The Gardener of Nahi

Chapter 5

Ahead of me I could see a red-carpeted aisle heading up to a table far away.  There were dark wooden benches filling the narrow space, all of them empty.  Candles were lit near the distant elevated space, and various golden objects reflected their light there.  I was drawn to the silent beauty of it, as if I had stumbled upon a treasure hidden in plain sight, but the clamor below me caught my attention.

I looked around the shadows in the small foyer, trying to identify the source of the sound.  My eyes had adjusted to the light by then, and I could barely see a stairway to my right leading downwards.  Emanating from that direction I could hear two men talking, almost arguing, but their words I could not discern.  There was the sound of something heavy being dragged.

Slowly I descended the steps in near darkness, keeping my body against the marble wall.  After descending the first flight of stairs the voices became more audible, and I knew they were still at least one more level below me.  As I continued on, the darkness became thicker and I realized that my suit was now the primary source of light (the ring around my neck where I had ripped my helmet off earlier).  I could see the stairwell awash in dim maroon every few seconds as it pulsed.  There were inscriptions carved into the stones which I could not read.

The stairs ended two stories below ground level, and I stopped there to analyze my new surroundings.  A long hallway continued into the distance, lined with countless stone arches and various stored items:  leaning mirrors, large ornate candle holders, a purple couch with a rip in its center.  I counted twelve of the arches before the darkness took over.  Gauging from the size of the space, I was sure it must have sat directly underneath the length of the temple above me.  Through the fifth arch bright light was coming through, casting precise shadows of two motionless figures deep within it.

“What is that?” said the man with the deeper voice.

“Synthskin.  Just temporary material.  Within a few hours her cells will grow onto this, create a new one that’s purely hers,” said another.

“A new what?”

“A new radial artery.  Mr. Smiles, move the camera closer, please.”

I sat in the darkness of the stairwell listening to the conversation.  It was obvious that a medical procedure was transpiring from the sparse dialog going on back and forth, and the last thing I wanted to do was startle the doctor in mid-operation.  So I stayed where I was, knowing there was no immediate cause to move.
 
After a while I realized there was a third man – his voice was slightly softer and less frequent than the other two, and I assumed he was the one actually performing the work.  A low humming noise could be heard now and then.

But then a tiny chime rang out.

“One second, let me answer this.”  It was the deep voice talking before there was a brief pause.  “John here.  What’s wrong?”

There was another moment of silence.

“Please excuse me, Mr. Smiles,” said John.  “You’re good here, right?”

“Yes, we’re fine.  Why?”

“I just need to check something upstairs.  I think I forgot to lock the outside doors.”

“Is there a problem?  You said it was safe here.”

“No, no, it’s fine,” John said.  Then after another pause, “How much time do you need?”

A soft voice (not the voice of Mr. Smiles) said, “Five minutes and I’ll be done.”

Then one of the shadows began to move, coming out of the shelter of the archway.  I stood motionless in the angled space at the bottom of the stairs as a man appeared and walked towards me, his head cast downward until the very last moment.