• Chapter Six •
The Phantom
The drive was closer to an hour and some change because of a bit of traffic. In that span of time, Cael asked questions about Sabin that went unanswered, with the exception of the words, We will be there soon enough. Courtesy of Reena. So, Cael sat back and resolved to look over the briefcase that he took, wondering what was in it. He thought about how Clarice threatened him and retrieved it—his stomach still dropped when he recalled that moment. He couldn't open the case because of it's thumbprint padlock. He never knew any of this was going on, and now he had a corpse on his hands and on his mind.
"We're almost here," Reena said, pulling Cael out of his reverie. But when he looked outside of the car window, he saw them passing neighbourhoods. Mundane neighbourhoods. He furrowed his brows, confused. He was more confused when she pulled into one of the two driveways of what looked like a colonial house with a nice expanse of land. It wasn't in any of the neighbourhoods they passed, so it seemed to have quite a bit of privacy.
Cael laughed, but it was more out of disbelief than humour. "We drove a little over an hour to pull up to a colonial?" Garver spit out a laugh in a failed attempt to maintain himself.
Cael didn't think it was that funny—neither did Reena.
"I guess you conveniently forgot the part where I said we hide in plain sight," Reena retorted, looking at him through the rear-view mirror. The driveway wrapped around to the back of the house, where there was the other black car from Cael's house. There was also another car, out of which an older woman and man was getting groceries.
Reena parked next to the black car, and they started to get out. "Who's the man and woman?" Cael questioned.
Garver slammed his door shut. "Mr. and Mrs. Phelps. You should get familiar with them—they're our front. They support us and alert us when suspicious characters pass the land, so...it works." When Mr. and Mrs. Phelps saw them, they gave a struggling wave, given the bags in their hands. However, they opted to go inside to set their baggage down.
"You will get to talk with them later," Reena said. Cael turned to Reena, who was beginning to walk to the furthermost of the three lined-up sheds. "Follow me." Reena took a key out from her pocket and went to unlock the shed's door. "Now, the results may live up to your expectations." She opens the door and switches on the light.
Cael was thrown off by the metal flooring that was mostly hidden by a rug with a wooden work table in the center. But there was the regular expected stuff in the shed, lined against the walls. Garver came in after him to close the shed doors and lock them. "I'll unlock..."
Cael didn't know what Garver meant at first until he saw the young man walk over to the table and reach his hand under it. Cael heard a click! and from under the table slid a built-in keypad and eye-scanner. Garver put in a number and leaned over to scan his eye.
"Step back," Reena said, taking Cael by the wrist and moving backwards a few steps. Garver did the same when he finished. The console slid back into its hidden spot before the floor began to...raise?
Cael's eyes widened a little as the table and the flooring just under it rose and slid further to the back wall, revealing stairs that descended into darkness.
"This is always my favourite part." Garver grinned and began to walk down the steps without hesitation. Cael was trying to gear up to take the first step, though it didn't help that Reena still gripped his wrist. They both looked at the connection of skin, and then Reena let him go. She didn't bring it up.
"You can trust us...just go." She nodded her head to the stairs, and Cael turned back to them. With a renewed determination, he started going down. After Reena came down with them, the flooring slid back in place.
Luckily, when the three of them made it to the bottom of the stairs, they were met with an underground corridor with dim lanterns lined on the left wall. Cael could distantly hear the drip-drop sound of leaking water. The corridor went straight forward to a door with one diverging path to the right.
Reena took the lead from there. She walked around them to get down to the door and knocked on it. Cael and Garver followed. The door was metal and made a loud sound as it was struck. A sliding piece in the door moved to reveal a pair of eyes. Cael narrowed his eyes as the person said nothing, but those eyes looked expectant.
"Thi sifa voyes." The sounds—or the language, as Cael assumed it was—were something that Cael had never heard before. It shocked him to hear Reena speaking it. It sounded...beautiful. What did it mean?
The figure that Cael discerned to be a man finally spoke. "Jala voyes thi sifa." The man paused, scrutinizing Cael before looking to Reena. "Dwoy esa lusi fen?"
Reena glances at Cael before looking away. "Fen-esa th' anuk," she answered. The man looked about as skeptical as Cael felt, and Cael thought they had been refused when the man closed the partition. That was until he heard three clicks and the sound of heavy metal move across the door from the other side.
Opening the door revealed a tall man. He wasn't freakishly tall, but it was enough to where he must have been leaning down a bit to see through the partition. He looked like he had argyria, what with his pale blue skin. And while it did feel a bit cold in the corridor, Cael momentarily felt a stronger wave of chill against his skin when the door opened.
Reena, Garver, and Cael walked into the door. Without a thank you, Reena got right to the goods. "Where is Sabin? He's expecting us."
"Thank you, Oscar, for opening the door like you always do all of the time," the blue man said sardonically. For such a strange man with a strange presence, he had such an ordinary name. Either way, Cael was amused, and so was Garver.
"You want me to thank you every time I walk through the door?"
"No, but it wouldn't kill ya to say it once."
Reena rolled her eyes and made a grandiose curtsy. "Thank you, Oscar, for your extremely hard work."
Oscar chuckled and slipped his hands into his pocket. "Sabin's in his study."
Reena gave him a genuine thank you then before heading to Sabin's study, going down the left corridor. It was like Cael had been transported to another world. The man who seemed to radiate a chilly air. The underground lair. While the corridor seemed more dank, in this place, it was put-together and well-maintained. There were brighter lanterns lining the stone walls, and the space was wider.
Garver could sense that Cael had questions, and so he was preemptive.
"There's a lot of shit to take in, so a piece at a time. But what I can say is the language that they were speaking is Alusi. You should ask Sabin about it when you talk to him."
"You mean you're not coming?"
Reena stopped in front of arched double doors. "No. Garver and I have some things to do, we just need to deliver you here." She knocked on the door before opening it. Inside were several bookshelves and tables. It looked like a good place to hide. Cael walked in first, taking in the sights. He heard the door close as someone began to speak.
"Thi sifa voyes. Jala voyes thi sifa." The voice wasn't loud, but it had a certain authority and confidence to it that made it seem loud. "The Cipher lives. Long live the Cipher." Cael took that as a translation. "What you know is that, over 300 years ago, what you call the Supernatural was exterminated by the rising Syndicate...you'd be wrong."
When Sabin came from behind a bookshelf, Cael could immediately see why the man couldn't have met him at the Ruins. He looked normal...on his upper body. Sabin had tan skin and black hair that grayed at the sides. He had on a smoking robe like posh bastards would wear, but Cael didn't get the impression that Sabin would have the snobbish attitude.
The kicker was that the robe was about the only thing he was wearing. Sabin had no legs as his lower half was the body of snake. A very long snake.
"Reena. I think he's in shock," Sabin said. Reena promptly went to stand in front of Cael and stared for a few seconds...before smacking his face.
"Ow!" Cael rubbed his cheek. Garver managed to maintain his laughter.
"Sorry." Reena didn't look the least bit of sorry as she moved out of the way again. Cael dropped his hand.
"I apologize, she's about as subtle as a brick through a window." Sabin smiled, and it felt welcoming. He spread his arms out as if to gesture to the space they were standing in. "Dwalus-et thi sifa. Welcome to the Cipher." He relaxed his arms. "You must know who I am."
"Yeah...yeah, I know who you are. Sabin."
"Or, as you like to call me, the Phantom. Though you're not wrong since, as you can see, I have a bit of a reason to stay hidden." Sabin slithered to one of the tables, and Cael was trying to keep from staring. "My name was Prega in my dimension, Alusek."
Cael had read about Alusek and the influx of the supernatural, but it was nothing in-depth. "You were one of them. That broke through the veil."
"Yes, I am." Sabin glanced to Reena and Garver. "You two may go and tend your things." They both nodded and made their leave, closing the doors behind them. "I was one of the first. I was curious. And now, several times a day, I chastise myself for having not stayed in Alusek. What I have learned is that humans tend to fear what they do not understand or what they cannot control."
His words were said in a more matter-of-fact manner than being pointed at anyone, yet Cael still held a bit of guilt. "You're not wrong—I'm sorry. But...what does that have to do with me?"
"You were the opposite." Sabin allowed the words to linger in the air.
Cael blinked. "What?"
"Have you even forgotten that there are years that you don't remember?" Sabin picked up a book that was sitting on the table he was next to. He turns the book up to show Cael the cover. The book title read The Wonders of Alusek by Sabin Bhandari. "You bought this book several years ago. I was a Phantom even when I first came—I wrote this book anonymously and had someone pose as Sabin. I wanted to teach those on Earth about my home so that we could build an understanding. It...was not received well." Sabin smiled wryly. "The Syndicate had the decoy Sabin killed. They didn't want to understand, they were too busy building an empire to share amongst themselves."
"So, I spoke out against them?"
"No...you worked for them." Cael's eyes widened, and Sabin continued with a chuckle. "You should not be too worried. It is not so black and white with you. It is true, you did very questionable things. But it was for the same reason that I crossed the veil—curiosity. Curiosity—not to mention desperation—is also what brought you here before me." Cael shifted uncomfortably, not because Sabin had insulted him, but because Sabin was telling too much of the truth for Cael not to feel unsettled. Sabin could sense his discomfort as much as he could feel it. "The truth, Cael, is a hard pill to swallow. That is why we drink water."
"Then where is my water? I've been swallowing pills without comfort."
"If comfort is what you seek, then I will have to say, we do not offer it here because we are bankrupt of it ourselves and have been for years. But, Gabrian is your water—a temporary soothing aid. You know him for who he is. He may not have divulged his extracurricular activities to you, but he has never lied to you about the person he is inside. In fact, he thinks too highly of himself to do that." Sabin spoke earnestly. Cael definitely figured that much out.
"And Reena?"
"Reena...she is your pill. Your reality. Your truth. I sent them to you for a purpose. I knew Gabrian would make you laugh. I knew Reena would keep you focused on what's important. But enough about them...it's time for your next pill. Pull out what's in the book."
Cael walked forward cautiously as Sabin laced his hands together behind his back. He opened the book to find a stapled paper. A thesis, the very same one that Garver had sent him:
New Genesis: A Theory on Genetically-Modified Homo immortalis
by Dominick Harris
Cael dropped the book and gripped the paper in his hands, falling into the pulled out seat. It was starting to make sense to him. Slowly, but surely.
The burning man.
Homo immortalis.
Remember...
"You caught the Syndicate's watchful eye when you were in college. Your name...is not Cael Barnett. Your name is Dominick Harris. And your theory is no longer just a theory. You have brought to life what you like to call the Homo immortalem—the immortal man."