Continue To Lie - Tpn Fanfic

Chapter 29 - Not This Again

The pen is the key.

I do the honors of opening the locked door in front of us with my Promised Pen. I have yet to explain to Lucas and Emma Minerva's true identity and the fact that James Ratri is dead, but our main focus at the moment is to find out what it is James wanted the escapees to find behind this door.

"What? Is this a monitoring room? Or maybe a control room?"

       Emma asks curiously. Her investigative nature makes her inspect every corner of the room, while the rest of us focus on the bigger picture. There's temperature, electricity, ventilation, water and sewage, and clocks with composite imagery from the sky. Is this how advanced the shelter was supposed to be originally? Damn dude.

"Guys, look over here!"

      Everyone rushes over to Emma, who's standing behind a wide door frame. Me and her step through it side by side, and there it is: The pond. And it's even golden! A golden pond! Hence the name, I guess.

"It's the Goldy Pond showed on the map: our destination!"

  Emma takes out her pen and opens it to show a screen with the sentence Welcome to Goldy Pond  displayed on it. So this specific direction is Goldy Pond? Not everything else?

"Maybe Mr. Minerva invited us to come to this pond, not the hunting ground."

"No."

      I correct her quickly.

"The town and houses above us weren't meant to be used as a hunting ground: this place was originally meant to be used by escapees as a shelter that provided amusement, safety, and even a path to the human world. That must be what he was talking about."

I point to a building set in the middle of the pond. The water is so clear the building seems to be floating, but in reality, it's just sitting on top of a large rock on the water. Hayato kneels down to touch the water, but the smooth liquid avoids his hands before they can make contact.

"Woah, this water is avoiding me! That's weird."

"Wait, Margaret, did you say that there's a passageway to the human world here!? And you didn't say anything until now!?"

     I raise my hands above my head defensively and counterattack Emma's anger.

"Well, the passage shouldn't be able to work anymore. The bastards probably deactivated it when they took over the shelter, that's why I didn't think to mention."

"How do you know so much, anyways? Didn't you just arrive here yesterday?"

"I work for Minerva, Emma. I know plenty."

       She jumps back in shock. Hadn't I mentioned it before? I swear I did... Maybe she wasn't paying attention, or she forgot. Or maybe I didn't mention it... No, of course I did. Totally.

"You work for Minerva!? What- how!? Since when, why!? How, who is, you are- whow- hwouy - who- when- what!??!?"

"Calm down, Antenna! I'll explain it later, but let's just say we're friends."

"No, I want to know now! You can't just hide stuff from me because you feel like it! Who is he, and how do you know him?"

"I already told you I'll elaborate later! We've got other things to worry about."

      "Boss, Emma, over here!"

Hayato calls out to us from the other side of the pond. He and Lucas had already made their way to the floating building while me and Emma were bickering. She ignores me and heads in their direction, and I ultimately do the same.

        Although we walk through the water, our bodies and clothes don't get wet at all. It's like the water can't touch us. How intriguing. 

"The door isn't locked, let's go."

Lucas leads the rest of us children inside the building. It's quite tiny, and the only thing inside it is an old looking elevator with a rug and a telephone on top of a desk with a stool.

"That's it. The entry to the human world."

I look around excitedly, but I mostly admire the elevator. It's so old and it smells deceiving, so many parts and materials I could use for making bombs! Oh, the possibilities are endless!

"Woah."

      All of a sudden, the ringing of a phone invades my eardrums and I'm forced to cover them rapidly.

"Look, the phone's ringing!"

Emma and Lucas rush to the phone. I stay in my same spot, covering my ears.

"This is William Minerva."

       The voice in the phone announces. That voice is for sure not Norman's, so I can only assume it belongs to James Ratri. It continues to speak.

"I believe that you are an escapee. I will say what I need to say quickly. First, I need to apologize to you. I'm sorry. That elevator is the path to go to the human world, but it can't be used anymore. It was stopped. They blocked the path. It's my fault; I didn't expect the one I'd trusted most to betray me. The settlement I have made here is probably not safe anymore, either. Perhaps the one who betrayed me destroyed it, or they found out about it."

The one who betrayed James Ratri, William Minerva, should be Peter Ratri. Ugh, what a despicable man. Just seeing him back at Lambda and having to speak to him daily through the speakers in my room was already quite annoying.

"My real name is James Ratri. I am a descendant of the clan that came up with the promise 1,000 years ago. I am the 35th head of the Ratri clan. Currently, it is May 20, 2031. By the time you're listening to this recording, I am likely already deceased."

       Lucas and Emma turn to face me. Uhm, how do I explain this one... He's dead but he's not, hehe.

"But I will not let them kill me easily, and you have supporters other than me. The path between the worlds isn't just this one elevator. It may be dangerous, but there are multiple paths, such as Grace Field House, Glory Bell, Grand Valley and Goodwill Ridge. Unlike the one here, the paths inside those 4 premium farms will never be blocked. Choose the future you want; whether it be leaving to the human world in secret, or starting an all out war between demons and humans, deeming the thousand year old promise useless, no one can blame you. I will not break it myself. But if the future you want is none of those, search for the Seven Walls."

       The Seven Walls... How familiar that sounds. Where have I heard that before? I should write it down.

"I'm sure you've suffered a lot. You, or maybe there are a few of you, I wanted to hear your voices. I wanted to meet you all. I so desperately wanted to meet the children whose lives I've played a part in ruining, and now am trying to redeem myself. There is happiness, and you can obtain it. I wish you all the luck in the world."

       The tape turns itself off with a loud beep. The beep triggers my senses, and I fall to my knees. Ugh, my brain hurts. 

"Hayato, help-"

THUD.

"Margaret?!"      "N/N!"