Regius

by Nastasia Peters

  A small green light came on at the top of the item immediately followed by a beeping noise which had me snapping my head up to look at the speaker. The green light was on. I quickly tucked the locator back into my pocket, zipping it closed to make sure it wouldn't fall out.

  "You have survived the hounds." Xania's spoke. "A relatively impressive achievement."

  I heard the kid who'd helped me hours before talking energetically in the background, giving Xania a detailed report on how I'd managed to jump my way to safety. Xania let out a noise of irritation and after a few curses and doors slamming shut, there was a beat of silence.

  "How are you doing?"

  He'd kicked the boy out. If I showed Xania I wasn't doing good, he'd be pleased. I didn't want him to know I was scared either. Pursing my lips, I pushed up onto my feet and stepped away from the wall I'd been leaning against, looking straight at the speaker, assuming there was a camera there.

  "I'm doing brilliant, thank you!" I tried very hard to sound cheerful. "Is there any chance I might be able to get some breakfast?" I asked conversationally, hoping to piss him off in the process.

  "You want food?"

  Clearing my throat, I offered the camera a sheepish smile. "If it's not too much to ask. You've been so good to me so far." Sarcasm ahoy. "I wouldn't want to push my luck."

  "Tell me where I may find the Altor named Lupinus Jacoby."

  The grumble made it clear that I was indeed pissing him off.

  "Does this mean I won't get breakfast?" I feigned surprise, letting him know I wasn't about to answer any of his questions. Of course he didn't have to know I wasn't aware of the answers to most of them to begin with.

  "How does one turn a Keeper dark?"

  "Is it tiring to be the leader of all evil?" I actually did want to know the answer to that one.

  "Stop smiling!" He snapped.

  "May I have some privacy? I need to pee. I always need to pee after a long, peaceful, good night of sleep."

  "Have it your way then." Xania replied. "We will try this again tomorrow." He sounded calm and composed again.

  Exhaling steadily, I prepared myself mentally for the second part of dungeon that had just been set in motion.

  I had time to fish out the water bottle Maya had given me and gulped down a couple of swallows, making sure I didn’t drink too much of it as I had no idea when I would get more. Sighing in bliss as the clean and cold liquid ran down my throat, I tucked the bottle back in my pocket while waiting for whatever was to happen next.

  Since I didn't have a watch, I had no idea how long, but I'd had the time to sing the alphabet song five times, name all Pallium weaponry and count to thirty before the green light on the speaker came back on again.

  "Can I turn the camera back on?" Ah, the boy was back. "You're done doing your private business, right?" He asked hesitantly.

  I chuckled, despite everything. "Yeah, all clear."

  "Good, alright." He started, telling me he was about to give me some info. "Today I have to help you through the second part of this dungeon."

  I wrinkled my nose at the excited tone in his voice.

  "Details?" My voice was curt.

  "I have access to the video cameras and since they are infra-red I can see a bit more than you can." He murmured absently while sifting through papers, or so the sound had me believe. "I also have the maps of the dungeon laid out in front of me, but it certainly doesn’t hold all the answers. Far from, really. I can only help you see better and if need be, help you think faster."

  He did not sound worried at all. He actually sounded very confident over the fact that we could do this. That I could do this.

  "Why are you helping me?" I'm not sure what I was expecting for an answer.

  He hmm'd thoughtfully before he answered. "This is the first time I've been in a situation where I don't know anything beforehand. It's... like an adventure." He whispered in wonder. Considering a very real person's life was at stake and he was seeing this as a game, a piece of entertainment to give some spice to his daily routine, well, I'd say he was evil, but... he truly didn't sound like it. He didn't seem to be aware that what he was doing was wrong. I puffed out some air. Another loony. Joy.

  "I am trusting you with my life." I clipped out.

  "Really?" He asked softly.

  "I don't really have a choice, do I?" He was silent for a moment and when he spoke again, it was to give me a piece of reassurance, clearing up the matter that this boy obviously wasn't evil. He just didn't realize what was going on.

  "I know one thing in advance." He whispered. "If you get through the second part, you'll get food." He confided.

  "Thank you for telling me that." I appreciated that he'd told me, but I also knew that if they were going to feed me, it was only to keep me alive so they could try breaking me in hopes I'd spill out the answers at one point or another.

  "You are welcome." I wondered if he ever was thanked for anything. He always sounded so pleased when I did. "I checked the maps and I saw a way to get out of this place. You alright?" I'd have to remember asking him about the 'sic' word he'd said the day before. For now though, I nodded in direction of the camera and loud speaker.

  "Good. Behind you there is a stone that is sticking out compared to the other bricks. I need you to press that one back in line with the others." He instructed.

  And so it begins.

  Taking a deep breath, I turned around and located the stone he was talking about and pressed my palms flat against the dark grey brick, pushing so I could line it up with the rest of them. The moment it did, a noise sounding very much like a 'click' and then it was followed with the ground trembling softly beneath my feet.

  "Please, please tell me there aren't any more dogs."

  "No dogs this time." He replied, confident.

  I relaxed my posture, blinking at the streak of light coming from a linear gap forming in the stone on the right side of the room. I eyed it carefully as just a section of the wall slid further down into the ground, creating a window I could easily climb through.

  "It's your way out of this place," The kid clarified. Nervously, I made my way over to it and then couldn't help but look worriedly back at the camera.

  "Will you be with me on the other side?"

  "I know you don't believe it yet, but I see us as a team now."

  Offering the camera a smile, I then proceeded in making my way over the remaining edge of the wall that hadn't disappeared into the ground. Once I’d climbed to the other side, I turned the flashlight off all the while adjusting my eyes to the bright lights in the room.

  "Are we still in the dungeon?" I was in awe as I looked around the chamber. It was slightly bigger in size than the previous. It was still made out of stone, but the humidity was gone, as was the stench. The bricks had been painted ivory with golden swirls patterns. There were three tall doors, one facing me, another on my left and the last on my right. All three of them were the same shade of blue. In the middle of the room was a small table covered in golden velvet fabric, top of that was a blue cushion that carried three golden keys.

  "This is still part of the dungeon." His voice softly interrupted my observations while I heard paper ruffling as he continued to mutter something under his breath that I couldn't make out. "There's a riddle. Well, not really as the purpose of it is really rather clear." He puffed out some air. "A fanciful message more like it."

  "Bring it."

  "Thre ex thre, etiamnunc unus vos may utor. Sulum mos plumbum vos alibi, vobis statuo quod unus." His Pallium was perfect. "The translation would be," He continued. "Three out of three, yet only one you may use. Each will lead you elsewhere, for you to decide which one." Why was it in Pallium though? He answered my unspoken question. "This place isn't what you think it is." That was vague.

  "I have to pick one door?"

  "Yes, no turning back."

  "Right." I nodded. "Well, each of them must lead to something horrid." Naturally. "Might as well just pick r
andomly and hope for the best." I muttered as I stepped towards the small table with the three golden keys.

  "I'd go with the left one." The kid suggested.

  "Why?" The keys looked very delicate, thin, but quite graceful as the light coming from above bounced off the gold with a shine.

  "Well," He started. "As you said, each of them must lead to something horrid. I'm not saying I know which one is less bad, since I don't, but might as well go with the left one. You know, good, neutral and evil. That, to me, would be the logical way of placing the doors." I took the left key between my thumb and index finger, turning it over as I stared at it. Altors, Palliums and Regius, or so it would be expected of me to envision good, neutral and evil.

  "But don't they say that too much good, utopia, is just as wrong as too much evil?" I mumbled. "Wouldn't that be wrong?"

  "Then why are we still at war?" Dropping the key back onto the cushion as if burnt, I took a step away from the table, pressing my lips tightly together as his question reeled its way through my head. I knew why. Because neither party seemed to be able to understand that getting rid of the Altors entirely wasn't going to happen. That same applied to the Regius. And the Palliums. And the Civilians. There were too many of each of us.

  The kid sighed. "Do us both a favor and pick the one in the middle. It's where we are at right now. We are neutral."

  I preferred this offer. Nodding, I picked up the key that lay in the middle this time, closing my fingers around it tightly as I made my way to the center door. The keyhole was very detailed, again, golden swirls decorating it.

  Shakily, I stuck the key into it and then turned the lock, taking a step back quickly, having no idea how this door would open. It shifted backwards, sliding down and disappearing into the floor. A long hallway was revealed, also relatively well lit, which made me happy because I really didn't want to exhaust the flashlight batteries. The stones, although no longer painted a beautiful ivory with gold detailing, didn't bother me that much since the sewer stench wasn't present here either.

  "At the end of the hallway there's another door. You have to go through that and it'll lead you into..." He trailed off in confusion. "A bedroom. You'll stay there until part three starts." He muttered. Frowning, I cautiously peeked into the hallway, sticking only my head in before shuffling towards the entrance.

  "Just like that?" I didn't buy it.

  "Sic." The sound of his voice made clear he didn’t buy it either.

  I grimaced as I placed one foot inside the hallway, waiting a split second to see if anything happened and when it didn't, I moved into the narrow passage fully. Still nothing happened.

  "Straight on and you'll get to the door." He repeated his earlier instructions nervously.

  "A load of crap, I tell you." I began walking forward, following the curve in the narrow hallway and I saw the door he'd been talking about. The moment my eyes landed on it, the flutter of a warning settled into my stomach.

  "I never thought I would be that character that dies first in a horror story." A loud crash could be heard and when I looked over my shoulder, my eyes widened and my body froze at what I saw. The door had closed back up and was slowly moving forward into the hallway.

  "Run, Solenum!" The kid shouted, snapping me back into action. Doing as he suggested, I pushed off my feet sprinting towards the door at the end of the hallway. It was far away and what was I going to do if it was locked? I wouldn't have the time to figure out how to open it because the wall that was now blocking the passage was moving in my direction faster and faster, hell-bent on crushing me once we'd reach our destination.

  "You need to go faster!" He sounded just as nervous as my rapidly beating heart was.

  "I'm trying!" I pushed myself forward with my hands on the walls on either side of me, hoping the extra leverage would help. It had seemed to be such a harmless hallway. "Please tell me I don't need a key!"

  "No! Keep going, Sol!" I barely registered the nickname, but it processed through me nonetheless. Cali.

  I shrieked loudly as the wall was awfully close. Cali! Roaring in determination, I threw myself forward, planning on simply ramming full force into the door that I now pretty much considered my sanctuary. But I was once again reminded that nothing, absolutely nothing, went the way I wanted it to go.

  I screamed in fear as my footing disappeared beneath me, falling down straight through the ground, the door that was supposed to lead me to the bedroom whooshing out of my reach. I landed on my feet, groaning loudly but the kid didn't leave me much time to whine.

  "Move!" I didn't even so much as wonder why, simply let my body follow his instruction, jumping away to the first corner I could locate.

  Breathing ragged, my heart tried to find a way out of my chest while I eyed the wall that had fallen through the hole right after me. It wasn't moving anymore, which is all I could care about, really. It had broken on impact, now lying shattered in pieces in the center of a room.

  My eyes snapped up when a loud slam reached my ears and I saw the trap I had fallen through was now closed. Pushing away from the wall, I wiped the dust off my clothes, scanning my surroundings. It was slightly less lit, but I wouldn't need my flashlight. It looked less dreary than the dungeon I'd spent the night in, but it was a severe disappointment compared to the room I'd had to pick the key in.

  I shook my head. "I'm not satisfied with this chamber; escort me to the next, please."

  "I'm not your bellboy."

  Turning my head, I located the camera and speaker somewhere high up the wall. "Better that, than having me cry dramatically over my fate." I snapped.

  He cleared his throat. "Okay." He was ignoring my irritation. "The maps tell me there isn't anything special about the room you find yourself in now-" He tried, but I cut him off.

  "Lies!" I shouted, throwing my hands up in frustration. "All of it, I tell you!"

  "At first glance..." He finished dully.

  "And at the second?" The noise of papers ruffling together was all I heard for a moment.

  "Can you see the gargoyles?" Not sure what ‘gargoyles’ were, but I looked around anyways. "The demon looking faces nailed at about middle height on the walls? Hard to miss." He remained silent, so I decided to move over so I could stand next to the rubble, turning around slowly as I continued to check things out. Four square walls, all grey stone and on two of them were two 'gargoyles' while the other walls had only one pointing their way outwards. The ceiling was very high up and looking down I realized the floor wasn't completely straight. It seemed to slope its way towards the center.

  "How many gargoyles are there? I need to make sure I'm looking at the same room you're in."

  "Six in total. Are you telling me you weren't certain about my location?"

  He grumbled. "There's two more like the room you are standing in right now. I'm assuming they are the ones you would have found yourself in had you taken the door on the left or right." He hummed thoughtfully as I heard a book slamming closed, followed by another thud before I heard the distinct sound of someone typing on a keyboard.

  "You can find gargoyles on old churches mostly." I raised an eyebrow in confusion. What were churches?

  "Churches are buildings considered to be the house of God in the countries surrounding Zinc."

  “Countries surrounding Zinc?” I spelled out. That couldn’t be right. We didn't have neighbors.

  “Solenum.” I raised an eyebrow and couldn’t help but let a small smirk play on my lips at his condescending tone. Clearly he thought me an idiot. “I am a genius.” Oh, right, of course, how had I not seen that? “While I most certainly couldn’t get my bodily self out of Zinc, there are other ways to transport oneself over a border that is supposedly blocked.”

  “And how did you do that, oh great genius?”

  I heard him chuckle. “Virtual connection, of course. I’m not exactly sure how I did it, but only a genius could make a mistake so fortunate.”

  “You are telling me you found out about
countries surrounding Zinc by making an error on your computer?”

  “One day I was using the research engine to learn more about Zinc in its entirety, a good way to pass time when bored.” That’s when I’d pick up a sword and spared with someone, but I guess everyone had different ways. “I was checking out the source code of Z3WR.zc and I found a link there that didn’t make sense. I clicked on it and landed on this entirely new page where I was faced with a wall of such complex coding, it took me a while to decipher it. But once I did and uncovered the website, I realized I was no longer using Zinc's frequency created by the Palliums.” I’m not sure I got much of that, but I kept listening. “Stop frowning, it’s not that complicated. The virtual connection the Palliums and Altors make use of that allows them to communicate with one another through computers and port phones is settled in this machinery that is placed somewhere in Cobalt City. It’s on the ground.”

  “And this is important, because?” I'd never had a conversation with a camera before.

  “With my hacking skills, I was able to find the location of the machinery that contains Zinc frequency, and luckily that knowledge was enough for me to find out that the virtual connection I was using after uncovering the source code I bumped into, didn’t come from the ground. Our neighbors launched the machinery that holds their virtual frequency up in the air. The barrier that blocks us off from the outside world doesn’t apply to foreign frequencies. I 'chatted' with someone that wasn’t from Zinc at all, Solenum.”

  "You're sure one of your fellow geeks didn't dupe you?"

  "Sol." He scolded. "'Genius' can't get duped."

  Well, his words were compelling. And there was the matter of the gargoyles and those houses of Gods he'd spoken about. “Does Xania know?”

  “I don’t tell him everything." He huffed. "In any case, Zinc is not a world. If my findings are correct, our country is placed upon a planet called ‘earth’. It’s in a protected realm though, meaning none can come in and none can go out. But essentially, the Regius-”