by Todd Downing
Tears leaped to her eyes and Ada forced them back. If she could endure countless allergy shots every year, she could endure a few scrapes.
Footsteps shuffled along the concrete outside the window. Ada froze, heart pounding in her chest. After a few moments, the footsteps retreated and she could breathe again. Looking around, she realized she’d fallen into a kind of broom closet with cleaning supplies stacked on the shelves in neat rows. She walked to the door and peeked out. There was a long, gray hallway with dim lights that just barely managed to keep the gloom away. She heard a door slam to her right and closed the door to the closet, leaving a little space to hear what was said.
There was the sound of something being dragged, but nothing else. When Ada was sure they’d passed by, she opened the door enough to look out. A young man, probably the one that had been in the chair, hung limp between two other men, both dressed in black like the one operating the machine. The young man’s clothes were strange, and Ada realized, just before they turned a corner to the right at the end of the hall, that it was a uniform that someone working at a Hollywood cafeteria would wear.
Donny’s best friend worked at one of those, and he disappeared the same night as Donny!
It was evidence enough for Ada that her brother was here.
Taking a deep breath, she eased herself out of the closet and down the hall. Her boots, though soft-soled, felt far too loud in the bare hallway. She reached the end and was about to turn the same direction Donny’s friend had been dragged when large hands clamped down on her mouth and pulled her in the opposite direction. She flailed and scratched but it was no use.
“Cut it out!” whispered a now-familiar voice.
Ada huffed an irritated breath and stopped struggling.
“Kids never listen,” he whispered, turning her around. “You want to get killed? Or worse?”
“I want to find my brother!”
The Laughing Mask sighed, bending down to look her in the eye. Ada crossed her arms this time, knowing that with her slight frame and short stature she was anything but intimidating and decided that stubborn would have to do.
“You’re not going to leave, are you?” he said after a moment.
“Nope.”
Ada had to bite back a smile when she heard him swear under his breath.
“Alright,” he finally said. “You run when I tell you and you stay out of sight, understand?”
Ada nodded, not able to hide her wide grin this time.
The Laughing Mask turned away, but not before Ada caught a hint of a smile under his beard.
After checking to make sure no one was coming, Laughing Mask and Ada crept down the hall. It sloped a little towards the end and curved to the right where a set of stairs appeared descending into a dark corridor.
Laughing Mask opened his mouth as if to say something then stopped. He pushed Ada down at the same time that he drew his pistol from an unseen holster and fired behind them.
Bullets ricocheted around them, and Ada crawled behind Laughing Mask. He drew another pistol and fired, standing with legs spread, his duster hiding Ada from sight.
After a few moments the bullets stopped, replaced by the echo of booted feet on the concrete floor, rushing toward them.
Laughing Mask threw punches at lightning speed, but Ada could see as he shifted his stance that they were outnumbered. Looking around for a weapon or some way to help, she saw something odd peeking out of the pocket of one of the men Laughing Mask had shot. Yanking on the small packet, she grinned and dug around in the same front pocket for a lighter.
The packet of fire crackers she was now trying to light was from an illegal shop just outside the city. She knew because her brother got in trouble last year for bringing them to school. The guard, or whatever he was, must’ve taken them off of one of the boys when they’d captured him.
Once the fuse caught, Ada threw it toward the guards who were beginning to overwhelm Laughing Mask.
The sharp staccato of the fire crackers pierced the air, and the men danced their way back, unsure of what was making that noise.
Ada yanked on Laughing Masks duster and ran down the stairs.
“Good thinking kid,” he said. “But if you haven’t noticed we’re now trapped.”
“We can get the boys out, that’s what we came here for. One of them has to know a way out.”
“Single minded, I admire that. Even if it might get us killed.”
They ran down the stairs and faced a broad, metal door, the sound of muffled crying reaching them. Ada felt her heart pound in her chest, dark spots appearing in her vision. This was usually when she laid down, trying her best to avoid the tightness in her chest that was starting to build.
Hold it together, just a little longer, you can do this.
“Stay behind me,” the Laughing Mask said.
She took some deep, slow breaths and moved behind him, a little relieved that she wouldn’t have to see what was behind that door, making someone cry.
The door opened on soundless hinges, the sound of crying intensifying along with something else: a soft, deep female voice crooning something to someone. They didn’t go inside, hanging back instead to hear what was happening.
The crying stopped, cut off as if someone had simply turned off a radio. It chilled Ada to her core with how wrong it was.
“Another is prepared,” the female said. “Get him upstairs and into the chair.”
“The machine was never designed to convert this many this quickly, you will overwhelm it,” said a nasally male voice.
“Do not question me,” she said, tone becoming cold. “I know what is necessary. Now go.”
Laughing Mask jerked back and picked Ada up, desperately scanning the small room they were in for a place to hide.
He finally ducked under the stairs, the space barely big enough for the two of them as the door they’d just been at opened and footsteps sounded up the the stairs.
Laughing Mask waited a few moments and then nodded at Ada, who was the first to crawl out of their hiding spot.
Standing there was an impossibly tall woman in a long, red dress and white hood with a veil, flanked by two more guards, all in black.
“Well,” she said, folding elegant arms across her chest. “It seems we have visitors.”
Two more hauled Laughing Mask from under the stairs, and he grinned at the woman.
“Veiled Lady,” he said. “How nice to finally meet you.”
“And you, Laughing Mask. Though it won’t be for long, I’m afraid.”
“Pity. You starting a charity? What do you need all those boys for?”
“Ah yes, this is where I start to tell you my plan and you try to stop me.”
“I was hoping.”
The Veiled Lady laughed, a low, throaty sound. “I’m afraid you will have to live with disappointment. Though not for long.”
She flicked her long fingers and the guards punched Laughing Mask in the stomach, then proceeded to pummel him with their fists.
“No! Stop, you’ll kill him!” Ada said, turning to the Veiled Lady. “What kind of person are you? Stealing boys and then killing someone! And for what? Why did you take my brother!?”
The Veiled Lady angled her head as if she were looking down at Ada, who swore she could feel the woman’s eyes boring into her soul.
No matter how much Ada might have wanted to look away, she held her ground.
“Fascinating,” Veiled Lady said. “Such a strong mind in such a frail body. If only I knew how to relieve you of it.”
Ada recoiled at those words despite her best efforts.
“No matter,” Veiled Lady continued as Laughing Mask collapsed to the ground. “Soon your mind will be in service to my masters. We will try to do something about your body later. Take them inside, and make sure to put the Laughing Mask into a separate cell.”
One of the guards plucked Ada up, while two others lugged a bloodied Laughing Mask through the door. Once inside, Ada gaped at what s
he saw.
A long surgical table, surrounded by lamps straight out of an Egyptian palace. Incense tickled her nose from the various pots where its smoke curled in lazy circles. A tapestry hung on one wall, covered in Egyptian hieroglyphs, a few that Ada recognized as symbols for intense devotion and love, the kind that bordered on obsession. In the center of all the hieroglyphs was one large picture of a king, tall and beautiful. At one end was a stand with a large Pharaoh’s crown, very similar to but larger than the one being used in the machine upstairs.
And that’s when something clicked into place for Ada.
Ramses the Second! They’re using the crowns of Ramses to...do what? How are they using them? And why?
Before she could figure it all out, they’d been taken through another door and to an adjoining room where cells that were little more than cages stood all along the walls of the room in a giant U-shape.
And, in one of those cages―
“Donny! Donny!”
“Ada?” her brother said, brown eyes large in his face. “What are you doing here?”
“I had to find you.”
“Shut it!” the guard said, shoving her into a cell across the room from Donny.
The space was empty, save for three boys staring at the walls as if they were aware of nothing else.
Laughing Mask was thrown into the one empty cell in the room, and the guards left without a backward glance.
“I knew you were here,” Ada said, smiling at her brother.
His clothes were torn and dirty, and his face was streaked with filth, but he was the best thing Ada had ever seen.
“You shouldn’t be here, Ada,” he said, tears shining in his eyes. “They’ll hurt you and I can’t stop them.”
“We’ll get out, I know it,” Ada nodded toward the Laughing Mask. “Don’t you recognize him?”
Donny really looked at the cell this time, his eyes growing large. “Is that―?”
“Yep! No one defeats the Laughing Mask!” she said.
Some of the other boys were roused out of their melancholy by this news and stood, gaping at the unconscious hero.
“He doesn’t look too good,” one of them said.
“He’ll rouse, don’t you worry,” Ada said with far more confidence than she actually felt.
Glancing at the three young men in the cell with her, she frowned. They were still staring out into nothing, their faces slack, eyes vacant.
“Hey, didn’t you hear me? We’ll be getting out soon.”
“They don’t talk,” said Donny.
“Why not?”
“Whatever it is they’re doing to us, it went wrong with the three of them.”
A jolt of fear lanced through Ada’s small body.
“You don’t know what’s going on?” she asked.
“Not exactly. But I think it has something to do with mind control. A few other guys came back and were like puppets, doing whatever the creepy lady told them to.”
Ada frowned.
The crowns... Ramses the Second’s crowns... The machine... I’ve seen a machine like that before, a picture of it in―that’s it!
“It is mind control, though I can’t believe it.”
“What I can’t figure is how she’s doing it,” Donny said.
“The crown belonged to Ramses the Second, one of the most influential kings in all Egypt. That machine is something used in hypnosis therapy. It must be amplifying any power in Ramses’ crowns, brainwashing you all. But why?”
“Whatever the reason is,” the Laughing Mask said, sitting up and wincing. “It’s not good.”
“You’re awake!” Ada cried.
“Yep, though I wish like hell I wasn’t.”
“You have any way to get out of here?” Donny asked, his dark eyes shining as he gazed at his hero.
The Laughing Mask wiped some dried blood off his lips and nodded. “The trouble isn’t getting these locks open, it’s getting away when I do. Though...damn...I think I might have a way.”
The Laughing Mask dug around in one of the pockets of his duster and produced a small, black and red object, no bigger than a small brooch. He held it to his lips, whispered something, and then returned it to his pocket.
“What was that?” Donny asked.
“I’m calling in a favor. Now, to get these locks―”
The door opened, and in walked two guards. Laughing Mask slumped against the bars, as if he were still knocked out, and the boys in the cells crouched down to make themselves smaller and not draw attention.
“She said the girl and...”
Ada’s heart leaped to her throat. She knew who the guard would choose.
“That one,” the guard finished, pointing at Donny.
“No!” he screamed. “You don’t need her—she’s little, weak! Just take me and leave her!”
One of the guards produced what looked like a baton and jabbed Donny with it, the telltale zing of an electrical current reaching Ada’s ears. Once the baton made contact, Donny’s body jerked and he cried out.
“Stop!” Ada yelled.
Her brother fell to the cold concrete floor, moaning. One guard opened the cell door and flung Donny over his shoulder, while the other one went to Ada. She glared at him, infusing it with all the angry malice she could muster.
The guard just chuckled.
“Spirited little thing, aren’t ya,” he said, jerking her out of the cell by her arm. “The Lady has a special mission for you, I think.”
She wanted to hit him, spit in his face, but where would that get her? Instead, Ada held her head up high and forced her trembling legs to move forward.
Out the door and up the stairs, down several hallways, until they reached the large main room Ada had seen earlier that night. The Veiled Lady was looking over the machine, which hummed like a great animal. Hieroglyphs were painted on the floor around the machine and the metal chair, toward which the guard now pulled Ada.
She struggled as he slammed her down into the seat. Two others forced her head and hands into place, as another closed the clamps to hold her where the Veiled Lady wanted her.
What they didn’t notice was that Ada’s head and wrists were simply too small to be held tightly in place.
At last there’s a benefit to being sick all the time!
An idea formed at lightning speed in her mind, and Ada hoped no one would notice what she was about to do until it was too late.
And a diversion wouldn’t be amiss right about now either! What is Laughing Mask doing? Waiting for an invitation?
“You are a smart girl, much like I was at your age,” the Veiled Lady said, positioning herself on one side of the machine.
At first Ada thought the Veiled Lady had put a different top on, but then she realized the villain’s arms were actually bare, the pale skin covered in tattoos.
“You like them?” the Veiled Lady asked, gesturing to her arms. “I could teach you all about them, what they mean, the power they give. You’d never be sick again, never be at the mercy of your body’s limitations. Can you imagine that? Playing outside, running with the other children? Never having another shot?”
Ada frowned. “How do you know all of this?”
The Veiled Lady laughed. “My dear child, I know more about you than you think. I know more about Donny and the rest of the rubbish downstairs than anyone would ever believe. And I know these things because I chose strength over the weaknesses others call morality.”
“It’s not strength, it’s cowardice.”
The Veiled Lady hissed, and Ada swore she saw eyes of fire glaring at her for a moment under the thick, white veil that hid the Lady’s true face.
“Begin!” she yelled, her voice cracking like thunder in the room.
The low hum of the machine started to build, as did the light illuminating the crown. Within moments, that machine would make Ada a mindless drone if she didn’t act fast enough.
The Veiled Lady raised her arms above her head, body swaying as she spoke
what must’ve been an ancient Egyptian tongue.
It was now or never.
Ada shimmied her left hand out of the clamp, gasping as the skin of her thumb scraped the metal, air stinging the cut. Ignoring the pain, she reached into her left coat pocket and found the little mechanical bird. She’d made a modification that morning, in the hopes of finding Donny and impressing him. Now, since he was still unconscious, she’d have to settle for saving him.
Winding the bird with the nimble fingers of one hand, and flicking the tiny lever on its back, Ada aimed as best she could toward the machine and let it go. The bird zoomed out of her hand so fast Ada jerked back. In a shower of sparks, the bird became lodged between the crown and one of the wires that held it in place. The machine’s humming became a high-pitched whine, smoke spilling from the top.
“What did you do?!” the Veiled Lady shrieked.
Sparks flew and the machine groaned. Ada scrambled to free her head and other hand, jumping out of the chair as the Veiled Lady lunged for her.
“I’ll kill you!” she growled, grabbing for Ada.
“Leave my sister alone!” Donny slammed his body into the Veiled Lady from behind, sending them both sprawling to the ground.
The machine gave a loud pop, then flames erupted, enveloping the crown of Ramses the Second.
“No!” The Veiled Lady ran for the crown, but the flames were too plentiful.
Once again, Ada swore she could see eyes of flame glowing as the Veiled Lady turned toward her. Raising her hand, the Lady began to speak that same language as before, only this time Ada could feel the threat oozing from every sound.
She ran to her brother, smoke now generously spilling out of the machine. “We have to get out of here!”
