"E-V-A-C," June read the letters aloud again. Him, the other four, and the Messenger reviewed the map, trying to find another series of the same letters.
"Nothing," the Messenger replied.
"What about V-A-C-E?" June asked.
The six surveyed the map again. Like their prior attempts, no successful results had been yielded.
"Another combination?" the Messenger asked.
"A-C-V-E," June stated in monotone.
"Nothing," the Messenger repeated.
"What about cave?" Candice asked.
"June and the Messenger paused before looking at Candice.
"She's right," the Messenger announced as he returned his attention to the map. "Cave."
"Is there anywhere on the map with such a place?" Marcus asked.
The six searched the map.
"There!" Jennifer slammed her finger on the map atop the small wooden table. Looks like a cave to me."
"The Messenger looked where she was pointing. He looked at the abstract image for a few seconds. He tilted his head to right, then to the left.
"It is the cave," the Messenger concluded after a few more seconds. "We know the cave exists but we still do not know where it is."
"Can't we just follow the map's guidance?" Bethany asked.
"The map is completely abstract. Following it will not guide us in the correct direction. There is no possible way of making complete sense of it either. Our time would be much better spent if we found the location of the cave using the map."
"How would we do that?" Bethany asked.
"We have to solve its code."
"Where is its code?" Candice asked.
"That is what we must search for. Kormak's locations are built using a series of numbers. For example, a six, one, two, four, and a three may lead to one place whereas those same numbers minus or plus one may lead to a completely different place, possibly even across the planet."
"So we really have to get this correct then? That seems almost impossible," Jennifer said. "How are we supposed to do that?"
"I lived in this area for a long time and have deduced a rough estimate of Kormak's Formula for this region: 61243 plus or minus twelve. Subtracting some numbers whose locations I already know would leave us with fourteen codes. Subtract that with the filler codes that do not lead to a location that I know of would leave us with five possibilities."
"That is still a lot to mess up," June mentioned.
"Once we get a code, I can reference its area with other codes and decide whether it would work or not. This is mostly guesswork, but if I'm still not good at noticing Kormak's patterns after all these years, I may as well find a different area of study.
"Where should we start?" Bethany asked.
"The location of the cave would be hidden within the image of the cave itself. The numbers will be difficult to find. If we do this correctly, we will be left with two possibilities and seven total numbers. Those possibilities would include the first six letters and the last six letters. Then we go from there."
"But what's with all the fuss if we have a 50 percent chance of selecting the correct number?" June asked.
"They can vastly differ each other. One number may lead us to the cave while the other number may lead us to Florida on a filler."
"Filler?" Bethany asked.
"Kormak has filler locations. They look exactly like real locations with the six letters except they do not lead to anywhere. The number is called the filler since it is fake. The location keeps its name. If we choose the wrong number, it may tell us that the Cave is three hundred miles from our current locations. However, if we mess up, it may tell us it was five hundred miles away from our current location. One leads to the cave and the other does not," the Messenger explained.
"How far can this cave be?" Jennifer asked.
"I don't know. We would be incredibly lucky if it were here in Burros. Realistically, it won't be."
The six got to work on the map. They silenced themselves, giving the map their full attention. They studied the map cautiously, ensuring the abstract numbers they saw were the correct numbers. They would know if they were correct if their end result was a seven-digit number with the two ending numbers being one number away and the first two numbers equaling each other.
"Found a five," Jenifer pointed toward the cave on the map.
"Seven," Bethany pointed shortly after.
"Two," the Messenger pointed.
Finding the remaining four numbers took about thirty minutes. The last number alone took almost fifteen minutes to find. It had been a four, the previous number before that being a three.
"Alright," the Messenger sighed, staring down at the map. "We have 7-2-3-3-5-4-3. That seems close but it can't be it."
"Seven and two are not equal," Marcus concluded as he looked back at the map. "I don't see any other numbers though. What else could it possibly be?'
"One of those first two numbers are false," the Messenger suggested.
"I think it is the two," Candice said as she pointed to a different area on the map. The area she had pointed to was more abstract than the image of the cave. "There's a seven right there that matched the seven on the cave. It has a little tail to it that kind of causes it to appear as a two."
"What's to say it isn't a two?" Jennifer asked.
"She's right," the Messenger moved his head closer to the map. Hid hood remained in the same place it had been in before, continuing to conceal most of his face as it dropped down over his eyes and almost his entire nose. I didn't know how he could possibly see anything unless he was straining his eyesight.
"The seven on this other image is identical with its tail to the one on the cave."
"We've got the number then. 7-7-3-3-5-4-3," June repeated the number in his head a few more times.
"Which of the numbers is it though? 7-7-3-3-5-4 or 7-3-3-5-4-3?" Candice asked.
"I already know," the Messenger assured. 7-3-3-5-4-3 is a filler location. I went there in hopes of finding something else related to Kormak but discovered nothing."
"So it is 7-7-3-3-5-4?" June asked for confirmation.
"Indeed it is," the Messenger replied. "We should take high safety precautions when entering this cave. Bring no weapons. Trust me. Just equipment to keep you safe and allow your senses to continue functioning properly. We should also move with haste. Time is running out."
YOU ARE READING
Eye of the Storm Part I: Awakened.
Misterio / Suspenso(Complete). Five fresh high school graduates in the small town of Burros, Washington prepare for the worst Storm to ever hit the country. However, as the Storm gets closer to hitting them, mysterious things begin to happen and warnings in the form o...
