by Mark Russo
“Okay, I’ll come along. I don’t feel comfortable with any of us being alone at this moment,” I said.
“I don’t need a babysitter, but I get your point.” Akko always had a hard time thanking people.
“It’s a good point. Thanks, James. Please be back before tomorrow. We don’t want to compromise the class schedule more than it already is,” Emma said to both of us but looked only at me.
“Do we need to stay for the rest of the meeting?” The stress on the last word made Akko sound even harsher than his usual.
“Feel free to go. We’ll update you on the next items for today when you return,” Emma said while surveying the inventory she had written at the beginning.
I got up, quickly said goodbye and followed Akko, who sprinted as soon as he stood.
“What’s with all the rush? It was not nice to leave like that.” I asked him once we were in the corridor.
“James, we don’t have time for niceness. Maybe you didn’t realize but our world is falling apart.”
“I’m well aware of that.”
He did not slow his pace.
“It would have taken you a few seconds. I don’t think I’m asking for much.”
He disappeared around the corner. “Fine. Next time, I’ll do that,” he uttered without facing me.
“Where are we going?” My breath shortened.
“I need a minute in my office to grab a small thing, then we can go. Wait here.”
My feet stopped moving, and I sat on a wooden bench close to a window. My head felt heavy, so I massaged my temples. When I opened my eyes again, he was already in front of me, ready to prod me with his pointy stick.
“Let’s go.”
I rose as fast as I could—not the greatest choice. Walking through that portal all dizzy was a psychedelic experience I would have really preferred avoiding.
*****
At the Red Vault, things looked just as I remembered them. Lots of gadgets and devices crammed the shelves and tables, unorganized. “Where is the library?” I asked my cranky colleague.
“In the underground level. Will you come downstairs with me?”
“Sure. I’ve never been there before.”
He grunted something unintelligible.
We moved forward. A thick layer of dust covered everything around us, from the floor to a weird thing that resembled both a lamp and a chandelier.
Akko was speeding, as per his usual.
I glanced right, as something unusual hit my peripheral view. “Wait.”
“What now?”
“I’m very sorry to disturb you, but there is a huge hole in that wall.”
He whimpered but eventually turned his head right. “I can’t catch a break, can I?”
I trod as lightly as I could toward the wall, but all the dust would stick to my clothes anyhow.
Akko peered in the small tunnel before us. “Let’s see where this goes. I’ll go first. Follow me.”
We meandered through the Red Vault’s thick brick wall. The tunnel led all the way to the outside.
“Well, this was not here before,” Akko said over his shoulder.
“I also did not remember the Red Vault to be somewhere on this planet.”
“Do you still have those skateboards of yours?”
“Yes. Want to go for a little ride?”
“I would not put it like that, but yes. Let’s see if we can find those two.”
We were surfing around the area not five seconds later. I increased the speed a little, but that tiny hurricane by my side wouldn’t blink an eye, so I pushed the board even faster.
Akko’s only reaction Akko was to lean on his stick.
I squinted at him, but nothing happened. A group of houses popped up on the horizon, so I headed that way. I expected him to say something, but he didn’t. Once we were close enough, the figure of an old woman appeared among the ruined buildings.
“It seems odd for someone wander this barren wasteland. She might need our help,” he said.
I brought the stone board closer and pulled over.
The old woman regarded us from a patch of tall grass then trudged toward us.
I made eye contact with her, and she screamed in her language. I stepped closer, raising my hands.
She silently stared at me. Her wrinkles deepened when she opened her mouth again to shriek.
I could not help but notice she only had maybe ten teeth still crowding that space.
She kneeled and grabbed a rock, then she threw it at me but missed.
“Let’s go. We can’t talk to her!” Akko cried out.
The woman hurled another rock at us. It fell a meter from me. When a new stone board appeared beneath our feet, she ran away, still screaming.
“Does any of our students speak Russian?” Akko asked while we were almost at the vault.
“We have to ask. Do you want to come back and see if we can help that poor lady?”
“Yes. I’ll ask once we are back.”
I smiled at him for the first time that day.
*****
Once we returned to Valu’s churchlike building, we rushed downstairs. A short flight of stairs led us to an ample hall filled with organized lines of wooden shelves.
Akko flipped a switch using his rod, and three large sconces illuminated the space with a gentle yellow light.
“How does Valu have electric light down here?” I asked with my chin lifted all the way up.
“I’ve never asked him. Once he comes back, you can. I’ll see if I can find anything about this volfram Vaim was talking about.”
“Sure. I’ll help.”
He nodded then bolted toward a tall bookcase.
I went to the closest one, not having a precise plan in mind. A plethora of books was covered in dust. My attention fell on a large one with a thick golden cover. It was so heavy I had to use both hands to lift it. I carried it to a table nearby and tried to drop it gently, but it slipped from my grasp. It banged on the table and pushed backward, almost toppling it.
“Are you okay?” Akko yelled from somewhere I could not see.
“Yeah, just me being clumsy.”
We both chuckled.
I returned to the book, opened it and turned on a small wall lamp. On the random point I had chosen, the text was written on two columns per page. One was made by several symbols I had never seen before; the other was in English:
... the Paths are then to be thought of as a journey. A self-awareness process that has to do with contacting the deepest aspects of ourselves. Skills are gathered in a personal manner. One’s preferences, personality, and characteristics not only influence the moment a new skill is acquired but also which ones will be.
“You found The Book of the Paths.” Akko materialized by my side.
I almost jumped. “It’s interesting. We should bring it to the school. It might help both the students and us.”
“Okay, let’s bring it. I also found this little handbook about Marcovian technology. We’ll see if Vaim can help us build another electric generator.”
“We have a plan. Are we ready?”
“Yes. Will you do the honors this time?”
“Sure.” I turned and prepared to open a portal, but something stopped me.
The old woman we had met by the houses had found her way into the Red Vault and now stood before us. Something seemed new about her; she looked taller, or maybe a little less slouched. Her eyes were frozen in an everlasting glare. She straightened her neck and spoke in English. “Give up already. You won’t find her.” Her voice sounded like it came from the depths of the Earth.
Akko dropped the stick and grabbed his weapon, ready to fight.
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
“As if you didn’t know, James,” he said.
The old woman’s body collapsed to the floor and shook. It twitched faster and faster, as I had seen one time before.
We couldn’t do anything. A few seconds later, we were alone a
gain, and the old woman had disappeared without a trace.
“How did this happen?” I asked Akko.
“Someone had overridden that woman’s consciousness. We’re talking about the Path of Mind here.”
I exhaled; my hands were slightly shaky. “Do you think Vihkan is behind all this?”
“I don’t know, James. I’m fearing she just shed her old suit, but we can’t say for sure.”
*****
Later that evening, I was alone in my room. I could not sleep, so I opened The Book of the Paths, as Akko had called it. While browsing through the index, I found a chapter titled “The Path of Matter & the Colonization of Plane K.” I rapidly flipped the pages until I found it in the second half of the book. I skimmed through the first introductory paragraphs. My attention returned to its full focus when I read.
This endeavor was like no other any communion ever embarked upon, first and foremost, because it implied the creation of a Path specifically meant for humans. This decision had been moved by two factors. On one hand, human minds are too weak to master the Path of Mind, and some skills belonging to this Path defy the intelligence of the brightest of the human minds. On the other, humans are proud creatures. They need to feel like they belong, like they are part of something bigger than they are. So the Path of Matter was created, something that would let Plane R inhabitants be more similar to those of Plane K but different.
But the Great Communion plan failed miserably. The plan had changed many times. Different subjects had been trained from different parts of planet Earth. But the result had always been the same; humans would not prove uncompliant, rebellious, and sometimes, belligerent. The Great Communion must accept one thing: human beings acquainted with the Paths will not turn into subservient slaves.
I’d had enough. Now that all the tiredness had left my body, I picked up the book and slammed it on my bookshelf. Above, a small sink on my left stood a square mirror; my face was not the one of a slave.
9
Vagras
The Marcovian scientist set my food tray on my table, left without talking and locked the door behind him.
It was my third day there, and it was time to do something about it. Observing them for seventy-two hours had allowed me to gather enough data on them. The food they served did not seem horrible; I tasted some of the quiche. Well, I could stay a minute longer and finish it.
A few of them passed in the corridor. If they were trying to spy on me, they were doing a terrible job.
I summoned an invisible double and had him chase down the guy who had delivered my meal. It didn’t take long to find him; he was talking to a colleague in what appeared to be a midsized kitchen. When my clone was close enough, I could finally hear them talking.
“You are saying we should place the transducers inside the turbine? I don’t think we’d achieve the same results.”
That conversation was irrelevant to me, so I left. I moved my doppelganger into the corridor to explore it more attentively. The hallway seemed long enough to run through the entire base. While strolling around, the ethereal version of me passed many rooms, most were labs where Marcovian scientists were working. Next, I found a few locked metal doors, and seeing through them became impossible. If I wanted to find Valu, I had to try them all.
The first clone I conjured behind a closed door popped up in a storage room; I had no use for that. A few meters ahead, the double looked through a window. The outside was foggy and slightly rainy as every other day. In that part of the world, it seemed even gloomier than where the school was.
The next closed door was at the end of that corridor. When the double popped up on the other side, another corridor opened before it. It mirrored the one where my cell was located—a metal tube large enough for people to walk into.
After using my favorite skill for the day a few more times, my extra pair of eyes found themselves in front of yet another lab with a large plastic tent at the other end of it, like no other had before. I switched positions with the double—they had just brought me food; I would be alone for at least thirty minutes. When I passed through the vinyl-striped wall, the coldness of a huge hangar hit me. I found Valu working alongside half a dozen Marcovians on an enormous machine, but I could not tell what it was.
I stepped closer, minding not to touch anything or to cause unnecessary noises.
He wore a working overall, and metal powder covered his hands.
“Go to the lab. We need to talk,” I told him when my mind connected to his.
He didn’t blink, concocted an excuse to his colleagues and walked to the lab. “What took you so long?” he asked in his quietest voice as soon as we were alone.
“I had to make sure it was safe to leave my cell. We do not have a lot of time. Let’s go.”
“No, I can’t leave. I have to finish what I’m working on.”
“How come? They kidnapped us, and now you want to help them?”
“It’s the planes’ merger. We must leave. There is no way to revert it.”
I brought my invisible hands to my invisible face. “What do we do?”
“I need to build a spacecraft that can travel through different dimensions. Like our portals but bigger.”
“How about the rest of us? Will you just leave us here?”
“Of course not. There’ll be a place for everyone. We made a deal.”
Someone walked by the lab, so we paused our conversation.
“Do you believe these people? I remind you they are keeping us prisoners here.”
“We don’t have time for that now. Reach out to Emma. Tell her we’ll leave soon.”
“I’ve tried. I can’t seem to contact her form here. Maybe it’s something with their technology.”
“Figure out a way to talk to her. It’ll be sooner rather than later.”
“Okay, now go back to work. We don’t want them doubting anything.”
He nodded to a point in space before leaving, hoping that was where I was.
I switched my position back to my actual body. All I needed to do now was wait for the guy to return to get my tray.
*****
The Marcovian guy who was taking care of me had left a minute ago and would not return until the next morning. It was time to do something. I summoned yet another double, this time outside my cell wall—an intangible version of me envisioned that cold greenish land Valu and I had ventured in days before. The next clone I positioned as far as I could from the base.
I switched my position with the second Double and attempted to reach out to Emma’s mind. All my mental efforts focused on finding her, but I could not locate her, nor any other marcher on the Path of Mind. My next attempt proved ineffective too.
The next thing I did was conjuring another clone, again as far as I could from me. I concentrated on finding the perfect rhythm for my breath and relaxed as much as I could. The result was the same as before; nothing happened besides me noticing the cold turning my fingertips into icicles.
A branch snapped behind me.
I turned as fast as I could.
A large bear’s jaws opened wide as he growled loud. Large bruises plastered the animal’s body. In a few spots, the poor beast’s fur had thinned so much that greenish patches of skin were visible.
When the battered forest giant leapt toward me, I grabbed it with a mind blast midair. I lifted the bear gently at first then threw it as far as I could. It became a minuscule point in the sky above me.
When it landed far from me, it made a splashing sound. There was no need to check it from a closer distance.
“How did you do that?” a voice asked behind me.
I turned rapidly to see two men behind me, both wearing black clothes. One was the tallest man I had ever seen. “Well, there are several things I can do.”
“I’ve seen nothing like that. Thanks, that monster was close to get to us,” one of them said.
The other wore a smug face over his moustache. “Not that it would have been a problem. W
e could have escaped.”
“Can you guys fly? Because that is the only thing that would have saved you.” I wrinkled my nose a little.
“We can,” the first one who had talked said.
They both lifted from the ground a full meter.
“Now, let me be the one saying I’ve seen nothing like this.” I sounded way too flattering.
“We might really need someone with your skills. And sorry for being rude. My name is Neil.”
“My name is Milan.”
The guys introduced themselves while still flying. When they came back down, I shook their hands and told them my name.
“I can help you guys out. I had to do one thing, but it did not seem to work.”
“May I ask what you were doing in the middle of nothing all by yourself?” Milan asked.
“I might ask you the same question, but you were the ones who asked for my help.”
They looked at each other for a second.
“We’re not looking for trouble, but it would be great if you could join us. We’re forming a small town with all the survivors from the cataclysm,” Neil said.
“I have a place to go already, but thanks for the offer,” I told him.
“Okay, then we better get going,” Milan said. “We have a long way to go.”
They shook my hand again, and a weird blue and purple glint materialized from nowhere on our left. It looked like a flame, crackling as it continuously changed form.
I checked for the two guys, but they both had taken flight. The next time I looked, the glow was by my side.
Something was inside it—or better, someone. That someone hit me with a straight punch to my jaw. I had been living in a human body for quite a long time, but that hurt like nothing I could remember.
My facial bones made a cracking noise as I dropped to the ground. The skin on my right cheek burned. I glanced at the flaming person.
In the blink of an eye, he or she, I could not say, was on me. The creature grabbed my neck and lifted me off the ground.
My neck burnt like flames had wrapped it. I screamed from the top of my lungs. While trying not to faint, I noticed two eyes in the burning fog. A part of me thought they looked familiar; the other was trying to remember how to think. I gathered all the energy I could imbue in one skill and used my mind blast.
