The Gateway

The Gateway - Chapter 7: The Man with Green Veins

The Man with Green Veins

The forest of brierly is a perfect place to set up camp if you don't want too many visitors; it's dark and always wet. There are horrible creatures lurking around every corner, almost all of them large enough to scare off potential threats, and best of all, there are hundreds of hiding spots that are perfect for ambushes and attacks.

The underground network of caves that worm around beneath the forest floor is one of these places. From those rocky caverns it is possible to keep track of everything that goes in the forest, and with over three hundred entrances and exits, it is the ideal headquarters for jumping out and surprising your enemies. Because of its helpful nature, the brierly caves have been inhabited by many different evil villains throughout history, each one using the caves for truly evil purposes. The cave's current inhabitant is no different

The evil mastermind using the caves had already made himself well at home, he had set up the underground rooms to suit his various needs, like conference hall to get some more powerful investors, lots of different luxury suites for him and his most important employees, and possibly the most vital place in the entire lair; the underground room that was currently set out as a makeshift laboratory. There was a group of three men in long white robes standing around a computer screen with nervous expressions on their faces. "Should we tell him?" said the youngest of the group "I don't think we have a choice" said a bald, stumpy man, who looked in his late thirties "we can't hide it from him" added the third man who was standing in the centre of the group. "Hide what from me!" boomed a voice from several meters down the entrance passage. "N-nothing sir" stuttered the balding man, pressing himself up against the computer screen whilst his two colleagues did the same to some other pieces of machinery lining the walls of the cave. The speaker stepped forwards into the light of the laboratory, he was dark and shady figure dressed in a black robe that fell just below his knees, his face that of a normal human except for the veins which were an intensely bright shade of green. His eyes were large and cat like and his lips moved in such a complex way that they seemed almost out of sync with the words they were producing, but of course that was just because he was angry. "I won't ask you again Harrison" the massive figure threatened. The balding man did not answer and so the young scientist stepped in "the gateway prediction sir" he said whilst trying to sound as confident as possible. "What about it" the figure answered quickly "well... Urumas... sir..." he stuttered

"Spit it out boy" interrupted the man who was now revealed as 'Urumas'. They would have called him by his full name, but Urumas came from an alien race that didn't use two part names. "It's opening" the young man said quickly. Urumas froze; this was what he had been waiting for. "Brilliant" he said greedily, "it looks like the plan is underway" the scientists looked blankly at each other after this statement "what plan would this be" asked the bald man feebly. "That is absolutely none of your business" snapped Urumas angrily, "and you should learn to keep such comments to yourself." The man cowered in fear and moved back a few steps, terrified at his master's outburst. Urumas laughed at his pathetic minion, caught up in the moment of total and utter control over the others in the room. None of his workers quite knew what to do next, and so they all stood in silence until Urumas spoke again. "Don't take it personally" he said, suddenly lightening up, "It's just that it doesn't really concern you" The oldest of the three scientists spoke next, eager to show his support. "I'm sure it is a brilliant plan sir," he said obediently

"And you are absolutely right" Urumas replied, completely full of himself. "However I'm not sure I am entirely happy with your attitude" Urumas said, staring straight at the helpless man, "especially after trying to hide such valuable information from me." The smile had completely vanished from Urumas' face, his cat eyes had narrowed and were making the poor man very weary. "I think your wrong about my attitude" said the man, desperately trying to reassure his master he could be trusted, "Are you questioning my judgement, you pathetic human?" roared Urumas, squaring up to the terrified scientist, his veins were becoming a much darker shade of green and had now began to pulse violently. He had always considered himself better than the human race and much more than a mere mortal, as he would put it. "I'm sorry sir it wasn't in my place" he stuttered helplessly. "You will be sorry" Urumas pounced upon the helpless man, pulling out an gold handled dagger and thrusting it through his stomach, blood sprayed out over the spotless white coat, the other two scientists jumped backwards and were now cowering behind a large piece of machinery. "Pathetic" insulted Urumas, he turned and walked towards the door, the cowering men each let out a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to walk out of the room however he reached out and flicked a switch. "Night night" he said with a smile. The two men thought nothing of this leaving gesture, assuming that he had just flicked off the light. The younger of the two began to get up, just as his colleague slumped onto the ground, stone cold dead. The youngster then looked up just in time to see thick green gas streaming down from a sprinkler system build in to the ceiling, he got up and attempted to run to the door but only got three steps before he too collapsed and laid on the ground gasping for breath.