Cave of Dreams

The Boss

Chapter 6 – The Boss

Nedra and the large sweaty man led Marcus down multiple hallways and flights of stairs before finally stopping in front of huge mahogany double doors. “Do you want to talk to him?” said the man, who had already introduced himself as Wes. Marcus could tell from his voice that whoever this “boss” was, Wes was afraid of him. He didn’t want to think about what kind of person would have a beefy tough guy shaking like a nervous wreck.

“Do I have to do everything around here? I talked to him last time.” Nedra said almost as nervously as Wes. “Get in there! He’ll get mad if we’re late.” She whispered in a shouting tone. 

“Why not send in Earth boy here, that’s who he asked for anyway!” Wes said, seeing a chance at salvation. He and Nedra both looked at Marcus, considering this new option. 

“I don’t like where this is going.” Marcus backed away from them slowly. 

“You should be fine as long as you don’t say anything stupid.” Said Nedra, as though that would be comforting. 

“But saying stupid things is what I do best!” Marcus retorted. Nedra would have probably laughed at this statement if it weren’t for the stressful situation at hand. She put her hands on Marcus’s shoulders and began prepping him for his encounter with the boss. 

“Alright Marcus listen here. You’re gonna go in there and say ‘my name is Marcus. I’m the Earth man’ just like that. Whatever you do, don’t mention anything about his family or his lack of hair. He also hates when people try to make stupid jokes, so just stay away from humor altogether. Oh, and always address him as ‘sir’, he thinks anything else is disrespectful. Alright, I think you’re ready.” Without warning Wes opened one of the doors and Nedra pushed him through.

Through the doors there was a huge, well-decorated room. There was a fine oriental rug on the floor and expensive looking furniture adorning the entire space. A fireplace was burning strongly in the corner, giving the room a mysterious glow. At the back of the room was a beautiful wooden desk with a leather chair behind it. The chair was turned around, facing the back wall. 

Marcus approached the chair carefully. He went over what he was supposed to say in his mind at least twenty times. Finally when he felt suitably prepared he spoke. “Hello. My name is Marcus. I’m the Earth man.” He stared at the chair, waiting for it to turn around. He waited for ten seconds but there was no response. Maybe he had said something incorrectly.

He remembered what Nedra said about addressing the boss as “sir” and suddenly felt incredibly stupid. “Hello SIR. I’m Marcus, the Earth man.” He waited for the chair to spin around again. Maybe the boss was angry for not calling him “sir” the first time and was giving him the silent treatment. Marcus was about to leave out of embarrassment, but he decided it was only right to thank the boss for his time. Marcus walked behind the desk to thank the boss face to face, but there was only one problem. There was no one sitting in the chair. 

Marcus looked around the room in confusion. Who says he needs to see someone immediately and then doesn’t show up for the meeting? Maybe Nedra or Wes had made a mistake, or more likely he had. Marcus walked back out the large Mahogany doors to find both of them waiting for him eagerly. 

“So. What did he say?” Wes said expectantly. “Did he say what you have to do to save our universe?”

“Well…no, not really.” Marcus took a deep breath before saying what he needed to say. “He wasn’t exactly…in the room.” He was afraid what Nedra and Wes’s reactions would be. The three of them looked at each other silently for a little while, deciding the next course of action.  It was Nedra who finally spoke.

“Well that’s just great.” She said, opening the doors to get a look at the empty chair herself. 

“We need to go find him.” Said Wes, following behind her. “He probably went to one of the factory warehouses, maybe there was an emergency.”

“Let’s all hope so.” Nedra said grimly. Marcus tried to figure out what she might mean. Who would hope for an emergency?

They ran down more hallways and stairways and burst through the factory doors. They searched endlessly for some kind of clue to the boss’s whereabouts. Eventually in warehouse 6, they came upon a lead. A factory worker was laying on the ground moaning. The warehouse appeared to be entirely devoid of people, except for the single injured man.

“What happened here?” Nedra said to the injured man in a panic. She got down on her knees and got close to him. He appeared to have a large gash down the side of his chest. 

The man began to speak, slowly between his loud moans. “They…they came…it was the Yalad…” He paused to cough up a large amount of blood. “They took him…my son…and the boss too…please save them…don’t let them win…” With those words he closed his eyes and the moaning ceased. Marcus, Wes, and Nedra stood around his dead body in silence.

“Well then,” Nedra said solemnly. “It looks like we’ve got a rescue mission ahead of us.”  

20 years ago –

“Marcus, I took you to the lake to fish, not to sit around by the car.” Marcus’s father shot him a nasty look before casting his line into the water.

“There are things in the water dad, I don’t wanna go near it.” He sat next to the car with his head in his arms. He refused to look at the lake.

“Yeah, Marcus, they’re called fish. Now get over here and catch some!” He looked at Marcus angrily at first, then with a touch of sympathy. He sighed and walked over to Marcus. “Please just tell me what’s wrong, I want to help.”

“No, you don’t. You always say that but you don’t.”

“Do you not know how to swim? Come on I’ll teach you.”

“No.”

“God damn it Marcus, you can’t be a whiney bitch and not tell me what’s wrong.”

“Shut up! I told you I didn’t even want to come here in the first place.”

“Marcus, I’m trying to be a good father for you, I really am! But it’s difficult when you always fight against me. I know what’s best for you.”

“No you don’t! I want to paint and you make me come fishing! You don’t know me at all!” His father put his face into his hands and sighed.

“I just thought it would be a good idea to get some fresh air and spend some time with your old man. What’s this all about?”

“It’s about Charlotte okay?” Marcus was close to tears.

“Marcus please don't start up about Charlotte again. Just let it go.”

“Dad she's my sister! I can't just let it go!” Tears began streaming down his face. His dad stared at him in frustration. He searched for the correct words to say. 

“Marcus please…for the last time you’ve never had a sister. I think you might need professional help.”

“No dad, please! How can you not remember her?”