by S. Y. Lee
Inside, the mansion was quiet.
It was almost noon and Leo was lying on his back on the carpeted floor in the guest bedroom. Above him, his hands rotated the cubical block. He had examined every side of the box dozens of times, using his fingers to trace every line and indentation. He could probably draw all the pictograms from memory by now.
For the past few days, Eva and Leo had been trying to crack the puzzle box without any luck. After the first day, they started to wonder if they had been duped, that the box was in fact just a solid block of wood. That would certainly explain why it was perfectly sealed, but not why the inside was hollow. They sometimes worked together on the box, while other times one of them would go off in solitude to try to solve it on their own. They took breaks for meals and went to the movies or for a bike ride when neither of them wanted to work on the box. But they always came back to the box. It had become an obsession, and while her mother’s birthday was tomorrow, Eva was more focused on figuring out the confounding object.
She was sitting cross-legged on the bed, doing research on her tablet computer. Occasionally, she glanced down at Leo to see if he had discovered anything, even though she knew the odds were close to none. Eva had been looking up Greek history and images. Some of depictions on the cube looked familiar and close to what she had found online, but not exactly. There were no mentions of old Greek puzzle boxes to be found anywhere.
“I give up!” Eva declared in exasperation. “Let’s just smash it open with a hammer. That’s better than never knowing what’s inside.”
Leo didn’t respond, still turning the box in his hands.
“Hey—” Eva started to say, before Leo abruptly sat up.
“Did you see that?” Leo asked, not taking his eyes off the box for a second. He grasped the box in front of his face, holding his breath in anticipation.
“See what?” Eva asked, her legs now hanging off the side of the bed as she bent down to see what Leo was trying to show her.
When he didn’t respond, Eva reached over with both hands to take the box from him. The moment her fingertips touched the box, she saw a faint, pulsating red glow emanating from the edges.
“Leo, what is tha—”
Before she could finish her sentence, the pulsating rapidly increased in pace, until it exploded into a blinding red light that overwhelmed the entire room. For the next few seconds, all Eva could see was red. Until she passed out.
*
Sydney
It was almost four in the morning when the door creaked open and the tall figure walked in. It gently dropped the backpack it was carrying by the door, careful not to create any noise. The other residents of the house were still sleeping and she didn’t want to wake them.
The drapes were open and the dim moonlight was enough for Caitlin to navigate her bedroom. She didn’t want to turn the lights on because she was tired after her shift at the night club. She would do anything to facilitate herself falling asleep faster. Yawning and with her eyes half closed already, she made her way over to the bed slowly. She had grown up in this house and she knew her bedroom like the back of her hand, even in the darkness.
About three feet away from the comfort of her bed, her right foot struck something, causing her to almost fall over. She stumbled, holding on to the dresser beside the bed to steady herself, as she looked down on the floor. There was a red glow coming from near her feet. Crouching down, Caitlin realized it was the box she had gotten from the market a few days ago. She was now starting to remember that she had left it on the floor this afternoon before she left for work, after trying for hours to open it.
Caitlin picked up the box, and the red glow that was trying to escape from it began flashing, getting quicker and quicker. Her instincts told her to put the item down or throw it against the wall, but her body wouldn’t listen. She was mesmerized, staring at the flashing light until it flashed one last time, blinding her.
*
Johannesburg
The only sound that could be heard throughout the library was the intermittent rolling of the wheels on the rusty book cart. Careful hands cradled the books back safely to their original places, not making a sound. It was getting late, and again, Themba was the last person in the building.
The day after the incident of the children knocking over the shelves, the other librarians had blamed him for letting it happen. Of course, there was no way he could have prevented it, but still he became the scapegoat. It didn’t help that he wasn’t there to defend himself when the library opened, getting in late because he had to look after his sister. So now here he was, staying late after closing hours to put away the rest of the books. None of his colleagues had even offered to help, and it had been too busy during the day for him to get to it.
This was the last cart of books and Themba looked forward to finishing the tedious chore. Between his regular hours at the library, helping out at home, and this, he hadn’t had much time recently to himself. He still needed to reapply to that archaeology course in London.
As Themba wheeled the cart into the final aisle of the reference section which was poorly illuminated, he noticed a familiar red glow coming from the storage closet a few feet from him. He initially thought his eyes were playing another trick from him, but the light was strong and didn’t go away when he blinked. It was like somebody was shining a red flashlight inside the closet. Putting down the book in his hand, he approached the closet with caution, looking around to make sure he was alone. He wouldn’t have put it past one of the other librarians to play a trick on him, but he hadn’t told anybody about the red glow from last night. They would have laughed at him.
The glow was now flashing, and Themba dropped his keys as he pulled them out of his front pants pocket. He was scared, but he knew he needed to find the source of the light. He picked the keys up while keeping his eyes on the closet handle. His hands trembling, Themba found the key he had used previously to access the closet, and inserted it into the keyhole.
The moment he turned the key, the glowing ceased. Themba paused, wondering if he should just leave whatever it was alone and walk away. His heart was pounding so loudly that he could practically feel it in his eardrums. He took a deep breath. Then another. And another. Finally, he quickly opened the door and held it wide. There was nobody in there of course, but Themba was relieved nonetheless. Then, he saw the faint red glow. It was coming from the old wooden box. From where he stood, it looked like a lantern, except that there was no place to insert a light bulb or flame. He got down on one knee and pulled the box out from its shelf. Suddenly, a bright red flash burst from its edges, like an exploding can of soda, and blinded him.
*
Thessaloniki
“Miss Elfman! Who are these kids?” Lex’s booming voice asked. He was standing on the edge of the pit at the top of the ladder. His hands were on his hips and he stared down at Natalie.
Before she could introduce the two people behind her at the table where she had been giving directions on their map, Lex was joined by Jessica and Richard. The words wouldn’t come of her mouth when Natalie saw Jessica’s ashen face.
“What are they doing here? This is not a tourist attraction!” Jessica yelled as she started to climb down the ladder in a hurry. Richard looked bemused. This was the most animated he had seen the normally serene woman. He knew that excavations often attracted curious visitors or villagers and thought nothing of the presence of the two blonde teenagers. They certainly didn’t look like grave robbers or criminals to him, but he wanted to see how Jessica handled them.
Natalie instinctively put her hands out in a protective gesture, as if to shield the teenagers from Jessica. Behind her, Sarah grabbed her brother’s arm, leaving the map on the table. David was still looking at the roads Natalie had pointed out on the map, trying to figure out where he had taken a wrong turn and wound up here. He wasn’t too concerned about the yelling woman. He had seen some workers nearby with hard hats and tools, so he assumed this was some sort of
construction site. People were always yelling at a construction site.
As Jessica approached, David noticed something strange about a box on the table next to him. The sun was still up and it was hard to see at first, but he thought he had seen the box glow in an unnatural, reddish hue. He pulled Sarah towards him, who was still clinging tightly to his arm, taking a step closer to examine the cube. It seemed an odd thing to be found in the pit where they were.
“Miss Elfman, that is twice today that you’ve violated the terms of your contract!” Jessica said, now standing before the tiny woman. She was about to threaten Natalie with termination, when she saw for the first time, the object on the table that had been previously obscured from her view. The young man she didn’t recognize reached out to touch it, and she lunged forward, pushing Natalie clumsily aside and tried to stop him.
“No! Don’t—”
But a warm, red light enveloped everything before she could warn him.
Chapter 15
It smelled bad and of dirty animals, like a zoo. It was the first of his senses that Leo became aware of when he awoken. His eyes were still throbbing from the residual effects of the blinding light that was now gone. He was on his back, and the surface beneath him felt soft but unfamiliar. Stretching his arms out, Leo sat up groggily, struggling to open his eyes. He felt like he had been asleep for days.
When his eyes adjusted, Leo realized he wasn’t in the bedroom of the mansion anymore. He brought a hand up to his face, and froze when he saw straw stuck to his palm. He was laying on top a heap of hay.
“Eva?” Leo said, as he began to take in his surroundings. He was in a stable, and to his right were two horses. The one closer to him was as white as snow, without a single blemish on its skin. The horse next to it was light brown and slightly smaller. There were a few empty stalls next to them.
Leo massaged the temples of his head, trying to think about how he had gotten here. The last thing he remembered was laying on the floor of the guest bedroom and playing with the box. Eva was there too. Was there a stable on the grounds of Eva’s estate? And how did he wind up here?
He nearly jumped when he saw the pants he was wearing. They were made of hand-stitched cloth, and so was his shirt. He was also wearing a pair of muddied and worn leather boots. These were definitely not his clothes. He searched the pants frantically for his phone, but it wasn't there.
“Eva!” he said louder this time, but she was nowhere to be seen.
“Leo! Father’s looking for you!” someone shouted. It was coming from the direction of the closed stable door in front of him. The voice was female, but it didn’t belong to Eva. Who could it be? He didn’t know how to respond, so he just sat there.
The stable door opened and Leo raised a hand to shield his eyes, momentarily blinded by the brilliant sunlight. When he was able to see again, he saw the silhouette of a petite figure standing in the doorway.
“Leo, were you napping in here again? Father’s going to be so angry if he finds out,” the figure said as she came closer. She had long, brown hair and wore a dress made from material similar to his clothes. Leo guessed that she was slightly younger than him. He had never seen her before and had no idea how she knew his name.
“Where’s Eva?” Leo asked.
“Eva? Who’s that? Have you been sneaking off with some farm girl?” the girl responded.
“Um, never mind.”
The girl was already pulling him up to his feet. She was surprisingly strong, even though she was a little shorter than him. As she dragged him out of the stable by his hand, Leo managed to ask where they were going. The girl looked at him quizzically.
“How could you have forgotten? You’re supposed to go to the city with father today for supplies. You’ve been so excited that you haven’t stopped talking about it for days. I wish I was going! And don’t forget, you promised to bring me back something!”
When they stepped out of the stable, more unfamiliar sights greeted Leo. It appeared that they were on some sort of farm. In front of them was a big wooden house next to fields of crops. The fields extended so far, that Leo couldn’t see where they ended.
The house looked like it had been recently built, with smooth walls that were varnished on the outside. The door was open and an older woman who resembled the girl holding Leo’s hand had just come out. She came over to Leo and handed him a brown sack.
“Here you go, son. There’s some food for the road for you and your father. Be safe in the city, alright?” the woman said. She smiled warmly at him and he felt a strange sense of familiarity even though he had never met her before. “Go on now, he’s waiting for you.” The woman pointed to his left at a wagon next to the house. A man, with his back to them, was making sure the straps attaching the two horses to the wagon were secure.
Still confused, Leo let go of the girl’s hand and walked over to the wagon in a daze, carrying the sack in one arm. When Leo got to the wagon, the man turned to look at him, and said, “There you are! Get on, we should get going if we want to make it to Silverbrick before nightfall.”
Again, Leo didn’t recognize the man. He was wearing identical clothes as Leo was, except the man’s linens were brown while his were a dark green. He was about a head taller than Leo, and built like a wrestler. The man’s face was mostly covered by a thick brown beard, although he had little hair on the dome of his head. The man climbed onto the wagon, taking the reins into his hands and wait for Leo to join him. Leo looked over his shoulder. The girl and woman had already entered the house and closed the door.
He had no idea where he was or what was going on, but Leo grabbed onto the side of the wagon and pulled himself up, sitting down next to the man. With a gentle crack of the reins, they rode off.
*
It was a hot day. Judging from the position of the sun, it was close to noon. Leo sat in silence, listening to the rhythmic clip clop of the horses’ hooves as they trudged ahead. It was a steady pace. Not quite a gallop, but fast enough to get them somewhere far.
The man beside him hadn’t said a word since they left the farm. He kept both hands on the reins, occasionally pulling at them to steer the horses when they approached a bend or fork in the dirt road. Along the way, Leo had seen a few cottages and farmhouses like the one he had woken up at. People, mostly farmers, who saw their wagon, usually gave a slight nod in recognition at the two travelers. Leo had so many questions, but he didn’t know where to start. It was as though he had been transported to another world where he didn’t know anybody. He still had no idea about the identity of the man seated next to him.
“So, when are we going to get there?” Leo asked, breaking the ice.
“Before dark. I’m sure you’re excited, but we can’t go any faster. We can’t tire out the horses. It will be a tougher trip back for them when we load the wagon up with supplies.”
“And we’re going to a place called Silverbrick?”
The man turned to look at Leo, keeping one eye on the road. He seemed puzzled at the question. Leo wanted to avert his eyes, partly because he was intimidated by the man’s imposing physique.
“Yes, son. We’re going to Silverbrick. I thought you would know that since you’ve been talking about it for weeks. Don’t worry, we’ll go to the festival tomorrow. And I’m sure your uncle and aunt will be happy to see you.”
Son? Why did he refer to Leo as his son? His father was Colin Cowen, a respected businessman from Texas, married to Kayla Cowen. They had one child, Leo Cowan. The woman and girl back at the farm certainly weren’t related to him. Neither was this man who claimed to be his father. Yet, Leo couldn’t find a good reason to argue otherwise. They all seemed to know him and treated him like family.
That brought Leo back to the original question. How did he get onto a farm all the way out here in rural wherever, far away from the mansion in Chicago? He hadn’t noticed any street signs, or paved roads for that matter. He started to ponder one possibility, that he had been kidnapped and taken to a cult w
here they had abandoned technology and lived life like medieval times. Was that possible?
He had never heard of a city called Silverbrick. He wondered if it was a small town in Illinois, and if he might be able to get help there. It didn’t seem like his life was in any kind of danger, and the man next to him bore no ill intent towards him, so that was one less worry for Leo.
“How far away is Chicago?” Leo asked.
“She cargo? What’s that? Did you read about that in a book?” the man responded. He was looking ahead now, keeping his gaze out in the distance, even though there was no oncoming traffic.
“It’s a city. A major one.”
“I’ve never heard of it. Maybe your aunt will know, she came from across the ocean, you know. Although, she doesn’t talk about it much.”
Leo frowned. Surely most people had heard of Chicago. The current president was from Chicago after all, and he was sure even the Amish would know where it was. He didn’t think that the man was lying to him, which made this all the more stranger.
“I’ll ask her,” Leo said. He wasn’t going to keep his hopes up.
“Have you been practicing?” the man asked, changing the subject.
“Uh, practicing what?”
“The sword! How do you expect to win the tournament at the festival tomorrow if you don’t practice? I didn’t win the first time my father brought me to enter the tournament, that’s why I’ve been teaching you since you’ve been able to form a fist.”
“Oh, yes,” Leo lied. In high school, he had tried out for the fencing team and had performed well. Of course, he had also quit after two practice sessions, when he was recruited to join the track and field team. But that was different. No matter what this man said, Leo hadn’t grown up learning to be a swordsman.
“I know you’re talented, Leo. In fact, you’re far better than I ever was when I fought in the war under the command of Sir Pexaf, but training is never quite the same as real combat. You’ll find that out tomorrow. There’s no shame in losing, but if you put your heart to it, you can be the best swordsman in the land.”