Chapter 24

Nobody was saying a thing. Waiting was the pits, Cory thought, as he eyed the door for the umpteenth time with troubled eyes. Were they really prepared for what was going to come through that door, should Edgar get caught? He could not tell, and he didn’t need to check on his partners in justifiable crime, to know that they were thinking the same thing, maybe not worrying as much, but dealing with their own thoughts in their own ways.

Xavier sat on a chair, his eyes set on the door, too, without even pretending that he was busy doing something else. Marcus was inspecting the pair of sub-machine guns concealed by his large leather jacket time and time again. It was clear as day that Ayn was tempted to do the same thing with his own weaponry, but he was trying to pretend that he was nonchalant and not one bit affected by the long wait.

Could Edgar really pull off such a stunt? For anyone, except the scientist, it seemed unlikely. But the man knew this city, its inhabitants, and he hadn’t seemed one bit frightened by adverse outcomes as he had dressed in the usual Aerian attire and taken his temporary farewell.

He stood up and went to the window. Maybe it served to know in advance whether there was trouble coming their way or, the desired opposite, hope.

“I think they’re coming,” he said hurriedly, the moment he spotted Edgar’s tall silhouette, accompanied by someone all dressed up in frilly garments.

Everyone stood up like they were ready to welcome someone very important. Which was, if he was thinking clearly, the truth. This next piece of the puzzle had to work. Lena had to be able to help them somehow. And willing, at the same time.

The door opened with a small screech, most probably due to lack of proper oiling, seeing that the master of the house had been away for some time now.

Edgar dutifully held the door for the woman, and Lena entered the room.

Everyone kept their breath, as the woman searched their faces with inquisitive eyes until she noticed Xavier. She opened her mouth, then closed it quickly, and made a curtsy.

“Lord Xavier,” she said, her eyes demurely cast down.

“There is no need for this, young lady,” Xavier spoke in a perfect Drena accent.

Cory stole a quick glance toward his former Master. It was evident that Xavier knew that his position could be used to impress their would-be ally, but, at the same time, he wanted to clear the air of all the possible complications his former station could incur.

“Did Edgar tell you everything?” Xavier continued, as Lena straightened up and now seemed tempted to keep her quiet observation of the men filling the room.

“An astonishing tale, yes, he did,” she admitted.

“Do I gather that you don’t believe him?” Xavier inquired.

Lena threw Edgar a little glance, filled with meaning.

“Edgar is the sanest person I know. I do believe him.”

“And I believe Lena is the perfect person to help us,” Edgar offered courteously in exchange for the strange compliment.

“I think this is their way of saying they like each other,” Marcus whispered to Ayn, making the other snicker.

It wasn’t like the others couldn’t hear them. Cory hid a smile of his own, while Xavier half-turned to throw them a brief look. Lena blushed and looked away, while Edgar seemed to encounter sudden trouble with his collar.

“This is no time for chit-chat and meaningless banter,” Xavier chided Marcus and Ayn. “Young lady, what we are going to ask of you is dangerous, might not work, and could compromise you forever.”

“Great pep talk,” Marcus commented, but another look from Xavier made him turn temporarily mute.

“I understand the risks,” Lena replied. “But by what Edgar is telling me about what happened in Teran, it is not like I have a choice. As much as I would like to be philosophical enough about embracing my demise, I want to be able to continue my existence just as much as any other living creature. So, I am not doing this for you only; I am just as much doing it for myself. And the ones I care about,” she added quickly, looking furtively at Edgar.

“I like her perspective on the situation,” Ayn was the one up to no good this time, trying to imitate Xavier’s high-class accent.

Xavier didn’t waste a breath to chide his lover for the small interruption.

“Well, it is great to know that you are on our side. But can you take us to where the components that you must send to Drena are?”

“I am afraid that there is only one shipment left. The others were scheduled for different days up till today. But I can take you to where the components are. Unfortunately, I cannot say whether something vital might be among them. I cannot guarantee the success of this sabotage operation.”

“For a machine as large as the one that the Trainers need to use, a lot of pieces can be vital. We might be in luck.”

“Let us all wait for nightfall,” Lena recommended. “Aerians are not famous for roaming the streets after dark. And, except for what are usually scheduled visits, we work unmonitored.”

“We will stay alert, nonetheless. When the Trainers suspected Cory of coming here, they did come unannounced,” Edgar spoke.

“Cory is Hector, right?” Lena smiled and looked directly at the former servant. “You could not have been from Bluesilver. People so beautiful could only be raised in Drena.”

“Now that makes me feel like I want to take offense,” Marcus parodied Xavier’s accent, making the others snicker. “Do you want to say, young lady, that my buddy Ayn here, and I, are some monkeys you wouldn’t look upon?”

Lena examined the burly man with unhidden curiosity. But not for one second did she seem surprised or intimidated by the mountain that was Marcus.

“Depending on standards of attractiveness that pertain to one culture or another, you two could be considered within the small percentage of people gifted with looks that might be appreciated by the rest of the population,” she answered promptly.

Marcus stared at the short woman through his eyelashes, like he was weighing her.

“What do you think, Ayn?”

“I think she just said that we’re handsome sons of bitches,” Ayn replied, in good humor.

“Hey, say what you want about your mom, but leave mine out of it,” Marcus shot back, and that earned him an instant playful punch in the shoulder from Ayn.

Lena observed the exchange between them with keen eyes.

“Your friends are fascinating, Edgar,” she turned toward the scientist.

Cory could tell Edgar was not exactly comfortable with all the exchange between Marcus and Ayn, by the coloring of the heights of his cheeks. But he was a brave man, nonetheless, despite being so blatantly teased.

“Yes, I suppose they are,” he answered promptly.

“We’re teaching Edgar how to shoot a gun,” Ayn boasted.

“Shoot a gun?” Lena expressed her astonishment. “Aren’t you afraid that you might get hurt, Edgar?” she inquired.

“Not as much as I feared that we were going to set the entire laboratory on fire when we experimented together with acetone and sulfuric acid,” Edgar replied.

“Look at these kids,” Marcus said joyously. “Having fun with dangerous stuff. I suppose that stuff was dangerous, right?”

“Especially in combination,” Edgar admitted.

“And I was worrying about Edgar. It looks like he already managed to impress the little lady,” Marcus remarked in a loud voice.

“We will have enough time to have fun at the expense of one another,” Xavier stopped their happy banter once more. “Later. After we deal with the matters of a weapon of mass destruction that might wipe all life on the entire continent.”

That seemed to sober up everyone at the speed of light.

“Edgar will know where to take you,” Lena spoke quickly. “I will wait for you and let you in.”

With that, she bid her farewell, leaving a speechless Edgar to stare after her, while holding the door for a little while.

“That one,” Marcus wagged the finger at the scientist. “There’s fire in her eyes. I’m telling you. You should hurry and get her already.”

“Nonsense,” Edgar protested. “She is as well behaved as I am.”

“We’re already teaching you bad words. I bet she’d be an even faster learner than you are,” Marcus joked.

“I suppose,” Edgar said with a small, reverent sigh.

“What are we going to do until nightfall?” Ayn wondered out loud.

“I will search the premises for some canned food that is not yet expired, and I would like to invite anyone who’s up for the challenge, to a game of chess,” Edgar answered.

“What’s that?” Ayn questioned.

“I’ll explain all the rules,” Edgar waved, but he did have a small, secretive smile on his face, as he spoke.

“Look at him. Planning to beat us to a pulp, at that game of his,” Marcus laughed.

“Me? No way,” Edgar’s smile broadened. “But I should warn you that I’m not always easy on novices. Maybe I should go easy on you.”

“Bring it on, Mr. Scientist,” Marcus challenged him. “That game can’t be that hard.”

Cory watched his friends engaging, once more, in laughter and chit-chat. It was like danger wasn’t looming at the horizon. He admired them. But while Marcus, Ayn, and Edgar were happily setting up the table for their game, he could not help notice Xavier and the deep frown on his face. There was someone who was just as worried as he was.

The building where the components were stored was not guarded, even after nightfall. Cory couldn’t help but wonder whether the citizens of Aeria were indeed so confident in one another not to engage in criminal activity, especially given what had happened with Edgar.

“What did Lena tell you about how the others reacted to your disappearance?” he whispered, although the streets seemed deserted and the entire city seemed still, except for the flickering of the street lights that, for some reason, while electric, had been designed to imitate the golden tremble of dying embers.

“I made the news for a few days, by the looks of it,” Edgar replied, in the same hushed voice. “But, eventually, after the Trainers simply decreed that I simply turned mad, most probably due to the too frequent use of the killer of feelings, everyone took it like it was.”

“Lena, too?” Cory murmured.

“No,” Edgar answered with a small sigh. “Not for one moment, she believed that. She, ahem, kissed me when I pulled her aside this morning.”

“Oh,” Cory giggled. “Marcus and Ayn might just be right; I’m afraid to say.”

“Of course, that made me quite the scattered brain,” Edgar exhaled. “Otherwise, I cannot explain how I could lose three games of chess in a row against Marcus, Ayn, and Xavier. I used to be the master of that game.”

They reached the dark door, and Edgar knocked very softly, following a pattern on which he must have decided with Lena. The woman was dressed in black, Cory noticed when she opened the door. She glanced around and signaled them to follow. No matter how quiet the streets were, Lena still cared about taking precautions. That was just another sign that they weren’t out of the woods just yet.

“These are the components,” Lena gestured toward what looked like an organized pile of pylons made of metal, wires, and other mundane items.

“Nothing that looks that ominous,” Xavier commented, and Cory agreed, quietly, with him. “How can we know if we can truly sabotage the entire mechanism, just by damaging this lot?” he added, gesturing toward the stored components.

“We cannot,” Edgar replied gravely. “But we can, not so randomly, cause unapparent damage to these elements, and hope for the best.”

“That is not exactly a thorough plan,” Xavier remarked, while Lena was guiding Ayn and Marcus toward a workbench on which power tools lay around.

“No, it is just part of the plan that still involves trying to take Drena by storm,” Edgar admitted. “Ever since Lena told us that there is just one shipment left, that was on my mind.”

“It’s a reasonable plan,” Xavier admitted. “We should attempt to stop the Trainers from using their death machine in more ways than one. We’re increasing our chances of success. Good thinking, Edgar.”

“Thank you,” the scientist replied politely.

That was their last exchange in the large room. The moment they began working on the components, the only conversation was reduced to small orders and suggestions, mostly from Lena and Edgar, to the others.

“I believe you are about to live that grand destiny I thought I was seeing while reading your skull,” Lena put a gentle hand on Cory’s arm.

“And I believe you are right,” Cory confirmed.

Lena squeezed his arm in sympathy.

“There was something else,” she said. “At that moment, I had no idea what could mean. But you will have to make a choice.”

Cory nodded.

“Whatever that would be, I hope I’ll make the right one.”

Lena smiled.

“I am certain you will.”

Everyone was putting their hopes in him. But he no longer felt daunted by the task ahead. It was like the stream of his thoughts was pushing through a narrow path for a determined destination. And, despite not knowing what the end of the road held in store for him, he knew it was the only choice. The right one.

“Smooth sailing, uh-hoo,” Marcus shouted, as their van was leaving Aeria behind.

“Too smooth, if you’re asking me,” Xavier murmured, as he set his hands on his knees and looked behind, through the rear windows at the city disappearing in the distance.

“I’ll take what I’m given, man,” Marcus shrugged. “And with all due respect, Your Majesty, this time, I’m not asking you anything. This one’s a win, and we frigging needed a win.”

“You know what I’m talking about,” Xavier continued to talk, but this time he looked straight at Cory.

He shifted in his place. How come Xavier’s eyes made him feel so unsettled, even after all this time? There was something strange about their color. He could not remember seeing anyone else with eyes of such a steely quality and hue. Especially when Xavier had been passionate or angry, his eyes had reminded Cory of a sky in turmoil. They didn’t have the same lifeless, dull grey color of the Trainers’ eyes, but they were still ... somehow the same.

He shook his head.

“Yes, I do,” he eventually replied. “No one stopped us. Or at least tried to. Maybe the last shipment was of no importance whatsoever?”

“It doesn’t matter. We’ll go through that front door, and stop them before they can even say hello,” Ayn joked. “They won’t have time to put together their stupid machinery, while we march toward Drena to get them.”

“The shipment still moves slow enough,” Edgar agreed. “We have the advantage of speed. Everyone is ready for combat, back in Haven. Even without us there, they got organized. I’m sure of it. Myra’s in charge.”

Ayn snickered.

“I bet she had everyone make their beds while we’ve been away. They must be scared of her right now.”

“Your friend proved to be reliable,” Xavier said, turning toward his lover. “I think she taught them more than just to make their beds. What we need is an army waiting for us, so that we can lead the way to Drena.”

“Everyone will be ready,” Ayn said.

“There are guards down at the mines and the factories,” Xavier spoke. “They need to be neutralized first. Drena is not heavily guarded, otherwise. Of course, the Trainers cannot suspect a mutiny is rolling down their way. Everyone there is under their thumb. The best part of this is that no one there is a fighter. The Rulers are trained to handle state affairs, trade relationships, and such. The slaves have their utility that doesn’t involve the use of weapons, at least not the kind that we should fear. And the servants are not trained to oppose an army of well-armed individuals.”

“Are you trying to tell me that it’s going to be a breeze? Will we just waltz into Drena?” Ayn joked.

“No,” Xavier shook his head. “What I’m trying to say is that the ones who will be able to oppose us are not the human beings living there. And that means that we have the element of unpredictability to worry about. We cannot know what we’re going to face.”

“We were all taught that the Trainers are the most powerful. There’s no greater power than theirs,” Cory spoke.

Xavier nodded shortly.

“But except for training us all to fit a mold, I cannot say that I have ever been made aware of what their power means. They are great at brainwashing, that is for sure. But somehow it feels that our own obedience is to blame,” Xavier said, as his eyes traveled back to the rear windows, only to stare at nothing, as Aeria was not even a dot in the distance now.

“Your obedience, maybe,” Ayn shrugged. “But no one forced me into a mold. Or Marcus. Or Myra. Or anyone else back home. And you two are just the proof that the Trainers know jack shit. You’re no Ruler,” he pulled Xavier close to kiss his cheek. “I suppose the Trainers didn’t teach you to moan so nicely when I take you.”

Xavier wanted to open his mouth to protest, but Ayn continued, pointing the finger at Cory this time around.

“And you, what kind of servant are you? Going to and fro through the desert, getting everyone hot and bothered about some revolution and stuff? And you,” he punched Edgar’s seat playfully, to draw the man’s attention, “are really not the kind of scientist I thought any guy from Aeria should be like.”

“Really?” Edgar turned and smiled. “How am I, then?”

“Too much in the mood to jump into flying contraptions – by the way, I would have given a nut to see that crazy stuff in action.”

“You would not have given anything,” Xavier’s voice was icy, despite the playful banter being thrown around.

“See what I mean?” Ayn kissed Xavier’s cheek again. “The First Ruler of Drena only cares about my nuts.”

Everybody laughed. Even Xavier. Even Cory. They needed this type of morale to see the end of this thing. Otherwise, they would have gone through everything for nothing.

“So, we’ll just start digging?” Dion asked, pulling John’s sleeve to draw his man’s attention.

“Basically, yeah, but we need one thing to make sure that the earth won’t come rolling down on us,” John explained.

“What’s that?” Dion asked, but he was interrupted by a noise coming from behind.

The huge cylinder the miners were pushing was impressive enough to make the rest of them scatter to the sides.

“Lucky thing we found this close to the refuge,” John spoke. “We drill and open the way in front, and this will take care of the earth crushing our bones problem.”

“Okay,” Dion murmured.

John surely knew what he was talking about. Together with the rest, he lined up to jump into the strange contraption.

“Is it like a huge drill or something?” he whispered to John.

“The drill part of it no longer works,” John replied. “That’s why the fellows had to remove that component. We’ll drill. This thing at least moves. It would have been something for the drill still to work, but we’re lucky nonetheless. Now, let’s make ourselves useful.”

Dion had had many friends among the servants. Yet, he could not recall ever having this sort of bond with the other people he had known in Drena. Humming a musical tune, the miners began working like well-oiled machinery. They were making a conveyor belt of human bodies to dislodge chunks of earth from the wall and move it, using old-fashioned wheelbarrows to the other end of the cylinder like contraption, where they were throwing them away.

“This seemed pretty dangerous,” Dion murmured, as he grabbed the handles of a wheelbarrow to help.

“It’s this, or we just die of thirst and hunger,” John said matter-of-factly.

“We’re not going to die,” Dion said with conviction and moved only so that he could steal a quick kiss from John.

Forward was the only way. Humming in the same rhythm with the rest, he began pushing the wheelbarrow.

“What the hell could that be?” John asked out loud, although his question wasn’t aimed at anyone in particular.

“It looks like a large room,” Dion jumped out of the drill and began to inspect their surroundings. “Hey, look, that’s a ladder!” he pointed out at the far end of the enormous room.

Without waiting for a confirmation from his mates, he hurried with the torch in hand to the metal ladder. Grabbing it with one hand, he shook it.

“We don’t know where that leads!” one miner shouted in warning.

“Not exactly,” Dion shouted back. “But we know that it goes up, and that’s where we need to get, right?”

Murmurs of agreement could be heard from the exhausted men. Dion put his put on the first step.

“Not so fast, princess,” John chuckled behind him. “Allow me the pleasure to get first.”

“No way,” Dion said stubbornly. “We’re going to get out of here. I feel it in my bones.”

“Even so, we cannot know where this ladder takes us. I wouldn’t forgive myself if something happened to you because I let you go first.”

“Come on, lovebirds,” a miner pushed them both aside. “I’ll go first.”

Dion and John both nodded at the man. The miner was as agile as a monkey, as he began climbing. It was strange to stare into the darkness above, as it was difficult to see how far the ladder went.

Everyone held their breath, and only the sound made by the miner’s heavy boots on the metal steps broke the silence for what seemed to last forever. Suddenly, there was a screeching sound that tore through the darkness.

Above them, small and faint, there was a circle that seemed paler, infused with light, compared to the darkness inside the mines.

“All good,” the miner’s voice followed by its echo bounced off the walls. “It’s like a building or something. It looks like no one’s here.”

There was a bit of a ruckus, and they had to get organized so that everyone could climb the ladder but without running the risk of making it collapse under their weight. John and Dion allowed the others to climb before them and remained last.

“Now you can go first,” Dion joked.

“And make me miss the pleasure of staring at your ass all the way to the top?”

With a small laugh, Dion started climbing. It certainly helped much with his balance that John placed a heavy hand on his ass and made him move upward. He almost felt like laughing. They weren’t going to die in the mines, after all.