Harmonizer's Evolution (Balancer's Soul cycle) (78 page)

Sorono finally broke
the mental silence as the
continual
sun began rising to show that they
were somewhere near the North Pole.
“Connor, we are very close to our destination so follow me.”
He
followed him as he descended towards the ice and snow covered mass.

A
freezing windstorm
blasted
all around as
they
landed, but
Connor
diverted it around
himself
with
his
own Pressure shield
while still
keeping
warm thanks to
the
enveloped
body heat.
They
had landed in the middle of a
ferocious
blizzard.
The wind was too loud to speak as it howled continually
and visibility was pretty much
nonexistent
.
“So Sorono, this is why you told me that they would jump at the chance to leave this place. It isn’t very hospitable. I know you only feed the prisoners enough to keep them healthy, but not enough to use their
abilities. So if they could escape they wouldn’t be able to survive long out in this kind of unforgiving environment.”

Sorono turned to smile down at him
. His Hazel eyes were calm and ca
lculating as he began walking. Connor
followed once he began speaking.
“What you say is mostly correct, but there are a few things you
need to know before we go in. Y
es they get fed properly, but only enough to keep them well.
T
hen you said something about them breaking out. That isn’t accurate. In the prison the prisoners are free to roam as they’d like. I call it a prison, but
realistically
it
’
s more like a holding facility until their time is served.
Well…they are about to get a reprieve.”
Sorono
smiled oddly at his small joke.
“Inside there are three districts that are each separated by a wall so that the peace can be relatively maintained. I usually have about
five
thousand Immortal Guardsmen maintaining the integrity of the facility
because it is their yearly rotation
.”
Then his eyes widened for a moment.
“I had forgotten to factor in their numbers as well.

“Many of the Guard that are posted here are Keeper, but we do have
several hundred
other of the two races. They keep the prisoners from killing each other and also manage
the daily
rations. I
or another elder
come to check on things every three months to make sure everyone is treated fairly.

“Then there is the prisoner’s hierarchy. Inside the facility they have created their own system that works to make their term
s
pass
as smooth as possible.
Usually the leaders are chosen in tournaments that are done on a yearly basis. Only the best mannered and respectable prisoners are allowed to enter. Once a victor is decided they deal with the problems that the prisoners have and seek a respectable compromise with the guard. The leaders also are listened to unequivocally by the other prisoners
, until the next tournament
.

“If there is a dispute that needs attending and immediate action
,
the prisoner is locked in a glacial prison with only the ice to keep them company. And if the prisoners wish to go outside they are escorted outside in regular intervals. We do not shackle them because they know they won’t get far in this environment.

“Finally there are
quarterly
supply drops and by my calculations there was one yesterday.
That is a wonderful sign. We can use up all of the supplies to strengthen our potential fighters.”

They went silent as Connor
felt him use a trickle of his power. Then came the rapid pulse
s as he began using his sonar. Connor
followed his lead and soon things changed from a wall of white to black and white.

Several hundred feet away
stood
a large
cabin
, but what laid below
i
s
more
remarkable. There was a large elevator shaft leading straight down into the ice. Then at the end of the shaft
,
it
broke into three directions. One direction led to a large cave that held large crates that were filled
with dried and frozen food,
exactly like what were dropped
back
at the clearing. The next direction held another cavern that was larger and held multiple cabins that were crammed together in a multitude of sizes.
He
guessed that to be where the
five thousand
Immortal Guard
s
reside.

Then the third tunnel led to a gargantuan dome beneath
his
very feet.
S
everal ventilation shafts
were
leading through the dome and up to the surface.
T
wo walls
inside the cavern
separated the three classes and they were at least
sixty feet high.
The central section held large buildings whereas the other two sides held building of the same size because Balancers and
Changers
remained the same height as a human. The three sections were set up in long rows that held straight lines of walking space. In the furthest end held
the
hundreds of
individual chambers in the shape of a bubble and
he
recognized them to be where the unyielding prisoners were
confined
to chill out.

It felt
almost like a city down there
because of the
activit
y. Some stayed stationary where
as many others were walking around
,
going to different locations
inside their section
. Along the outskirts
of the dome
and the two dividing walls patrolled the Immortal Guard. Many of the Guards were Keeper, but there were some smaller human
,
and not so human
,
shapes moving around the area.

“Connor, are you coming or what?”

Connor
moved
his
sonar’s focus ahead to see Sorono already waiting by the enclo
sure
.
He
then picked up the pace and was soon by his side.

He
stopped
using
sonar to see a large cabin that helped block much of the
blinding
snow. They
stood before a door
made of wood and painted white like the snow. Even the outside panels were painted white. Despite being out in the middle of nowhere they still took precautions against the human eye.

His eyes met Sorono’s and his
tone
became
louder that the
storm
. “I’m here!”

Sorono
nodded and pushed the large door in. He entered first and closed it afte
r Connor’s
entrance. Things became much quiete
r and less hostile. In result, he
stopped using a pressure shield
and holding his
heat around
himself
. The air
still felt
quite cool, but at least it was bearable.

“Elder!?”

Sorono and
Connor
turned around to see a silver eyed Changer sitting behind a desk in his human form. He had long
dark
brown hair and a copper skinned complexion. He situated
himself
over in the far corner of the opened spaced cabin. He wore a parka and thick pants along with boots.
His pendant hung ar
ound his neck showing that he i
s one of the Immortal Guard.

The cabin was bare except for basic necessities. There were two snowmobiles, one small fireplace for light and minimal warmth, a curtained toilet, and a book shelf with several
novels
resting in the panels.

The Changer stood and bowed deeply in
their
direction. “Please forgive me, but you are early, Sir. We weren’t expecting your presence for another month.”

“Rise, Hatchling. My brother and I have come here on urgent business. Please activate the elevator and ride down with us. Once we arrive at the bottom I will need you to go into the Guard’s barracks and awaken them all. We will wait on the stage
and explain the
current
situation
.”

The Changer looked at Connor
strangely and then hi
s eyes widened. He remembered him
. He too must have been at the last meeting. He understood and turned around
,
removed a wooden panel to reveal an old fashion way to communicate. There was a pipe that led straight down. He said
into it
“Head Elder Sorono has just arrived. He is ordering that the elevator be activated.”

Connor’s
acute hearing heard several seconds later
, from across the room
“Ten seconds until activation. Clear the center of the floor
before I start
.” The Changer replaced th
e panel and moved to stand by them
.

The center of the wooden floor opened straight down the middle to reveal a flat
, but large
elevator. They
all walked on it and waited until it began dropping. After forty or so feet
,
the flooring
of the cabin
came back together and sealed
their
descent. Off to
the
right
moved
a weight system and
foot thick
cables
for this elevator
. That
i
s what they used to lift and drop the elevator safely.

After ten minutes of dropping they
finally made it to the bottom. Connor
realized that they had electricity down here
and also that
they
were being greeted. A
line of forty Guards
stood
in
no particular order.

They were all bowing respectfully.

The Changer began his task after the elevation finally stopped. As he ran through the tunnel leading to the barracks Sorono said
“You may all rise. Please will you escort us to the stage
?
We are not here for inspection and we must make haste. Once we make it to the stage have every single Guard and prisoner
come
forth to hear what I’ve come to say.”

“Do not forget to release those being confined
in the bubble chambers, in
the back.”
Connor
spoke after Sorono finished and he didn’t mind
him
speaking. “Every soul must attend this announcement.”

The guards looked from him
to Sorono and back again. They w
ere confused as to him
giving them an order
until a female Balancer stated “That must be the Harmonizer we saw over a year ago. The Head Elder’s younger brother.”

“That would be me. Please lead the way. Time is of the essence.”

They bowed as
respectfully to
him
as they
had
did to Sorono. It
only took a single look from his
reptilian brother to make them understand
Sorono’s
standing with him.

The forty led them
down a long hall
way
.
They
walked slo
wly for five minutes
, t
hen they
came upon a large door. Despite being underground and surrounded by ice it
was relatively comfortable
. They opened the door and it was loud inside.

The cavern looked just like
his
sonar saw, but now there were
beautiful
colors.
Whites and light blues dominated the landscape.
There were lights in here as well and because of all the bodies in here it remained just as comfortable as it did in the tunnel, if not more.

They
walked straight and onto a crescent shaped stage that had three sets of stairs
,
leading
down
to the individual sections and two stairs going up for the Guard to patrol atop the dividing walls.
The stage and ground itself
had been
made from solid ice, but on one spot was a stone where Sorono stood so that his unprotected feet didn’t stick to the ice.