Reunification (9 page)

But I could not tell where it was coming
from or who was making it. Nay, the sound seemed to be coming from
the walls themselves, though perhaps it came from one of the other
rooms instead. I was hesitant to move forward any further, however,
because my chunk of plaster did not feel adequate to deal with
whatever was making that noise, even though I knew not what it
was.

The sound faded away soon enough, but I
doubted that that would be the last I would hear of it. Part of me
wanted to leave it alone, but another part of me wanted to go and
find out what it was. Perhaps it was not some sinister creature
hiding in the shadows, ready to take me down as soon as I dropped
mine guard; maybe it was an innocent person, dying or in pain, who
needed my help.

Yet what time did I have to waste helping
others? Mine largest priority was to find a way out of here and
return to Dela, where I could report back to duty. Granted, I also
still needed to find my sister, but knowing now what I do about
her, I would come back some other day to save her instead. Perhaps
on that other day I would even be strong enough to defeat
Assassin.

I took a step forward, but stopped again.
What if this person—assuming 'twas a person, though it could have
been a machine or perhaps a beast of some sort, though this did not
seem like the kind of place where animals would be kept—could show
me the way out of here? And perhaps also tell me what happened?

Indeed, that seemed logical enough. This
headquarters of the Foundation seemed as deep and complex as the
tunnels beneath the foundations of Castle Una, based on the many
doors I saw in the hallway in which I stood. In my mind's eye, I
could see myself wandering through here forever before, perhaps,
stumbling upon a smoke-filled room and then choking to death.

Therefore, I decided to search for this
individual, whoever it was. It may have even been a sign from the
Old Gods, the help I asked for, though I had no way to know for
certain and would not until later. Perhaps they even had some shoes
for me to wear or borrow; it was certainly worth the risk, in my
humble opinion.

Hence, I listened as closely as I could,
until I heard the claws scraping against the metal again. 'Twas
slightly covered by the sounds of electricity sparking in the
flickering lights, but mine ears were good enough to locate the
sound some ten feet from where I stood, behind a door on the right
side of the hallway. Holding my plaster chunk close to my chest, I
stepped toward the door as carefully and silently as I could, ready
to defend myself if necessary.

Like the rest of the Foundation's
headquarters, this door had no doorknob nor handle. Likely it slid
open, but I did not understand how those types of doors worked.
Never had any reason to, for I spent most of mine time in Dela and
had only ever traveled to Xeeo perhaps three times prior to my
recent arrival.

I stood in front of the door and waved at
it. Much to my surprise, the door tried to slide, but it made a
strange groaning noise that made me worry that it would explode in
my face. I held up mine plaster just to be safe, but after more
groaning and sparking, the door ceased trying to open. Perhaps it
was jammed, but I did not know how to un-jam it, if that was the
ccase.

I scowled. How dare this door act this
way. Did it not want me to enter? Yes, I knew this door was likely
not animate, but I was still frustrated by it nonetheless, for I
felt like the key to my escape from this place was hidden behind
there and I had no way to get it.

Then another flicker of the lights above
aided me in noticing that the door had opened slightly. 'Twas only
an inch, perhaps less, but it looked like I could pry it open with
my fingers, if I but tried.

Placing my plaster on the floor, I walked
up the door and stuck mine fingers in the gap between the door and
its frame, whilst also finding footing for my bare feet on the
smooth floor 'neath me. Exerting all of my strength, I pulled the
door to the right, in the direction it appeared to slide when it
worked normally. It was a difficult effort, a feat worthy of the
great Jameles himself, as the door did not appear to want to budge
from its place.

Still, with some effort, I managed to push
it open enough that I could slip through easily, and it stayed
open, too, even if I was not holding it open. I snatched up my
plaster chunk from the floor, though it crumbled slightly around
the edges when I did so, and then stepped through the gap I had
managed to widen between the door and the frame.

How dark this room was! Whereas the
hallway outside had at least the flickering florescent lights, this
room had no light in it at all, save for the little light that cut
through the gap that I had created between the door and its
frame.

What these occasional flickers of light
showed was what appeared to be some sort of equipment room. On the
walls were deactivated energy knives, some kind of Xeeonite gun I
could not identify, and lockers with uniforms, though the sliver of
light did not give me enough time to peer at them in any
detail.

I groped along the nearby wall for a
switch, for one thing I did understand about Xeeonite technology
was that they had switches to activate the lights in their rooms.
Yet mine fingers could find no such switch to flip, which made me
wonder if the switch had been blown off by the explosion or if this
room had for some reason not been designed with one. Mine feet did
not feel anything, either, though that was good, because I did not
wish to stumble or step on anything harmful or dangerous, for mine
feet were my only mode of transportation, without which I would
have been truly helpless.

In any case, I did not see or hear anyone
in here, which made me think I must have been mistaken when I
assumed that the sound of the claws scraping against metal must
have come from this room. Perhaps they came from another room, or
maybe I had heard something else entirely.

Least, that is what I believed until two
claws wrapped 'round my neck and squeezed. Alarmed, I slammed the
blackened plaster over my shoulder onto the head of whatever had
grabbed me, causing it to squawk in pain and let go.

I staggered forward, rubbing mine neck,
and turned around just in time to see a strange, birdlike creature
crouching near one of the lockers. 'Twas visible only for a moment,
when the light flickering from the hallway showed it; then it was
gone, drowned by the darkness.

Yet I knew that the creature was no trick
of the light. I reached behind me and grabbed one of the energy
knives from the wall. Whilst I did not like to use Xeeonite
technology or weapons, when mine survival was at risk, I was
willing to do anything that would increase my chances of
living.

And having confiscated these energy knives
from more than one criminal over mine career, I knew to press the
tab on the handle to activate it. When I did, an energy blade, made
of pure skyras, flashed into existence, giving me a view of the
birdlike creature again, which had not moved from where it had
crouched before.

The light of the energy knife gave me some
light, though it was not much more than the glow of a candle.
Still, it was better than nothing, and unlike a candle, I could use
this to defend mine self in case this creature tried to attack me
again.

Looking at the birdlike creature, I was
not entirely sure at first what it was. 'Twas humanoid, as I, but
it had wings and feathers, feathers as golden as the sun on a
summer day in the Fertile Lands, though they seemed grimy, as if
the creature had been rolling about in the dirt. Its feathers were
ruffled, too, and it stank horribly, like smoke and bird excrement,
making me cover mine nose to save my sense of smell from its
horrible assault. I was disappointed to see that it had no shoes on
its clawed feet, though that did not stop me from hoping that it
might have a pair hidden away nearby anyway.

The creature's eyes were green, but they
did not seem to be its natural color; perhaps it had had them
changed, as I had heard it was a common trend in certain Xeeonite
subcultures. Then again, this creature's eye colors could just as
easily have been its natural color; my knowledge of Xeeonite
species was lackluster at best.

All I knew for certain was that I needed
to keep my distance from this thing, at least until I was certain
of what it actually was. Right now, I knew only that it was likely
the source of those claws scraping against metal, for it had claws
on its hands and talons on its feet.

“
What be ye?” I asked,
making sure to hold the energy knife in a way that let this beast
know I would attack if I felt threatened. “Can ye speak Delanian?
More importantly, do ye have a pair of shoes I could
wear?”

The creature stood up to its full height,
which was not much taller than I, and seemed not like it would
speak at first. Perhaps it couldn't speak at all; indeed, I
suspected as much, for it did not look capable of speaking any
tongue I knew of.

But then it rasped, in a low voice, “I can
speak many languages, Delanian, but I prefer to speak in Xeeonish.
It is more practical than Delan or any other tongue out there. As
for the shoes, no, I don't. And there aren't any in these lockers,
either, so don't try looking in them.”

The lack of shoes made me greatly
sorrowful; however, I did not show it. Instead, I brandished my
weapon at the creature, for I still did not know if I could trust
it, and demanded, with as much authority as I could muster, “What
is your name? And just what are you, exactly?”

“
I'm a Checrom,” said
the creature, gesturing at its wings. “We're a species of birdlike
people that live on Xeeo, far to the west of Xeeon. And of course,
I am also a member of the Foundation, which you have probably
guessed already.”

“
I noticed you still
haven't told me your name, creature,” I said. I narrowed my eyes.
“For that matter, I find it hard to believe that a member of the
Foundation would be hiding out here, rather than exploring the
hideout to search for any of your surviving companions.”

The Checrom shuddered and glanced at the
door. “I would have done that, but I've never been particularly
brave and I'm not much of a fighter. I didn't want to be killed. I
thought I would be safer in here, especially with all of these
weapons.”

The Checrom gestured at the weapons
hanging on the walls, of which I could now see that there was a far
greater variety of weapons than I had first believed. Still, 'twas
too dark for me to tell for sure how many and what kind of weapons
there were; in any case, that was unimportant at the moment. For
now, I had to focus on the current situation, as I still was not
sure I could trust this Checrom.

Then the Checrom's aquiline eyes darted
back toward mine face. “Are you the Knight that was saved from
Assassin earlier? You look like him. I remember Janrex dragging
your bloody body into HQ. Thought you were already dead, but I
suppose I should have had more faith in our doctors and
surgeons.”

“
Indeed I am that
Knight,” I said. “But why did you attack me when I first entered
here?”

“
I thought you were an
enemy coming to kill me,” said the Checrom with a shrug. “It was
too dark for me to tell who you were for sure. That's the main
reason you smashed that plaster on my head, right?”

“
Correct,” I said. “And
I apologize for that. This place is dark and unknown and I could
take no chances.”

“
Understandable,” said
the Checrom. He grimaced and rubbed his head. “That plaster still
hurt, though. It hurt more than I thought it would.”

“
Just be thankful that I
do not have mine sword,” I said. “Otherwise, I would have split
your skull open and exposed your brains to the world.”

“
Right,” said the
Checrom. “Well, what is your name? You didn't mention
it.”

“
Call me Apakerec,” I
said, gesturing at myself. “'Tis the name I use when addressing
non-humans.”

The Checrom blinked, as if he did not
understand what I said. “Why do you have two names like that? Why
not just use one name for everyone?”

“
'Tis a common custom
that all Delanians of every species adhere to,” I replied. “Ye need
not know my human name anyway. Now, do ye know what happened here?
What caused the explosion?”

The Checrom rubbed the top of his head,
sending bits of blackened plaster falling from its feathers. “I
don't know all of the details, because I wasn't there when it
happened, but an explosion happened in the Energy Center, where
HQ's power is generated. We thought it was an accident at first,
but then some of the other Foundation members reported seeing
strange, lizard-like creatures crawling out from the wreckage,
killing anything that got too close. Including, unfortunately,
several of my fellow Federation members.”

“
How odd,” I remarked. I
gestured with mine energy knife at the jammed, partially-open
sliding door. “Did the explosion cause all of this
damage?”

“
I think so,” said the
Checrom. “When the Energy Center blew up, it sent powerful
electrical charges through HQ's wiring system. That's probably what
caused the power to become as erratic and unstable as it is
now.”

“
How many people
survived?” I asked. “Do ye know?”

“
I don't,” said the
Checrom, shaking his head. “I hid in here because I wanted to avoid
those lizard-like creatures, which I saw kill one of my friends.
There might be more, or we might be the only people in this place
who are still alive.”

“
There may be some grim
truth to your words, I fear,” I said. I nodded at the hallway.
“Outside, I saw several corpses, perhaps your fellow Foundation
members. They appeared to have been killed by the explosion, as
though they had been burned by a dragon's fire.”