The Triple Rising — Chapter 11
You are not alone. There are others. They are coming.
Had it only been a day since he’d woken up to find himself in a twisted version of his life? His ingenious imagination had transported him to many altered realities in the past. Like a child with an imaginary friend, he’s used those worlds to escape the misery of his own. So how did he cope with the fact that one of those worlds had taken on a solid reality?
Jag shoved the constant stream of questions to the back of his mind and focused on keeping pace with Omree as they left the medical area and entered the outside corridor. He didn’t ask why four other males flanked them on each side. They were there to make sure he stayed in line. He didn’t need to look back to see where the girl was. Somehow, he knew she was close.
“Anger will extinguish the light of reason, Guardian.”
“What reason is there when I’ve got a voice in my head and insane people I don’t know messing with my life?” Jag projected his thoughts to the Warder, somewhat more comfortable with the mind communication thing than before.
“Semylyn and the people of Sitnalta are not your enemies. They are, in fact, your path of destiny. You must embrace what is, to conquer what is to come.”
“You know, Ward, you’re beginning to sound like my high school counselor. And I’ll clue you in early. That dude finally gave up and marked me off his do-gooder list. So save us both some unnecessary grief and take me back to where you found me.”
“Guardian, I suggest you delay further arguments and take this opportunity to have your first glimpse of Sitnalta, the oldest of Atlantis’ progeny.”
The shock of stepping out of the tight corridor into the huge open atrium stopped Jag in mid-step. Living in New York, he’d seen his share of impressive buildings, but nothing like what lay before him now. The architecture and building materials didn’t match up to any he’d previously experienced. In fact, it looked like a Sci-Fi movie set, complete with an array of robed, silver-haired aliens who were staring at him as if he was the one who’d just landed.
“Guardian, if you’ll step to the right, we’ll take you to your quarters,” Omree stated.
Jag ignored the suggestion, mesmerized by his surroundings. As a gamer and would-be programmer, he’d often dreamed up worlds of adventure and drafted plans for them. At home, a stack of drawing tablets littered the bottom of his closet, filled with a collection of unseen wonders he intended to create someday.
How could this be? One of those books held a drawing so similar to what he was looking at that it couldn’t be a coincidence. His hands shook and the shaking spread up his arms and down into his legs.
Hitting the floor in a kneeling position, he gasped for air. Omree, who’d tried to save his fall, fell with him.
“Father, are you okay?”
Jag heard the girl call out to her father, who’d released his hold on him and was now being assisted to stand.
“I’m okay. See if you can assist Jag.” Her father replied.
The girl took a hesitant step toward him. He sensed her inner battle. She wanted to do as her father asked, yet the thought of assisting him bordered on revulsion.
“Ah… are you alright?” She whispered.
She took another cautious step in his direction.
Jag sprang to his feet, spinning to face the girl and her father. “The quarters you spoke about. Where are they?”
Omree drew closer to him. “We’ll take you there, Guardian. Please, follow us.”
“Just tell me what level and unit? I can find it on my own.”
“That’s not possible, Guardian…” Omree countered.
Jag slashed an arm through the air. “A lot of things aren’t supposed to be possible, but that doesn’t seem to be the case, does it?”
Omree studied him in silence for a moment before answering. “Your living quarters are on level four, unit ten.”
Page after page of detailed sketches flipped through his mind. The first water world he’d ever created was in a sketchbook containing thirty-five pages of levels, conduits, rings, and ports. He remembered them all. If the central atrium was the same, the rest had to be there too. He strode toward where the outer ramp entrance should be. When it came into sight, he didn’t know whether to be relieved or to throw up.
They followed him, but he didn’t care. Right now, the privacy of his quarters beckoned like a sanctuary. Reaching level four habitation ring was easy, and he knew unit ten well. He’d designed it for visiting dignitaries to his imaginary city. At least they were giving him VIP quarters.
Unit ten came into view exactly where he’d placed it in his sketches. The code panel beside the door showed it to be locked.
“What is the entry code?” He asked without turning around.
“Guardian, how did you know?” Omree asked.
Jag didn’t know how or if he wanted to answer that question. Another voice saved him the effort.
“Father,” the girl said. Let’s sort things out tomorrow. I think he would prefer to be left alone right now.”
“You’re right, of course,” Omree spoke decisively. “The initial code is SEM. You can replace that with your DNA scan at your convenience.” He placed a hand on Semylyn’s shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. “I’ll see you both tomorrow.”
Jag listened to the girl’s dutiful reply that belied her fear of being left alone with him. What did she think he was, some kind of monster? If it weren’t for the ridiculous twelve-foot space thing, he’d let her know just how alone he wanted to be.
Space and time were what he needed to wrap his mind around the reality of Sitnalta, the underwater city that he’d drawn with exact precision. Even the bracelets on the arms of him and the girl were on the pages of his drawing tablet, four in all. Did the others exist? If so, who wore them? And what about the other drawing tablets at the bottom of his closet? Was it possible the other two submerged cities existed as well?
The girl hurried to the far side of the room, giving him a wide berth as he made his way toward the room’s viewing portal. Parts of the city lay in his view, and beyond that, endless miles of dark, impenetrable water.
A sense of isolation pushed in on him. He didn’t belong here with these people. Whoever they were, they weren’t his kind. He groaned aloud and pressed a palm against the viewing glass, his fingers sliding inward until they fisted. Despair soaked to his core. Alone-he was completely alone.
“You are not alone, Guardian.”
The voice again-the intruder who breached his privacy and left nothing but more confusion. He looked at the girl who sat in the corner of a long, white couch, her eyes downcast, her lips sealed tight, her hands folded in her lap. She looked doll-like, inanimate, and embodied everything responsible for his spazzed-out mental state. He took two steps in her direction, intent on shaking some answers out of her.
“Ease your mind, Guardian. You are not alone. There are others. They are coming…”
To Be Continued
Start from the beginning
