Breathing in anxiously, I slowly breathed out, and my expression should have conveyed that I wasn’t amused. I started fishing the vial out from my backpack, and upon retrieving it, I popped off the cork and downed the contents in two gulps. The liquid tasted an awful lot like grape-flavored Dimetapp. Not great, but there were plenty of flavors that would have been way worse. I glanced down at the vial and noticed it already refilling itself, just as Alaire promised it would. With a deep breath, I threw the vial back into my pack and started my journey into the Underground City.
“Stop,” Tallis commanded me before I could step through the gates. “Give yerself ample time fer the liquid tae hit yer stoomach!” A smirk appeared on his lips. “Ootherwise, ye may be in some dis … comfort.”
“Yes!” Bill laughed as he slapped his thigh. “Is this the greatest game ever, or what?!”
“Why am I suddenly wishing I’d come here on my own?” I grumbled, shaking my head with annoyance. “How long do I have to stand here?” I asked Tallis as I started to wonder whether or not the Dimetapp stuff would actually work in time. What if I’d have to stand here for an hour or more?
“The tincture is charmed, so it works at ah mooch faster rate than any other medicine ye are accoostemed tae takin’,” Tallis explained.
“Okay, that’s great to know, but what does it mean in terms of time?” I demanded testily.
“Give it another minute, lass, an’ ye should be fine tae cross over,” Tallis replied. Seeing no trace of a smile on his face, I became hopeful that he would take things more seriously now.
I stood at the gates for another minute before Tallis reached for my hand. That was my signal that he believed I would be safe. I stepped over the threshold of the gates with my heart lodged tightly in my throat, hoping and praying that the same intensity of pain I’d experienced when I’d first stepped foot in the Underground City many months ago would not return.
It felt like slow motion as I watched my foot touching down on the asphalt. After another second or two, I happily realized I didn’t feel even a pinch of pain. So far, so good.
“Are ye well?” Tallis asked as he eyed me inquisitively.
I nodded, taking a deep breath. “Never better.”
“Then we’re off to see the wizard!” Bill sang in a high voice. He faced Tallis. “Yo, dude, and afterwards we can stop at Sears an’ see if they have any … dish … washers on sale!”
“Boo!” I said to Bill while shaking my head.
“What?” Bill protested with a shrug, throwing his hands in the air with frustration. “Dishwasher starts with dis!”
“Negative!” I said to Bill, failing to hide a smile as I finally saw the fun in their moronic game. “Bill Angel, minus one!”
“Screw you guys!” Bill yelled while waving us both away with an uninterested hand as he took a few steps ahead of us.
“Oh, Bill, don’t get dis … gruntled!” I called after him with a laugh, turning to face Tallis who was smiling at me.
***
The only way to access the City of Dis was by traveling to the opposite end of the Underground City and from there, taking a train, which terminated at the sixth level, or the graveyard. But reaching the opposite side of the Underground City was no easy task. First, we had to walk three miles to reach the subway, which took us to the train station. The three-mile walk lasted over an hour, although we did try to do it quickly. However, each of us were on high alert, our swords and eyes at the ready in preparation for whatever might prefer to see us dead.
Luckily for us, the only creatures we saw were the watchers. As I mentioned earlier, they were the eyes and ears of the Underground City. Their only responsibility was reporting what they saw to Alaire. The watchers didn’t pose much of a threat, unless you considered Alaire’s knowledge that we were within his city walls a threat. When I considered that angle, however, the watchers could very well have been the most threatening of all Alaire’s creatures.
After our three-mile trek, we reached the subway, and awaited a mode of transportation that wasn’t new to me. Bill and I had to take the subway during our fourth trip to the Underground City. That was when we were en route to the prison. The only incident we encountered on the subway came in the form of a ghostly woman who managed to scare the hell out of us, but she hadn’t been dangerous, just ectoplasm.
This time around, the only creatures who got on and off the subway were the watchers, and each of them paid special attention to us. I also noticed that they only got on and off our car, and none entered any of the other four cars behind or in front of us. I wondered if they were following us? Their behavior seemed odd since the watchers had never taken any interest in us before. Now it seemed we couldn’t move two steps without being instantly surrounded by them. And while they were a menacing sight to behold with their business suits and their mummy-like faces, they never once engaged us, either as friend or foe.
I wasn’t overly concerned with the watchers, though. I just lumped them in with Alaire’s need to err on the side of caution. He, no doubt, wanted to keep an eye on exactly what we were doing. Recently, Alaire seemed more and more paranoid regarding the protection of his city. I wasn’t sure of the reason for his paranoia, but it did make me wonder about it all the same … and worry.
“We will git off here,” Tallis announced from where he stood next to me. He’d been standing so close to me the entire time, I could smell his clean, earthy scent.
“Dude, you’re invading my personal space,” Bill grumbled to one of the watchers beside him. “You wanna back your shit up a little?” he continued when the watcher ignored him. “If you’re thinkin’ of pullin’ a fast one, or, tryin’ to mug me, then I gotta warn ya, dude. I got like ninja-quick reflexes, asshole.”
“Bill, I doubt he’s going to mug you,” I whispered.
“All’s I’m sayin’ is it ain’t gonna be his lucky day if he dares to try,” Bill replied, glaring at the watcher harshly.
The subway began to slow down, and I watched Tallis turning his head as he studied the watchers with what appeared to be keen interest. I didn’t miss it when the watchers who had previously been seated were now standing. After a few seconds, they all began migrating closer toward us.
“You notice them too?” I asked Tallis in a semi-whisper. I grasped the handle of my sword, just to be ready, should I need it.
“Aye,” he answered, his jaw tightening as his eyes narrowed on the subway doors. The car came to a halt and the doors slid open.
We were the first ones to step out of the car. I glanced behind to see every single watcher stepping out of the subway car and onto the platform right behind us. “Why are they following us?” I asked, carefully clinging to Tallis’s side as he started forward.
“Ah dinnae know,” he replied as he walked up the concrete walkway with the horde of watchers right behind us. “Dinnae concern yerself with them, lass,” he continued. “They willnae harm ye. Instead, ye need ta worry aboot whit will.”
His ominous words caused my heartbeat to race, but I heeded his warning all the same, tightening my grip on my sword. I glanced around, taking stock of my surroundings. The subway station looked exactly the same here as it had from where we’d departed.
Dimly lit, what little light was offered by the fluorescent bulbs overhead bathed us in a bluish hue. It imbued the whole place with a weird, ghostly sapphire. Even stranger still was that aside from the watchers, there weren’t any other creatures waiting for the subway.
“Do many of the creatures in the Underground City travel on the subway?” I asked Tallis, thinking it was a valid question.
“Nae,” he answered, his lips still tightened in a line. “They arenae allowed tae leave their respective levels.”
“Then why have a subway, or a train station, at all?” I inquired.
“Fer the watchers, Alaire an’ oos,” he answered, and his body language told me he wasn’t interested in any further discussion. I figured by “oos,” he meant visitor
s to the Underground City, aka Soul Retrievers.
“It stinks in here,” Bill said from where he was walking beside me.
“Well, we should be out in a second,” I answered as I glanced over at him, giving him an expression that said I couldn’t deal with nagging or whining at the moment.
“It’s kind of dis … gusting,” he finished with a wide, annoying grin.
“If through this blind prison though goest…”
- Dante’s Inferno
THIRTEEN
After we wended our way through the maze of the subway, we found ourselves outside again, in the dark, never ending night of the Underground City. It was just a short jaunt to the train station before we boarded the train, headed toward the City of Dis, and more specifically, the graveyard.
The Watchers continued to follow us, keeping a distance of maybe five feet, but I didn’t concern myself with them. Instead, with my hand wrapped tightly around my sword, I tried to convince my heart to stop beating so fast. Fear and panic couldn’t help me. The only thing that could was a clear and level head.
“Angel, ye stay right behind Besom an’ Ah will take the lead,” Tallis ordered Bill as the smaller man fell behind me. We started to walk in single file, like schoolkids on a field trip. None of us said anything. We were all too busy scanning the perimeter, trying to perceive any potential threats. I didn’t notice any.
We started up a ramp that led into a structure with an oval roof, which, I supposed, was the train station. There were no signs, lights, or anything else to hint at the nature of the building, but I didn’t ask any questions. I figured Tallis knew where he was going. Thank God for that because without him, I wasn’t sure what we might have done.
You would have found the train station alone, Lily, I chastised myself as I immediately heard the truth in my own words. It’s great that you have Tallis with you, but never forget that you’re very capable, and if you didn’t have him, you’d still get along just fine.
Right, I answered my better self. But it would take me a whole hell of a lot longer.
There was no arguing that point, as demonstrated when the argumentative side of me remained silent. That was just as well. I needed all my senses tuned in to my current situation.
When we reached the top of the ramp, I managed to see through the somewhat narrow entryway that led into the train station. We continued forward, still marching in single file, which was just as well. I doubted we could have fit through the doorway walking side-by-side. It was that narrow.
Inside, the station was lit by a few tall streetlamps that looked ancient, as if they were constructed right around the same time that Edison invented the lightbulb. Other than the waning, blinking, jaundiced light emitted from the streetlamps, the place was desolately dark. The walls were constructed of brick and featured a row of windows at eye level, but I wasn’t sure what the point of having the windows was, considering the surroundings were perpetually dark in the Underground City. Windows were sort of useless.
Once we entered the station, Tallis started walking up the wooden plank floor, which creaked with every step he took. He didn’t falter once, though, which I figured was a good sign. I hoped it meant he knew where he was going … I just continued to follow him, with Bill right behind me and a good twenty or so very silent and ominous-looking Watchers trailing behind him.
Tallis strode up to one of the ten or more columns that appeared to be supporting the ceiling of the station. I didn’t notice the red button that was mounted on the center of the column until he pushed it. Then he turned around and faced me.
“Now we wait,” he announced flatly.
Neither Bill nor I said anything. Well beyond our comfort zones, we were both perfectly content to take orders. I just nodded as I wondered how long we might be waiting; not to mention whether or not we were actually safe. As soon as that thought crossed my mind, I had to scoff at my stupidity. No one was ever safe in the Underground City.
A cold wind blew through the two large openings on either end of the train station and sounded like a wailing ghost. I glanced behind me and noticed the Watchers were all standing side-by-side, at the edge of the platform, silently awaiting the train. A few minutes later, I heard the sound of metal scraping on metal and turned to my right to see the train pulling into the station.
Judging from the decrepit station, I figured the train would look like something right out of a nineteenth century Hollywood western, but that was definitely not the case. Instead, the train was as sleek as a bullet and took the same shape. It was painted white, with two red stripes running horizontally down its sides. There were headlights mounted on its rounded nose; and when the thirty or so automatic doors suddenly slid open, I noticed it had no driver.
Tallis didn’t hesitate, but immediately boarded the train. I didn’t miss, however, that his hand was on the handle of his sword, which was tucked into the scabbard he wore across his chest. Not wanting to delay, I immediately followed Tallis onto the train. I could hear Bill shuffling right behind me, and I saw the Watchers entering the train through the various other doors.
“Sit,” Tallis commanded as he motioned to a row of empty seats that were opposite us. They were directly underneath the windows on the other side of the train. It made sense that Tallis wanted to sit there because the other seats faced forward, making them more susceptible to any threats from the rear.
I immediately sat down in the middle of the row and Bill sat on my right. I noticed that Tallis remained standing, holding onto the metal post, presumably to maintain his balance once the train started moving. Seconds later, the doors slid shut and we were off.
The train was surprisingly quiet, but I could feel it gathering momentum in the way my body was suddenly propelled toward Bill. I glanced to my right and noticed half the Watchers were seated while the other half stood, and all of them were facing forward and staring at us.
“What does Dante say about this level?” I whispered to Bill, not wanting to pay any more attention to the Watchers. Even though they weren’t a threat, they still made me uneasy.
“Lemme tell ya all about it,” Bill said as he pulled the tattered copy of The Inferno out from underneath his arm. He made a clicking noise as he rifled through the pages, some of which were missing and others torn. I did notice, with mild annoyance, that the book was in much better condition before I handed ownership of it over to Bill. But c’est la vie.
Bill continued to flip through the book until he finally stopped on a dog-eared page. Holding the book up to eye level, ostensibly because it was otherwise too dark in the train to see, as soon as he lifted it, what looked like a trading card fell out and landed on his lap. He picked it up and a huge smile spread across his face.
“I’ve been wonderin’ where the hell you went!” he announced to the card happily before turning to face me. I glanced down and noticed it was a Garbage Pail Kids collector card, this one entitled, “Adam Bomb.” It featured a kid in a blue suit, sitting down and pressing the button on a remote control as the top of his head explodes.
“Really, Bill?” I asked with a frown and a raised-brow expression to let him know I wasn’t amused.
“Yeah, really, honey loaves,” he replied in the same judgmental tone I’d just used on him. “I’ve almost collected the entire set!” he boasted as he tucked the card back into the book. Then he started scanning the ancient-looking pages. “Okay, let’s see what Dante says about the shithole we’re about to find ourselves in.”
He started humming the melody to “Back in Time” by Huey Lewis and the News before clearing his throat. “Dante says: Now onward goes, along a narrow path between the torments and the city wall, my Master, and I follow at his back. O power supreme, that through these imp …” Bill quoted before tripping over one of the words. “Imp … pie … ous,” he sounded out.
“Impious,” I affirmed with a quick nod.
“These … impious circles turnest me,” Bill continued. “I began, ‘as pleases thee, spea
k to me, and my longings satisfy; the people who are lying in these tombs, might they be seen? Already are uplifted the covers all, and no one keepeth guard.’" Then he stopped reading and glanced up at me. “Now maybe you can tell me what the fuck that load o’ garbled shit means!”
“We are goin’ tae the level o’ the heretics,” Tallis announced flatly as he turned to face Bill before frowning.
Bill faced him with a frown of equal potency. “Stop speakin’ Dante and start speakin’ English, foo!”
“That was English, Bill,” I muttered before taking a deep breath and exhaling it slowly. “Heretics are people who don’t believe in what is generally prescribed by religion,” I started but then paused. I was trying to remember what heretics had to do with Dante as per my high school English class. “If I remember correctly, the heretics in The Inferno didn’t believe in an afterlife, like Dante believed they should have.”
“Thrilling,” Bill responded with a yawn before he turned to Tallis. “So, Tido, what the hell are we gonna find there?”
Tallis glanced back at him but didn’t respond right away. By the expression on his face, he looked downright bored. “The furies.”
The train suddenly slowed and, a few seconds later, the doors slid open. I could see something waiting on the platform of the train stop, but it was so dark that I couldn’t make out exactly what it was. It stepped onboard and I was finally able to see it more clearly in the lamplight that kept glaring through the window. Immediately, my heart plummeted to my feet at the same time that it frantically raced, as if it wanted desperately to free itself from my ribcage and get the hell outta Dodge.
The creature was maybe as tall as I was and wore a grey cloak that covered its torso and reached down to its toes, while also sheathing its arms. The grey frock was the same dull pallor as its skin, which was corpselike at best.
“What the fuck is that?” Bill asked, but no one responded.
As soon as the creature’s taloned toes scratched the floor of the train as it walked, it lifted its head. I could just make out its features. Its face looked like a lizard—wrinkly, scaly skin with two holes for a nose. Its eyes were deeply set and the same colorless hue as its skin. Its mouth didn’t possess lips, but rather rows of small, needlelike teeth that appeared on both its top and bottom gums. It had no hair to speak of, but strange, sucker-like extrusions on one side of its head. The suckers reminded me of miniature toilet plungers. They were arranged in rows of three across, and three up, and all of them had the same desiccated grey hue as the rest of the creature. On the other side of its head, I saw ten or more cylindrical tubes that were possibly a half an inch thick and two feet long. They seemed to move completely of their own accord.