Paige and the Quest for Truth: Book 2 in the series

16

Chapter 16

It took a minute for her eyes to adjust. They were in a dim, dusty tunnel. Make that a giant tunnel. It seemed they were in a sewer for giants. The ceiling curved high above them, all but disappearing in the broken lighting.

Taking a tentative step forward, the floor glowed a soft green at her feet, casting an eerie glow as far as she could see. This place, wherever they were, was kinda disturbing, she decided. From where she stood, Paige could just make out a few rectangular recesses in the walls, spaced at regular intervals down the seemingly endless tunnel. Glass still clung to some of the openings, others had shattered glass cast along the floor in front of them.

The lighting reminded her of a horror film. Dim hanging lights swung in the non-existent breeze, only a few of them still seemed to function. Most of the light came from the eerie glowing floor.

Realizing she was still gripping tightly to her friend's hands, Paige let go reluctantly and cleared her throat. "Um...Maude, are we...do you think this is the right place? It looks like we are in an underground abandoned shopping mall."

Maude opened her mouth to answer, but Kyle beat her to it. "Well, unless you had a zombie mall apocalypse on the brain, I assume the key brought us to the right place".

Kyle's sarcastic quip calmed her, bringing her back to the present moment.

Maude pointed up towards the ceiling, trying to get their attention. "Look, above each of the cells, there are labels of some kind."

Paige had not thought of the openings as cells, not until Maude had pointed it out. Of course, that's what they were. All that glass, they must have been trapped in there. She began to read the names at the tops of the cells, well, she tried, but apparently, she couldn't read 'Eraser language'.

Paige walked carefully over to one of the cells. Stepping around the broken glass, she entered the cell. There was a bed, haphazardly made, a seating area, and a small washroom off to the side, all in full view of the front opening. A locked door stood in the very back, with a small window high at the top. It reminded Paige of exhibits at the zoo, seemingly all the elements an animal needs, all behind glass. Set up so others could watch, and gawk at the living creature, all while being trapped in a glorified prison.

Some elements made it clear that an intelligent, sentient creature had lived here. Small details, like a book laying open on the bed and clothing strewn across the floor. There were also clues to the effects of the confinement. Scrawled across the back wall were rows and rows of a language Paige couldn't read. The handwriting got messier the further she went down the wall. The ink was thick, and dark, like the author, had finger painted it. It appeared to be ketchup, or maybe chocolate pudding, but she wasn't about to taste it and wasn't curious enough to find out exactly what it was.

Billie must have been kept in a cell like this, she thought. A thick layer of dust covered everything. This place was so run down, it was as if no one had been here in ages. So where the hell was Billie? A thought started to creep into her mind, uninvited. Billie may have never been kept here, despite the weird note. Even if she had been here, this place was long abandoned. She felt her heart start to race, and she dug her fingernails into her palms, trying to center herself. If she was going to get through this, she had to steel herself. It's the opposite of what Billie would tell her to do, but Billie wasn't here, was she? She had to focus on her mission. Mission now, breakdown later, she decided.

They continued on, searching the exhibits, finding signs of life long gone in each one. A doll here, a book there, some things she didn't recognize. The sleeping arrangements changed, as did the printed languages, clothing, and the small amount of possessions in each cell.