The Secret Seekers Society and the Beast of Bladenboro

by J. Hickey

  Chapter 4

  Behind the Curtain

  Hunter and Elly both searched for fifteen minutes to no avail. They moved every book in the bookcase, hoping some sort of hidden latch or mechanism would spring to life and unveil the passage. Yet nothing, not one book housed the secret. Hunter had witnessed large robotic figure enter into the room, but he hadn't seen what the robot had done to open it. He knew there was definitely something close by, but he was quickly running out of ideas.

  "We can't find it. Let's just head back to our room before we get caught," Elly urged.

  "No… I saw it with my own eyes. This bookshelf is the key, it's somewhere close by-it has to be!" Hunter replied hotly.

  "Why do we want to follow that giant monster anyway?" quizzed Elly.

  Hunter ignored the question, he was too focused. It had to be one of the random books on the shelf. He had seen it before in movies, pull out a book and release a hidden latch to open the door. Hunter didn't see anything else on the bookshelf that seemed to be out of place. He started to feel the frustration boil under his skin. He knew it was here somewhere.

  That's when he noticed a stone gargoyle sat under the nearest light fitting. Much like the monoliths that sat outside the mansion, the gargoyle's head was eerily detailed. It had a pointy face with two small ears that sat atop its head. Its eyes were slim and disturbingly realistic, and it with high cheekbones with a furrowed brow. The gargoyle's mouth was carved open as if it were snarling at anyone who looked into its vile eyes. Its curled lips showcased its various razor-sharp teeth. Hunter knew it was the object they had been searching for. Somehow, this ugly-looking statue held the secret to the room-he could feel it.

  He probed the gargoyle with his fingers feeling for any hidden knobs or buttons. He noticed the head itself was rotatable. Eagerly, he turned the head clockwise until he heard a loud click. It was soon followed by a rumbling from behind the bookshelf.

  "I found it!" Hunter beamed. "I told you!"

  "I don't want to go in there," Elly said, frowning.

  The bookshelf inched backwards noisily into the wall using a very complicated system of ropes and pulleys. Elly watched as the face of the bookshelf began to swing backwards into the darkened hallway. A cloud of dust and debris swirled about the children as the secret door opened.

  "Then stay here and wait for me to come back." Hunter nudged his little sister aside, walking triumphantly into the darkened room. "It's pitch-black in here," he added. "Why the heck didn't I bring a flashlight?"

  "I'm not waiting here by myself," Elly whined, reluctantly following her brother in.

  Hunter searched around blindly until he found a steel railing. It was colder than he expected, almost numbing his hand. The downward angle of the railing told Hunter it wasn't another hallway before him but rather a steep spiraling staircase that led into the depths of the mansion.

  He slowly made his way downward, being careful not to trip or miss a step. His sister followed suit, grabbing onto her brother's shoulder for support.

  The air was thick, and the deeper they went, the colder it got, to the point that if the children had any light to see, they would surely see their own breath when they spoke.

  They walked downward in complete darkness for what Elly thought was at least an hour. Just as her legs were starting to cramp, a small light broke through the void.

  "Look!" Hunter pointed.

  Relief shot across Elly's face. Finally, they had found a source of light.

  As they inched closer to the light, they saw two large doors that had been left partially open. Hunter reached over to edge them farther apart when Elly grabbed his arm.

  "What if that thing's in there?" she warned.

  "We'll check it out before we get too far in," he shot a whisper back. "Let me just peek in to see if it's safe."

  Hunter poked his head out just enough to get a decent look around. His eyes lit up with fascination, he couldn't believe what he saw…

  "What is it?" Elly asked.

  Hunter didn't reply. Rather, he stood there with his head peering out from the doors awestruck. The room before him was massive and filled with computers and what Hunter could only fathom was some sort of high-tech monitoring system. There wasn't much to the room aesthetically, no gothic décor of strange beheaded creatures mounted on the robust metallic walls or elegant rugs showcasing graphic wars rolled out beneath their feet. It was literally a giant machine-driven room, filled with nothing but mechanical wonders and gadgetry, including the walls, which seemed to be nothing more than giant monitors that all currently read "System Offline." The desks and numerous monitoring stations spread out across the room filled his eyes and ears with blinking lights and random computerized noises. The room reminded him of some mad scientist's secret lair from the sci-fi movies his father would watch with him on lazy Sunday afternoons.

  "Let me see!" Elly muttered as she wedged her head underneath Hunter's. "Wow… it's kind of pretty," she added. "Like Christmas lights."

  "I don't see that thing. I think it's safe to look around a bit." Hunter stepped through the door cautiously.

  The siblings split up and began exploring. Hunter went straight to one of the many workstations positioned against the high mechanical walls. There were ten stations in all, each hub having a personal computer and a slew of other computerized gadgets Hunter had never seen before. He sat down in one of the large leather chairs. Hunter's dad had had an identical one back at home in his study that Hunter was allowed to sit at when doing his homework; it was by far the coziest seat in the house.

  Hunter found himself staring into a blank computer monitor. He didn't know much about computers or how they worked, but he would often sneak into his parents' study and wander the web, watching user-submitted videos of the latest and coolest video games being played. He wondered if he could sign in to the system.

  Elly ignored the workstations altogether. Instead, she walked farther down into the room where the large computerized walls broke into a small corridor. Elly wasn't quite sure what she was looking at, but the corridor was blocked off by a thin yellow veil of what looked like light. The closer she got, the brighter the veil looked until she realized it was some sort of energy field. She could hear the raw energy buzzing from it but dared not touch it in fear of a possible lethal electrical shock. Elly couldn't help but notice how this hidden underground room was such a stark opposite to the rest of the mansion's medieval and gothic nature.

  The children now stood unknowingly at the epicenter of the most sophisticated computer system in the world.

  The weird thin yellow veil that buzzed before Elly's eyes was in fact a state-of-the-art defense system that ran on electrical waves. This energy field could easily incapacitate anything that dared try to pass through it. Elly noticed a twelve-digit keypad to the right of the buzzing force field. This was a system keypad where one would swipe their identification card and input their six-digit security code to allow entrance into the safeguarded passageway.

  Hunter sat at the desk looking for anything he might find interesting. It took him a moment to realize that this particular computer had no mouse or keyboard. He wasn't quite sure how to operate a computer without those necessary tools-he had never seen one without them.

  He soon noticed a small latch hidden within the actual desktop itself. He slid the latch to the left and revealed what resembled a flat keyboard. Each key illuminated its designated character with a blue hue. The keyboard was glossy and smooth to the touch. It wasn't a keyboard in the traditional sense; it was more of a large touchpad. Hunter was used to laptops, as both his parents owned one. They never left home without them, as they came in quite handy for their work as anthropologists.

  Hunter tapped a few of the buttons, attempting to type out his name, but to no avail. The monitor was still lifeless, a dark black abyss that only read "System Offline." Below the illuminated letters was a large outlined section in the same blue hue. Hunter thought it may be like the mouse p
ad on his parents' laptops. He double-tapped the square and the monitor beamed to life.

  "Awesome…" Hunter whispered to himself.

  A screensaver appeared before his eyes. It bore a bright and vivid animated logo that slowly spun on an invisible axis. Hunter had seen the strange logo before. It took him a moment to pinpoint where exactly until he remembered he had seen it only a handful of times at home. He remembered it mostly being stamped on random transcripts his parents would sometimes leave around the house. He remembered specifically asking his mother one morning what the logo was for. He wasn't sure why, but his mother had gotten strangely defensive and told him to go play outside, ignoring his question. Now it had shown up once again-here of all places. Hunter knew this was no coincidence.

  The logo was quite strange, and Hunter was drawn to it. He inspected it carefully before touching anything else. It had a giant snake that sat in the middle of a circular crest. It struck Hunter as odd because the snakelike beast had two heads, one on each side of its body. Its long torso was shaped into a very distinctive letter "S" with the two heads almost meeting in the middle as if they were battling over its shared body. The crest that sat in the background behind the snake was split into quarters, separating the four other inner designs into sections.

  On the top left, Hunter saw a picture that looked reminiscent of a muscular ape-like creature. It stood upright in the picture with elongated arms. Directly to the right was another confusing image. This design was of a mysterious relic-a grand sword stuck slanted into a large rock-an image Hunter was familiar with, but he couldn't quite remember the legend that derived from it.

  The bottom two designs were equally puzzling. Sitting diagonally from the ape creature was a second beast sticking a long slender neck out from a body of water. To Hunter, it looked like a sea-dwelling dinosaur. The fourth piece of the logo held another relic-like image. This appeared to be a lone circle holding within it a six-pointed star harboring six dots in-between each point.

  Hunter didn't know much about the two artifacts represented on the logo. However, he had seen many television shows and online videos that had supposedly "caught" the other two beastlike images on tape. Hunter could only guess he was looking at a representation of Nessy, the infamous Loch Ness Monster, and Big Foot, the fabled bipedal ape. Hunter was still a bit perplexed by the logo, but he decided not to fixate on it too much longer. He swiveled his finger in a circular motion on the touchpad, eliminating the screen saver. To his surprise, whoever was the last to use the computer hadn't logged off completely. Luckily, the mansion's networking email system was still operative, along with the last read email.

  Master Benjamin Michael Jenson:

  We are elated for you and your son, Alistair's, arrival tomorrow evening. It is of the utmost significance to please promptly show Alistair to his room-numbered 112. He is not to depart from his quarters until further notice. These are under stringent orders from Professor Calenstine himself. Please report directly to the Ocelot Room for further updates on the current state of affairs. Here is what is known:

  Five days prior to the scribing of this memorandum, a security breach occurred manipulating the Ocelot's inner cellblocks. It is unconfirmed where or how the breach occurred, but it is known that only one cell had been disrupted, Cell number 0012987. Its containments housed subject number 1228, codename: the Beast of Bladenboro. There have been copious sightings around the estate and a close encounter during the arrival of the Jakobs' lineage.

  Reminder: Masters Kim and Geoffrey Jakobs' aircraft went down during their last assignment, and their offspring have been entrusted to the care of Claudio Calenstine and the Belmonte Estate, as per their parents' request.

  We hope to integrate the children as soon as the rest of the lineages arrive for the ‘Enlightenment.'

  We look forward to your arrival.

  Signing off,

  Codename: Plato

  Message sent: 17:23:13

  Message received: 18:58:23

  -----------------------------------

  Plato,

  You old rusted out toolbox… they still got you talking all matter-of-factly? I told Patty not to allow you onto the web to download your information anymore. Too many linguistic databases for you to learn from, stick to present-day standard English slang. You speak so stiff, you should incorporate more local jargon into your speech. People may warm up to you faster hahaha. Hmmm… Have you figured out humor yet?

  Anyway, looks like Alistair and I will be walking into a mess. We've never had a breach like this. Wonder how that's even possible? Possibly an insider's job? Frightens me to think that.

  I caught the news on Kim and her husband, Geoff. Very unexpected, I was very upset I couldn't make it to the funereal. Kim was a great Seeker, and Geoff wasn't that bad either for not going through the ‘Enlightenment.' I wonder how Joe's doing?

  The Beast of Bladenboro? We just picked that cryptid up not even a month ago. Yussaf's team snagged that beast if I remember correctly-ugly-looking thing. Not good to have one of the fiends loose.

  So, we'll arrive around five tomorrow. I'll settle Alistair up in our room the minute we step foot into the estate. He's ecstatic, he's never seen where his dad works, nor does he have any idea what the Jensons do to pay our bills. Kid's full of questions.

  Tell Patty to whip up that chicken penne pasta dish I love so much, we're going be hungry after this plane trip. Extra red peppers.

  Later Gator,

  Master Ben-I love that you still call us ‘masters.'

  Message sent: 20:19:55

  Message received: 21:14:32

  The information Hunter had just read left him with a sour sensation in his stomach. He hadn't expected to read about Elly and himself, or his parents' plane crash… Not to mention the escaped Beast of Bladenboro. Hunter knew that had to have been the creature he had seen the other night in the ventilation system. His brain was going a mile a minute trying to digest everything from the email. So many questions flooded his mind. Who were Plato and this Ben character? What was the ‘Enlightenment' all about? Why was his mother called a Seeker? What are cryptids? Too many questions swelled up in his head, and he soon realized that his masterminded plan of escape had suddenly lost all its fun. How long had it been anyway? Hunter had lost track of time… a little over a week, two weeks maybe? He counted the sleepless nights in his head. It hadn't even been two full weeks since he had lost his parents in that dreadful plane crash. Sitting there in that strange room, reading that cryptic email, their death once again hit him out of nowhere. Then add the realization of just how absurd his life had become. He sat in the chair unable to control the tears welling in his eyes. He could do nothing but clench his fists in anger.

  Elly hadn't caught up with Hunter yet, she was still far across the room happily roaming around. She stumbled upon a large statue that seemed a bit out of place compared to the high-tech gadgetry that covered the majority of the room's square footage.

  This statue was huge, standing easily seven feet tall with a very thick frame. Elly thought it was an ancient bronze statue of some sort. She imagined it must have weighed a thousand pounds. The figure had a rustic look, with a broad chest and solid husky legs. That's when she recognized it… It was identical to the mechanical robot her and Hunter had seen earlier in the library. She stared up at its face and saw the two horizontal slits that had earlier been lit up with a blue hue. Its mouth was nothing more than a ‘V' shape. Suddenly the robot's eyes flickered alive with the blue light. Elly could hear a low buzzing noise coming from inside the machine. Her heart sunk to her stomach.

  "H-Hunter…" Elly stuttered. She tried to yell for her brother, but she could only manage a weak whimper.

  The statue's eyes were now fully illuminated. Its mighty head looked down toward Elly. Her legs were now trembling in fear. The machine's arm rose outward to grab Elly, who quickly ran in the opposite direction screaming as loud as she could.

  Hunter stood up quickly from t
he workstation. He wiped away the few tears he couldn't force back quickly. He saw Elly from afar, running towards him. He couldn't figure out what was wrong, but the terrified look on her face was all he needed to see.

  "Elly, be quiet!" he said in the loudest whisper he could muster.

  The towering robot turned the corner and followed closely behind Elly. Its cool blue eyes bounced methodically with every menacing step, its arms outstretched, trying to grab her. It shook the room with each step it took.

  The children were now both terrified. They darted for the double doors that entered into the stairwell and swiftly slammed the doors behind them. Hunter took off his shirt. He tied it tightly to the two doorknobs with the hope that it would prevent the giant robot from opening the door.

  "Good thinking!" said Elly, now staring up at the spiraling staircase, a bit bewildered at its height.

  "Don't stare at them, run!" Hunter yelled.

  Hunter pushed his sister to pick up her momentum, and they ran with all their might up the enormous staircase. They dared not look back to see if the mysterious robot was still following them. By midway through their flight up the stairs, both their legs throbbed with pain, but the mix of fear and adrenaline pushed them onward to the top. By the time they made it, both children fell over with exhaustion onto the library floor.

  "Did it follow us?" Elly gasped.

  "Let's not wait to find out." Hunter swallowed hard, his mouth now dry. "What was that thing anyway?" He wiped the sweat from his brow.

  Hunter stood back up and peered into the darkened library, now more than ever he wanted to get back into his room, to lie comfortably in the warmth of his bed, far away from secret rooms and large creepy robots. It wasn't just his legs that burned either, his head swirled in pain, overflowing with questions that weighed heavily on his mind. It was just too much for him to comprehend.

  "Hunter, what's on your chest?" Elly pointed to a small red laser-like dot.

  Hunter looked down, but before he could see anything, he heard the click of a flashlight being turned on, and a bright light shined blindingly into the children's eyes.

  "Halt!" the deep voice of a man bellowed across the room. "State your name and lineage!"

  The children, once again stricken with panic, had no idea what to say or even what a lineage was!