Armadron: The Otherworld Series: Book 1

by Corey Tate

  Now there were two guards in front and one guard behind Seth. He would have tried to escape, but he was too curious at this point. He had to see more.

  There was a beeping sound, and the panel next to the hole turned green.

  “Let’s go,” Cameron urged. “Seth, you’re next to me. Come on.”

  Seth stood next to Cameron and looked at the shaft entrance. He couldn’t believe his eyes.

  The top of the hole was filled with a thick layer of blue fire. Seth looked over and saw Cameron with his hand outstretched.

  “Step on it, Seth,” Cameron told him.

  Seth was pushed a little by the guard behind him. He turned his head and glared at the guard. The guard glared back.

  “Come on, we haven’t got all day!” Cameron shouted. “Just get on the damn disk!”

  Seth leaned his body back and carefully stepped on the large disc of blue fire. It felt like he was stepping on stone. He took another step, and before he knew it, he was in the center of the fire.

  The three guards joined Seth on the flaming disc. Without warning, they began to descend into the shaft. “How”—Seth coughed as they were going down—“um . . . deep is it?”

  “Deep,” Cameron answered.

  “What’s the stone made out of? How come it doesn’t melt from the magma?” Seth asked.

  “It’s solid Armitranium,” Cameron answered.

  Wow, Seth thought. That stuff’s ten times stronger and more resistant than the diamonds they have on Earth! But how the hell do they have so much of it?

  “I’m a little curious here . . . how do you guys have so—”

  “No talking,” the guard behind him cut in smoothly.

  They played the quiet game the rest of the way down.

  Problems, Solutions . . . and More Problems

  “Can’t you just find Seth so we can get out of here?” Nick asked for the millionth-and-a-half time.

  “If I knew how, I would. But I don’t,” Scott answered, clearly annoyed.

  “Hey, don’t get annoyed with me!” Nick growled. “You’re the reason we’re here in the first place!”

  Scott groaned, and something deep in the cave groaned back. He could feel Nick tense next to him. Both of them halted their steps. The thing sounded big. King Kong big.

  “Did you hear that?” Nick whispered.

  “No. I must have missed it,” Scott whispered sarcastically.

  “Man, I wish Seth were here. He could light up this place so we could actually see more than two feet in front of us.”

  They had just descended the steps into the Infinite Cave. As far as they could tell, the cave really did go on forever. The cave was pitch-black, but tiny white flecks on the walls lit their way dimly. Up until now, the cave had been utterly quiet, except for the sound of Nick and Scott arguing.

  “Hey, Nick.”

  “What?”

  “How come we can’t see in the dark right now, or use our sonar?”

  “Something about the cave makes it so that we can’t Accelerate well. It runs interference.”

  “Interference?” Scott repeated. “Like, it jams us or something?”

  “Something like that.”

  They walked on in silence for a while. Often one of them would stumble or trip on a rock jutting out and a stream of muffled curses would ensue.

  “Hey, Scott,” Nick said, “how long did you know Seth on Earth? He said that you guys were, like, best friends or something.”

  “Seth went by the name Charlie McEntly on Earth. I knew him for about two years. We went to high school together and became best friends there.”

  “Wait,” Nick said. “You said his name was Charlie McEntly. Why wasn’t his name just Charlie?”

  “Because that was his last name,” Scott said, rolling his eyes.

  Nick didn’t respond.

  Something dawned on Scott. “Nick, does anyone have a last name on Armadron?”

  “No. What are you talking about? A last name? Why would you need another name? One is good enough.”

  Scott smiled to himself in the darkness. “Nick, have you ever been to Earth?”

  “No.”

  “Really? I kinda figured that you would know someone with a curse that could take you there.”

  Nick grunted in reply.

  “You’ve never seen any animals before?” Scott pressed.

  “No.”

  “Airplanes?”

  “Whatever those are, no.”

  “Submarines?”

  “Again, no.”

  “Cars?”

  “N– actually, yes. I made one with Seth a couple years back when we couldn’t find a teleporter.”

  “Cool.” Scott nodded.

  A random shiver went down Scott’s back. He looked behind him and felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

  It was almost like the cave floor and walls suddenly made him afraid.

  I should tell Nick.

  “Hey, Nick, do you think the cave might be—”

  “Look, Scott, I may not know much about your world, but that doesn’t mean anything now. From what I’ve heard, I would be nearly powerless there, and confused and helpless too. I’m just fine here. I can use my curse here.”

  “Oh, please,” Scott huffed.

  “What? Nick said defensively. “What now?”

  “Nick, if you knew what Earth was like, you wouldn’t want to stay on this planet another second. Yeah, you wouldn’t be able to use your curse—but it would be worth it! Think about it. Wouldn’t it be great not to have to eat other humans to survive? Plus, the variety of food is almost unlimited—and there are grocery stores and restaurants on every corner. You wouldn’t have to worry about fighting for your life every day or keeping people safe either. You wouldn’t have to trade things in order to have a warm cot; you would have a nice giant bed for free! You could get a job; you’d have money to spend on girls, on yourself, on your fam—”

  “Family?” Nick finished for him. They both stopped walking.

  “I didn’t mean to say that,” Scott said.

  “But you did. Thanks a lot, Scott. What a nice thought.”

  “I’m sorry, Nick. I didn’t—”

  “You didn’t what, Scott? You didn’t know? You didn’t remember?” Nick viciously replied. “Do you remember Ernie? From the restaurant? You remember how he died?”

  Scott nodded. At that very moment, he had the ominous feeling that the cave . . . laughed a little.

  “Well, take a good look, ’cause that’s gonna be me in ten years or so, just like my mom and my old man!” Nick practically spit the next words at Scott. “You know, Scott, you’ve got it all. You’ve still got parents somewhere back on Earth, and you’re gonna live until you’re a hundred years old, at least! Not to mention, you’re the golden boy who’s gonna save us all, the Mediator who can create peace wherever he goes.”

  “But I didn’t ask for any of this. I don’t even have much to—”

  “Come on, Scott! What don’t you have going for you?”

  Nick had a vein bulging out of the side of his neck. Scott suddenly had the feeling that it was the cave that was getting Nick so worked up.

  “What do you mean?!” Scott demanded. “I don’t have anything. And I know this sounds crazy, but I think that the cave is messing with—”

  “You have everything!” Nick bellowed.

  The cave shook wildly. The floor moved and vibrated at an intense speed.

  Scott was thrown off his feet, but Nick remained standing.

  “Nick, stop! You’re overreacting! Calm down!” Scott cried desperately.

  “Shut up!” Nick screamed, and the entire cave felt like it was going to give way. Pieces of rock fell from the roof with a deafening roar.

  There was an ugly twisting sound, like bones snapping. A yell was heard not far off in the cave, and then all was quiet.

  The floor stopped moving. The walls stopped too. There was only silence.

  “
Nick?” Scott called as he hoisted himself off the cave floor. “Nick!”

  Scott heard deep, quiet laughter from the depths of the Infinite Cave.

  He reached out and grasped at empty air. Nick wasn’t there anymore. Scott waved his arms around frantically and darted from place to place.

  “Nick! Nick!” Scott screamed. “Nick! Come back! I need you.” He whispered the last three words as he dropped to his knees.

  “Aaaaaaaahhhhh!”

  He whipped his head around and stared into the darkness of the cave from which Nick had just screamed.

  Scott ran toward the sound as fast as he could. He ran so fast that Armadron felt like it morphed with him under his feet. Only darkness loomed ahead, but Scott kept running anyway.

  Hold on, Nick! Just hold on.

  * * *

  Things weren’t going so well above the cave either.

  Claire paced around the entrance for an hour before she finally decided to take a breather. The sun had already set, and it was almost completely dark. They were going to have to sleep there for the night.

  “I told you.” Sam smiled. “They are going to be a while. It is best to sit.”

  Claire groaned, then sat on the ground.

  “Sam, why are you talking like that? You’ve been talking like that ever since we landed on the telemine. You sound like a damn computer.” Claire stared at her. “Is there something wrong?”

  If it had been anyone else, Claire would have just gone ahead and read his or her mind. But Sam was her best friend. She deserved to tell Claire on her own.

  “Yes,” Sam answered calmly. “The Sam you know is nearly dead.”

  Claire jumped to her feet and backed away from Sam, all the while trying to read her mind. She couldn’t.

  “Sam, why are you turning my power off?” Claire asked, fighting to stay calm.

  Sam was still sitting on the ground, totally relaxed. She began laughing, and her whole body shifted like an eel in the water. The laugh became deeper, and her body became longer. Most of her hair shrunk back into her head to reveal a man’s head. The laughing continued, morphing into an evil, maniacal sound that sent chills down Claire’s spine. Finally, the transformation was complete, and Sam was no longer sitting on the ground. It was someone else. It was someone muscular with slicked-back, raven-colored hair and sunken eyes. Someone dressed in a sleeveless dress shirt, silk tie, and sleeveless jacket worn over a pair of black dress slacks. It was someone Claire did not want to see.

  “Hello, Claire. Do you remember me?” the man asked nonchalantly.

  “How could I forget,” she said with disdain.

  The man sighed. “Oh, Claire. There’s no need for these harsh feelings toward me. What did I ever do to you?”

  “You killed my parents.” She fought to keep her voice steady.

  “I’ve killed a lot of people. But their deaths shouldn’t concern you. You probably didn’t even like them. You were just a child.”

  Claire flinched.

  “Even if I had spared them, they would have eventually died anyway. Probably sooner than later. The way I see it, I was doing you a favor. You’re welcome.” The man continued to sit comfortably on the ground.

  “I swear,” Claire growled, “I’ll kill you.”

  “Oh, I wouldn’t do that. If you attempt anything, your little friend Sam will die,” the man said, chuckling.

  “She’s alive?!” Claire gasped, then clamped a hand over her mouth, instantly hating her weakness.

  “Yes, I can personally assure you that she is very much alive. However, should you be inclined to try any funny business, I will kill her. Slowly.” The man smirked.

  “Okay.” She shook her head, her thoughts racing for a way out of this. “Okay. What is it that you want?”

  “What I want is for you to let me search your mind. When I am done—if there are no complications—I will let you and your friend go. If there are complications . . .” He made a slicing motion with his hand across his neck.

  Claire swallowed. “You swear that you will let Sam and me live if I let you do this?”

  “Yes. However, being that you are a vastly powerful intellectual, you know how to erase memories or completely block them when someone is in your mind.” He bit off the nail from his index finger and spat it out. “I am approximately thirty-seven percent more powerful than you are. If you try this, I will force you to live the rest of your miserable life as a vegetable. What say you?”

  The whole time he had been talking, Claire had been trying to project thoughts to Scott and Nick.

  —Scott! Nick! It’s Claire! Get outta there and help us! Sam and I are about to die! I’m being forced to get my mind read by—

  She couldn’t think anymore. She was too busy being suspended three feet above the ground with pressure around her neck.

  “You think I can’t hear you project your thoughts?” The man, who had yet to move from where he lounged on the grass, looked coldly at her and made a tsk sound. “You insult me, my dear Claire.”

  “Why?” Claire choked. “Why are you doing this?”

  “I wanted to have a little fun.” The man smiled as she squirmed. “It’s been a while since I’ve had some fun.” He dropped the false smile and replaced it with a dead stare. “Now, hold still and let your mind go blank. Or you will be sorry.”

  “Wait!” Claire gasped. “Where’s my brother?”

  “That is no concern of yours. Now follow my directions, or Sam and Billy die.”

  Claire went limp. The man let her go, and she fell to the ground, landing hard on her knees. She coughed violently as he stretched his palms toward her face.

  She gasped. There was a slight knocking feeling in her forehead. The feeling shortly moved to the back of her head, then to both sides of her head in less than thirty seconds. She let him invade her mind, calling off her defenses.

  She felt his presence leave her mind after a minute or so and immediately hated herself.

  Claire dropped to the ground and curled up in a ball. She felt violated. The only place she was safe was in her mind, and he had taken that away from her. She shed a single tear out of her left eye and just left it there.

  He had figured out everything there was to know about her in less than a minute. Everything. Now he could just go back on his word and kill her if he wanted to.

  “You know, Claire,” he said in an oily voice as he walked around her in a circle, savoring his victory.

  She didn’t move from her position.

  “I just wanted a way into the Cavern so I could wipe out the rest of those filthy inbreeds. Instead, you gave me Scott, Artam, Thaught, Seth, and Nick. That bit about Faranger being able to use his abilities on Earth, that is very useful. I just knew we would find him with your team. We’ve already searched dozens of other teams across the planet. Thank you, Claire.”

  She tilted her face up and spat. The spit made it to his slim dark shoes, which he then used to kick her in the stomach, knocking the breath out of her.

  He continued talking while Claire was gasping for breath and wheezing.

  “Now, that wasn’t very nice, Claire. I said thank you. You should have said, ‘You’re welcome.’ Did your parents not teach you manners before I killed them?” He looked at her as if he was asking a real question.

  “G–go . . . to h–hell.” She struggled to breathe. It had been a strong kick.

  “I said,” he growled, “say thank you.”

  Claire felt a pressure rising in her chest. All her other senses were blocked out. She only felt the pain. It was the worst pain she had ever experienced. Blood began slowly coating the front of her shirt.

  “Thank you!” she screamed helplessly.

  The pain stopped, and Claire spat up a mouthful of blood.

  I’m going to die. I’m really going to die. I will never see my friends again. No more Nick, no more Scott, no Seth. No Sam either.

  “Hmmm. Now, I wouldn’t think that, Claire.”

  He re
ad her mind effortlessly and grinned evilly. “You’ll see Sam again. Maybe even sooner than you think.”

  He snapped his fingers for show, disappearing as Sam appeared in his place, very cut up and very bruised, right in front of Claire. Sam had a gag over her mouth and ropes tying her hands and feet together behind her back. She looked awful, to put it in the best possible terms.

  As soon as she saw Claire, Sam rolled a little in place and tried to yell. With muffled words, she urged Claire to try to escape, but Claire knew doing so would be suicide. Claire looked back at her, frozen in fear.

  In the meantime, Kane had reappeared behind the two girls. Now he spoke. “You have a choice, Claire,” he said congenially. “You have the opportunity to live . . . and the opportunity to die. As I gazed inside your mind, I found that you are aware of the disgraceful magic that has been placed on me to stop my entrance into the Infinite Cave. So, regrettably, I must wait out here for those two monkeys to exit on their own accord. Which leaves me with nothing to do in the meantime. So I thought that we could all play a little game.”

  “A game? What’s it called?” Claire asked quietly.

  “Right now, the pregame is called ‘take Sam’s muzzle off.’”

  “You could have gotten your answers from Sam. Why do you need me?” Claire asked, hoping to prolong the conversation and buy some time.

  “I need you because Sam’s curse makes it . . . nearly impossible.”

  Claire nodded. Moving as slowly as she could, she moved toward Sam. As she put her hands on Sam’s gag, Sam was trying desperately to say something, but her words were garbled by the gag.

  “Stay calm. I’ll get us out of this,” Claire whispered to her friend.

  As she pulled the gag off, Sam instantly started screaming at the top of her lungs.

  “Kane! Let me go! Let Claire and me go! Why are you doing this?! You’re a monster! You’re evil! You have no soul! Someone should just kill you already! Aaaarrrrgggghhh! Let . . . me . . . go!”

  “The game is—”

  His next words were drowned out by Sam’s continued yelling. “You’re evil! Evil! You kidnap and kill children just for the hell of it and—”