The Ryle of Zentule

by Michael Green

  “Is that a problem?” Staza asked.

  “It might be, this looks like a big building. It’s strange that all this stuff is still down here.”

  They stood in silence, unsure what to do, when they heard a small bang in the cafeteria.

  “What was that?” Letty asked.

  They looked around the corner and saw Titus and Taptalles trying to work a doorknob.

  “Well—stop staring and help,” Titus said.

  Letty saw that they found the stairwell.

  “Good job,” Quill said, holding the door open. “Stairs I understand.”

  They climbed to the next floor.

  “Wait. We don’t know how many basement levels there are,” Letty said.

  They opened the door on the next floor and found everything looking largely the same, but instead of a cafeteria, there was an archive. The offices still lacked windows.

  “This could take a while,” Letty said, as they climbed again.

  “Does this mean anything?” Quill asked, picking a piece of flat metal off the floor.

  “Twenty-eight,” Staza said, reading the plate.

  “That doesn’t make any sense,” Letty mumbled, rushing to the next floor.

  The others hurried to keep up.

  Letty found another sign.

  Twenty-seven?

  “How?” Letty shook her head. “The numbers are going the wrong way.”

  It suddenly made sense.

  “No—this whole building is underground. We’re twenty-seven floors down.”

  “Do your people often build underground?” Quill asked.

  Letty looked at him, annoyed. “We’re the same people, Quill. You just don’t remember. And no, most buildings don’t go down this far.”

  Resigned to the long climb, they mounted the stairs. After a few minutes, everyone was sweating from the effort, save the mice.

  “Are there any laws—or customs—that we should—know about?” Quill asked, through labored breaths.

  Letty took this as an excuse to rest and leaned against the rail, signaling a break to the others. “Nothing strange, I shouldn’t think. No—violence—stay out of the streets—”

  “What? Aren’t streets for travel?” Staza asked.

  “Yes, but no—” Letty wiped her brow, “we have cars and buses, they use streets—if you’re just walking, you have to use—the side-walks. Don’t worry—I’ll show you when we get up there.”

  Quill and Staza balked.

  “It isn’t that difficult for humans on the surface. Try being a mouse,” Titus said.

  Letty stood and continued up the stairs.

  After a few more grueling minutes, they reached the top.

  “Finally!” Letty said, looking around. She expected large glass doors that led out onto a street, or perhaps a lobby, instead there was an armored checkpoint.

  “Damn,” she muttered.

  They found a thick glass window protecting a security room and a heavily reinforced door, painted solid red. It featured a large, white number one.

  Letty peeked inside the enclosed security room. She spotted control boards and old television screens. They were all blank.

  The door to the security room was locked and made of solid metal. Letty kicked it in frustration. “The people who worked in this building had to come in and out somehow.”

  Her companions were hopeless in this alien surrounding. They all stared, waiting for her to divine the answer. Letty, not wanting to disappoint, paced and tried to work through the problem.

  “I bet that door is the way out,” she said to the blank faces, pointing to the door with the large number one, “and they monitored it from in there. This was a secret place.”

  “Why not try the blade?” Quill asked, cautiously.

  “It doesn’t look like we can escape without it,” Staza said, peeking into the security area.

  “Good point,” Letty said, raising her hand.

  “Wait!” Taptalles called out, “What’s on the other side of that door? Should we just cut into it?”

  “Let’s find out,” Letty said, summoning the blade.

  She struck the red door and felt her wrist sting when the blade bounced back.

  Letty shook her head in disbelief.

  “It bounced off?” she whispered.

  She tried again, softly this time, and again the blade was turned away by the metal.

  The mice shared curious glances.

  “Almost nothing can turn the Argument,” Titus said.

  “Nothing, save the Counter,” Taptalles agreed.

  “Well, they figured something out,” Letty said, walking over to the stairwell door. She swung the blade. It sliced through with ease. The bottom half of the severed door creaked, bending the hinge.

  She turned and struck the door to the enclosed security area. The blade refused to cut again.

  “What’s going on here?” she asked, astonished.

  “Try the glass,” Staza recommended.

  Letty did, and the glass split, leaving room for hands to pull the pane apart. She leaned over the window and looked onto the console. There was a large red lever.

  “That looks like the one,” she whispered, smiling at her friends.

  She pulled it and there was a loud click.

  The door creaked open.

  “That did it!” Titus cheered.

  “Right, but we don’t know why the blade couldn’t slice through these doors,” Letty complained.

  No one had an answer.

  “We need to come back here and look around. I think this place is important,” Letty said.

  “Certainly, but not today,” Titus replied.

  “Right, we have to rescue Andy first,” Letty added.

  She saw uncertain faces.

  “What? Obviously we’re going to save Andy,” she said, challenging them.

  “Of course. We will make a plan. But now you need to rest and collect yourselves,” Titus replied.

  “Letty, you’re covered in blood. Look at yourself. You—well, we all look like we’ve been beaten and dragged through muddy glass,” Staza said, plaintively. “We can’t do any more.”

  Letty wanted to yell and head back for the portal, and then remembered it was shut.

  She sighed and looked at Quill and Staza. Though they appeared strong, something else played about their eyes. They were afraid.

  How couldn’t they be? We’re so far from their home.

  She considered the mice. They were frightened as well. Though fear was a subtle thing on a mouse face, the bend in their ears and coil in their tails was clear enough.

  None of them can go home, and now we’re in my world, and I’m acting crazy.

  The urge to resist Titus’s command waned. There was nothing she could do for Andy, not now at least, but inaction felt like betrayal.

  “It’s just that, he came for me,” she said, the urge to cry replacing her desire to fight.

  The Caspians each reached out a hand as Letty took a moment to wipe at a tear, catching it before it fell.

  “We won’t forget him. When we’re ready, we’ll go back to the Netherscape. Right?” Titus asked the others.

  “Of course,” Quill said.

  Staza nodded. “He’ll probably refuse to go home until we boot Somni from Caspia. He was so keen to help us,” she said with an earnest laugh. “Somni won’t make a popular leader if our Mistress stays gone.”

  “And when we’re done putting our part of the scape back together, you and he can be trained as proper Seers. We’ll find the Praetor and…” Taptalles sniffled and grabbed his tail.

  Titus coughed. “Right. But you, young lady, you must swear to us that you will not pursue unilateral action.”

  “What?” Letty asked, halfway between laughing and crying.

  “You will not try to find Andy on your own.” And then to them all, “You must act as a group, and vote on your course, preferably after long discussion, with level heads.”

&nbs
p; “Why are you talking like that? Why, ‘you must act as a group,’ and not ‘we?’” Letty asked.

  Titus and Taptalles both tugged on their whiskers.

  “Our people need us; we are both commanders. Once we get you settled, we’ll have to return,” Taptalles said.

  Letty wanted to argue but knew that they had already done too much for her.

  “Well, at least we have a plan. Standing around anymore is just a waste of time.” Letty approached the red door and pressed against it.

  The sound of clattering bottles and cans met them on the other side. They had to push on the door together to clear the pile of refuse jamming the way. From the look of it, the litter was old as well.

  There was moisture in the air, and the smell of decay.

  Letty turned and pushed the door back to just shy of being closed. Titus and Taptalles gratefully accepted places on Letty’s shoulders.

  “Thanks,” Titus whispered, “it’s filthy down there.”

  “Yeah, but this is a good sign; I think we’re in the sewers,” Letty whispered.

  She looked back at the heavy metal door and wondered why a whole building was hidden like this. Letty sighed and knew the mystery would have to wait.

  They moved slowly down the filthy tunnel and found a single hanging light bulb at the end. It was dead, but it still swayed.

  “Where now?” Quill asked.

  Letty sighed as she spotted iron rungs on the wall. “Up,” she said, raising her glowing hand to illuminate the way.

  “I’ll have to pocket the marble and climb in the dark,” she said, warning the others.

  The rungs were slick, and Letty took them carefully. She managed not to slip on the trip up and, at the top, found a wooden hatch blocking their path.

  “Damn!” she said, pushing against it.

  There was a sudden rumbling.

  “What’s that?” Staza asked, startled by the noise.

  The rumbling slowed, and then ceased. But right as they were taking a breath, the noise started up again, slowly at first, then loud, and then silent.

  Strange.

  Frustrated, Letty grabbed the marble. “Cover your eyes, I’m going to cut through.”

  She summoned the blade and stabbed through the hatch. The wood splintered and broke. She moved the blade to the edge of the concrete hole and cut through the perimeter of the hatch. She squinted as debris rained down.

  “Watch out,” she said, as the panel fell into pieces and tumbled.

  “Ow!” Quill said.

  She loosened her grip on the Argument and pocketed it before climbing the last few rungs.

  They ascended into a grimy space.

  “We’re in a maintenance room,” Letty said, looking at the piles of wires and tools on benches and greasy shelves.

  A few old fluorescent bulbs flickered above. Letty pocketed the Argument.

  “There’s a door,” Staza said, pointing past a row of shelves.

  “Wait,” Letty said, “help me.” She was trying to pull a heavy crate over the hole they had just climbed through, “I don’t want people going down there.”

  “Good point,” Quill said, stooping to help.

  With the crate in place, Letty approached and opened the door.

  A crashing noise startled them. The Caspians leaped back and raised their weapons.

  “No! It’s not a problem,” Letty insisted. “It’s just the subway.” She felt for her pockets, but realized that she didn’t have her wallet or her purse.

  Damn, no card and no cash.

  “What’s a subway?” Staza asked, her sword still raised.

  “It’s like…” Letty paused, not sure how to explain the idea. “It’ll be easier just to see it,” and looking at Staza, “No need to be alarmed.”

  Letty stalled before going through the door. We look insane, and we’ll be stopped because of those weapons. She took a breath before walking through.

  Looking left and right, Letty realized that they had stepped out onto a service area, not far from a subway station. Hugging the wall, she led the way towards the platform, and up a few stairs.

  “Stay off the rails!” Letty whispered angrily to the Caspians, who didn’t understand why she was clinging to the wall.

  After hearing her tone, they clung to the wall.

  Letty found stairs that led onto the station. She looked out to the platform and saw that no one was looking their way. She stepped up and motioned for the others to follow. Finally, her feet fell onto tiled floor.

  Civilization, thank God.

  There were people standing and waiting. A few looked their way, but none for more than a moment.

  Titus and Taptalles hid and occasionally peered out from behind her hair.

  Staza spotted the exit, but Letty motioned her to wait. “I want to see what station this is.” Looking around, she saw the sign, “Marble Hill.”

  I need to remember that. Marble Hill.

  They took the stairs and exited onto the street. It was getting dark, but the streets were still packed. The Caspians gawked.

  “What beasts are these?” Staza cried, seeing cars streaming by.

  “Look at the way they herd—so orderly,” Quill muttered.

  “They’re just cars, nothing to be afraid of, and they—”

  “They aren’t beasts! They’re contrivances; see their human pilots,” Quill said.

  “Look at the ceiling!” Staza gasped.

  “The sky,” Letty corrected. “And that’s the setting sun, giver of light and skin cancer,” she continued sarcastically.

  “Superlative,” Quill gasped. “How many people live here?”

  “Millions, at least. I’m not sure exactly,” Letty answered, slightly annoyed. “Weren’t you guys born up here? Pythia doesn’t take in young children. So, you should remember what cities look like.”

  Quill looked aghast. “Be careful, Letty, there are people everywhere. They could be listening,” he whispered angrily, as his eyes darted. She saw his grasp tighten on the trident.

  “I think I would remember if I’d seen something like this,” Staza interjected.

  Titus whispered in Letty’s ear, “They were likely subject to the same drugs you were, but for years. They were conditioned to obey and forget. Be gentle with them.”

  Letty sighed. “Quill, nobody is listening to us; they all just think we’re silly kids dressed in costumes. The city is full of crazy people. Hopefully, nobody will even notice us.”

  “Hey! You kids!” An adult voice called out to them.

  Really?

  Letty turned and saw a pair of police men coming their way.

  “Look at these kids,” one officer said to the other.

  “I think they’re going to that comic thing—the convention.”

  “Yeah—hey, you kids lost?”

  “Yes sir,” Letty said plainly.

  “Listen, the convention is over the bridge at the university. Just cross that bridge and you can’t miss ‘em,” the officer said with a wry expression on his mustached face.

  “Thank you, sir,” Letty said.

  “What about those weapons?” the other asked.

  “Plastic, you idiot—listen kids, paint the blades orange if you get a chance—that’s policy now. You wouldn’t want any trouble, especially from guys like this,” he patted his partner on the shoulder. “Usually, I’d have to take them from you, but another policy is community outreach. So just take care of that, alright?”

  Letty nodded and the Caspians followed her cue. “Of course, sir, and thanks for the directions.” Letty turned and dragged them along and across the bridge, but she still heard the officers, not far behind.

  “Did you see that spear thing?”

  “Trident Dave, that was a trident.”

  “Whatever, and the eyes on them, purple eyes.”

  Letty tried not to stumble as she heard the observation.

  “Contacts, Dave, these kids have those colored contacts. They’re probably
dressed up as characters from some cartoon where everyone has purple eyes.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Shut up—” the voices drowned out as a traffic light changed and a wave of cars drove by.

  “We’re going to a convention? What is that exactly?” Quill asked.

  Letty was becoming frustrated with the questions. “A convention is a meeting of people interested in a common thing, in this case, comics and movies. There’s a convention for fans this way. We should go to that.”

  “Comics and movies?” Staza asked cautiously, aware of Letty’s mounting annoyance.

  Letty rolled her eyes. “It’s entertainment popular with people our age. We won’t stand out so much at a convention, and maybe someone will let me use their phone.”

  Letty gave the Caspians a sharp look, as she expected them to ask about phones. “A phone is a tool I can use to—communicate, with my parents, or find a map.”

  They both nodded gratefully.

  “A map would be useful,” Quill said, looking out over the bridge onto the maze of buildings and streets that ranged on, like a gleaming steel forest, in every direction.

  As they walked, a slight breeze rolled in off the water, and the smell of burning diesel put Letty at ease. She had nearly forgotten all of her problems, walking down the sidewalk.

  “These people aren’t garbed like the others,” Quill said, distracted by the growing numbers of convention goers.

  They had spotted costumed people sporting giant wigs of various colors.

  “It’s like a special event; people get dressed up and come out to see one another,” Letty said, brushing her bloody dress, “and we look like we fell out of a horror movie. That should help us fit in.”

  They followed the crowd and spotted the convention hall.

  “We don’t have tickets, and I can’t buy any. We’ll ask somebody to—”

  “Woah! Look at those costumes!” A chubby man in blue spandex came up to them. He was flanked by a woman wearing golden bracers, a tiara, and bearing a lasso. Finally, there followed a man in a plastic robot suit.

  Letty noticed Staza’s hand go for her short sword.

  “None of that now,” Letty whispered, smacking her hand away from the blade.

  “Hey, you guys look great,” Letty said with a big smile on her face.

  “Not compared to you! What are you from?” The girl asked, eying their outfits.