The Crystal Chronicles: Cursed

Chapter 19: Shell Shocked

With that he disappears into the black abyss. I stand immobile. Unsure whether to follow him inside. My hand cramps while my brain zooms through the options before me. I quickly look down at the box and see my knuckles have turned ghost white. I need to relax! These people can't be any worse than Ravenna. I loosen my grip on the cardboard. I'm not afraid of the dark. I'm not afraid of the unknown...As long as I can see what's coming. With my blue eyes predators can't lurk in the shadows, but that's not an option at the moment. I nervously gulp, come on Alex don't lose your spine now. I followed the General through the metal door and into the dark room behind his office.

Stepping into the dark room the only light to guide my steps comes from the doorway behind me. I pause in hopes my eyes will adjust to the darkness, but to my dismay the room is a black hole. Sucking the light from everything. I take a deep breath before I slowly continue forward. Stretching my free hand out in hopes I'll touch something before I run into it. Darkness fully engulfs my body, and my heart rate rises. Just as I begin to feel lost and wish I'd stayed in the other room; the lights flicker on. My eyes are instantly filled with floaters until they adjust to the sudden change. Blinking to try to get rid of the floaters faster I look around the room in hopes of finding General Smith. However, as soon as my eyes begin searching the room, the thought of General Smith is pushed to the back of my mind.

My jaw drops as I slowly spin in a circle. I've entered a fully equipped military arsenal. The room is gigantic. Easily the size of an NFL Football field and the walls are fitted with different weapons. On one of the larger wall's racks of guns glisten. While on the other an impressive selection of explosives is organized neatly. The third wall (one of the smaller ones) closest to the door has an extensive array of knives. The final wall shelves are a mix of bows and other uncommon weapons.

The center of the room is as crowded as the walls. I'm surprised I made it this far without running into one of the clear cases. Large twelve by eight glass boxes sit evenly four feet apart throughout the entire room. Each is filled with supplies for the weapons on the nearest wall. Ammo, holsters, gun cleaner, wires, detonators, arrows, quivers, sharpening tools, and more supplies for weapons than I'd ever seen in one space. Some of the cases have boxes stacked on top of their clear surfaces. Others have boxes surrounding the goodies inside the glass cases. Matt's group has been preparing for war for a long time. Or perhaps they are simply being overly prepared for when the Queen attacks them? Either way I can't say I blame them. I can't stand guns, but I have to say I admire what they've been able to accomplish so far.

"Impressive, isn't it?" General Smith's voice ripped me from my entranced thoughts. His sudden appearance makes my body jump and my heart feels as if it sprung from my chest. My hand slides to my heart and I clutch my chest in panic. General Smith nearly gave me a heart attack! The man chuckles at the look of annoyance on my face, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to startle you. I simply wanted to show you around." I slowly nod my head in approval and follow behind as he gave me a tour,

"As you can see, we have everything set up by weapon class: guns, knives, explosives, bows, and others. However, each section has more than you can see. For example, the guns. There is basically every gun known to man in here, shot guns, rifles, machine guns, pistols," General Smith looks at my bored face, "I think you get the picture. However, the interesting part is you are only seeing one of the guns on the wall. If you press the button below each gun, it opens the safe behind it revealing more of that specific kind of weapon. Here let me show you." General Smith marched over to a 45 on the wall. He quickly presses the button under it and out slides the gun case revealing more 45's than I could care to count.

"All of your weapons are like this?" I asked in amazement.

"Hmmm... yes and no." General Smith observed unclearly. I can't help caulking my head as I stare at him in confusion.