by Carver Pike
It didn’t take long for Gabe to realize there was no turning back. The tunnel only went on for a few more feet before it opened up into a big intersection, where tunnels branched off in all directions.
At the center, was what looked like a village of sorts, with people all going about their normal lives, only they did it in the dark. With only the glow sticks lighting the way, it was hard to get a peek at the figures, but from what Gabe could tell, they almost looked more like creatures than humans. Their skin seemed pale and lumpy, as if the flesh had been overgrown with mold.
Gabe held Lisa’s hand, and she squeezed his tightly as they made their way out of their tunnel and into the room. No one said a word. It was the quietest the group had ever been, and their ability to remain silent surprised Gabe. It was the first time they’d moved without making a peep.
The people, or mutes, as Jaundice once called them, minded their own business, not seeming to care much about the outsiders, which surprised Gabe. For being cannibals, they seemed very tame. Most were crouched down on the damp ground, talking to others in whispered, garbled voices, as if they had their own language that only they could understand. Why they’d stayed below ground, alone and hungry, was a mystery.
Gabe couldn’t imagine lurking around in the darkness when freedom was just overhead, but then again, was it? Was that freedom at all? Waiting for each siren to wail, to let you know when it was safe to roam around, and when it was necessary to head indoors? That didn’t seem like much of a life at all, and Gabe wondered why Jaundice never fled town. Why hadn’t he just taken Slim Pickins, packed up, and hauled ass out of Chi-Killian?
Jaundice led them around the outside, closer to the tunnels than to the people in the center, but from afar Gabe watched the mutes, fascinated by their odd way of life. One of them laughed out loud, or at least it sounded like a laugh, and then it waded through the water quickly towards Jaundice, who held an open palm out to the rest of the group, warning them to stay put.
Gabe looked back at the others, saying a silent prayer that none of them would raise a gun or do anything threatening. Ayana and Tact, both images, seemed to be the two most explosive in the group. Ayana’s arrow straight into the face of the flock leader had surprised Gabe. It seemed too quick of a response for his taste. He liked to plan out their attacks as often as possible. Now, he just prayed she’d keep her arrows on her back.
Jaundice pulled something out of his jacket as the mute approached. It looked like a piece of chicken. He handed it to the mute, who snatched it up quickly and chomped down on the food before laughing and running back to join his folks. The others suddenly turned their attention toward them, seeming to notice Jaundice, Gabe, and the others for the first time. Silence seemed no longer necessary.
“Hello, my friends!” Jaundice announced.
The mutes only stared at him, moving their heads from left to right, as if trying to decide whether he was friend or foe.
“We was attacked on a street by our friend, the piece of shit general!” Jaundice informed them. “So we just passin’ through, tryin’ ta safely make our way. Sorry ta have disturbed ya. I’ll come back tomorra wit some grub for ya. Sorry ta be empty handed this time.”
Some of the mutes groaned, others whispered in their strange language, while a few others laughed, or maybe they were crying. The sounds were all foreign to Gabe. It seemed that Jaundice Jones was actually pulling it off. He was leading them to safety, right down the middle of what most people above ground would consider hell.
The way the soldiers had laughed when the general mentioned the maze, like it was the pit of evil, where no man could survive, had frightened them. And yet, here they were. It saddened Gabe to think that these poor people were feared the way they were. For their safety, he supposed, it might be a good thing.
Gabe imagined how many people must’ve been thrown into the maze, unknowing they could easily make it out alive, if they’d only walked cautiously through the tunnels, kept their weapons hidden, and treated the mutes with a little bit of courtesy, the way Jaundice had. Instead, they probably shook with fear, made all kinds of unnecessary noise, and aimed their guns at the first sight of the mutes.
In reality, the mutes were in the greatest danger. They were just trying to survive, and violent criminals were constantly being thrown into their home, who undoubtedly fought tooth and nail to get out alive. It was a sad, vicious circle of never-ending hate, fear, and death. Gabe hoped they’d get through this journey alive, and that he’d have the chance to return with a horde of food to deliver to the unfortunate people living in the tunnel.
When Jaundice slid the manhole cover away, opening up their exit, Hawks was the first to poke his head out. He waited a minute before assuring them the coast was clear. Gabe climbed out next, wanting to double check that the general’s soldiers weren’t waiting on the rooftops to pick them off one by one as they exited. When he was sure the coast was clear, he accepted his sons from Lisa, and Hawks helped her ascend. Only Jaundice stayed behind.
“This da end a da line for me. Ma home is back there with Slim. He waitin’ for me now, and he cain’t take care hisself.”
The strange, sickly looking friend held out his hand for Gabe to shake.
“Take care a dem lil’ ones, mister,” he said as he raised his hand to his brow in a salute. “An if given a chance, blow dat general an his gang a hoodlums ta mighty hell.”
He dropped back down into the maze, and just like that, he was gone. He’d risked his life to save theirs, then poof—he’d disappeared, headed back to his life of hiding in a dark apartment building, handwriting the stories that unfolded around him.
With Jaundice Jones gone, and the rest of the group finally at street level, Gabe held out his hand to introduce them to the tower they’d been trying to reach for what seemed like an eternity. There, stretching up to the sky, was the Observatory of Oddity.
Chapter 12 - The End is Near
The Observatory of Oddity towered over them, like a prized trophy finally within reach. In fact, it was too much like a trophy in the way that it looked strong and powerful, but didn’t seem to have a door. The entire bottom of the building, from the ground floor up to what appeared to be maybe the fifth floor, was all metal, with no opening in sight. Above that was the typical glass structure expected of a high-rise tower.
Tact and Hawks jogged around the sides of the building, searching for an opening, but both returned dumbfounded.
“This guy seems to have really secured himself inside the building,” Gabe announced. “This is nuts.”
“No way we came all this way to be left out on the street,” Tact yelled as he walked up to the metal structure and banged his fist against it. “You in there? Open up!”
“You all really should be more quiet!” came a voice thundering down from high above.
Gabe looked up to the sky and searched the rooftops around them, but saw no one.
“See you’ve found what you folks was lookin’ for!” came the voice again, and this time, Gabe recognized its source.
The general had found them, and they were sitting ducks, out in the middle of the street, with the nearest alley too far away for comfort. The rapid “click, click, click” of weapons being cocked and aimed at them sounded off, and Gabe saw soldiers lean out from most of the buildings.
“You folks don’t seem to understand the rules of Chi-Killian. Didn’t I tell you that siren means you better get somewhere safe?”
Gabe wasn’t sure that answering the question was a good idea. This one seemed quite rhetorical.
“You might wanna be answerin’ me sometime soon!”
Okay, so he’d been wrong. It did require an answer.
“You’ve made your point, loud and clear. Chi-Killian is yours!” Gabe yelled, turning in place as he did, still unsure of where the general was making his stand.
Laughter filled the air, deep and hoarse laughter, then the commanding voice boomed again.
“Oh, I know C
hi-Killian is mine, son! You know what else gon’ be mine? Them babies of yours. No way in hell those infants should be dragged all over this world, placed in harm’s way, like they are now.”
“What is the meaning of all this?” came a new voice, from higher up in the sky, crackling as if emitted from a megaphone or very old speakers.
The soldiers pointed their guns towards the sky, seeming confused.
“It’s very rare that I have guests,” came the new voice. “And now that I do, I see that they are treated with behavior unbefitting a general of your stature. So I must ask again. What is the meaning of all this?”
“It’s been a long, long time, Oddity,” the general called out.
Finally, Gabe could see him standing on one of the rooftops, his hands at his hips, chest puffed out, looking up at the building as if it was the structure actually speaking to him.
“Thought you mighta up and died on us,” General Falix added.
“Trust me, if I died, you and your ragtag band of delinquents would know about it, for the day that I do, the world will shake like never before, as my power will flow back into nature with a righteous fury. Now, please back away and allow my guests the common courtesy of speaking to me in person, after all they’ve been through.”
General Falix glared down at Gabe, his hands still at his hips, and kicked a shingle off the roof. It nearly hit Lisa as it crashed to the ground, shattering at her feet.
Behind them, the metal walls of the tower separated, and a large opening came into view.
“Get to your feet, you fools!” General Falix yelled from the rooftops.
Gabe glanced up to see that the soldiers had ducked down. A few who had made their way down to street level were on their hands and knees, bowing.
“Should we be on our knees?” Hawks asked.
“You kneel if you want, but I don’t kneel for anyone,” Ayana replied.
“That’s not kneeling, like to a king. Look at their faces. Their foreheads are on the ground as if bowing to a god,” Lisa said.
“To them, I am a god,” came the voice from the loud speaker, but this time it wasn’t mechanized. Instead, it came from somewhere within the opening.
Gabe led the way into the building, with Lisa right by his side, their sons strapped to their chests. Vincent was fussy, and even Vision seemed to be unusually aggravated. Lisa hadn’t had much of a chance to feed them back at Jaundice Jones’ place, so Gabe figured they must be hungry. He was starved himself and hoped this Oddity would have some sort of godly buffet waiting for them inside.
The bottom floor was more like a typical office building than Gabe expected. Cold, with a breeze swirling from some unknown source that carried the scent of fresh pine. The walls appeared to be made of mahogany, and amazing works of art hung from them. A giant, crimson circle of carpet sat in the middle of the lobby, with a brown leather sofa, loveseat, and armchair arranged atop it. A hand-carved table sat in the center.
The doors behind them slid closed and sealed shut, darkening the room, giving the space an even cozier feel, as the orange glow of the elegant chandelier overhead became the main source of light.
While the tower lobby was warm and welcoming, it was strangely void of life. Not a single person was in the room, and the space was absent any doors or hallways. No receptionist waited to usher them in the right direction. There was a single elevator.
“I feel like I just stepped into a New York high rise,” Gabe said.
“This is nice,” Lisa agreed. “It’s almost like we crossed back through the mirror.”
“Thank you for your kind words,” came Oddity’s voice, seeming to be flowing from somewhere in the ceiling, as if floating through an air conditioning vent.
“It’s kind of like the great and powerful Oz, don’t you think?” Lisa joked.
Gabe couldn’t resist laughing. How she’d kept her cute sense of humor through all the day’s events was one more thing to love about her.
“Just too bad we don’t have the ruby slippers,” he added.
She smiled and passed him a wink.
“Please take the elevator up to the top floor,” Oddity’s voice directed them.
“A working elevator, here?” Hawks asked. “Who does the maintenance on this thing?”
“I don’t know about this,” Emma said.
“You want to take the stairs? To the top floor, my Emma Leone?” Tact joked.
With the humor of the group, Gabe found it hard to believe Emma had nearly died. She’d given birth to some sort of creature and had fallen through a window and landed on the pavement. Yet, because of one touch from his son, she was standing here with the rest of them, seemingly perfectly normal, maybe even better than normal.
“I assure you the elevator is in tip-top shape. It is well maintained,” the voice of Oddity promised.
“No offense, George Burns, but you’re really freakin’ me out with that voice in the sky thing,” Tact yelled at the ceiling.
“George Burns?” Oddity asked.
“Don’t ask,” Gabe said.
“It is not my intention to, as you put it, freak you out,” Oddity said. “Please come up to the top floor so we may speak in person.”
The inside of the elevator was like any other Gabe had ridden in, minus the Musak. It was large enough for them all to fit inside and Gabe got the sense that it rose with great speed, even though it was so incredibly smooth he could barely feel it move at all.
“George Burns?” Gabe asked Tact when they were all standing silent. “How many of those Playboys did you read, man?”
“I had a pretty good collection,” he answered.
“I still can’t believe you actually read them,” Hawks said with a disappointed shake of his head. “Playboy. You read Playboy magazines and actually remembered the content.”
“What?” Tact said defensively.
He looked around at the faces of his friends, obviously waiting for someone to explain Hawks’ meaning.
“What?” he asked again.
Lisa leaned her head against Gabe’s arm and snickered. Out of the corner of his eye, Gabe saw Hawks take Ayana’s hand. She looked into Hawks’ eyes and Gabe wasn’t sure what he saw there, but it seemed like something serious was going on between the two. He was happy for his friend.
The elevator doors opened with a “ding,” and Gabe found himself staring at a pitch black, unlit room.
“You’d think somebody’d turn some lights on around here,” Hawks announced.
“Yeah, again, this is kind of freakin’ me out,” Tact said. “I think I’m gonna go back down to the fresh, warm, comfortable room I saw downstairs and take me a nap on that couch.”
“Have respect,” Bronc ordered, saying the first words he’d said for a long time. His voice echoed through the room.
“I was beginnin’ to think Tonto here was mute,” Tact said just high enough for Gabe to hear.
“Hello?” Gabe called out. “Oddity?”
A small lantern lit up on the wall across from them, then another, and another, as lights popped on all around them, up and down the walls and on beams that jutted up from the floor. They were standing in a big empty room that seemed to take up the entire top floor, with a tiny, makeshift living room placed oddly at its center.
The concrete floor, the cement pillars placed every twenty feet or so, and the floor-to-ceiling windows that ran the length of the perimeter wall reminded Gabe of the old office he’d worked in back in Detroit, minus the cubicles. It was just way too big to be meant as a living space.
“Thank you for coming. It has been a long time since my last visitor,” Oddity spoke up, his voice coming from around the corner.
Gabe followed the voice and found Oddity sitting at a desk, out of reach of the lantern light, as if he preferred to be shrouded in darkness. A shadow covered his face, but the closest lamp lightly illuminated his body.
“I apologize for the darkness, but it helps to ease the throbbing in my head,” he s
aid.
Gabe stepped closer to the desk, trying to get a look at the man’s face.
“How did you know we were out there?” he asked.
“I’ve been expecting you,” Oddity replied.
“So you know why we’re here?”
“I do.”
“And you can help us?”
“Hmm…”
Lisa moved closer. Both boys, Vincent and Vision, cooed at the same time, sparking interest from Oddity, who suddenly leaned forward into the light, revealing his face.
Gabe had seen many creatures since crossing through to the dark side. Most had been vicious monsters. Then there were the mutes in the maze below the Chi-Killian streets. Simple people who’d been blasted with sickening doses of radiation and had long since moved down into the damp darkness of the sewers, leaving their bodies to adapt to their surroundings, taking on a mutated form.
