B2 Chapter 38: Prisoners

Helpless, the Shrikon carried me deeper into the depths of the ocean. The sac that I was trapped in did more than just capture me and nullify my powers, it also protected me. Even encased in this thick liquid, I was being magically fed a steady stream of oxygen. I was also protected from the ocean’s temperature, so wherever they were taking us, they wanted us there alive.

Inside the sac I saw nothing but darkness and the vague outline of the creature who was carrying me. No way for me to tell if I was being taken to the same place as the others.

Okay, so what do I know?

They understand English for one thing. Another is that they’re smart. They were able to sneak aboard the ship in great numbers in the middle of that storm to ambush us. That suggested that they were extremely fast in the water. They also had a king and some kind of command structure.

Were they artificial creations like some of the other creatures?

That was a lot of effort to go to on the Officiator’s part just to give us a challenge. No, everything I knew pointed to these being real aliens. I also doubted they’d been kidnapped like I was or forced to be here. That would risk giving us a common enemy and the possibility of teaming up. Plus, the demeanor of the one I’d fought suggested that they enjoyed attacking us and were here voluntarily.

How do you negotiate with somebody that wants to hunt you for personal gain?

There was no way to know where I was being taken. If I was lucky, it was somewhere on one of the islands, but for all I knew, we were heading even further away from them. Either way, we’d gone from first place in the race to dead last. With a decent chunk of time left on the clock, I could only hope that Jason and the others get distracted by side quests.

I told myself that it wasn’t over yet. That we could come back from this. But the longer I was dragged through the water, the more the words started to sound hollow.

My eyes snapped open as I felt the sac I was in shift and bob. Shamefully, I realized that I’d fallen asleep in there. With no powers, all the fighting and time spent awake must have finally caught up with me.

I was tired but alert as I felt my body awkwardly bounce and it took me a moment to understand that I was floating on the surface of the water. There was nothing to do but endure it until a Shrikon slapped his palm on top of the sac and carried me out. Somehow they could make the sac’s stick or unstick to them at will. Maybe through some kind of mental command?

As soon as I was out of the water, the Shrikon stepped back and the sac burst apart. Suddenly, the liquid I’d been surrounded by was choking me. I gagged and spat as much of it out before gasping for air. There wasn’t even time for me to get my breath back before the Shrikon put me in handcuffs.

*item identified* [Power Dampener Manacles] = Courtesy of the Zenyx corporation, these items are rated for any mischievous beings from grade F all the way to grade B. Control is up to the one who applies the manacles and we are not responsible for any mishaps that may occur from their misuse. Please refer to the accompanying manual to see examples such as ‘The Sunstar Company Retreat Petting Zoo incident’ for further clarification.

I wiped my eyes clean and finally got a good look at my kidnaper.

This Shrikon was the same height as me but more wiry. His dark green and black scales caused it to almost blend into the background of the dark cave we were in. Behind him was a dark passageway. I glanced over my shoulder. Behind me was a pool of water with an underground tunnel that led back out to the sea.

I suppressed a sigh. Guess I’m not running anytime soon.

The Shrikon grabbed the chain connecting my manacles and yanked me to my feet. It was then that I realized that there was nobody else here. This might be my only chance for a one-on-one fight, but without my powers, I might as well have been a helpless child.

He pushed me ahead into the passageway. Despite being underground, some bioluminescent lichen grew in patches here and there along the ceiling. It gave off a faint blue glow that kept me from walking into a wall or tripping over rocks.

Eventually, I reached a point where the passageway broke off in different directions and stopped. The Shrikon roughly shoved me down the path he wanted me to take. This pattern would continue several more times until we reached a larger room with a row of wooden doors on either side.

Huh, the Officiator gave them their own dungeon to lock prisoners in. Perhaps this wasn’t a game to them. Maybe they really do feel like this is their territory that we invaded.

One door stood open, and I walked into my cell without prompting.

“Look, whatever this is about, I’m sure we can work it out,” I said.

The Shrikon looked at me and could’ve sworn he smirked before shutting the door in my face.

I sighed and tried not to think about how long I’d be stuck here for.

“Lucas, is that you?” asked Hugo.

His voice sounded like it was coming from a cell across the room. I perked up and pressed my ear to the door.

“Hugo, thank god. Are you okay?” I asked.

“Yeah, I’m unhurt. Who’s in your cell?”

I frowned. That was an odd question to start with. “Uh, no one.”

“Really?” He sounded surprised. “They’re making me share with Sebastian. I guess on the count of my size. It’s quite discriminatory when you think about it. I deserve my own cell.”

“Maybe you can file a complaint with the Sea King for fairer treatment?” I smiled, glad that we were having what for us felt like a normal conversation.

Hugo harrumphed and muttered something to his cellmate that I couldn’t quite make out. Though if I had to guess, he was demanding for Sebastian to write a petition on his behalf since he possessed a set of opposable thumbs. I guess he didn’t have his powers either. It was strange to picture the bird wearing tiny manacles around his legs. Did the Shrikon have to get them custom ordered, or did they adjust magically to fit any size? As soon as I figure out a way to get out of them, I’m stealing a pair for myself. The ability to render any creature or person powerless was simply too great of a resource to pass up.

More footsteps were heard entering the room and multiple doors creaked open.

“Hey who else is here?” asked Hugo.

“They got everybody,” said Jason.

“Everybody?” I asked in disbelief. The Shrikon hadn’t just attacked our ship but all of them simultaneously? That spoke of a level of coordination and a size I couldn’t fathom on how to counter. Even without these manacles suppressing our abilities, we’d be at their mercy. Not to mention if each of them carried more of those sacs in their inventory, they could use them against us.

It didn’t seem fair. They were tougher, stronger, faster, and had two different methods for immobilizing us. What’s next, the Officiator starts handing them guns?

“Well, I should say that they got every tower climber,” Jason clarified. “They left everyone else behind on the ships.”

Oh, and they have the ability to sense tower climbers too. I’ll add it to the board.

Wait, what about Pete? Come to think of it, I never saw him get taken. What if they’d left him on our damaged ship in the middle of that storm? His chances of surviving something like that on his own were slim, but then Jason’s people were there, too.

“What did you tell your sailors who stayed behind?” I asked him.

“You’re worried they’ll get to the Golden Door first?” he asked, sounding amused.

“No,” I replied, biting down my anger. “I’m worried about a member of my crew that got left behind.”

“I told them to collect any survivors from your ship and to consolidate to the ship that was in the best shape. Then they were to make their way to the big island where the Golden Door was located. Ideally, they should wait for my return but if the timer gets close to running out and I’m not there, then they’re to open the Door without me and save as many as they can.”

I nodded to myself. That was a good plan and I probably would’ve said the same thing if positions were reversed. Damn, he makes it hard to hate him. Though it was good to hear that Pete had a chance of making it.

“Any thoughts on getting out of here?” I probed.

“Get these cuffs off and then team up until we’re free of this place?” He suggested.

“Sounds good,” I lied, faking enthusiasm.

It wasn’t much of a plan. Hell, it was closer to a wish, but I kept that to myself since I couldn’t think of anything better.

“If we’re teaming up, then who’s the captain?” Hugo asked.

I groaned. “Stop it, we’re not having that discussion. Let’s just keep things simple and focus on what we know.”

“I know that there’s a guard right outside listening and understanding every word we say,” said Jason.

What? No, stay calm. We need to work together.

“You could have said something earlier before we started plotting our escape,” I said.

“Nah, it's fine,” he replied. “They expect us to talk about these things. Our real problem is getting to the King. Who knows how long we could be stuck down here? We could be down here for weeks because I don’t think they’re aware of the wider concerns facing us.”

I knew what he was alluding to, and he was right. This whole experiment slash game with the tower ends the moment somebody fails to open the Golden Door. These Shrikon creatures display intelligence and a need for self preservation. They don’t want to die anymore than we do. If we can convince the guard of this, then maybe he’ll talk to someone.

“Hugo, I’m going to need you to translate,” I said.

“On it.”

I stood up and went over to the door and knocked on it. Moments late the slat opened up and a pair of black eyes stared at me.

“I need to speak with your King. He’s in terrible danger.”

The slat was slammed shut, and I thought I’d failed. That we really were going to be stuck down here. But moments later, I heard a key turn and my door was opened. The Shrikon made a series of clicks and gestured for me to get out.

“He’s telling you to walk out and follow him,” said Hugo.

“Yeah, I figured that one out myself,” I said wearily.

“Hey, don’t get snippy. It’s not my fault you got here late and missed whatever language update the rest of us got.”

Gingerly, I walked out only to find twelve other tower climbers standing in the hallway in shackles. Every one from my group was there and Hugo flew over to land on my shoulder. His little manacles rattling around his ankles or whatever the bird equivalent of an ankle was.

Jason gave me a weary smile. He was bruised and looked like he’d already put up quite the fight.

“Truce?” he asked.

I nodded.

The Shrikon stood behind the group and ordered us forward. We marched through another narrow tunnel in groups of two. Given our constrained nature, it wasn’t surprising that they’d only left one of these creatures to guard us despite being massively outnumbered. At their level of power, that was all they needed.

Jason and I marched at the front until we reached a large set of ornate double doors with depictions of battles carved into them. Two Shrikon holding Tridents stood on either side as guards.

Without saying a word, one opened the door. The Shrikon had to strain and push hard for the thick, heavy door to move. It groaned loudly as it scraped along the floor, and I doubted whether I could make it budge an inch without powers.

With the door open, we were marched forward into an underground hall. The ceiling was two hundred feet high and decorated with stone columns. On the floor was a shallow layer of water that barely covered our feet. They seemed to survive out of the water just fine, so maybe its symbolic gesture to have water in this space.

At first, I focused on these little details to distract me because there were two things in the room that gave me pause. The first was that the hall contained hundreds of Shrikon, who calmly examined us like we were a fly they’d caught under a microscope. They kept themselves off to the sides though and allowed us a clear path up to the largest Shrikon I’d ever seen.

Sitting on the throne was a ten foot hulking monster with golden brown scales and set of curved horns. The Sea King leaned to one side with his head resting in his hand while the other hand tapped one claw on the armrest out of boredom.

When we were finally ordered to stop in front of him, he spared us a single glance, and then in English said, “kill them.”