Ice Cold - Part One: The Dark Zone

Chapter Twenty-Two

Alex was still speechless, but he had no choice but to do what he was told. As he turned to follow the direction the man was taking him, Alex saw something out of the corner of his eye. It was something on the man's outfit, on his left arm. It looked like a patch of some sort, but Alex was not able to make out what was on it. He was ushered through the crowd and back into the tower's structure. He was led inside and to yet another staircase winding up the inner body of the tower, but before Alex got a chance to take a step, the man stopped him abruptly and turned him around to face him.

"First of all," he began, not sounding as harsh this time, "that was a pretty impressive run." He seemed to be referring to Alex's failed escape attempt.

Alex narrowed his eyes in caution. "Thanks."

"Well then," the man continued, "allow me to introduce myself; my name is Matheus." He held out his hand as if he wanted Alex to shake it.

Still taken by surprise at Matheus' sudden change of attitude since the last time he saw him, he was quite hesitant to take his hand. "Alex," was his response to his introduction.

Before any more could be said, Matheus released his hand and moved ahead of Alex to climb the staircase. "Follow me, please," he said strictly. Even though he had just turned his back on him, Alex did not see fit to try to run away again, so he cursed himself and followed Matheus up the steps.

"Second thing," Matheus continued, "sorry about the head." It was just then that Alex remembered the throbbing ache in the back of his head, and he was guessing it was from the club Matheus now had back on his belt. "I can be a little overzealous in a fight."

Alex felt around the back of his head. "You don't say," he muttered to himself.

The two of them climbed back to the peak of the tower again. All the while, Matheus seemed as though he was trying to get to know Alex. "Many of the men believe you to be one of our enemies," he said, which only confused Alex even more. "I personally no longer think so, otherwise, I would have killed you when I had the chance."

Alex raised his eyebrows, stunned. "Are you serious?"

Matheus laughed to himself. "Don't worry. If you were really a Domineer, then your escape attempt would have been a little more successful. That's why I'm bringing you back up here."

"What?" Alex replied. "I don't understand." As they reached the top of the tower again, Alex recognized the same lookout point he saw when tried to run. Matheus led him to the small set of steps leading to the map room. Just before they could enter, however, someone quickly approached them from the other side.

"Matheus!" he called out. Alex observed this new arrival. He was significantly taller than Matheus himself, and he seemed much more sharp and punitive, especially when he laid eyes on Alex.

Matheus bowed his head as he approached. "Malachai," he greeted him.

The one called Malachai stopped right in front of him and pointed over at Alex. "What is this one doing here, and why is he walking freely around the tower?" he said angrily in that same language.

Matheus glanced at Alex. "He is not one of them, I am sure of it," he replied in defense. "I am taking him to Delmar now."

"To Delmar?" Malachai was surprised. "You can't just bring an unknown Outsider into Delmar's presence! We don't know who he is!"

"I was instructed by Delmar directly," Matheus stood his ground. Malachai's eyes widened. He looked over at the archway leading into the map room and stormed inside. "Malachai!" Matheus called after him. He turned his attention back to Alex, trying to think of what to do next. Composing himself, Malachai said in English, "Do me a favor. Please just wait out here, and for your sake, don't try to run again, because you're not going to get far." Before Alex could respond, Matheus too disappeared through the archway.

Alex let out a sigh of disbelief at everything that was going on. His future at this point was very uncertain. He still had no idea where he was. He had no choice but to do what Matheus said, so he examined his surroundings again.

Alex walked casually over to the adjacent lookout point. It was an incredible view, and even now it had the power to take his breath away. He sat himself down and leaned against the pole next to the small flight of steps and just allowed himself to relax for a moment. Maybe now he had more time to think about his situation. If he was fortunate enough, it was possible these people might be able to help him get out of the mountains.

"Enjoying the view?" came the sound of a female voice. Alex jumped again. This was happening far too often with people sneaking up on him while his mind was elsewhere. To his right, he saw the same girl that held him at the point of an arrow stepping out onto the lookout. Alex made a movement to stand up but the girl was quick to respond. "Relax," she said, putting her hand out to calm him. "Can I sit down?" she asked, hardly politely. Alex did not even have a chance to answer as she sat down next to him regardless.

He had no idea what to say, especially to someone who could have killed him with the twitch of a finger. However, she quickly began talking again. "I was hoping you'd let me apologize for my behavior toward you earlier."

Alex was not sure how to respond. "Uh, don't worry about it," he stuttered. "It wasn't the first time someone pointed a weapon at me today."

The girl laughed at his words, and for a moment, Alex found himself laughing as well. He glanced over at the girl beside him, and it was then that something caught his eye again; something that Matheus had been wearing that previously sparked his attention; a patch sewed onto the left arm of her outfit. This time, Alex was able to get a much better look at it. It was as ragged as her clothes. On the patch was what appeared to be two medieval-style weapons; a stone sword and a hatchet or tomahawk. They were crossed together in an X-shape, and underlapping them appeared to be a green arch shape, sort of resembling a Greek Lambda.

The girl looked over at him and caught his gaze. "What's your name?"

Alex looked right back. This time her eyes were not so spine-tingling to look at it. Instead, he saw the eyes of a truly kind and compassionate young woman. He felt much calmer now as he replied, "Alex." He was breathing much more smoothly now. "Alex Lee."

The girl managed a smile, now that they were getting somewhere. "I'm Rowan," she said back.

After that brief introduction, Alex tried to find something else to say, and he ended up saying the first thing that came to mind. "You have a last name?" He had no idea what kind of question that was or why he asked it, but he was relieved when Rowan answered it.

"No," she said, shaking her head. "I don't have a need for one. Never have. We're not so much like your people in that sense."

Her choice of words was unusual to him. Alex had grown up in what he always believed to be a normal environment, mainly because that was all he had known. Now he was here, witnessing for himself a very different kind of people. At this point, there were so many questions he could ask. "Who are you? What is this place?"

Rowan opened her mouth to answer, but she was suddenly interrupted by the sound of someone exiting the map room just behind them. She immediately jumped to her feet as Malachai came out in a huff. Alex looked back at him. Whatever had been going on in there, it clearly did not go well for him. He just glared down at Alex very angrily and then stormed off.

Out of the archway, Malachai had been followed by Matheus. Alex stood to his feet as he awaited his next instructions. As he expected, Matheus pointed to him. "You, Alex," he said. He then pointed over his shoulder toward the doorway. "You're next."

Alex's eyebrows went up. He was not sure what to expect upon going in there. He was hesitant at first, but then he reminded himself that it was best for him to comply at this time. He walked around to the steps and headed toward the draped archway.

"Good luck," Rowan said in a joking manner. Alex, on the other hand, was not exactly in the mood to deal with jokes right now. Taking a deep breath, and preparing himself for anything, Alex lifted the curtain and entered the map room.