The Peacock Angel: Rise of the Decarchs

by Glenn Dale Bridges, Jr

CHAPTER 5

  Thane had watched enough of those B-movie horror flicks to realize that this place would excite any low rent set director. He was supposed to be scared. People are conditioned to fear this sort of eerie setting. Strangely, he did feel a flicker of uneasiness. The rapid beating of his heart disturbed him. He would have to remedy that.

  Thane continued walking. He tried to keep his pace steady, and he decided to focus all his energies on the assignment given to him. This little mental exercise offered some comfort, as it always seemed to do.

  In a way it was a crutch. It made him seem like a hard ass, but it always made things easier for Thane. He could suppress all thoughts and actions besides those deliberately laid out before him. It could also be offered up as an excuse. "Sorry Ma'am, kid, whoever . . . I've got to do what I'm told." By assuming the role of a lowly pawn, he could make his job much less complicated. He didn't enjoy portraying himself as a robot, but sometimes he had to take the emotion out of the equation. This was one of those times.

  As Thane rounded his first turn in the hallway, he could see lights ahead. About one hundred feet or so down the hall, faint glows of yellow beamed into the hallway about six feet above the floor. This was a welcome change of scenery as far as Thane was concerned.

  Maybe there's some life up here after all.

  With rediscovered vigor, he stepped swiftly and silently towards the lights.