by Project Kyle
“We’re taking a break,” Captain Baker ordered.
“No!” Nerd responded while panting. “We must—”
“We need you if we’re going to get out of this in one piece. Just take a few minutes, that’s all.”
Nerd was too winded to argue, so he took the captain’s advice. The crew rested for five minutes, and after an eight-to-one vote, they decided to continue at a walking pace, rather than running, in order to save their energy for whatever lurked within the temple.
“This is dangerous!” Nerd said, still uneasy, considering he was the one who voted to continue running. “We are giving him time to make his next move.”
“You yourself said that he will use fear to control his victims,” Alcanore pointed out. “We can’t be so fearful that we let him push us to our breaking point. Is that not what you were trying to tell me before?”
“I…I suppose I was. Thank you for actually taking my advice to heart. People rarely do.”
Alcanore laughed. “Don’t be so hard on everyone. You’re a blunt individual, but I can take that! Just work on trusting your team and not always acting like you have all the answers. No one has all the answers, not even you. We may not be brilliant at solving crimes or geniuses in the field of science, but we know how to pace ourselves when in battle. We just need you to trust us. I think you can give us that much.”
Nerd, surprisingly, laughed in response to Alcanore’s words. The creature was very direct and had a strong personality. He was also very honest and to the point, and obviously wasn’t scared to swallow his own pride as well as shattering Nerd’s. That was okay, so long as he kept it within reasonable boundaries. Alcanore was warming up to him, and that was huge considering how paranoid he was when they first met.
The nine walked another mile without any interference from Experiment-1, but Nerd was not letting his guard down, as he knew their stalker could make a move at any given moment.
The final mile was behind them, and the temple could be seen in between the jungle’s foliage. It was massive indeed, and definitely a marvel compared to the rest of the planet. The temple itself was made from granite, but the craftsmanship was beautiful. There were carvings all through the massive structure that showed the many battles the Obian people had fought to take control of the planet. The center tower they would have to climb up was as tall as a skyscraper, reaching above even the jungle tree line. It was a marvel to see but was also a bit of a downer, given the fact they would have to make their way up it. Still, the structure was amazing. Pity that its creators were extinct, as Nerd knew they could have used their insight to get them out of this mess.
The joy was overshadowed by fear, however, as Nerd received another text from his enemy.
“Unknown: Did you figure it out yet? Why I brought everyone here?
Nerd: Yes, you’re letting me grow attached to these people, just so you can pluck them off one by one. You spent a full year planning this, just so you could get into my head!
Unknown: Bingo! To tell you the truth, I was getting bored with the idea. I didn’t think it would work, because you could have solved the problem before you formed any close relationships. So, I gave up for a little while. But then you just had to go and make it easy for me by befriending your two human friends. Especially her. Oh! The pain it would cause you if anything ever happened to her.
Nerd wasn’t going to waste any more time. He signaled the crew to head to the ruins but continued to text his nemesis to keep him occupied.
Nerd: You know I will never give you the location of the Invader unit. Even if you kill everyone I love.
Unknown: We will see about that…
Unknown: I bet you’re wondering why I am so eager to get what I want. It must be so hard that I am the one mystery you were never able to solve.
Nerd: It seems like a lot of trouble just to get to the center of a space station, and it is frustrating because I know you’re harmful to me…but I have a feeling you can relate to that helpless feeling a little more than I can. For some reason, you can’t get into the center of Cosmic 5, and that means you feel helpless too.
Unknown: Yes, I do.
Nerd: Then please tell me, why are you doing this! What is in there that could be so important that you would risk the safety of the entire galaxy?
Unknown: As I said, I can’t tell you. But I will give you a hint so you can figure it out when I’m ready for you to know the truth.
Nerd: Okay?
Unknown: Galactic plague is not a plague at all. It’s a vaccine, a vaccine that I tried to perfect…but the human metabolism could not take it. So, I scrapped the idea, and now I use it as a weapon to strike fear into my opponents.
Unknown: Want to know something else? Years ago, I killed a small child, and I told you that life was a game, a game I intend to win. I lied. Though I did want to have the most kills under my belt, even I find no delight in killing a defenseless kid. It’s just not challenging enough. I had a reason for ending his young life, just as I had a reason for attempting to kill Amelia.
Nerd’s heart began to race. They were almost at the temple and were about to cross the drawbridge leading them over a moat that was dug around it. Nerd just needed to keep his enemy talking a little longer before they would be safe.
Nerd: I’m intrigued! Please tell me more.
Unknown: That’s all you’re going to get from me right now. I know the only reason you’re talking to me is because you think it’s buying you time. But I have spared your companions’ lives for a little while so the numbness of what you dealt with before could wear off! Turn around and look up ^^^
Nerd did just as Experiment-1 asked and panicked when he noticed him stalking them at the end of the tree line. He was clinging to the side of one of the tall trees, only twenty feet in the air. As soon as Nerd spotted him, he jumped off the tree, drew his sword, and darted towards Captain Baker.
“Everyone!” Nerd shouted. “Head to the ruins, now!”
But before anyone could respond, Experiment-1 had reached Captain Baker. He jumped through the air with his sword in his hands and sliced through the top of Baker’s head. Captain Baker was split down the middle and was killed instantly. There was no blood, however, as Experiment-1’s blade had emitted some sort of energy and had cauterized his victim. This explained why his blade was able to cut through anything, giving him even more power than they had previously given him credit for.
Sophia saw this as an opportunity, as she had remembered what happened between her and Drake. She drew her sword and ran after Experiment-1. The two blades made contact, and excitement filled Sophia’s heart when her theory proved correct. Her blade absorbed the energy from Experiment-1’s weapon.
“No!” Nerd shouted. “Do not engage him. He will—”
“I know what I’m doing!” she replied. “Trust me, just get everyone inside the temple.”
Sophia engaged Experiment-1 with full force, holding back nothing, Sparks flew as the two fought valiantly; they seemed to match each other in both wit and skill.
The only advantage that Experiment-1 had on her was that he was left-handed, which made his attacks a little harder to predict. But she didn’t need to defeat him with her blade, she just needed to outlast him.
Finally, her blade was throbbing with green energy, and Sophia was ready to strike. She took a step back and thrust her blade out so that it would not make contact with Experiment-1’s blade, hoping that she could engulf all of Experiment-1.
She felt a strong feeling of hope overcome her as Experiment-1’s entire body was covered by the blast. He yelled in fury as his body and armor vaporized right in front of her.
Sophia raised her sword in a victory pose, but that victory was short-lived as she saw a mere strand of hair making its way to the ground.
Sophia was mortified to see a human body starting to reform in front of her, and before its head could reveal itself, it vanished!
“What?” Sophia said as her feeling of hope was c
rushed right in front of her.
As soon as she got the words out of her mouth, an arm and fist materialized three feet in front of her. It punched her in the face, and Sophia was sent back, landing hard on the bridge behind her.
Nerd wasted no time. He ran up to her and picked her up before their enemy could regroup and deliver a killing blow to her. He swiftly headed back and met the others, who were inside the first room of the temple. It was blocked off by another door that could only be opened by solving the room’s puzzle.
Nerd put Sophia down and walked over to the temple entrance to see if Experiment-1 was stalking him. All he could see was a wooden lever next to the entrance and the distorted figure of a man walking towards it. Nerd began to step backwards and was prepared to fight, but the fight did not happen. Instead, the distortion made its way to the lever. The lever moved its way down, and the granite entrance door closed in front of them. Green neon crystals lit up as soon as the sunlight was gone, giving the surviving crew members a trace of vision.
However, this may have been the only good news. They were trapped, forced into a prison Experiment-1 had purposely led them into. Again, he was one step ahead of everyone else. Again, everything had fallen in his favor.
An overpowering feeling of dread seemed to overcome them all. Each one began to accept the fact that they were trapped by the will of a merciless killer, and that it was only a matter of time before they would be next.
Chapter 18 The Temple
Nerd gently put Sophia down. She was groggy and confused as to what had just happened. The blow was very powerful, and Nerd was worried that she may lose sight in her left eye. It was red and already starting to swell up.
“Remind me to take a look at that when we get back,” Nerd said to her. “If we get back.”
“I’m sorry, Nerd,” Sophia responded, her tone expressing how disappointed she was in herself.
“Don’t be; you almost had him. But his self-regeneration ability definitely makes him hard to beat.”
“I remember you said his armored suit had the ability to cloak, but I was able to destroy his suit, and he still seemed to vanish into thin air while his body was regenerating. How?”
“I don’t know how. All I know is that he can camouflage himself with his surroundings. At first, I thought it was his suit, but it looks like I was wrong. The good news is, suit or not, his cloaking ability only works if he moves slowly. As you noticed, his arm was visible when he took a shot at you, which tells me that his body needs time to change colors as he moves. At least he won’t be able to run or attack us while cloaked. Eventually, he will need to come out of the shadows if he wants to continue pursuing us.”
“And when he does,” Joe interrupted, “we will skin him alive for what he has done!”
“Easy there, Joe,” Nerd cautioned. “Don’t let him get into your head.”
“He killed our captain! Don’t tell me to take it easy!”
Nerd attempted to soften his demeanor, as he did feel crushed over the life that was lost, though he hardly knew him. But his face remained cold due to the overpowering stress he was under.
“Yes,” he said in a blunt voice. “I’m so sorry about your captain.”
Joe Collins began making his way towards Nerd. He was going to punch him in the face, but Tom grabbed him and urged him to stand down.
“You’re not the only one who’s lost people, Collins!” he said. “Save your anger for Experiment-1. You’re going to need it…trust me.” After Collins had restrained himself, Tom turned around to face Alcanore, who was standing in the corner of the room with his arms crossed. “Do you think you can break open the door to the next room?”
“Ha!” he said. “I think I can make it happen. Everyone stand aside!”
Alcanore made his way to the door. He drew his spear and thrust it at the doorway. He was stunned to see that his attack had no effect on it at all. This was strange, as his spear was able to break granite. This structure must be built out of something a little bit more durable than they had previously thought. Still, he continued, with hopes that he could break through.
He thrust his spear a second time, but alas, nothing. He thrust it a third time but was still unable to even chip the doorway. Finally, he lost patience and attacked it with all his might.
After wearing himself down, Alcanore ceased his attack, realizing that it was foolish to waste his strength.
“Well, that blows!” Henry stated. “Anyone else got any ideas?”
Nerd analyzed his surroundings. The room was precisely 30 by 50 feet. It had four pillars inside to support the ceiling, which was around two stories high. The door was located on a platform, with a granite stairway leading up to it. The platform was one story high. There were four Grunt-like statues located in each corner of the room near the ceiling. Their mouths were closed, but Nerd got an unsettling feeling that somehow the statues’ mouths could indeed open. Every 30 seconds, the neon crystal lights would grow dim for precisely one second. The room would go pitch black and then return to its original state. While this creeped everyone out at first, over time they got used to the pattern.
The doorway was isolated and had no switch or object near it that could be used to force it open. The only thing nearby was a few words located at the top. Nerd had never seen words in that format before, and he was unable to decipher what they meant.
He pulled out his communicator and scanned them, hoping that the artificial intelligence contained something in its database to decipher it.
Tom also scanned the doorway itself to see if there were any weaknesses to be found, but there were none. The only thing that seemed interesting was that the doorway was heavily insulated. It would make no sound when the door opened or closed. This design seemed to be completely pointless, and for the life of him Tom couldn’t figure out why the architects would do this. He told Nerd his findings anyway, hoping he could use the info to work out how to get to the next room.
Henry Smith, on the other hand, was getting bored with being stuck in the room. He leaned on the doorway and let out a sigh.
“What about you, Grunt?” he asked. “Got any bright ideas?”
“Grunt happy!” he responded. “Grunt with friends!”
“Sorry I asked.”
Nerd looked closer at the statues. Something was noticeably off. Initially their heads were pointing upward. They seemed to be paying no attention to the people in the room. Now the heads were pointing down and were looking right at them.
Nerd could not tell if he was paranoid or if there was something truly wrong. But after the neon lights went out again, Nerd realized that his fear was well founded. The statues were moving each time the lights grew dim, and now their mouths were open. Lava dripped from each mouth and made its way to the room’s floor.
“We should all head up!” Nerd said, his tone urgent, ushering the crew up the stairs and hoping it would buy them some time.
Everyone obeyed and gathered together. Nerd did a headcount and panicked when he realized Henry Smith was not with them.
“Where did he go?” he asked.
“He was here a few seconds ago,” Mr. Howard replied. “I saw him talking to Grunt.”
“Grunt! Where is Henry?”
“Grunt see Henry!” Grunt replied. “Lights go out, Grunt no see Henry!”
“Well, that was helpful,” Mr. Howard said sarcastically.
Nerd received an alert on his communication device. It had finished scanning the doorway. He was optimistic when he saw it had deciphered what the words said:
“When darkness falls, you will have but a moment to sprint ahead.”
Nerd knew he had only a minute before the lava reached them. He quickly analyzed everything he knew about the room. The door was insulated, meaning it would make no sound when it opened and closed. Henry was leaning on the doorway when he was talking to Grunt but vanished when the lights went out, meaning Henry was already in the next room.
The lights flashed off
and on again and Nerd smiled. It was an easy solution.
“Everyone!” he said. “Get as close as you can to the door, and as soon as the lights go out, run forward. We’re only going to get one shot at this!”
“I don’t understand,” Lieutenant Collins replied. “We’re just going to run straight into the door?”
“If you’ve got any better ideas, now’s the time to voice them. Because in fifteen seconds, we’re all going to melt slowly in a pool of boiling lava.”
No one had any better ideas. So, all seven of them gathered as close as they could to the door. The crew lined up, three by three; Sophia, Alcanore, and Grunt in the front; Collins, Howard, and Tom in the middle; and Nerd stood solo in the very back.
Five seconds remained, and Nerd urged his friends to prepare themselves. The lights went out, and the members sprinted forward, and…they continued to run forward. Nothing was stopping them. They could see a light at the end of a long hallway, so they kept running until they reached the location where the light was. Henry Smith was at the end of it, where another large door could be seen.
“Henry!” Sophia yelled. “What happened to you? I was worried.”
“I don’t know, sis.” Henry shrugged. “I was leaning on the door, and the next thing I knew, my weight was carrying me back. I was in another room that was dark. But I saw the light at the end of the hallway, and I figured I’d make my way towards it, and now here I am!”
Everyone looked at Nerd and wanted an explanation. He smirked and filled them in on what had happened.
“It was all just a puzzle, really,” Nerd said. “Every time the lights went out, the door opened. Which is why the designers went through such trouble to insulate the door itself. We couldn’t hear it, but it would open for a second and then close when the lights switched back on. I worked it out when my scanner deciphered the words on top of the door. ‘When darkness falls, you will have but a moment to sprint ahead.’ Knowing that Henry had disappeared when he was leaning on the door, I knew that we had to sprint forward the minute the lights went out. I’m glad we all got through…the lava would have consumed anyone who didn’t.”
