Exciti

Chapter 43 (Adam)

Adam jumped to his feet, and found himself on the crystal dock of a small, grey bubble. He immediately connected to his puzzle, ready to face whoever it was. His agitation was such that the puzzle pieces flew off the ground to orbit around his fist in a fast frenzy. From the corner of his eye, he saw Lucy and Liam take similar stances, ready to attack first.

The scene in front of them, however, was bizarre enough to make them stop and blink.

A crowd of what looked like a deep crimson version of the Society's Hushers surrounded them, and in the middle of them all, stood Vice President Gafol.

He smiled and opened his arms in a welcoming gesture, as if they were merely invited for dinner, "Welcome to the Pompeii Bubble. How do you like the new HQ?"

The Key Maker half crawled; half groveled to Gafol's feet. "I brought them, brought them...Please, let Berta go!"

Gafol's face scrunched in disgust. He kicked the old Excitus off his feet, "Move off, vermin."

The scene was too much for Lucy, who growled, "You miserable..." The rest of her outrage was lost in the loud shlink of her sword as she pulled the doll's strings and attacked Gafol. One of Gafol's guards tried to intercept and the doll hit him full in the face with the hilt, cracking his mask and sending him hurtling to the other side of the dock. A second crimson Husher with hammers for fists ran at her. But he only made it so far before Liam plonked him on the temple with his ball, sending him to the floor in a heap.

Then they all attacked at once.

Adam used his new control to try and knock as many of Gafol's men as possible. He looked at the edge of the dock as his puzzle pieces bashed the heads of two of them together and thought that that the three of them must make their way to a TerraFerry if they wanted to survive this. His temporary distraction would have cost him dearly if Lucy did not slash an Excitus carpet that tried to wrap around him into ribbons.

"Thanks," he yelled and eclipsed a skipping rope that was snaking its way toward his friends. He then sent his puzzle pieces to get Liam's attention to a Husher who blew darts at him. Liam saw the darts and used the pieces as a launching pad to leap over their trajectory, slam- dunking the ball onto the head of the dart thrower. The impact sent the guard tumbling to where Lucy's leg waited to trip him and send him over the edge of the dock to the Waters Below.

They were half way to the edge of the dock when the sharp sound of a gavel cracked. "if you value the life of Tamara Dunton and the little memory Excitus, you will stop this unsightly struggle against my fellow crimsoners," echoed Gafol's voice.

The Key Maker got off the ground and tried to make his way back to Gafol, and cried when two of the fake Hushers held him back, "No, No...let Berta go. We won't fight. We won't."

Adam and Lucy froze, prompting Liam to stop as well. The Crimsoners stopped attacking them too, but maintained a tight circle. Gafol nodded, "Good!" Then barked at his men, "Take their toys and bring them along."

The three of them let go of their weapons with no struggle and, along with the Key Maker, were herded into the Bubble in an awkward formation.

Inside the Bubble, Adam was reminded of the time his mom dragged him to a surreal art exhibit. The sky was overcast with grey and red clouds hovering over an ash-covered wasteland that extended as far as he could see. Half-sunken ancient buildings littered the space, making the desert of ash look like a quicksand whirlpool that was frozen halfway through swallowing an entire city. What he initially thought were oddly shaped rocks turned out to be crude statues of people made of the same ash that covered everything. Their dead gaze gave Adam goosebumps.

Lucy looked at Gafol, who walked right ahead of her. "I thought the Pompeii Bubble was abandoned after the Big Battle." She then went on when he didn't answer her, "Why would you do this? You are on the Board."

Gafol didn't stop as quipped at her, "You are too young to understand."

"I understand loyalty, unlike you."

He turned and walked back until he was face to face with her, stopping their march. "Loyalty?! you are talking about Loyalty?! I have been  on the Board for over two centuries. The token Excitus on the Board they called me, never to be taken seriously. Two hundred years, and not a chance to move up. I saw Presidents come and go. I saw entire Boards come and go. Not once was I appreciated, not once did those cantankerous old Antiquarians even consider letting an Excitus have more power. He will make sure this injustice is corrected. With him, the worthy will rise! You'll see."

His face was livid and a mad gleam danced in his eyes, but Lucy didn't back down, "All I know is that you are a traitor! Tamara trusted you, she told about her gift, didn't she?!"

Doubt flickered on his face for a blink before he straightened up, "She will be okay. She is needed."

"and we are supposed to believe a power-hungry coward?!" Adam growled.

Liam spat on the ground.

That seemed to strike a nerve with Gafol, his eyes seemed to bulge as he shrieked, spittle spraying from his mouth, "Power ?! This is about justice!"

"What about those you kidnapped? Those you tried to kill? Where is their justice!" yelled Lucy

"It will all get better. You'll see. You will ALL see." He repeated. They knew that he was no longer listening even before he turned around and snapped at his men, "Move it, we don't have all day, and would someone tie their hands up and gag them."

Their captors led them, tied and gagged, through the wasteland until they reached the most impressive ruin in sight, A confusing mishmash of turrets, columns, and beams that leaned on each other. It looked like a random pile of gigantic toothpicks.

Gafol led them through a triangular entrance into the ruin. The place was no less confusing on the inside. They kept having to duck under broken arches or climb over mid-room rails to move ahead. Adam glanced nervously at the far ceiling; the place looked dilapidated enough to collapse over their heads. At some point, the Key Maker was taken down a separate hall to their right before they were made to move ahead.

They finally stopped at what seemed to be the center of the ruin. A vast sandy square, littered with stones twice his height and with a big raised stage at the back. The whole place was lit by a stream of lava that snaked around the periphery, casting long shadows everywhere.

It's like a dark version of the great hall Adam thought as they crossed one of the small bridge-like structures that passed over the lava, the heat licking at his exposed arms and neck. He stared at the stage: A stone that was roughly hewn to resemble a throne occupied its center, and to its right, a cluster of ropes on a waist-high wooden frame was almost obscured by a long glass water tank containing a pulsating irregular lump that gave him the creeps.

His attention was snatched from the water tank by a velvety mound at the front of the stage. At least what he thought was a mound until it started moving and straightening upward to tower over them all.

When the mound turned, Adam's hand flexed, itching for his burr puzzle, and Lucy gave a soft growl next to him. Liam's eyes bugged, and he mouthed, "Is that what you meant by a cupid-clown?"