The Ten

The Ten: Prologue

Book 1: Experimentum

"Quaerentibus lucem inducit decem",

"To those who seek the light he brings on the ten.".

Scarce nights of lessened sleep

The moon shines brighter

Than ever before

I live now, without control

In a midst of struggle

My guard has been overtaken

I am confined

Forever latched on

To my oppressors demands

My friends are nowhere to be found

Even she is gone

A roman kingdom of ten

Broken down and submitted

Now fights for a way out

Of hell.

Steps can be heard all around, Voices constantly yelling. Multitude of men scattered all around the place. They search amongst the rubble. The saddest moment of a fallen empire. Sighs of it all around overtake the scene as many feet can be heard sliding amongst the remains of the place. Once a hidden oasis for science, is now humbled, by its own greed. Zapping sounds of broken circuit cables, still emanating what remaining electric pulses they have are only matched by the remaining flickering lights. They both share what remains of electricity in the vicinity as broken pipes of water surge all around. The floor is uncomfortable, and slippery. The men walking here have to be careful. Uncovering mysteries, in and unknown place like this could come at a price. Remains of body parts can also be seen, puddles of blood coming from underneath rocks are helplessly scattered as they follow the trails of water downstream. Many lives were lost in this forsaken place. Now after the fact, the place aches, as its being ran sacked by soldiers. Roaring sounds of helicopters arriving all around, bringing with them pulses of wind that can be felt lifting the light dust around the rubble filled field. Some of them hover around the remains as soldiers continuously clutter the place. Looking to find anything, anything regarding this lost oasis. Anything that could help make sense of this atrocious discovery, on a forest in the middle of nowhere.

Amongst the chaos, a soldier comes across an unexplored room. He was probably not the first to come through here. Anyone would wonder why hasn't anyone seen what lies in here? But upon inspecting further with his flashlight he realized the very reason everyone stood away. The sides around the entrance showed signs of wear. They were completely cracked. The constant moving of people, helicopters and other equipment used to explore caused the floor beneath his feet to lightly tremble. As he felt the trembling, he also saw as pieces of the walls near the entrance fall, turning into dust at his feet. "You'd have to be crazy, to go in there, the ceiling felt like it was just about to give out, no one in their right mind would go in there... right?". That's what this curious soldier thought to himself as he looked at the hole like entrance slowly decaying in front of his very eyes. As he got closer, he could see the room went in a downwards direction. But it was deep, he could see as the light in his flashlight disappeared as soon as he pointed directly into the hole like room. The man stood there for a few seconds; he was about to do it. He took a few deep breaths with his mouth. "This is just like training". He said to himself as his whole body trembled at the possibility of danger and adventure. But as he began to step into the room, one of his companions stopped him.