The Hidden City

by Adrian Tanase

  They started walking on the dusty trail, towards the first cave. It was seen from the air as a small dark spot on the mountain. When they reached it, they noticed a few wooden constructs below the path, that went on down, in the valley, probably used by the Elders in extracting their precious stone out of it.

  “It must have been really hard to build something like this,” Philip noticed.

  Margaret stopped and looked to their right. They were up maybe 300 feet from the valley, and to their right, a steep and bare stone wall was descending, all the way down, as opposed to the high mountainside, that was going up at their left. The Elders placed a sort of wooden enclosure so that people walking on the trail would not fall, but that enclosure seemed to end at some point, maybe 100 feet ahead, only to cover most of their recent dug caves. Margaret took out a powerful lighter from her backpack and illuminated the entrance of the cave.

  “I took the liberty of getting two of these from the dispenser, this morning, while you were sleeping.” She handed the other one to Philip.

  “Well, you’ve been planning it to the detail, it seems, Maggie. In this case, you are the chief explorer today. I will just follow you,” he said, taking his, and lighting it up.

  Inside the cave, there was a large circular room, maybe 8 feet tall by 24 feet in diameter, that had a corridor at the end, going down, straight into the mountain.

  “Do you want to go in deeper, Maggie?” Philip asked, lighting the way that was going deep into the mountain.

  She looked with the lighter inside, carefully checking all the walls.

  “No. Not in this one. Is too close to the City and anyone can enter here. I don’t think we will find anything valuable here.”

  “But what in particular are we looking for? I thought we will visit the caves, and then find a nice spot to eat some sandwiches and enjoy the amazing view from above like we usually do.”

  Margaret looked at him briefly and said with a low voice.

  “We’re looking for a rather … special cave. Just keep walking, and follow me.”

  Philip shrugged his shoulders and switched off his lantern.

  They exited the cave and continued walking on that dusty trail, that leads them up in the mountains. They encountered many similar caves, with wooden constructs going all the way down to the valley, that was used for the same purpose: to get stone out of the mountains. The landscape was made of pure rocks, of brown, blue, and dark green colors, with a lot of small sharp rocks that started to populate the path. At some point, after walking for almost half an hour and passing by at least 6 or 7 opened caves, Philip stopped. He was tired. They must have walked a few miles and now they were maybe 6 or 700 feet up from the valley.

  “But what are we looking for Maggie? There’s nothing else here than these … regular caves. 100 feet more and the trail seems to end, reaching that huge cliff, that’s going up hundreds of feet.”

  Maggie didn’t want to give up, at least not now, when she felt she was so close.

  “We’re looking for a special cave,” she said and continued walking.

  “But we cannot even take out a picnic here, on this trail. It seems to be narrower and narrower. And sharp stones are beginning to appear everywhere, it seems that on this part no one has ever walked, in a long time.”

  “That’s exactly the place that we’re looking for. Somewhere where people did not come.”

  “Well, today you’re in charge. I will just follow you and hope that at some point we will stop and have some lunch.”

  Philip was following Margaret, at a short distance, of maybe 8 feet. She was as stubborn as a lion sometimes, and all you had to do was just to play as she did.

  They almost reached the end of the trail that went up in the mountain. The blue cliff was going up maybe 100 feet, and to their right, the very steep slope was already looking almost frightening. The trail was less than 3 feet wide, and they needed to walk carefully, not to stumble on all kinds of sharp little stones. From that height, any wrong move would mean falling from 700 feet, right down, into the valley. There were a lot of bushes growing near the rocky cliff to their left so they could not see the stone, but only vegetation.

  “Here, the trail ends,” announced Philip.

  Indeed, they could not walk any further. The trail in front of them reached a rock that was going up, abruptly, to reach at its end, at least 300 feet. It was clear that no one was here in a very long time, and that the people that created the trail stopped here, a long time ago. Lots of plants and tall bushes covered the rocky side of the mountain everywhere and the terrain was not very welcoming.

  “This is what we are looking for,” Margaret said and pointed towards all the bushes that were growing on the mountain, at their left.

  “Really? No picnic place, only sharp rocks, vegetation, a steep mountain wall, and a possible dangerous fall to the right? You must be kidding me, Maggie.”

  “No, I’m not. Start searching and be careful not to fall on the other side.”

  Margaret started to uncover parts of the stone, covered by bushes, walking with great care on the trail that was now barely two feet wide. “Uncover slowly the vegetation and watch for any man-made levers or anything in the stone that could open a door.”

  “I see. So now we’re looking for a magic door?”

  “Yes, an entrance to a cave. A long-forgotten cave, that almost no one knows about,” Maggie said.

  They searched for about half an hour the whole unexplored area of the rock that was covered with vegetation. They touched the rock in all the way possible, to only find natural stone, nothing that would show a construct or human intervention. After a while, they were both tired, thirsty, and they both needed to take a break.

  “I think your super mysterious cave is not here, Maggie,” Philip said. “I am taking a lunch break and will rest right here, on this rock, no matter what you will have to say. Looks like an awesome spot to finally eat a sandwich and drink some water,” Philip said, with an almost sarcastic voice.

  “Suit yourself, I’ll continue looking,” she said and continued to carefully uncover the vegetation around the tall wall of the mountain, with her long and thin flashlight.

  Philip took out his backpack and leaned forward to throw away some wooden sticks that stood in his way. At that moment, he accidentally hit his amulet stone on the mountain wall. In a second, a rumble was being heard. The stone of the mountain near him disappeared in a flash second, and inside the rock, a door made of a grey alloy with a lot of orange symbols that were imprinted on it appeared out of nowhere. Philip froze.

  Margaret was still looking through the bushes, touching the stone for any handles or cracks into the stone, that could open a door.

  “What was that noise, Phil? I thought I heard something … did you trip on a big rock, that felt on the other side of the trail?”

  “Maggie? I think you’d better come here,” Philip said, still looking at the door that just appeared, couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

  Margaret raised her head from the bushes and looked towards Philip.

  “I am not planning to eat my sandwiches, not right now. I need to find that cave.”

  “No, I really think you ought to come here. I think I found something.”

  She descended quickly to the distance that separated them and to her surprise, she saw the door. A one-foot opening was carved in the mountain’s rock, and inside, a metal door, with a triangular-shaped entrance.

  “How … on Earth … did you find it? We passed near here a couple of times and there was nothing but stone...”

  “I accidentally touched the stone with my amulet when I leaned over to get my sandwich from my backpack. The rock quickly disappeared, as if it was a generated force-field of some sort, a simulation of the rock.”

  Margaret was astonished. Now she knew that Mary was right and that the cave was not a rumor. A perfect triangular-cut door, with a metal alloy, that resembled the alloy of the Cubes. That is definitely the Cr
eators’ technology, she thought, and she felt shivers down her spine.

  “It definitely is what Mary told me about when you were not paying attention, in her bakery shop,” she whispered, “A long time ago this was in the open air, but the Elders definitely masked it with a force field, to get it away from the curious eyes that might venture up here.”

  The door and the edge of the door had lots of orange symbols, and the dark alloy seemed to be very smooth to touch.

  “Do you think I can open it again with my amulet?” Philip asked.

  Margaret remembered about the Machine Room, the day the Prival showed it to her.

  “Yes! That should open it. Try.”

  Philip got closer to the door and touched it with his amulet. Nothing. He tried touching every symbol, including the one in the middle of the door. Still nothing.

  “I think we reached a dead end. The Elders definitely placed here another security level. I think they won’t let no one else open it, but them … ”

  Margaret thought for a while and then said.

  “Try again, but this time have the pure intention of opening it, in your mind.”

  Philip tried to concentrate. He touched again symbol after symbol in any way possible, but still nothing.

  Margaret was desolated. The door was clearly heavily protected, and the fact that they found it was pure luck, indeed.

  “Well,” she said, “at least we found it. Let’s eat our sandwiches and head back.”

  They quietly sat on a rock, got out their sandwiches, which Philip wrapped in colorful papers, and start eating. They came so close to finding the cave, and now the solid and impenetrable door was standing in their way. Margaret was trying to think of anything else that would help her, but her inspiration was not helping her at the moment.

  After they finished, Margaret, took her backpack and spent a few moments studying the door. She touched once again the door with her hand and put her head on it.

  “If only I would know how to open this...” Her amulet touched the door and a few short beeps followed. Slowly, the door opened. Her green eyes enlargened as she saw right in front of her, a long walkway, similar to the ones in the Council Building, lit with many small blue lights, that were mounted in the ceiling.

  Philip was already walking down the slope slowly.

  “Are you coming, Maggie? It was a really nice day, we should come again soon, I love exploring these mountains with you.”

  “Phil! I think you ought to come to see this,” she said, not moving, and looking straight ahead into the corridor that was going deep inside the mountain.

  Philip reached her, only to find the door open.

  “How did you … oh God, it looks exactly like the Council Building. This gives me goosebumps. Do you think it’s a secret entrance to their building somehow? Maybe a tunnel all the way to the City, that goes below the Council Building. The similarity between the corridors is striking … ”

  “It can be opened only by two people,” she whispered. Then, she gathered her forces and said.

  “We can only find it if we go inside. We know now that it can’t be opened by only one person. There have to be two of them. One opens the safety force field, and the other one the door, both with the amulets, and the right intention.”

  They entered. Inside, the usual cool atmosphere of the Council Building, with an exact replica of their corridors. The air was cool, and maybe a bit humid. Even the rubberized translucent carpets on the floor they were walking were similar. They started exploring the corridors.

  “There’s nothing on our Mappers”, remarked Philip.

  “Of course it’s not,” Margaret said, looking at anything she could find with her powerful flashlight. “No one is supposed to enter here and those who are aware of this cave probably know it by heart.” She was studying the big orange symbols on the walls as she was walking down the corridor. She knew that they definitely mean something, but she didn’t know exactly what. She wished she could understand the Creators' language, thinking that this would make their task much easier, but ever since they got here, they didn’t find any reference they could study about the Creators’ language. Philip was following her closely looking at all the details that her flashlight was unveiling.

  “But they did map the shield,” he remembered.

  “The shield is another thing, Phil. Many people can bump into it while wandering through the woods, and they thought mapping it could be a warning for those who can get too far away from the City. But here … ”

  The corridor reached an intersection. Now you could go straight ahead, to the left, or to the right.

  “You take the right, and I’ll go left. If you find any doors, try your amulet on each of them. Remember, keep the pure intention of opening the door.”

  They started exploring the left and right corridors. There were a few doors, with orange symbols on them but no one seemed to open with the amulet. They met back again at the intersection and they decided to go straight ahead. A strange humming began to be heard. The closer they were to the end of the corridor, it got stronger and stronger. They finally reached the end of the corridor. There was just a door, just like the other one, standing right there. The humming was clearly heard now.

  Margaret touched the door with her amulet. Nothing. What can it be? How are we supposed to … she asked herself. How we ...

  “I think I know!” she said. “Now you try, at the same time with me. And have the intention of opening it in your mind. Concentrate.”

  Philip approached the door and stick his amulet on the door. They waited for a few seconds, concentrating. After a few moments, a few short beeps were being heard. The door opened, sliding to the right.

  For Margaret the surprise was big, but Philip had never seen such a thing in the City, yet.

  They were standing in front of a circular room, maybe 60 feet in diameter, filled with technology just as Margaret saw inside the Machine Room.

  “But what could this be. Another Machine Room?” she whispered, just for herself.

  They stepped silently inside and the door closed behind them.

  All they could see were many panels with green and blue lights on the walls, weird characters that they didn’t comprehend, and a big almost hemispheric screen, that filled half of the room, with what appeared to be a Galactic Map. Planets were being shown, with short descriptions appearing, routes from planets to planets, marked with different colors, gray cubes changing rapidly their location, ship routes, and occasional square descriptions that kept appearing and disappearing. For a while, they stared at the screen in awe, not knowing what to do. At some point, Philip managed to ask with a trembling voice.

  “What should we do now, Maggie?”

  The next moment, she heard a distant voice in her head.

  “Margaret. I thought you had a mission to complete. Time is not waiting for you.”

  It was the sweetest and most delicate female voice that she ever heard. It was distant, soothing, almost as an impression, like a steamy and rarefied cloud, but she clearly heard it. The voice had a clear English accent, but it sounded like it was out of this world.

  She looked at Philip, with a strange look.

  “Have you heard something, Philip, aside from the sound bleeps that all these panels make?”

  Philip was absorbed by the whole technology they found, looking around at all the panels on the walls.

  “Umm, not really. But I said, what should we do now? We’re here, but I don’t think we should have come to this place. It gives me the creeps and if the Elders find out that we managed to enter, we might get in a lot of trouble … it’s clearly a place that is restricted to any of the inhabitants of the Emerald City. I think we should go now … before anything bad would happen.”

  The next moment, Margaret felt a slight jolt in her amulet.

  “You have a mission to complete, Margaret. It is Time.”

  This time she heard it as clear as a crystal. And it was not Philip. It was
a woman’s voice, and the voice seemed to come from above. She felt her amulet giving her a jolt of energy, and making her stomach pulsating.

  “So, I say we just go and...”

  “Let’s get out of here, Philip. We’ve seen enough, and I hope we’re not in any big trouble for this.”

  She quickly turned and went towards the room’s door. The door opened by itself.

  She almost ran up to the end of the cool corridor, lit with the small blue lights, and Philip could barely keep up with her.

  The other door, at the entrance, opened by itself, and the two got out of the cave. When it closed, the force-field quickly closed the rock gap that was in front of the door, showing a simple slab of rock that resembled exactly the rocky texture of the mountain.

  “Now that’s what I call adventure. Although I didn’t understand anything … have you seen what technology they have buried deep into their mountains? It looks very familiar to what Prival was describing when we got here … ”

  “Let’s rush to our dragons, Philip. We have many things to do today. And please try not to tell anyone or even to think about what we’ve seen here, we might get in a lot of trouble,” Margaret said, walking fast down the narrow slope.

  Philip nodded and followed her, close to a few feet behind her, careful not to fall on that dangerous slope, that was this time at their left side. Margaret didn’t know why, but this encounter with the technology in the cave, and the voice that she heard so clearly in her mind, made her feel that she got no more time to waste.

  Chapter 17 – The decision

  Since that philosophical discussion around their pasta dinner, a few days have passed and Margaret and Philip were living their lives as usual, in their vacation house. One could catch Margaret at the Financial Center working for most of the day, while Philip was out, visiting the Central Market, buying items for lunch, or going through the City to find special places where he could go together with Margaret, in their spare time. In the evenings they gathered together around dinner, and then they went out in the garden to catch the beautiful nights, accompanied by a few glasses of wine. Their days were undisturbed by the frenzy of the greater cities that they were used to, and they lived peaceful, in this serene place, hidden in a big forest, that stretched over the whole continent.