The Journey (Pentagon Spring Series Book 3)

by Arnav Koppala

  Clunk…The door slammed behind the lady and the man in the dark suit motioned for a robot that was positioned towards the wall to go get the huge boxes in the middle of the lobby and take it back to a huge storage room. In an instant, the robot did what it was commanded and the man came over to me and asked if I needed assistance just as I was about to sign into the kiosk. Without hesitation, he ushered me back to his office and told me to have a seat.

  “What brings you into Kalamine Banc Y?” He said. He had a very different accent that made it kind of hard for me to understand what he was saying. He had to repeat himself several times. It was like he had an idea why I was there. He knew something. He started to lean back in his chair and rock as he twisted the pen in his hand. It was hard for me to concentrate because I saw all these plaques and awards all strewn across his desk and all across his credenza.

  He reached out to formally introduce himself. This was completely different from anything I had ever seen. Instead of bank keys, on his fingertips were like barcode scanners. So anything that he touched with his fingertip would open or unlock certain devices. Again, came the voice. “What brings you in here today?” He asked. “We need to get to Kalamine X and are in need of a ship to get us there.” He chuckled and had a smirk on his face.

  “What kind of loans or financing do you have for us to purchase this ship?” He turned his computer monitor around to a questionnaire. He started going through the questions on the screen to get to the options. We just needed a ship that would house seven people comfortably and get us to Kalamine X. After about five questions, his computer started whizzing really fast through all these screens until finally a screen popped up with different ships. There were all different kinds with all different kinds of features. He even showed me the vendor in which to purchase the ship from. He told us that there was another facility that we would have to go to, to check out what we needed.

  He recommended one that would be suitable to meet our needs. He said he would get back to that after going over what options there were for payment. There was a collateral option but we didn’t have anything to put up for that option. He presented a financing option but we didn’t have any employment to qualify for that. The only thing that would benefit us was this newcomer good-faith option.

  Basically, this option allowed the bank to loan us the money in exchange for us operating in good-faith and in order while in Kalamine Y. Sounded easy enough; right? He gave us just a brief rundown on life in Kalamine Y. Everything was under strict controls. At that moment, the lady came to the doorway of his office with her safe deposit box that was still lit up. He looked up from his computer and excused himself to go back into the vault.

  “I will be right back with you. I have to get what you will need for the funds.” He said. Then he met the lady at the door and led her back out of his office. I started looking out the huge windows in the office out into Kalamine Y. The immaculate atmosphere of this dimension could not be put into words. I wondered if Aunt Glalie and the others were experiencing this where they were. Before I had time to get lost in the magnificence of Y, I heard footsteps entering back into the office. Just as quickly as he left, he was back.

  He was carrying with him a small bank bag that had a digitized numbering system for it to be opened. He entered a code and the bag opened to what looked like ATM and debit cards. “Was he going to fill all those cards up with money for us?” He went over how this program worked. We were privileged to be here. I tried to get as much about how the program worked but got distracted with how the money was going to get onto the card for us to use it.

  The program was pretty cool. They had money stored away into an account for emergency situations. Since we were not one of the locals here, we had been given this special program to take advantage of. That is exactly what we were going to do. There was so much going on around me that it was hard to concentrate. I mean, I had never seen all this high-tech technology like this in one place at one time. I watched the account that had a large quantity of cash in it. I was ready to get that card in hand.

  — • —

  Almost immediately, the abrupt currency started transferring the money from the account over to what seemed to resemble a credit card but on a whole new level of swag and tech. The amount of funds being transferred on the card was so significant that card itself was security protected. This was a hologram credit card with the chip. The micro-chip embedded in the card contained added security because the information was encrypted when using those chip-enabled terminals. We would not have to be worried about security breaches and unauthorized usage coming from counterfeits.

  Finally, we can leave this place and go to Kalamine X. We can buy a good ship and relax because everything was going to be just fine. The card was placed in my hand with a protective covering insert. It was now time for us to leave. As I turned around, WHAM. This machine clasps these bracelets on my ankle and wrists just like the ones that were in that Kalamanian Regional Hospital at the infirmary. Were we being monitored? It was like our every move was being tracked.

  A muscular man in this flashy Keltic uniform was dressed like a warden. He pressed a button and the anklets on me click as they are magnetized and pulled together. My circulation felt like it was being cut off. He starts dragging me away. Uncle Peter turns around and sees my condition and shouts at the guy. “Stop, get back here now.” The guy quickly puts something on my head. My head starts to vibrate back and forth. I try to use my magic. It is not working.

  As soon as we exit outside, the guy throws me onto his hoverboard and he flys off. I really needed to take it easy because that is what my discharge papers told me. My health was already in jeopardy and now this. The hoverboard is flying full speed ahead and is about to exit out the barrier when the tower that’s powering the barrier started to glow red. The barrier gradually turned into a lighter shade of red, starting from the center and slowly creeping to the edges. The hoverboard slammed into the barrier causing the hoverboard to lose power. It was like a head-on collision car crash was how strong the force was.

  My body felt as if we were going on a roller coaster that had malfunctioned. The forces on my tummy caused me to have an upset stomach. I could feel it bobbing up and down in my throat. I know it is not what you want to hear but you understand I had just been discharged from the infirmary. I was told to take it easy. I mean, I was injected with the quintessence. I thought this was it.

  No, I did not mean that something would happen to my existence. No! I mean, I am sick of this happening to me. I bang my head against the hoverboard and the circlet finally breaks off my head. I quickly slice the ropes and fly up. I look back down and see the chasm below me. It reminded me of a sandstone gorge because of how pristine it was.

  No one deserves to go through this. Well, except for Sakuta. Well, that sounds a bit harsh. He needs to be sealed away forever. I fly down and grab the man that took me and fly back over to the bank. As I fly over the city, I began to take notice about the city itself. It was completely different from what I imagined it to be. Everything is clean; too clean.

  Uncle Peter waves up at me, and I descend back onto the ground. For once, I actually make a good landing. I drop the man on the ground. I immediately have a vacuum spell on my hand ready to fire, because you don’t just save a person that just kidnapped you. I had to take care of business for not only myself but the others as well.

  We were carrying a lot of money on the card because we had to get to Kalamine. I could see there was going to be a lot of opposition on our travels. We had to stay on high alert. It would be unwise at this point not to take precautions after risking yourself to save that person just to get some answers. Yeah. I need a reality check tomorrow.

  “Why did you kidnap me?” I shout. The man on the ground doesn’t even move an inch. I start to move closer to the man. I placed one foot in front of the other until he is at my feet. “I am going to ask you this one more time. Why did you—”I shriek. I see Uncle Peter out of my
peripheral. I grab the card and tossed it his direction so at least it would be safe. Was he after me or the money? By this time, I am trembling and shaking because I am upset from what just transpired. I could have been severely injured.

  The man grabs my shin and looks up at my face. He was trying with all of his might to pull me towards the ground. His whole face looks as if he saw the Big Bang. His shriveled lips were caked with a layer of dust. His grayish black hair was stringy and dry. His eyes appeared to be missing out having nothing but a black nothingness. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any creepier.

  Since it appeared he had no eyes, it was like two black centipedes were cooped up in his eyehole and black smoke started dripping from his mouth. I switched my vacuum to a sonic prison and kept everything in it. He was barricaded and could not move at that point. Where was the security that just tried to take me into custody? Why were they not here? Where were the good guys when you need them to show up? Austin stared at it in shock. Mathew drew up a thousand white spiral spikes. Austin walked towards it slowly and he said one word. “Sakuta.” I cringed.

  I heard Uncle Peter faintly in the background calling to see if I was alright. Of course, not. Couldn’t everyone see all the impending danger we were facing here in Kalamine Y. My vision turned red. My blood started pumping faster and the adrenaline flowed through my veins. If too many more incidences kept occurring, I was sure going to wind up right back where I had started.

  “Now, Mathew.” I urgently shout. I clasp my hands together and the sonic barrier shrinks down to the size of a volley ball. All ten thousand spikes come crashing down into the man, each one of them delivering the amount of impact bigger than being hit by a magnetic force and a paintball and then disappears. A pile of debris and ash lay just right in front of us but he got away. He escaped right through out fingertips and was gone without a trace.

  Again, a lady comes right by us holding a poster of a man that went missing. She gives me the flyer. I stare at the photo for a long time. What? No way? But that is not even possible. How is this even true? This means, we just hurt a Kalamanian. This is truly terrifying. I began to panic. I sure hoped this lady didn’t just see what just took place. She would have no problem in identifying us. They would know because we are not from around here. He was trying to harm us.

  Now that we know that Sakuta knows where we are and can consume the very presence of anyone, we were fair game for any plots and schemes he had. We can trust no one, not even Uncle Peter. He was lurking too. We had better be on guard or else.

  My head is really scrambled, at this point. I really do not know what to do. Sakuta is this dark monster that we have to seal away. But I am not sure why we cannot get rid of him. I stare back at the pile of ash and see clothes sticking out of it. The woman walks away not realizing that the person she was looking for she just walked pass. There was no way to try and clean this up. It was time to get the ship and get out of here.

  I noticed directly in front of us was the building that the man back at the bank had mentioned. It was kind of hidden out of plain sight. We walk over to the ship buying place and look around for a nice ship to buy because every ship here was amazing. The revolving doors had just the name we were looking for. Y Ships and Recreation of Kalamine. This was the place. I went through the doors first. Directly behind me was Uncle Peter. Trailing not too far behind him were the others. They were still looking back at the ash pile and almost ran into the revolving door.

  We made it inside. I glanced back to be sure everyone was accounted for and that no one was missing. I caught a glimpse of the lady that handed me the flyer walk by. Safe inside, I took a deep breath to calm myself down. There were too many close calls with this.

  Who knew there was so much out there in the universe and we had no clue about any of it at all. Just from looking outside of the building, you could not tell that this building housed all of these ships. It was like a ship showroom. The security was heavy in there. Once we made it past the revolving door, there was a connoisseur man that quickly guided us further inside. He kept eyeing us like he knew more than what we thought he knew. I could almost read his mind. What in Kalamine are they doing in here? I did not need to question his thoughts. The people were all professionally dressed. They even had stacks of loxers with them.

  “What brings you all in here today?” The connoisseur asked. He had a lump in his throat.

  I cleared my throat before I began speaking. “We are in need of a ship.” I quickly responded. Before I had the chance to allow him to answer anymore questions, Uncle Peter flashed the card from the bank that we had gotten earlier. He didn’t say anything else. He just pointed us directly towards the direction that we needed to be. I tried to recall what the man had showed on his computer screen before transferring the money over onto the card. Ah-ha.

  Before I could take off running in the showroom to the exact ship that I had seen earlier, here comes this woman. I guess, it was standard operating procedure that everyone had to be escorted where they needed to go because the ships were expensive. Glancing over at Uncle Peter again, he flashes the card towards the women.

  Wait. Did the man from the bank and this company have ties to each other? It sure did seem like they did. Things were starting to work in our favor. We were being treated like royalty. I guess that card meant something. We followed behind the woman until we made it to the exact ship that was on the screen earlier. It was roped off all by itself. We had to be let in to see it. What a sight it was.

  A woman then shows us to the biggest ship in the whole place and tells us its ours. That was quick. It was so much bigger up close than it appeared on the screen. She pulls back the rope and ushers us on the ship. We were told to watch our step as we boarded onto the ship. We enter onto a state-of-the art spaceship with four bedrooms.

  This ship was like taking a museum tour. There was so much room in here. This far exceeded my expectations. There was a training room. It even had an infirmary. There was so much more. We were not equipped to handle how enormous this ship was. We were being given an actual live tour.

  They even had people who were stewards inside the ship in each room. They kept showing us different rooms in the ship. We could have gotten lost in there if we were not careful. This ship almost needed to have a map with keys just to get from one spot to the next. There were some areas inside the ship that we couldn’t go into because it was sectioned off. The woman explained that those rooms were off limits until the transaction to purchase the ship was complete.

  The whole place feels like a mansion that can fly which to me is pretty incredible. Uncle Peter was even in amazement. I go over to my room. Boy, I must say that this was pretty impressive. There were living quarters for everyone. It was like a little small cottage that housed everything that you needed.

  There was a bathroom with a toilet and a shower. There was a red button on the wall that said quick clean. I click it and a red laser scans the whole room including me and automatically I am clean. I look into the mirror. My face was so radiant. It was hard to believe that I even got dirty because of how clean my face was. I could see that our time on the ship was going to be quite interesting. I wanted to ask what was further in the ship that was closed off. I decided against it.

  Uncle Peter’s voice booms from the speakers as he tells us to head over to the control room. We run over to the control room and Uncle Peter apparently knows how to fly a spaceship. He tells us not to touch any of the controls inside of the ship. This is a guy of many talents and contacts. He puts on his captain cap and fastens himself securely in his seat. If he got tired, he had better have another crewman in place to steer this ship. The whole ship starts to rumble as the engines start to fire up, turning from blue to red. Uncle Peter takes the controls and starts to move the ship out of the outpost.

  Looks like Uncle Peter finalized all the paperwork because there were papers piled next to the controls for the purchase of the ship itself. As we start to move away the shi
p itself turns invisible and our ship is off any radar. All the people that were on the ship showing us the different rooms vanished almost into thin air. It was just us. All our screens go white the whole ship shakes violently. A huge noise like an explosion went off. Everything was shaking. Uncle Peter pulls up the rear cameras. I stare at the screen in surprise. The outpost exploded.

  The smoke that protruded through the air created a fog that was hard to see through. All that could be heard was the sound of crackling branches being trampled underfoot as the limbs hit the ground. The blaze was uncontrollable. The only hope was for the smoke to somehow clear. Right smackdab in the middle of this fire was the house occupying the center with all chaos encompassing it.

  As if that was not enough, we have been stuck on this horrible dimension for two days. Right now, we are hiding in this burnt down house in the middle of nowhere. The house was torn up and the fire appeared to be headed to consume what remained of it. It was just as dark inside the house as it was outside. All the food in the refrigerator was rotten and everything was in turmoil. The icebox had stopped running because the power was out. If we were not rescued or had the escape plan to make it out of here soon, we would have succumbed to starvation. The water was not even drinkable. There was no running water because all the pipes had been busted.

  This was a frightening position to be in. The house was contaminated and needed to be condemned. There was a war going on and black fire was everywhere. The fire seemed to be endless and the minute it touched someone, they writhed in agony and pain as their skin started to burn. It was like watching wax being melted down to nothing. It was scary.

  In the middle of nowhere a grenade pops through and lands in the middle of the floor. The sounds from the explosion of the grenade had a silence before the boom went off. There was no time to hesitate. We might have benefitted from watching more army movies. Better yet, we would have been much better off if we had an engineer right there with us to teach us the components of these launchers. If only we had been trained in the dynamics of ballistic testing how much more equipped we would have been in handling these devices.