Underside Chapter 22

Mitch woke sometime later. He went to move, but realized he was bound to something.

“What’s going on?” He asked, his voice came out slurred as he tried to wake himself up.

“Is that you, Mitch?” a gruff voice said from somewhere in the dimness.

“Whose there?” Mitch asked.

“That would be a yes.” The voice said.

Mitch said nothing for a moment. A noise came from his right and he turned his head. In the dimness, he saw a man leaning against a set of bars.

“John?” He asked.

“Yes.”

“What’s going on?” Mitch asked.

“Where do we begin? First, is that you, or is that still Ganith?”

The words hit him like a ton of bricks.

“It’s me.” Mitch said.

“It looks like my idea worked.”

“Your idea?” Mitch asked.

“I knew coming here would break those walls down in your brain. I knew it would lead to your weakened mental state, which would allow Ganith to take over.”

“You knew?” Mitch asked. His anger rose.

“I did.” John said, his voice flat.

“You were working with them?” Mitch said. The anger was continuing to build.

“No, everything I’ve told you was true. I just omitted a few details. My goal was to bring you here to help you unlock that special part of your mind. I knew Ganith would break through, and then I was going to take him to the Elder Circle.”

“If that’s true, then why am I in a cell?”

“I thought Ganith was working alone. I was mistaken. He had Okos and apparently he also had the Elder Circle’s guard.” John said. “He was a step ahead of me. He had seen this coming, and he got the drop on me. Ganith brought us here after Okos jumped into your body in his place.”

“Why did he do that?” Mitch asked.

“Ganith knew what you were going to do. Though he really expected Okos to take control of you..”

Mitch sat there, trying to weigh everything in his head. “Ganith was going to let me go?”

“I don’t think it’s quite that simple. However, I believe his goal was to let Okos take you, then at some point, they would trade once again.”

“The book of Fates?” Mitch asked.

John cocked his eyebrow at him. “I assume you learned about that while you were on that little trip?”

“Something like that.” Mitch said.

“What did you learn?” John asked.

“The book of Fates deemed me as the ultimate vessel.” Mitch started. “It’s all a part of this prophecy.”

John leaned against the bars. “Yeah.”

There was a long pause before either of them spoke again. John broke the silence with a bit of a laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Mitch asked.

“This situation. I’ve lived since the beginning of time, and I’ve never been captured. Demons came out of the woodwork and this happens.” John laughed again. Mitch heard the roar come from the old man’s stomach. It sent a shiver down Mitch’s spine. John rattled the cage as he continued to laugh.

“Are you okay?” Mitch asked.

“I’ll be fine. In fact, we’ll both be fine?” John said. As if on cue, Mitch heard footsteps echoing down a stone corridor somewhere to the right of where he was. The steps approached and then fell silent. A deep voice spoke, causing Mitch to jump.

“Sir.” The man said. John turned attention from their conversation to the newcomer.

“Stil, pleasure to see you.” John said.

Stil reached toward the bars, and with a small grunt, he pulled. Mitch heard the metal as it bent. Once the hole was large enough, Stil stepped back. John ducked his head and disappeared for a moment. Stil turned to Mitch’s cell. He walked over, and with another grunt bent the bars. He stepped inside, made his way to Mitch, leaned down, and snapped the chains that held the cuffs in place.

Mitch pulled his arms around to the front of his body. He wrung his arms out and tried to get the blood back into them as John reappeared out of the shadows. A woman on his left side.

“It’s done.” She said.

“What?” Mitch asked.

John turned and smiled, showing a few too many teeth, toward him. “Information.”

Mitch just nodded. The woman walked forward and extended her hand. John spoke up from over her shoulder.

“Mitch, meet Boba and Stil. These are my lieutenants. They’ve been by my side almost all of eternity.” John said as he motioned first to the woman and then the man. In the dim light, Mitch noticed their features. The man stood over 6 foot tall. His shoulders were brawn and, even in the coat he wore, Mitch could see the definition of muscles. Boba was about 4 inches shorter, but just as broad in the shoulders. Her coat tumbled down her frame and whisked the ground. Her body, much like Stil, was well defined.

“Pleasure is mine.” Mitch said.

John turned back to the two. “The others?”

“They’re ready.” Stil said.

“You know sir-” Boba started, but John put his hand up.

“I’m aware it will be a mess that we’ll have to clean up. But, for what’s coming, we need all the manpower we can get.” John said.

Mitch looked over at him. “What did I miss?”

“Ganith knows we’re on the trail now. He’s going to escalate his plans, and that means that he’s going to be bringing all the power he can. He wants to take that army and release it on the mortal world.” John said.

“What would that mean?” Mitch asked.

“There would be an influx of demonic and other supernatural creatures. He would start by tearing holes in the Underside to allow it all to pass freely. If he brings it all down, then everything that is here will have access to your world,” Boba told him.

“Can we fix it if he’s able to create the holes?” Mitch asked.

“This is unfamiliar territory. I don’t have the answer to that.” John said.

Mitch thought about this for a minute. As he processed everything, he saw the image of Alexis come back into his head. “Before I do anything, I’ve got to go get Alexis.”

“What?” John asked.

“While I was there, Ganith showed me the torture they’re putting her through. They used her to get me to break down the final wall. They used her to make me relive the night my dad died.” Mitch said.

“How?” John asked.

Mitch told them of the last bit of the experience he’d had in his memories. As he finished, he realized tears were forming in his eyes again. He tried to push them away as he caught John looking at him.

“You couldn’t see who it was?” John asked.

Mitch shook his head as the images played back through his head and the tears threatened to fall again.

“Do you have a plan?” John asked.

“I’ve got to figure out where they’ve got her. That would be the first step.” Mitch said.

“Do you know if she’s in the Underside or in your world?” Stil asked.

“No, I only saw the small prison they had her in. Okos is the one who took her. If you have any idea where he might house her, then that would be a place to start.”

The realization hit him; he didn’t have a lot of information and the frustration washed over him. He wanted to scream, but before he could, Stil walked over and put a hand on his shoulder.

“I’ll do some digging while we’re gathering the other Reapers. If I get something, I’ll come back for you, but for now, we need to focus on getting to Ganith.”

Mitch felt his cheeks flush with anger, but he pushed it away. “You’re right.” He said.

Stil tightened his grip for a moment before letting go.

“What’s next?” Mitch asked.

“We’ve gotta meet with the reapers and put together a plan.” John told him before turning around. He made a small motion with his hands and created them a portal to get out of the Underside.

Back in his own version of Warsaw, the first thing Mitch noticed was how bright everything around him was. He blinked a few times while his eyes came into focus. He turned and realized they were standing outside the museum.

Mitch looked around and realized that the streets were empty except for the four of them. He turned to John.

“How did we come out here?” Mitch asked.

“The Underside differs from this world, in a way you can decide where you want to be dropped off, if you’re strong enough to build the portals.”

The wheels kept turning in his head. “Is it possible that Tiffany and Okos could have dragged the souls to the Underside straight from here?”

John thought about it for a moment. “Yeah, I suppose it’s possible. What are you getting at?”

“When I came here to investigate the first scene. I found reside left over from Tiffany, but it seemed to just go away. What if there is a link between our world and the Underside in that room? Could you find it if it existed?”

“Yes.”

Mitch turned and looked at the museum. “We’re going in there then.”

The four of them made their way to the front of the building. Mitch checked the street before venturing up the stairs. It appeared to be in the middle of the day, yet the street was deserted. At the threshold he reached for the knob, to his surprise it turned.

“That’s always a good sign,” Mitch said, unable to hide the sarcasm.

The other side of the museum was pitch black. He turned back to John.

“Got a light?”

John pulled his hand up, made a motion, and a small orb lit the entire room. It floated along as they moved forward. His gut told him that something didn’t feel right, but he moved on. As the corridor stretched on, the light orb that floated just ahead of them cast its eerie white light outward, washing the walls.

Mitch led them down a hall, then turned a right where he found the small bathroom. The entire view of the room differed from the first time he walked in. His breath caught in his lungs as he stared. Dozens of blood-like drawings adorned the walls. The ceiling, walls, and the floor were all covered. He turned to John.

“I’m not crazy. You see those too, right?”

“Yes.” John said.

“What are they?” Mitch asked.

“Entry wards.” Stil said. He had moved into the room and was examining them closer. “Each one leads to a different destination, if I had to guess.”

Mitch’s jaw dropped, followed by his stomach. “Each of these leads somewhere? Like a different plane or location in the city?”

“Both could be accurate.” Stil said. “Depending on who made them. If they’re strong enough, it’s possible that they could use these to lead to another material plane. There’s also a chance that it could lead to somewhere in this world.”

Mitch let out a sigh. “So we have to check out each of these?”

“Not exactly.” Boba said. She walked past him to the center of the room and he watched as her head moved around the room. She focused in on three separate wards before turning her attention back to them. “Only three of them have been recently used,” Boba said.

“How can you tell?” Mitch asked.

“There’s a faint glow to them. The residual power of someone activating them.” She paused and put her hand out over one symbol. “I can’t tell how recently it was.”

Mitch strained his eyes to see what she was looking at and couldn’t. He stepped back and watched her as she went to three separate symbols, resting her hand on them for a moment, then moving to the next. After the third one, she turned and looked at John and Stil, shaking her head.

“I can’t tell you which one was the freshest. I think it might be a trap.”

“A trap?” Stil asked.

“Yes, if any of us go through these portals, who knows where they’ll go? If this was their way of eliminating us, it would be a good way to do it.”

John thought this over before looking at Mitch, and then back to the pair of reapers. Mitch stepped forward and spoke to them.

“You’re not wrong. I can’t ask you guys to go. But I will ask if you’d be willing to open the doorways for me. This might be the only lead that I have to find Alexis.”

Silence resonated between them. Mitch had felt something in his gut. One of these doorways led to wherever Alexis was, and who knew who else. The three of them stood there thinking about his question. John spoke up after a few moments.

“You’re not changing your mind, are you?”

“No.” Mitch said.

John nodded and then turned to Stil and Boba. “Go get the others. I’ll go with Mitch.”

Stil nodded and turned to leave. Boba put her arm out and stopped him.

“Sir, if I may.” She said, turning her attention to John. “If you’re going to stay behind, it might not be a bad idea if we do. We’ve got three doors, three of us. If we split up, we might stand a better shot at finding her.”

“You’re right, it would be faster, but I don’t know what’s on the other side of these doors. I’m not sure if Ganith is waiting for us, but if he is, then I don’t want you in harm’s way.”

“He can’t kill you, or us,” Stil said. “Is that a problem? If we find him, we can capture him and bring him back, put him in Whisperwind.”

“That would be ideal.” John said, before hesitating, but not quite that simple.”

“Why?” Stil asked.

“If he breaks the Underside apart, we won’t be bound by the rules anymore. Reapers could die, and the balances aren’t in place like they were.” John said.