Allora’s breathing became erratic as she kept rolling in the complete darkness. The clear display flashed red, and her intercom burst awake with the distressed pleas of her friends. After a few dizzying seconds, her body stopped. Sand and stone kept falling, covering her body in an avalanche of earth.
“Please,” she pleaded, hyperventilating in her cocoon. “I can’t move.”
“Shut up, guys,” Tanner said, hearing Allora’s frightened pleas. “Allora, listen to my voice. I need you to slow down your breathing.” Allora took in a few terrified, quick breaths and then closed her mouth, breathing deeply through her nose. “Good. Now I need you to tell me whether you’re hurt.”
“No, I don’t think so,” she replied, trying to move her limbs.
“Did the suit inflate?”
“Yes, but I’m buried and can’t see a thing.”
“You’re going to be fine,” Tanner said calmly over the intercom. “Just keep taking long, deep breaths. Those suits are designed for this sort of thing. We will get help. Outside intercom on.” The robotic voice repeated his words. “Almas, we have a problem.”
A deep, concerned voice came on the intercom. “What the hell just happened?”
“Allora just fell down a trap door, and she’s buried.”
“I’m almost there,” Almas said, his voice bouncing as though he was sprinting. “Allora, do you hear me?”
“Yes,” she said.
“Don’t worry. We will be there to dig you out in a minute. Intercom all. Emergency protocol alpha. All personnel to Zeus’s chamber immediately. I need a full structural assessment, along with support kits and a hover pad.”
Allora listened to the sudden orchestra of commands being exchanged over the intercom. She could tell that their training was impeccable, like that of a military unit. For an hour, Allora remained frozen in the darkness. The voices in her helmet were becoming too much, so she shut off the intercom. The silence was eerie but more calming than the repetitive ensemble of scratchy intercom communication. She shut her eyes and allowed her mind to settle, focusing on a single point of thought that lingered at the back of her mind like an itch waiting to be scratched.
Allora was in a dark alleyway with the jade cube in a palm in front of her vision. It was her uncle’s calloused hand. At the edge of a darkened village square, a wooden sign hung in front of a store. As she got closer, a burned image appeared on the sign. It was a triangle with a circle and an eye in the middle. Suddenly a flashing light blurred her vision, pulling her out of the dream. She blinked, focusing on the light that was sifting through the grains of sand being pulled away from her mask. Several fingers were brushing at the sand aggressively. Allora focused on a terrified face mouthing her name through the translucent mask.
“Intercom on,” Allora said.
“Allora? Allora? Can you hear me?” Tanner yelled. “Dig harder!”
“Tanner, I’m here. I turned off my intercom. I’m fine.”
She pulled her hands through the sand and grabbed Tanner’s wrist. He yanked her from the ground. He hugged her and then examined the inflated suit.
“You scared the crap out of me,” Tanner said, squeezing the hard, ballooned limbs. “Why did you turn off your intercom?”
“Sorry. I just couldn’t stand the sound. It was making me anxious. I didn’t want to have a panic attack.”
“Well, you seriously made us have a panic attack,” Katie said, jumping onto Allora’s inflated suit.
“You look like a marshmallow,” Dax added. “I knew you’d be fine.”
“And how did you know that?” Katie said, jumping off Allora.
“Please. It would take much more than that to kill this girl. She’s like a cat with nine lives.”
“Thanks, Dax,” Allora said. “That’s probably the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
“You gave us a good scare there, missy,” Almas said. He sent a couple of glowing orbs into the air, and they illuminated the rock-filled cavern.
“That is why you don’t touch anything,” Baldar added, sliding down the sand hill along with two other gnomes who jumped off a hover pad.
“You are like a broken record, little dude,” Dax said.
“You insignificant, disrespectful weakling,” Baldar said, pushing forward and making an aggressive gesture before being stopped by Almas. “I will crush you.”
“Baldar, why don’t you go examine the support structure?” Almas ordered. “I need that to be secured without any mistakes.”
Baldar backed off. “Yes, sir. Isolate intercom.”
“That gnome has got serious anger management problems,” Dax said, watching Baldar push around a few gnomes that were sitting atop of the sand hill.
“You would too if you saw your entire village destroyed,” Almas said, walking away.
Katie patted her brother’s back. “Nice work, slick.”
“Wow, now I feel bad.”
They followed Almas into the cavern, walking up a ramp that led to a stone door. Allora’s memory kept going back to her dream in flashes as they walked up the incline. Almas hesitated, examining the wall of stone. He then sparked the door, but nothing happened. A memory of a hand turning flashed in Allora’s mind. It was a combination lock.
She moved forward, grabbing Almas’s forearm. “Let me try.”
Almas paused in thought and then stepped backward.
Allora placed her palm up to the protruding round center of the stone door, sparked it, and then rotated her hand in the same way that the individual in her dream had done. Once she stopped, the stone door shuddered and then slowly slid to the left.
“How did you know that combination?” Almas inquired, suspiciously staring down at Allora.
“I’m not entirely sure.”
Almas paused and then smiled. “I guess you’re good to have around.”
He kept staring down at her as he sent a single glowing orb into the blackness of the opening. Just like her dream, the interior was the same as the circular room underneath Crater Lake.
“Hey, isn’t this…,” Dax started to say before being punched by Allora. “…an awesome find?”
Almas glanced at the two inquisitively.
“Why do I feel like you four know more about this place than I do?” Almas asked.
“Funny, I could say the same about everybody in this place,” Allora retorted.
Almas laughed and nodded. “You are a lot like your mother.”
The warlock entered the stone room, scanning the archways. They all went inside and walked around like patrons in a museum.
“What is this place?” Tanner asked.
“It’s a stationary portal room,” Almas said. “It allows you to port to places around Earth without a portal energy signature. Many of these were built during the Titan Wars so that the guardians could transport soldiers to key locations without being detected.”
“So you can access this place from other locations?” Tanner asked.
“No,” Almas said, touching the interior wall of the archway. “These portals have been completely closed from the outside.”
Allora walked to the center, just like in her dream. She placed her hand in the middle of the concave bowl and sent a hadron spark into the middle. The stone podium rose.
“What are you doing?” Almas said, frantically searching the room as though it were going to cave in.
The middle split into four sections, opening outward. Allora just stared at the podium as though in a trance. They all leaned in once the podium stopped moving.
“Was there supposed to be something inside?” Dax asked, noticing the empty interior.
Allora searched around inside with her hand.
“I think it’s time that we call it a day,” Almas said, blankly staring into the empty receptacle. His body was tense and rigid. Allora turned and noticed the shaking, clenched
fist on his right side. His expression changed as he turned, grabbed Allora by the shoulder, and led them out of the room. “You should be very proud of yourself. I will let the Interior Council of History know that this momentous archeological discovery should be accredited to Allora Sona.”
Almas shook her hand, showing his teeth as he stared proudly into Allora’s facemask. He then brought down the hover pad and hurried everyone out of the cavern. Allora remained quiet as they exited the pyramid, got out of their suits, took a hover pad to the top, and got into the metal platform at the top of the bowl-shaped cavern. Nothing was said before the platform took off into the tunnel toward the transport.
Once they unloaded on the landing pad at their apartment complex, Allora told the others what she had seen in her dream.
“That explains a lot,” Katie said as they walked into their temporary apartment on the right side of the landing pad.
“I guess I know where we’re going tomorrow,” Dax said, grabbing a soda from the fridge.
Allora sat back into the couch and put her feet up on the ottoman, exhausted from the exploration.
The city of Shangri-La was bustling in the twilight of the glowing orbs that filled the interior of the large dome. Transport ships zipped between the outcropped apartment complexes and rocky skyscraper buildings that lined the walls of the city. The air smelled of lavender that was pumped into the cavern through filtered air ducts. Allora hung over the balcony rail and looked down into the intricate crisscrossing walkways that linked the different buildings. All paths led to the center core, which was a large, oblong mesh of rock, stone, metal, and glass, with the momentous circular acropolis at the top. At the bottom of the city, the buildings condensed into a maze of rock and manmade structures.
Milly came outside and gave her daughter a cup of coffee.
“Amazing, isn’t it?” Milly said, sipping the steaming hot liquid.
“Like nothing I’ve ever seen,” Allora said, continuing to observe. “What’s at the bottom of the city?”