"Huh?" Jackie blinked. "What did Alice just call me?"
The Wizard was just as taken aback, and he had to ask, "Come again?"
Alice reiterated her statement. "Jackie Li is our enemy."
The Wizard blinked a few times before chuckling. "Wow! Just wow! Just when I thought this conversation was going to go one way, it completely flipped over to another. Am I the only one feeling a little whiplashed here?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," said Alice.
"Well," said the Wizard, "it's just that it seemed like you were going to go over to Jackie's side and against the Gathering."
"I'm only stating the truth," Alice said. "Jackie Li is kind. He wouldn't think twice about helping people like us with special eyes. But because he is kind, he will never agree with something like the Ritual. He will do everything he can to stop it, which makes him an enemy of the Gathering."
She gave Jackie a glance, who could only shake his head back in dumbfounded silence. His spirits had sunk lower than they've ever sunk before. He could not believe what he was hearing, and it hurt a lot to hear it.
The Wizard, on the other hand, was in a better mood and said, "I see. Then what do you propose we do?"
"Lock him up," said Alice. "It would be best that way. He doesn't deserve to be hurt, but we can't let him interfere with the Ritual."
"What!?" Zak cried out. "No! We should get rid of him! The dude's not one of us. And he's dangerous! Did you forget, big guy? About - ?"
The Wizard quickly cut him off. "Stop! Stop! Stop! Zip it."
He cast a wary glance at his mass of followers and then threw his Acolyte a meaningful glare. Whatever he was trying to wordlessly say to Zak, Zak got the message and bowed his head sheepishly.
"Ahem!" After straightening up, the Wizard spoke into the microphone. "Fine, then, my newest Acolyte. We will go with your idea and lock this . . . apparently nice guy away somewhere he can't do us any harm. And I promise, for you, he won't get even a scratch on his pretty little head while he's locked away."
Alice graciously dipped down in a curtsy and thanked him. "Thank you, my mentor."
Satisfied with his student's display of gratitude, the Wizard turned to address the rest of his followers.
"I don't know about all of you guys, but I am beat after all this excitement. Anyone else feels like they need a break? You? You? Maybe you? Okay, then!"
The Wizard clapped and rubbed his hands together.
"Why don't we call it a day and head home now, shall we? Come on. Off you go!"
Slowly, the population in the room shrank. Everyone on the floor headed towards the double doors which had been opened to let them out. The Acolytes, on the other hand, exited the way they came down the side of the stage.
Jackie wanted to call out to Alice, but was still unable to open his mouth. All he could manage to utter were incoherent muffled screams. To his dismay, she disappeared behind the black curtain without ever looking his way.
"As for you," the Wizard said to him, "I've got a special place ready for you.
Jackie once more writhed and wriggled, but never came close to getting loose.
"Oh, relax," the Wizard told the boy. "I promised I wouldn't hurt you and I keep my promises. But I hope you don't mind a few . . . discomforts."
Jackie did not like the sound of that.
Suddenly, the bearded man walked up to them. Something about the way he moved gave Jackie an odd sense of Deja vu, but he couldn't quite figure out why.
"I can keep an eye on him," the bearded man volunteered.
"Really?" said the Wizard. "That'd be great!"
So with the bearded man escorting them from behind, the invisible monster carried Jackie down a set of stairs, likely the fire escape, judging by the gloomy gray all over, mixed with darker gray blotches. In addition, naked white light stung and disoriented Jackie's eyes while a high pitch, electrical humming sang in his ears.
They passed the first floor and entered the basement level where they found black boulders fitted together into an archway and led into a dark, cavernous space. It was an underground cave, or at least a space meant to simulate an underground cave. The sign with big, yellow letters hanging overhead of the arch which read, "Putts' Cavern Adventure", made it clear the cave was fake.
This place was probably some kind of arcade before the Gathering took over, Jackie reckoned from the sign.
The scarcely lit cave was a maze with many different pathways that people used to pay money to challenge. Jackie wasn't sure how many people found it fun, but he was certain lots of people thought it was tough.
Throughout the trip through the narrow corridors, he could hear constant scratching and sliding across the walls which were likely caused by the invisible monster squeezing through. Other than that, though, it was oppressingly quiet, which Jackie could tolerate no longer.
"Sooo, Mister?"
"Mmh?" The bearded man kept his eyes forward but grunted a reply.
"My name's Jackie. What's yours?"
The bearded man didn't respond.
"What do you do for a living? I'm still in high school but I'm hoping to get into the music business. You know, be a rock star like Elvis or Michael."
Again, no answer from the bearded man.
"Can you at least tell me where you guys are taking me?"
Jackie included the monster in the conversation.
Finally, the bearded man said, "You'll see when we get there."
Jackie frowned. But it was not because of the way the man spoke to him, but how familiar the way he spoke was. Actually, the man's voice itself was familiar.
Where did I hear it before? Jackie wondered.
Finally, they reached a dead end where a plain steel folding chair sat. Floating on its own beside the chair was a coil of rope, likely being held by another invisible monster, one that was evidently much smaller than the big guy causing Jackie's shirt to stretch out. No need to explain what the rope was for.
After being placed down (more like dropped down, really) on the chair with a clatter and a scrape, Jackie found the rope go round and round him, pinning his arms to his sides in a tight hug. He could feel the rope jiggle as a knot was tied behind him and then it stopped.
"All done?" the bearded man asked.
There was silence and then the man jerked his head to the exit.
"Then get going," he said. "I'll keep watch."
Judging by the way the man slowly turned his head, Jackie assumed the monsters obliged. He waited a bit and then the man turned to face him.
"You really are something, you know that?"
Jackie smiled and replied, "Good to see you too, Mr. Waller."
Waller frowned but was not surprised that Jackie saw through his disguise.
"How'd you grow a big beard like that so fast?" he asked.
Waller groaned and rolled his eyes. He didn't bother to tell the kid the beard was fake and went over behind him. With his pocketknife, the accountant cut the kid free and then roughly pulled him up. Jackie stumbled after being shoved forward, and then again when Waller brushed past him.
"Come on!" the accountant barked. "No more wise cracks! We're getting out of here."
Jackie showed his understanding with a nod and then followed the accountant out of the corridor into another one.
Waller looked right and left and then chose right. He led the way through the maze, pausing at each turn and then continuing on after making sure the coast was clear. But now and then, Jackie stopped the accountant and then pointed the other way. It visibly annoyed Waller, but he begrudgingly took Jackie's advice whenever given. Jackie, Waller recognized, was dumb in some places but smart in others. After about half an hour, they made it to the final path leading to the archway marked "Starting Point".
It might not have been the maze's intended end goal, but it was where man and boy wanted to be.
Excited, Jackie bent down, ready to race out. But Waller quickly put a restraining hand on the boy's shoulder and shook his head. He gave Jackie an angry stare and sharply jabbed his finger down at the floor, a clear command to stay put, before heading off to the exit himself.
After stopping short of the archway, he peaked over and then slowly crept back in full retreat.
He had spotted two monsters guarding the way out.
The big one was a giant human foot with a half-leg no less than seven feet tall and three feet wide, completely covered in white hairs. Attached to leg portion's sides was a pair of human-like arms, but shriveled up to a skeletal level and greenish yellow with fingernails stained black.
Waller made a mental note to himself to tell the kid to burn his clothes later as soon as he saw those black stains.
As for the little one, it was a four-foot tall headless monkey covered in black fur except for its arms which looked like they belonged to a plastic baby doll. Jagged spikes trailed down its spine.
"You brought some salt with you, kid?" Waller whispered softly. "After the trouble I went to telling you those pests' weaknesses, you better have."
Jackie answered with a nod and pulled out a packed Ziploc bag.
"Good. Be ready to toss it and follow me." Waller turned but then turned back to Jackie. "And make sure that bag is opened before you toss it."
Jackie frowned, dismayed at being talked to like that. He could tolerate being looked down on, but that tolerance had its limits.
"Quietly!"
Jackie grunted. His tolerance was inching towards its threshold.
Together, they tiptoed to the archway and stopped. Waller looked Jackie in the eye and then stared pointedly at the bag of salt. And then the accountant slipped on a metal plate over his fingers. Jackie judged by the gleam in the faint light that the plate was made of silver.
Waller pointed at Jackie, then jabbed his thumb to the right. After that, he jabbed himself and pointed left. Translation: "You go right. I go left."
Jackie nodded and gave a thumb up before scooping out a handful of salt. Loose grains trickled to waste down the floor, which made Waller groan internally. He decided to spring to action quick before they all went to waste and yelled, "Now!"
Waller jumped out and swung his fist, slamming the silver plate against the trunk of the giant foot. The precious metal repulsed this creature straight out of a nightmarish avant-garde art piece and sent it flying back. From behind, the accountant could hear a shrill agonizing shriek which told him that Jackie had done his job right.
"Come on! Run!"
They hurried up a short flight of stairs to the first door marked "Exit", which Waller kicked it open. But as soon as he was out, he was then tackled to the ground by a three-foot tall toad.
"Get off me!" Waller yelled at the creature as he tried to push it off. The toad answered by sticking on and opening its mouth wide to reveal a set of stainless steel carpenter nails instead of teeth. "Okay, now that's just too much! Whatever happened to just having regular fangs?"
The toad reached up to chomp off Walker's head, but then stopped with a pained squeal as electricity danced on its back.
As soon as he saw Waller fall down, Jackie knew the accountant was in trouble. He grabbed hold of more salt and tried to dive to the rescue, but was stopped by something gripping his arm. The young man couldn't see what, but it felt cordlike.
He was yanked on and stumbled, but then yanked back and swung his free arm at his invisible foe. The hand of that arm held the bag of salt, and the swing sent the bag's contents flying everywhere. It all spilled out, but that was okay because it shocked all the monsters and made them retreat, while at the same time create a barrier to keep them away.
With the toad weakened, Waller was able to throw it off and spring back to his feet. He grabbed Jackie and propelled him to the front door.
"Out! Out! Out!"
Jackie didn't need telling three times. His feet were already flying him towards the exit. He yanked open one of the glass doors and ran out to what he thought was empty space. But his face hit on something soft and furry, bounced off it and stumbled into Waller.
A really bad word came out of the accountant's mouth as he looked around. One look at his face was enough for Jackie to know what was going on:
They were surrounded and in a heap of trouble.
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