She explored their surroundings from the comfort and safety of their broken boat, using her high-tech binoculars after catching her breath and bringing her heartbeats down. She could see they had just stumbled upon what was once a great kingdom. She had no idea what brought the lost kingdom to its knees, and she wasn't so sure she wanted to find out. The more she looked through the lens of her binoculars, the greater her sense of doom was projecting. Something just didn't feel right about this place. Her intuition was warning her to get out while she still could, but her curiosity wanted to dig up the dirt on whatever happened there.
But the question was, was she willing to risk everything to dig up the past? There's nothing but dead silence around them. The ominous kind.
"This place reeks of danger," Tony whispered shakily.
"I know. But I don't think we can stay put here. We need to find a way out. I still need to rescue my dad. our safest bet will be on foot and keeping to the shadows. Let's go."
The only life present apart from them was the sealife beyond whatever entrapment they were in. The energy was dark there, and the worst part was they had no escape plan or means of escape. Their boat was ruined.
Damn. One of the crew members made to disembark from the boat, making Marcus to bark.
"Stop!" Marcus warned, his voice filled with alarm and something else...something that felt suspiciously like fear. An immense one. She didn't peg him as someone who loses his cool easily. She glanced in the direction he was gazing at, bewildered and unsure of his reasons behind the warning. She realized too late the seriousness in his tone when one of the crewmen landed on the charred widespread land of the lost kingdom, an electrical wired net snapped up and wrapped him like an Egyptian Mummy, slicing through him like he was a helpless piece of steak. A shocked scream escaped her lips before she could control it, but Marcus cut it off by covering her mouth with his strong hands.
"What the hell was that?!" Tony exclaimed, jumping backward, away from the exit. His petrification could be felt throughout the space cocooning them, and it mirrored the panic now squeezing her heart.
What had she done?
Where had she brought them?
Her desperation to find her father had blinded her and clogged her reasonings. Had she unwittingly brought them to their death?
"Please, everyone calm down. They can't know we're here before we're ready." she turned in his arms and pushed him away, turning all her jumbled emotions at him.
"What are you saying? You know about this?"
"I'm afraid you can't allow your curiosity to rule you here," he said instead, covering the distance she had placed between them. He took her hands in his and stated calmly. "I promised your father to protect you, and I intend to keep my word. Now that I have met you, I will protect you with my life if it comes to that, and don't ask me why I'm willing to risk my life for you. I can't answer that now, but promise to reveal it to you soon."
"What's this nonsense you're spilling? We just lost a man and you're talking nonsense." Tony spewed, sounding so furious she paused and glanced at him.
"It's no nonsense. If you want to survive this, you all need to listen to me. Your curiosity will get you killed here. If you want to explore this place, you need to know about this place so you don't end up like him."
"What do you know? Why are you acting like you know more than us?"
"Because I do, princess, though I didn't expect what killed him. That's a new weapon I haven't seen or heard of. They must have implemented it while I was away–"
"Sarah, it seems your new friend has finally lost it. He's not only a freak but now he speaks gibberish!"
"That's enough, Tony! Please lets give him a chance to explain himself. We're trapped beneath the sea with danger lurking in every corner, crevice, and ridge. We have no idea about what's going on, what we're facing, or even where this place is. So let's listen to Marcus, please. His strangeness might be of help here."
"Okay, fine! Knock yourself out, but don't regret it later. It's his fault we're here in the first place, remember that."
She ignored him, turning willfully to face Marcus, and nudged him to proceed with his explanation. "They? Who are they? What exactly is going on here? Why can't we explore?"
"I think you saw what happened to John. Before any of you allow your curiosity to run wild, you need to know your field to prevent that from repeating itself," he pointed at the scattered flesh of John; the poor guy. "if you want to survive you need to heed my warnings and listen to me."
"Why? Why should we listen to you?"
"Because this is my lost kingdom, Tony. I know this place like the back of my hand, and Sarah, your dad is one of the prisoners down here–"
"What!"
"Yes, Sarah. That's the truth, but I can't divulge more here. We need to move now as we're quite exposed like sitting ducks awaiting elimination."
"And how do you propose we do that when we can't even use our legs? The moment we touch the ground here we explode. Christ! What did I get myself into?"
"You need to calm the hell down. You're not helping anyone here getting worked up. I will get us out of here and will tell you all you need to know about this place. Just give me the chance to keep all of us safe. Please."
"Alright, Marcus. Let's do things your way. Where to next?"
"We need to find a safe hideout to stay and recuperate. We will do our planning there. All I need now from you all is your complete trust and cooperation. So can I have that?"
She nodded at him, then glanced at the others to take their consent.
"Great," he smiled at her and it calmed her nerves and took away most of her worries. She wondered why he had such a profound effect on her. Why did she feel grounded in his presence? She always wanted to be next to him. He grabbed one of her hands and asked the others to grab each other hands and link it to hers. Marcus ordered them to hold on tight, then took a big leap into the air, and just like that they started to sail through the stilled air like Peterpan, and she couldn't wave off the feeling that she was in a nightmarish fairytale movie.
Everything felt surreal as they floated through the bubble cocooning the lost kingdom. They could see the wonderful picture of sea life that seemed untouched by whatever mystery was taking place within the bubble of glass. There was a sharp contrast between the wild beauty of life outside the bubble and the ruin within the bubble. The notion and feeling of being trapped couldn't be more stark. She hoped she would be able to rescue her dad. Her efforts couldn't be in vain.
Suddenly, some weird gurgling voices drifted to their ears, making Marcus to stiffen beside him. She glanced at him and noticed his eyes glow as he chanted something that made them invisible. Wow, she couldn't see her body. She opened her mouth to voice her thought and shut it when she saw two ugly creatures in a weird shape of a human swim by. She held in her breath like everyone else as one paused before them, as if sensing their presence before moving along.
God! That was a close call. She glanced after them, noticing how the creatures' crystal scepters danced with danger as it glinted with electrical current that cracked with their movements. She was in a damn nightmare.
She had no idea how long they commuted through the air, but finally, they arrived at a masonry that had seen better days. After having traveled through dark tunnels that went on for eternity and reeked of something foul, they finally arrived at this place. The place was moldy and stank of ruin, pain, and death all wrapped into one gigantic ball of fright.
"Where's this place? I don't like the energy here?" she asked the moment they landed and found a hidden spot within the basement of an abandoned building.
"That's because many lost their lives here. It's their pain that's tainting the place. If we're quiet we should be safe here."
"Well, that's comforting."
"Tony... Please behave," she warned softly. She didn't understand her friend's beef with Marcus. They already have enough on their plates without adding tension to the mix. "So tell us who or what we're dealing with. Where's this place, and how did my dad get trapped here?"
"Your dad's arrival was a blessing to me. I told you some of the story already–"
"Story? Which story? What's he talking about Sarah?"
"Please, don't interrupt me," Marcus glared at Tony before continuing in a quiet tone. "This ruined spread of land is my kingdom, Magdamus. We're people of magic and peace, our kingdom rich in magic. We ensure balance in the world and stay out of sight of humans. I have the magic to shift into any creature I want, and that's how I was able to reach you, Sarah. My kingdom which was once brimming with beauty, bliss, and magic was suddenly attacked by a foreign mean race called the Trojans. This species can take on any human form, and speak any dialect. That's how they were able to infiltrate my kingdom. They are very intelligent and crafty. I have no idea where they are from or what they are after, but this is their handiwork. In a flash, they threw my kingdom into chaos, shooting us with these strange fireballs laced with dark magic that submerged my kingdom beneath the sea caged in a bubble of glass that prevents my kingdom from escaping. Those of us who survived the attack were placed in a separate electrical cage made with a material I hadn't seen before, our magic drained from us until we became a useless sack of flesh. None of us could escape until your dad's ship was sucked into this mess and the impact released me from my prison. I was able to escape detection as they came for your father. I tried to help but your dad warned against it, they were too many for me to handle. So I waited until the coast was clear and visited your dad. He sent me to you with the note, demanding you bring those items. I don't know what they're for, but your father seems to have a plan, and I trust him."
"Wow...so we just walked, or should I say sank into a deadly situation. Fuck! This is worse than being stuck in a zombie blockbuster movie. What the hell are we going to do now? How do we get out of this mess?"
"We need to work together, Tony. That's the only way we survive this."
"Sarah is right. The tunnel we used to get here is mostly used to traverse secretly by our sentinels and will be our main route of commuting. It will keep us safe from detection until we succeed in our plans of rescue," Marcus added, then opened his palms out and projected pictures from it. She marveled at the contrast between the two pictures. One was breathtaking while the other was decimated. "The picture projecting from my right palm is my kingdom during its glory times, and the image on my left palm is my kingdom after the Trojans swept through. They completely ruined us."
"I'm so sorry. You had a very beautiful kingdom, I especially love the greenish waterfall and humongous mountains. But now, they're all gone. What are you going to do? Will you be able to rebuild?"
"We can, as long as I'm able to free everyone, Sarah."
"Marcus, I'm curious about something. Can you show us a close-up image of who or what we're up against? I was too scared earlier to register anything."
"Sure. Have a good look. So when you come across one you run and hide. They're strong and sneaky and use technologies tainted with dark magic unknown to man. They can drain you in seconds. You all saw what happened to Johnson, this enemy is capable of far worse. Run when you see them. Don't try to fight them." Marcus warned producing images of creatures who had big round heads hidden behind helmets made with refined fiberglass. Their eyes behind the shade of the glass were abnormally huge and black. It took up most of their faces. They had leathery skin that looked tough, and fingers that were long, sharp, and deadly. Their legs were slim and looked like chopsticks. They were ugly little monsters with potbellies that seemed to be cooking up some evil or the other. Their presence was an anomaly that defied logic, and the fine hairs on her body stood up at attention, her flesh breaking out in goosebumps. They were so terrifying she dreaded ever running into them.
"I'm getting goosebumps just listening to you."
"I'm sorry, Sarah. That wasn't my intention."
"I know. But something doesn't make sense to me, what did they want? Why attack your kingdom?"
"That's a mystery to me too. All I know is they need our magic for something. So they created these special cages that drain our magical essence for something unknown to me. I will have to find out what that something is."
"You have my full support, Marcus. I will fight alongside you."
"Thank you so much, that means a lot to me," his eyes glowed bright as he regarded her with an emotion she couldn't name.
"Me too, I will fight with you as I'm not ready to become any alien's victim. Count me in." Marcus nodded at Tony, then glanced at the crew member who journeyed with them.
"I can't do this!" the man blared in alarm. She didn't know his name which was bad of her, and they had never interacted before this. "I didn't bargain for any of this. I lost my brother to only God knows what. I'm not ready to die like him. I'm afraid you're on your own in this."
"Are you serious, right now, Skyler?" Tony verbally attacked the man, surprising everyone into silence. "Wake up and smell the roses. Use your damn head! Look around you! The only way we will have a fighting chance of surviving this is if we work together. That's the only way, and the sooner you accept that the better for you. Marcus, what do we do next?"
"We rest up, and regain our strength."
Oluremi Zainab
