Matthew
When the elevator starts to drag upwards, I feel like I'm going to pass out. How could I let this happen? I keep remembering Enna's small, bloody form, how her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she slumped against the cage... I don't know how much longer I can keep up this act if it means abandoning the people I'm trying to save.
"I've got a surprise coming for you, Elliot," Willis says, sending chills up my spine. "You'll see it after I get you acquainted with your new position."
Great.
"As you wish," I mutter. The elevator comes to an abrupt stop in front of an enormous room lit by piercing fluorescent lights. Long metal tables divide the room into rows, and men and women in lab coats scramble around carrying test tubes and other things I'd rather not identify.
"These are the labs," Willis booms, waving an introductory arm in front of him. He starts to lead me towards the back of the large room, towards a tall pair of metal doors. My eyes stray to the silver lab tables, focusing on a pink mass of tissue. Is that a brain? Horror, now familiar, courses through me. Before we reach the double doors, I spot at least five more substances that could pass as organs or other appendages.
"What happens here?" I ask, my mouth bone dry. Willis presses a palm against a small access pad. A blue laser scans his fingerprints and the doors slide open.
"This is where our scientists study the test subjects' genetic makeup."
"What are they looking for?" I can feel my heartbeat in my throat. Willis shrugs, leading me onward into a new hallway. Unlike the majority of hallways I've traveled here, this one is clean and well lit, almost like the hotel we've left up on the surface.
"Who knows? It's up to the Master and his scientists." Willis shakes his head, annoyed. "Enough with the questions, kid. You're giving me a headache." It turns out that the nice hallways lead to luxurious apartments that the visiting elite--"Rightful Ones"--occupy. When Willis lets me view one of them, I can't help but let my mouth fall open in awe. This thing makes my old apartment look like a room out of a child's dollhouse.
"Pretty impressive, huh?" He mutters as we head back towards the lab. I can only nod. He smirks. "This is just the beginning, boy."
* * *
When the elevator stops, I vaguely recognize the dark hallway that opens up in front of us: this is where the Reptilians and Grays reside. Fear starts to build within me until I remember the Master's taunts, how he called humans weak-willed. I can't prove him right. Besides, the creatures won't hurt me since I'm an ally to them... Right?
"So," I start, struggling to remain nonchalant. "What are we doing here?"
"I'm gonna show you the Cavern."
"The Cavern?"
"Yes, the Cavern."
"What's in the Cavern?"
Willis reaches over and socks the side of my head. It doesn't hurt much, but just enough to tick me off. I bite my lip. "Golly, kid! You're gonna travel to the moon and back if you keep up all that yapping!" I shrug and walk quietly, my eyes frantically scanning the dark, sticky walls. I wonder what I'm about to see; I hope I don't freeze up again. Minutes tick by as we navigate the dark hallways. The lighting is so bad that I have to squint through the darkness to make out anything. As we make another right, I can vaguely see someone--or something's--humanoid outline against the monotonous canvas of black. Heart thumping, I slow my footsteps and keep a tentative hand on my flashgun. Cold sweat soaks through my t-shirt.
"Come on, Elliot. We don't have time to take baby steps," Willis growls.
"Don't you see that?" I breathe. "Something in the darkness. It's just--" Suddenly, the something turns towards me. I make out over-large, glinting black eyes situated on its large, elongated head. Four thin fingers on each hand, one hand gripping a green-tinged sponge. And the skin: a dull, dead-looking grayish-white. I cry out and raise my flashgun, pointing it straight at the beast. It makes a horrible squealing sound, like a high-pitched scream.
"BOY, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" Willis slaps me and I stagger back against the rocky wall, blinking stars from my eyes. I taste blood. I bit my tongue. I feel the flashgun being yanked from my grip and the creature mercifully falls silent. Willis grabs my collar and hisses into my ear, "That is a Gray, Elliot. They're not ours to associate with, got me? If any of our men cause harm to a Gray or a Reptilian, the Treaty will be broken. You understand? A war between them and us. Who do you think would win that?" He lets go of me suddenly and I force myself to stand straight, breathing hard and fast. I never expected to see something so horrible, so terrifying... Willis grips my shoulder and steers me past the Gray, who turns its head to watch us leave. I stare for a moment into its unfathomable, dark eyes. Nothing. No fear, nothing.
"If you thought that was bad, you'd better hold on to your socks," Willis grunts as we walk towards a curve in the hallway. Shaking, I make the turn and walk towards a large opening in the rock. At first it's too dark to see anything, and then the wall moves. I stop in my tracks and rub my eyes, on the verge of passing out. And then dull light helps distinguish lines and shapes and textures. The wall didn't move. I tilt my head back, looking up, and my legs grow weak until I'm surprised that they can still hold me up. "What is that thing?" I wheeze, pressing a hand to my chest. A giant--well, giant--towers far above the ground, its serpentine tail dragging against the stone. Its head towers far above me. I can't see it. This room is even larger than Base Central.
"That there is a Kolossus. One of the scientists' most prized genetic achievements. It's created when Reptilian DNA is inserted into... Hey!" I can't stop looking up at the ceiling, almost a mile above us. Each time the Kolossus takes a step with its huge foot, the ground shakes like from a small earthquake. "Get your eyes down from there, you idiot! I'm trying to give you a tour here." Reluctantly, I look to the ground and allow Willis to lead me into the cave. I hold my breath as we pass several strange-looking creatures: more Grays, large animal hybrids, humanoid monstrosities... Each time I pass one it looks my way until I feel several pairs of eyes surveying me.
"What's the purpose of all of these creatures?" I ask, trying hard to disguise my disgust.
"War," Willis answers discreetly. "Although the Grays only serve the Reptilians." I have a feeling that he won't divulge any more details, so I nod. I follow Willis through the Cavern, squeezing through horrible creatures who snack on a slimy, reddish substance and battle each other restlessly. The smell down here is awful.
"Alright. So now I'll show you--" Suddenly, a metal door high up on the cave wall slams open. The noise ceases from the monsters as they direct their attention to the visitor. And then it starts up again, far louder and more raucous than before. The Kolossus stamps its feet in earnest, knocking the smaller creatures off of their own. But no one dares complain to the giant. I squint my eyes and look up, then a shallow breath catches on my tongue. The visitor is the Master. He straightens his back regally and steps out onto a rocky ledge, surrounded by a sheer cliff face. Willis hisses an obscenity and drags me in hiding behind the Kolossus's fat foot.
"Are you trying to get us killed?" I demand, my face reddening in panic.
"No, I'm trying to save our butts!" He whispers with rage. When I raise my eyebrow skeptically he drags a hand down his face, making his mustache stick up comically. "Listen, kid. I didn't actually ask if I could show you around the Cavern. The Hidden Allies are very particular about visitors..." He starts to twiddle his thumbs nervously, and my stomach drops a little.
"Okay...? So?" He snorts derisively.
"So? If the Master finds out that we're here, we're dead." He draws a finger across his throat for emphasis. "Humans aren't allowed down here. Well, not usually, anyways..." He eyes the red slush that the creatures were shoving messily into their mouths and bile rises in throat. I swallow several times, struggling to assuage the fear and anger that rises past my chest. "Let's just make it out alive," I mutter. Willis turns his mouth up in a small smile. Before I can display shock at the almost kind gesture, the Master's gravelly voice echoes from the rocky stage. It takes me a moment before I realize that I can't understand him. He speaks in a foreign tongue. I wonder if this is the strange language I saw written on the directory signs in the parking garage.
"What's he saying?" I whisper urgently to Willis. He growls and shushes me, back to his former self. After there is a pause and several loud cheers from the non-human audience, he leans in to me and says, "The Master said that the creation of the Serpent Pawn is almost complete. He said that war is imminent." Sweat starts to bead my forehead and back, causing my t-shirt to stick to my skin.
"What does that mean?" But then the Master starts talking again, and Willis shushes me again, so I wait in silence again. This time the Master talks for a long time, only pausing briefly. When there is another pause for cheers and jeers from the crowd, Willis lean over to me. This time, his skin looks sickly pale in the poor lamp light.
"He's ordering the Army to start training more rigorously. He says that he had finally found the person who will set everything into motion..." I swallow several times, but the dryness of my throat refuses to leave.
"Who?"
"ENNA PRICE!" The Master roars. And then, chaos.