Heirs to a Nothing Throne

Chapter 19

Breakfast was sparse, just a piece of stale bread and some water. Angelique and Eva went to look for the orchard Theta had spoken of, while Theta went hunting for any animals. She didn't find any. I explored the palace as much as I could, although large sections were blocked off due to collapsed walls and ceilings.

Later that afternoon, I found myself sitting in my room, bored out of my mind. It was a feeling I wasn't used to, after days and days of being on the run, although I felt it a little at Theta's home. Theta, Eva, and Angelique were talking in the other room and had refused to let me in. I didn't question it, but I did wish I hadn't ended up being the only guy. I thought Angelique didn't like Theta. Why are they friends now?

I eventually decided to go for a walk, explore the town. Perhaps it would take my mind off things. After letting the others know through a closed door, I found my way out of the palace and beyond the courtyard. Turning right, I wandered down a small street. Houses lined both sides of the street, most of them two stories tall. I noted the architecture was more ornate than the ones towards the edge of town. I suppose the wealthier families lived closer to the ruler's home. That makes sense. Several of the houses had collapsed, and oftentimes a piece of stone would be lying on the road, some as large as a car. It looked as if a battle had taken place, but there were no corpses.

Eventually, I turned a corner and found a large building, several times the size of a regular home. It was surrounded by a short wall, and a gate hung partly open. The moss-covered sign carved beside the gate was in better condition than the one outside of town, although the language was still alien to me.

I entered the gate and walked down a pathway to the main building, stepping into the open door with some hesitation. "I hope nothing's living in here," I muttered as I crept through a hallway. It was dark, but enough light filtered in from the entrance and cracks in the ceiling for me to see. There were doors on either side, most of which were closed. I found one that was no longer sitting in the stone door frame, though; instead, it was lying against the wall across from its proper place in two pieces. I entered the room. It was large, maybe about thirty feet in both directions. Dozens of chairs and small tables were scattered around, many of which were smashed. At the front was a large table, and in the corner was a desk. However, the most noticeable part of the room was the gaping hole in the far wall, which let in plenty of sunlight.

"This was a school," I said aloud, realization filling my mind. I walked to the large desk and found only one item on it: a flat piece of stone, thin like paper, with markings on it in the same language as the sign had been. The writing cut off suddenly halfway down, ink trailing off.

Raising my head again, the room had gained an eerie atmosphere, as if the children who likely went to school there were still there with me. I left, and as I glanced into other classrooms, found them to be the same: desks and chairs scattered around and broken. Throughout the whole school, I found holes in the walls, floors, and ceilings. I usually stepped around them or backtracked and chose another route. By this point, I was convinced that these people had been attacked and killed, but I wondered what could have caused this amount of destruction. I turned a corner and found the building to be completely destroyed in front of me, forming one big hole that opened up to both the sky and the earth below. I could see two other hallways leading to the hole, and parts of several classrooms visible.

I hopped down onto the dirt, where chunks of rubble had been strewn everywhere. Sunlight graced my neck. Not for the first time, I marveled at what could have happened here. Earthquake?

I tripped on something and fell, catching myself with both hands, and turned to see what I'd been caught on.

A skeletal arm stuck out from a large piece of wall, the rest trapped under the heavy rock. It lay palm down and had somewhat sunk into the ground. Stooping down, I examined it. This was the first body I had seen.