Dungeon of Torment

38. Posmeter

The sky ship 'Barleyfields' descended into Posmeter. The docking station workers were at the ready – running to man the controls even as the air rushed around them. At last, the roaring engines cut and the men were able to shout orders at one another. The captain of ship was young, a nervous little man who'd been given his captaincy by his ambitious family. He stood like a useless ornament on deck, too inexperienced to offer any instructions to his crew. The first mate organised everything for him – her temper fuming.

As the first crates were unloaded, the captain's anxious gaze followed one crate in particular. He liked his dry lips anxiously as he saw the grunting dockworkers struggle with the crates unexpected weight. He tensed his shoulders, waiting for an accusation of some kind, but the workers heaved and puffed – managing to manoeuvre the goods onto the conveyor belt. He saw them stamp the sealed container with the border control seal – before the crate was shifted along the belt and went out of sight. He breathed a sigh of relief, furtively wiping his sweaty palms on his jacket.

     The conveyer belt took the crate down a juddering and jarring journey – flung into the bowls of Posmeter's disorganised distribution system. The only priority here, was that the Quality Assurance officers got first dibs of anything valuable that could 'go missing' – into their gold lined pockets. Security was a low priority and most of the workers were on back to back shifts. Their weary eyelids drooped sleepily as they struggled to stay awake. The crate, marked as cheeses, snaked slowly around the belt – without any thorough examination.

          It was Leto, a Titan, who discovered the cheese crate on her way out. It was opened and laying on its side, its contents vanished. She looked up and down the stairwell, but couldn't see or hear anyone. Heading downstairs, she rubbed her aching shoulder - hearing the joint click - as she went to investigate. Her shift had ended and it had been a long arduous one.

 Leto came to the bottom of the stairs and turned a corner. She froze, startled to suddenly come upon a stranger. She stared at the back of Wave's head, registering that he wasn't in uniform. Curious to see what he was doing, standing so still, she edged closer to the wall and peered around him. His intent was focused down on his hands that cradled a mysterious rotating orb. At first, Leto thought it was a crystal ball but she heard the water as it moved and realised that, what she'd thought were cracks in the glass, were in fact ripples across its surface. It was an orb of water.    

She opened her mouth to speak, when a hand clamped down over her mouth from behind. Leto jolted in surprise and tried to wriggle free.

"Don't struggle," a male voice whispered. She obeyed, her eyes wide in panic. Wave turned, surprised to see Leto trapped in Zeus' embrace. "I'm going to remove my hand and you're not going to shout for help – agreed?" Zeus cautioned. 

She nodded.

"If you do – he'll break your neck," Wave threatened on Zeus' behalf. Leto's breath caught and she nodded again. Cautiously, Zeus let her go – wary to see what she'd do. Leto didn't say a word. Satisfied, Zeus walked around her so that she could see him.

"What's your name?" He asked her.

"Leto," she replied - her voice breathy and nervous. 

"It's a labyrinth in here," Pan complained in a whisper – returning to them. He'd gone to sneak around the factory and search for the way out. "Who's this?" He asked, seeing Leto.