Lemuria: The City of Mysts

Chapter 30: Distractions

They ran in a straight line. Trees and plants moved to let them pass then returned to their original positions afterwards.

The forest was silent. Leaves and twigs crunched and snapped in their wake. Not a single creature did they encounter from the time they arrived. They were quite alone, yet his skin prickled at the back of his nape. Someone or something was watching them. He caught the rescuer glance at him sidelong. The man gave a curt nod then stared straight ahead. A muscle at his jaw twitched. He had sensed it as well. For once, Fred was glad the rescuer was on their side. If they were in danger, he could at least rely on one more person in a fight.

A wall of creeping ivy appeared up ahead. The uneven ground levelled into a manmade road; the sudden change almost made Fred lose his balance.

They were back in the city. Fred searched for landmarks to identify their specific location. The place was familiar, though he couldn't recall where they were.

Louis stopped near the wall. His lips moved near Cheska's ear, but Fred missed what he said. Her reaction was to wrap her arms around the younger man's neck. A sob escaped her. Instantly, Fred stepped closer at the same time Louis backed a step from him.

"Let's just go", Louis said in a quiet voice, avoiding Fred's gaze. Then he thrust his hand into the thick vines. A beep sounded under the foliage.

"Please state your identity", a computer voice requested.

"Robert Louis Roucan", he promptly replied.

"Identity confirmed." A partition slid open. "Lockdown will commence in three seconds. Three," Louis tilted his head towards the opening, urging Fred and the rescuer to go in first. "One." The door shut, the entrance concealed once more by ivy.

Fred pulled his gaze away from the wall. Louis continued to set a quick pace. For his size and stature, he was surprisingly strong to have carried Cheska all this time.

The humidity was thick in the air. Plants and flowers surrounded them, their scent heavy in the air. Compared to the world they had set foot in earlier, they were still in the city. Species of the kingdom Plantae were labelled and grouped by genus and a footpath was available for their use.

A few minutes had gone by when Fred saw, at the corner of his eye, blurry figures following them. He halted in his tracks and faced them directly. One of the men also stopped and stared back at him. Yellow hair. He raised an arm and the man did the same. Fred looked above him. A glass dome separated him and the outside world.

A greenhouse. Fred shook his head. Why hadn't I realised it sooner? The security at the entrance was a dead giveaway. Then again, he had been distracted with Cheska's condition. He pushed the thought at the back his mind only to think about the owner of the place; the only person who could stop Libya's President-General's plan of world domination. Fred sighed. It sounded so cliché to him. People had outgrown the notion of conquering the world after the water levels rose throughout the planet; and subsequently, the rise of the Mysts from the waters of the Pacific Ocean. Libya's dictator, however, proved that some people stuck to the old ways, Age of Discord – the period of greed, power and corruption.

He looked up from his musings and discovered he had been left behind. But Fred now knew where they were and didn't bother running after them. The path would lead him to his group.

Later, he found them sitting on the bench – rather, Louis sat and Cheska used his thighs as a pillow while the rescuer paced to and fro. Louis leaned on the metal armrest, his chin resting on his hand. He watched over a sleeping Cheska, though he himself looked far more exhausted than the rest of them combined.