When Forever Ends (Part 1: A Game of Chess)

VIII

~{§}~

E i g h t

Every tower looked exactly the same. They each had the same scorch marks, the same metal under the sand that I had found, the same platform on the top. They even each had a metal bar on the platform, which Will took extra care to avoid. He was still leaning on Sofie for support and wincing every now and then, but he seemed to be getting better.

"What could this mean?" I wondered aloud. "What was the point of these towers, way out here in the middle of the Endless?"

My friends murmured in agreement.

I walked down the stairs of the last tower in the line. "Why are we even here in the first place?!" I shouted to the wind in a sudden anger.

I picked up a large rock off of the ground and heaved it over a low dune in frustration. There was a thud followed by the sound of glass shattering. The shrill shriek of an alarm pierced the air.

I hurried over the hill to see what had happened, followed closely by Maya. Sofie and Will were farther behind. I skidded to a halt at the edge of a large panel of windows set into the sand. One of the windows was smashed in, most likely by the rock I had thrown. The alarms were blaring from inside.

Intrigued, I crept up to the broken window, careful to tread on the metal beams that separated each window so that I wouldn't break another. When I reached the hole, I looked in to find a carefully grown garden full of plants with which I was not familiar. The ground below was littered with shards of glass. The rock was wedged into a pink and green plant that had two giant leaves edged with very sharp-looking spines. Lining the stone walls of the square room were crates of different kinds of fruits.

"Hey, guys!" I called to my friends, who had gathered at the edge of the panel of windows. "There's fruit in here!"

"Finally!" Will tried to scoot onto the beam, but Sofie held him back. He glared at her. "Let me go! I'm sooo hungry!" His stomach gurgled in agreement.

"Fine, but be careful," Sofie released his arm and he limped awkwardly to my side.

"Sofie!" I called. "Toss me a canteen!" I had left the sack at the edge of the panel. "Thanks!"

I used the canteen to chip away the shards of glass still attached to the frame. Then I tossed it back and carefully lowered myself into the room, dropping the last meter to the floor below. I turned and helped Will do the same.

"Come on!" I shouted up.

Maya and Sofie soon joined us in the underground garden, bringing the sack and canteens with them.

"Wow!" Sofie said. "There are some strange plants in here."

"Mm hm." I walked over to the crates of fruit and picked up a large green one. "Uhng!" I grunted. "This one's heavy!"

Maya read the sign behind the crate with more of the large green melons. "It's called a watermelon," she announced.

"Ha!" Will scoffed. "We're in the middle of an endless desert and we found a watermelon!"

We all cracked up at that, laughing hysterically until the alarm suddenly cut off and we became silent.

"I wonder what that means," Will said uncertainly.

"Well either the alarm automatically shut off or someone knows we're here," Sofie replied. She started shoving random fruits into the sack. "Help me, guys!"

We all helped stuff the sack full of fruit.

"At least we don't have to worry about food anymore," I remarked. "Now let's get out of here before someone catches us stealing!" I strode over to the hole we had entered through, without any idea how I was going to get back up, when a mysterious voice stopped us in our tracks.

"If that's your plan, then you're already too late."