Elysium

Chapter 9: Hearing Voices

I heard a voice whisper my name. The first couple of times, I refused to notice it, as I was sure I was dreaming, and equally sure that I did not wish to confront Mir's ghost, Rasputin, or any other of the characters in the shadows of my mind. It's true I wouldn't have minded encountering Mary or Helena, but the voice, although hardly audible, was unmistakably male.

Opening my eyes did not help. I was in pitch-black darkness. A feeling of cold dampness oozed from the stony walls, reminding me of where I was. I suddenly became conscious of the horrors we had just witnessed on the meadow by the river, and it gave me a start. I counted at least nine people killed in the massacre that had taken place – there would have been ten, but Red Lefuet had refused to remain dead. Who, or what, was he anyway? Come on, New World, what else would still remain in the waiting for me in this weird reality?

And among those who died was Siegfried, our self-imposed friend. That reminded me of the latter's notebook in my pocket, but before I had time to think about it any further, I heard the whisper again: "Mikael!"

There was someone by my bed. I moved, startled, and this someone hissed a warning: "Shh, it's me, Max." Now I recognized his voice. "Not here", he whispered. "Come with me."

He pulled me off the bed – due to the cool I was already fully dressed. We walked quietly to the door of our dorm and sneaked to the corridor. It was equally dark there, but my eyes slowly got used to darkness.

"What is it, Max?" I whispered. "It's still all dark."

"I am the light in darkness", he said. "The light that overcomes darkness. Sometimes I'm the darkness too, just to remind you that beyond the darkest shadows you still have a friend. But tonight, I'm the light."

Max scratched a match, then used it to light a candle, and gave the candle to me for holding. In its light, I saw Max wore my captain's cap in his head.

"Yes", he said, following my eyes. "I'm the captain now. Your captain."

"You don't need the hat for that", I answered. "Or any other talisman."

"What if you forget?" he asked, and I clearly saw his face in the flickering light. He looked playful, with a smirk, so I started suspecting a pun or a joke of some sort.

"I won't forget you're the Prince Master", I said.

"You won't!" Max said. He studied me. As if he wanted to see what I would do. I felt cold in the corridor, pulled from my bed in the middle of the night. I knew what I could appeal on, although I wasn't sure if I wanted.

Suddenly, a shadow appeared at the end of the corridor and I saw Roland step into the light of the candle I held, sneaking like a thief. He glanced at us.

"So, you're the captain now", said Roland, checking the door to the room as if to make sure it was closed.

"I've always been", said Max. "Do I look better with it than he does?"

"Can't say", said Roland. "You should ask Brynhilde, perhaps."

"Come on, Lando", said Max. "You know me. I know you."

"I thought so, Max", said Roland. "Oh well, I'd say you generally look better than Mikael, but it isn't for the hat. The hat clearly suits him better."

"So clever", said Max. "You always find a way to formulate things." I wondered if there was some sort of a jealous mocking game going on between them, but if there was any, I could not trace it on their faces or in their voices. Their dialogue had a sense of sarcasm yet not the tone of it.

"Anyway", said Roland. "There's a sentinel outside. I didn't see anyone else."

"You checked places?" I asked. "Why didn't you wake me up earlier?"