A Mage's Power (Journey to Chaos) (3 page)

 Maybe someone over there can tell me where I am.
Eric
began walking to the structure.
Clearly, I can't count on Tasio.
By the
time he arrived, his throat was parched and his clothes were soaked with sweat,
but the inside offered no relief. The only machines here carried more fire and
more lava and more steaming rocks. They hissed and buzzed as Eric passed.
No
one's here.

He found the stairs and, after climbing them and looking
down every branch, he still found no one.
I'm getting more exercise today
than I have all month.
Someone's gotta work here.
Someone was
leaning over the rim at the top and it was someone Eric knew well. A pair of
arrogant eyes zeroed in on him. Recognition flashed in both and Eric's went
down.

“Eric, should you be this far from your cradle?”

Eric approached hesitantly. “Aaron, where is this?”

Aaron's haughty sneer grew. “Oh, is the widdle baby lost?”
The lava continued to churn and hiss.

“Yes, I need help getting to the office.”

Chuckles were his answers. “Mama Emily would waste time
helping the widdle baby, but Aaron is far too busy with important work.” He
turned back to the volcano with his notepad and machines. An enormous surge
erupted and smothered the balcony with its heat. It filled Eric's heart and
shot like lightning in his veins.

 Push him!
A voice pounded in his mind and raged in
his thoughts.
Do it!
The voice commanded.
Push him!
Eric's eyes
turned red and he advanced on the unknowing Aaron.
There's no one around! No
one will know!
He chambered his arms and prepared to shove Aaron over the
railing and into the boiling lava below.

 Then he froze.
Push him! He deserves it!!
The Fire
in his mind grew hotter as the voice became more demanding. His arms burned
with the desire to push Aaron, but they were frozen in place.
Do it! NOW!
Eric still didn't budge. The Fire in his mind grew hotter still and he blacked
out.

 Soaking wet; not with his own sweat, but with something
else. He lay in a shallow pool of water gathered in the center of a cavern.
Small holes in the ceiling allowed beams of sunlight to illuminate the cave and
the reflections on the water made a pretty display on the walls.
Another
strange place and still no Tasio in sight . . . Just my luck.

Eric's stomach growled.
I'd better look for something to
eat, and drink too.
Unfortunately for him, the pool was salt water.
He
stood up and walked out of the cavern and into a larger one.

Many pools were scattered in this one. Stalagmites rose from
the ground to point to stalactites hanging from ceiling. Occasionally, water
would drop into the pools or the smooth rock floor and each one sent a clear
sound echoing in the chamber. All this beauty was lost on Eric, for the only
thing he noticed was the exit, or lack thereof.

Footsteps from the far corner of the room drew his
attention. A cloaked figure hunched on a staff hobbled in his direction then
stopped at the pool in the center.

“Can you tell me how to get out of here?” The figure looked
at him, but a hood obscured its face. It pointed at the pool with a sleeve-covered
hand. Eric saw only water, rocks, and small sea creatures. “Yes, it's a nice
pool, but I need to know how to get out of here.”

Drop.
Who are you?

Eric looked for the voice but it echoed with the water
drops.

Drop.
What are you?

“Are you doing this?” The figure continued pointing at the
pool. It neither moved nor spoke.

Drop.
Why are you?

“What does it mean?” Eric demanded of the figure. Its only
answer was to point at the pool. Eric spun and looked high and low for the
speaker. He ran to the other side of the cave, but found only a solid rock
wall. Water drops created a chorus of plops and bloops.

Plop.
Who are you?

Bloop.
What are you?

Plop.
Why are you?

Mist flowed from a hole in the ceiling. It surrounded Eric
as a dome and instantaneously turned to water and hung in the air before
becoming ice and landing with a thud. Just like in the darkness, Eric began to
panic. The ice melted into water and hung in the air before shifting back into
mist and swirling away. Eric's nerves were so frayed he sat down. Leaning over
the pool, he splashed himself.

Bloop
Who are you?

Plop.
What are you?

Bloop.
Why are you?

That's it!
He rushed back to the center pool. “Who am
I? I'm Eric Watley.”

Water dropped into the pool and rippled its surface. Inside,
Eric saw himself getting pushed around in elementary school. “Wimp! Weenie!” A
second drop and Eric saw himself getting pushed around at high school. “Loser!
Nerd!” A third drop and Eric saw himself getting pushed around at his jobs. “Useless!
Incompetent!”

If you are Eric Watley, then this is who Eric Watley is.

“What am I? I work for Hanson Enterprises.”

Mores drops fell and created more ripples. The first one
showed him choking on tests; academic and otherwise. The second showed him
receiving pink slip after pink slip. The third showed him running errands for
various people without wanting to.

If you are Eric Watley, then this is what Eric Watley is.

“Why am I? I . . .I don't know.”

A drop of water and the following ripples showed a group of
people sitting on the ground. One by one, they stood up and walked to a cliff,
which they all scaled. At random points on the cliff face were caves that some
passed on their way to the top and others crawled into. Some of them lost their
grip and fell. Of these fallers, some regained their grip, some were caught by
others, and the rest of them continued to fall until they hit rock bottom.
Those that fell split into two groups: those that got up and those that lay
still forever. None of these people were Eric; he was still sitting.

If you are Eric Watley, then this is why Eric Watley is.

“Normally, I would love to play riddles with you but I
really need to go. I'm late for work!”

The figure raised its arms and giant hands of water emerged
from the center pool. They grabbed Eric's arms and yanked him backwards. Eric
fell through suddenly much deeper water and gasped at the frigid temperature.
Water rushed into his mouth and up his nose and in his ears. The hands pulled
him ever deeper into the watery abyss despite his struggles.

Who are you?
The voice was all around him now.

What are you?
His lungs screamed for oxygen.

Why are you?
Just as he lost consciousness, he heard
a fourth message.

What do you wish to be?

“Hey . . .” Eric groaned and covered his ears. “Hey! Are you
all right?” Eric still didn't open his eyes. A foot kicked his side. It was a
woman in a lap coat. “Are you all right?”

His side hurt from her kick, but he said, “I'm fine.”

The woman had green hair. He shook his head to clear it, but
the green-haired woman was still there.
Maybe it’s some kind of experiment?

He was sitting on a beach, and once again, he was completely
soaked. Before him was an endless ocean, behind him was a jungle, and then a
cliff that rose above the clouds.

“Where am I?”

“You're at the Tunrig Research Facility,” the woman said. “Technically,
the facility is on top of that mountain. It studies atmospheric phenomenon.”

“Could you show me a way out of here?”

“Sure, we'll go to the lab and arrange a ride.”

Eric hastily stood and followed the green-haired woman. The
wet heat of the jungle was almost as bad as the dry heat of the volcano, but
the smells were more pleasant. There were so many flowers and so much life in
every direction. They gave him the peace of mind to think clearly.
Darkness
. . .Fire . . .Water . . .Forest . . .Earth.. A wind-based facility . . . It
sounds like a classical element club. If I'm right, then after wind should be
light. Then Tasio will show up.

“Hey, take a look at this and tell me what you think.” The woman's
voice broke his chain of thought so Eric looked where she pointed: a fly was
caught in a web and a spider eagerly approached.

“I see a fly and a spider about to eat it.”

The woman rolled her eyes. “Well, yeah, but don't you feel
sorry for the fly?”

Eric shrugged. “It is sad, but the spider has to eat.”

The woman slapped Eric on the back, just like old friend
would. “Ain't it the truth! The spider eats the fly or starves. In my youth, I
felt awful for the fly. Then a friend of mine called me a spider killer.” She
chuckled. “Oh well, we're all young and naive at the start, but we get over it,
right?”

“Yeah . . .I guess.”

“We're here.” The pair stopped in front of an elevator at
the base of the cliff. She pushed the call button and waited. “Hmm . . .The
elevator must be broken again.”

Next to the elevator, a shack was nestled between two trees.
She walked in but a man walked out; a stocky man in a lab coat and hardhat with
a pick ax in his belt. He was muscular and covered in dust and stone fragments.
In both hands, he carried pulleys and harnesses.
I knew it
.

“My sister said you need to climb. Without the elevator this
is the only way.” He helped Eric into the equipment and energetically started
climbing. Eric hesitantly grabbed the first handhold.

“Come on, don't be scared.” Eric grabbed the second one and
pulled himself higher. After they had climbed a fair distance, the man said, “You'll
be fine as long as you don't look down.” Of course, one look was all it took to
freeze Eric. “I told you not to look down! Just focus on the top.”

Eric did just that. His eyes did nothing but look for
handholds and the distant summit. He made good progress this way.
As long as
I don't look down, it isn't so bad.
Then his arms tired and his breath came
in gasps. His legs were still tired from the long walk in the darkness.

Fall! Fall! Fall! Fall!
The voice pulled on every
inch of his body as if to nudge him off the cliff. The very mountain seemed to
resist him; sharp edges cut his skin and loose pieces gave way when he put his
weight on them. He could have sworn hand and footholds even moved out of his
reach.

Fall! Fall! Fall! Fall! Fall!
A length of rope landed
on his head. Eric gulped. Now the only thing keeping him from a long drop was
his own hands and feet. He continued to climb without assistance and the
mountain continued to gnaw at him.
Fall! Fall! Fall! Fall! FALL!

One handhold broke and then a second. Eric overbalanced and
fell into empty air.
 . . .I guess this is it . . .
His life flashed
before his eyes, but he found no comfort in it. The bulk of it was in the water
cave—picked on, fired, bossed around, ignored—little that brought him joy or
relief. However, deep down inside him . . .
something
pulsed.
NO!

 
He reached out and grabbed a rock jutting out of the
cliff. The sudden stop nearly tore his arm off, but he hung on. He grabbed with
his other arm, but was too tired to pull himself up.

“Come on!” The stone-man’s voice sounded from far above.
Eric could only see him as a tiny speck since he was so far up and the summit was
even farther. He looked down and saw clouds beneath his feet.
If I fall, I'm
dead, but the summit is so far away. I'll never make it.
His hands slipped
and he hurried to renew his grip. With his arms feeling like jelly and his feet
dangling in midair, he realized he had a choice: fall or ascend. Biting his lip
and ignoring his aching muscles, he pulled himself up.

“Good job, but it's about time,” the dusty climber said.
Eric blinked and had a brief spell of confusion. Instead of the ledge, he was
sitting on top of the mountain.

“Wasn't I . . . much further down?”

 “Well, yeah, we had to start at the bottom.”

Eric shook his head. “No. I mean just now, wasn't I much
farther down?”.

“No, you were at the ledge and pulled yourself up.” His eyes
widened. “Ah, you must have had Cliff Fright. It's a common condition for
novice climbers where they exaggerate the distance between themselves and the
top or bottom.”

He pulled Eric to his feet. “Now, let's get you a ride to
wherever it is you need.” A ring tone came from his pocket and he pulled out a
device. “Uh-huh, yeah, sure. I'll be right there.” He put the thing back in his
pocket. “I gotta get to work. Just go to the main building and they should help
you.”

Eric's forehead vein throbbed. “You had a
cell phone
?”

The climber nodded as if it were common sense. “Yeah, so the
lab can always reach me.”

The vein throbbed harder. “So why didn't you call for help
when the elevator was broken?”

The climber put a hand to his chin. “Huh . . . I don't know.
Well, see ya.”

 Eric's fists clenched so hard he left nail marks.

The main building was a large metallic structure with
windows cut into the shapes of triangles. There were windmills on the top and a
large antenna in the center with smaller ones spread out among the sides. The
door opened automatically and closed with a
swoosh
. Inside were shelves
upon shelves of vials and bottles and boxes of herbs. Despite all of them, the
lab smelled as clean as a clear day. At the center, a lab-coated woman with long
brown hair bent over a table, fiddling with something.

“Ah yes, of course! If I take this chemical here . . .and
this element here . . .I will create the perfect solution!” She twirled with
two vials of chemicals.
A scientist who dances with chemical vials . . .
He tried to get her attention, but she didn't notice. A dog walked out from
behind the counter and barked.