Excerpt: The Mercy of the Void

Mercy of the Void

Chapter 1

The convention hall was much more crowded than Keith cared for. He wasn’t used to this many people, especially this many people all fired up about something. To his right and to his left they formed a sea of bodies, all writhing and yelling.

Keith turned to Anthony. “Can you see the others?” he asked.

Anthony shook his head. “I ain’t seeing Mrs. Thurston or anybody else.”

Keith swore and frowned. Someone bumped into him and he was almost knocked to the ground. Anthony reached out and helped him back up.

“Let’s try to get out onto the street,” he said.

Keith nodded. “Sounds good,” he said.

The two boys now tried to make their way through the mass of people. It was a daunting task. All around them there was this air of excitement and of pent up emotion that seemed to be just waiting to burst.

“Remind me to try to get Mrs. Thurston fired for sure now,” Keith said as he squeezed between a large man and a small woman with dreadlocks.

“You’ll have to wait in line, man,” Anthony said.

Keith shook his head and mumbled. He couldn’t believe that their history teacher had brought them all here. She had thought that it would be a wonderful opportunity to see how people lobbied their leaders. So she had arranged for the class to see this protest on the very day that one of its biggest leaders had arrived. Now all the people here were getting excited, and in the confusion the class had gotten very split up. The two boys had no clue where anyone else was.

Someone gave Keith a shove from behind. He shoved back blindly, hoping that he sent them sprawling. This was too much. He didn’t even remember what these people were protesting anyway. A look at the signs around didn’t help much on that department. He wanted to say that this was a pro-choice rally, and he hoped it actually was, because then getting Mrs. Thurston fired would be much easier.

“You still with me?” Keith called back to Anthony.

“I’m still here,” Anthony replied, moving as fast as he could to keep up with Keith. “It’s a wonder though. These people aren’t much in the way of cooperative when you’re trying to get somewhere.”

“I hear you,” Keith said. “I want to punch someone, if only so we’ll get nabbed by the cops or just thrown out. I’m getting sick of this.”

“Cops might give you a medal,” Anthony replied, still yelling over the crowd.

A toadish looking woman stepped out and grabbed at Keith. He moved away from her. “Plunderers of our sanctity!” she yelled at him, her jowls quivering.

Anthony shoved Keith forward before the other boy had a chance to react. They continued on in what they hoped was the right direction. In this crowd it was impossible to tell. There was no familiar order that they could use to their advantage. It was, at best, ordered chaos, and Keith had a hard time believing it was even that.

They reached a wall and got up next to it, taking a momentary break from fighting through the crowd. “I wanted to punch that one lady,” Keith said.

“I know,” Anthony said. “Can’t be helped though. We’ve got to worry about getting out of here.”

“Nothing makes sense here, man,” Keith replied, starting to sit down.

Anthony reached out and pulled him back into a standing position. “I wouldn’t do that, man. You might not stand up again.”

Keith laughed. But the sad thing was, he knew that it was half true. People would just walk over him and not care at all. They were too fired up, too wrapped in the moment to care about anything but whatever the focus of this rally was.

There was a dull roar from what seemed to be the back of the crowd. Keith turned to Anthony and the other boy nodded. He heard it too.

“Think that might be the cavalry?” Keith asked.

Anthony shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. Hope so though.” He laughed. “Never thought I would actually want the cops to come busting into a place.”

Keith laughed as well. “You’ve got that right. We’ll have to thank Sheriff Pert when we get out of here.”

“That’ll sure give him a shock,” Anthony replied. “He’ll probably strip search us right then and there, make sure we aren’t trying to slide anything past him.”

“Aint that the truth?” Keith said. The people began to move in one direction now. Their voices began to become a bit more heated. There was a definite shift in the atmosphere now. Things were becoming very much unsafe.

Keith turned and was about to say something to Anthony. But at that moment the crowd pushed at him from behind and began to sweep the two boys along. They tried to stick to the wall and avoid being dragged further inside, but it was of no use. They were peeled away and taken with the flow.

Anthony grabbed at Keith, to ensure that they weren’t separated in the mass of people. They had no choice but to go with the flow, further into the convention center. It was a nightmare. The two boys were very unsure about all this. It didn’t seem as though anyone else cared what happened to them.

Now they were in the heart of the convention center, the big amphitheater. The mob seemed to swarm around the stage in the dead center of the amphitheater. Keith and Anthony found themselves being forced there as well by the sheer momentum of the mob around them.

There was a waspy woman on the stage clutching a microphone. She seemed to be trying to calm the mob down, pleading with them to try to return to order. But there was no way that one woman with a microphone was going to slow them down. Someone else, whom Keith recognized as the toadish woman from earlier, leapt up onto the stage and shoved the other woman aside. Now she took command of the microphone, and began to spew out inciting words. The crowd began to become more aggressive now.

Keith and Anthony managed to get into the stands surrounding the amphitheater, jumping in just as their part in the mob passed by. They moved up out of the mass of people and stuck next to the guardrail. Keith took a deep breath. This was insane.

“We gotta get out of here, man,” he said to Anthony.

“That’s looking like a pretty hopeless venture,” Anthony replied, looking down at all the people. “I just really hope that the cops are coming in to try to get all of this calmed down.”

Keith took another deep breath. “I hope that they can calm it down,” he said, his voice starting to get hoarse from all the yelling.

Someone grabbed at Keith from behind. He swung around and was met with a woman who could very well be a bodybuilder. Her face was contorted into an expression of disgust. She grabbed Keith’s arm and tried to drag him. He jerked back.

“Hey, lady, leave me alone,” he said, backing away from her.

A couple of similarly built women came up behind the first one. “Get them up front,” the first one said.

They moved towards Keith and Anthony. The two boys backed up as best they could, trying not to get involved in whatever this was. But the three women rushed forward and grabbed them. Keith threw a wild punch that hit the first woman right in the face. She staggered backwards, blood coming from her nose. The other two women moved past her and restrained Keith and Anthony. They struggled and fought, but it was to no avail. The first woman came back holding her nose. She kneed Keith in the groin. He tried to double over in pain, but the woman holding him forced him to remain on his feet.

The two boys were bodily dragged out of the stands and through the crowd. Keith could barely stand. He was in so much pain he was ready to puke. His captors didn’t seem to care as they brought him up onto the stage.

Now the two boys could fully see the mob in this place. So many angry faces, so many angry sounds. Keith felt almost overwhelmed. He never thought that he would wish that his class had just stayed in the classroom. Yet here he was, wishing that very thing. Someone was going to pay for all of this.

The toadish woman now stood in front of them. She pointed back at the two boys during her speech, spittle flying from her mouth as she filled the air with angry words. Keith did his best to stand on his feet and swallow the pain. His face got hot at the woman’s words and he relaxed a little, trying to lull the woman holding him into a false sense of security.

It worked. She loosened her grip on him just a little. But that was all he needed. Keith rushed forward suddenly, breaking the woman’s grip on him. His groin still ached, and he almost faltered as he ran forward. But he kept his footing, and collided with the toadish woman. She fell forward onto her face, the stage shaking with the force of her collision. The woman rolled over onto her back and Keith kicked her in the face.

“Bitch!” he yelled, having lost most of his thought processes in the past few minutes.

Someone ran forward to try to hold him back. It was the woman he had punched in the face. Blood was still coming out of her nose, and it gave her face an even more frightful look as it coursed down the contorted features. Keith planted his feet and stuck his elbow out, letting her collide with it. She fell back and hit the floor as well.

Now many different people on the stage tried to rush him. A fat man wearing a black t-shirt was the closest one. Before Keith could defend himself though, Anthony appeared out of nowhere and hit the fat man in the back with a chair. The man stumbled forward, tripped on the toadish woman, and fell into the crowd.

“We are so screwed,” Anthony said as he stood with Keith, looking at the people who they had now just angered greatly.

Keith didn’t really hear him. He just glared at the people directly in front of him. It was a fault of his. When he got angry enough, he just didn’t seem to do much besides throw punches. It usually served him well in Dunbar, when late night fights over someone’s drunk actions were the least of his concerns. There was a distinct possibility that it would not help him here at all. But, that wasn’t in his mind at the moment.

But before anyone had a chance to move, there was the sound of several small explosions. Clouds of white smoke began to come up at the entrances to the amphitheater. Bullhorns could be heard yelling for those inside to stand down.

“The cavalry is here!” Anthony said.

The toadish woman got up and looked at the two boys. She smiled wickedly and took out a small brick. It appeared to be covered with strange geometric designs.

“It won’t save you from what’s to come,” she said.

Keith’s anger flared at just seeing the woman’s face again. In one swift motion he threw a powerful right hook at her face. It took her by surprise and she stumbled backwards, the brick slipping from her grasp. Anthony reached down and picked it up. A soft musical tone began to emanate from it.

“What’s that?” Keith asked as he strode towards the toadish woman.

Anthony reached out and held him back. “Wait man, I think this might be...”

Suddenly a bright light erupted from the brick. Bands of blue and gold encircled the two boys. Keith caught a glimpse of the toadish woman one last time, her face a look of shock and horror. It was something he didn’t understand, but it was the least of things he didn’t understand at the moment. There was a flash of light, and then the stone, and the boys, were gone.

Chapter Two

“...a bomb,” Anthony finished, but shook his head. “What was that?”

Keith shook his head and looked around. The roar of the crowd was gone, replaced by the whistling of the wind. The crowd itself was gone as well. What was there instead was a stark contrast to it. Now they were in a barren wasteland of grey rock and gravel.

“What happened?” Anthony asked, looking around at their bleak surroundings.

Keith shook his head and collapsed. He still hurt from his previous injury, and his body was coursing with adrenaline. For now, all he could do was take deep breaths and try not to think about how much pain he was in. The sudden change in setting could wait until later to figure out.

Anthony looked around a bit more, trying to see if there was something out there at all. “I don’t like this, man,” he said at last, walking over and resting on his haunches beside Keith. “I don’t like this at all.”

Keith blinked. The pain seemed to be fading, a little. He sat up and it did not increase. That was good. He just needed a bit to recover, then he would be all right.

“How did this happen?” he asked, taking breaths between his words.

Anthony held the brick out in his hand. Now Keith got a good look at it. It was pure grey metal, the geometric designs skillfully cut into it. It was a very unique thing, or so it seemed.

“This has something to do with it,” Anthony said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“What does it do?” Keith asked.

“This,” Anthony replied, holding his arms out to indicate the surrounding landscape.

“Well, yeah,” Keith said, feeling a bit of the pain leave him. “But, what is this? Is it a bomb?”

“I don’t think so,” Anthony said. “The only thing I can think of is too crazy.”

“And what is that?” Keith asked.

“Teleporting.”

Keith blinked and looked around. “You sure we’re not just dead, and this is like, purgatory or something?”

“Your balls still hurt?” Anthony asked.

“A little.”

“Then we’re not dead yet,” Anthony replied as he stood up. He held his hand out to Keith. Keith took it and was pulled to his feet. The pain had subsided enough for him to walk now. It was an uncomfortable walk, but it would be better in a bit.
“What do we do?” he asked Anthony.

“Let’s try to gain some high ground. That way, we can see what’s out there, maybe find something remotely civilized.” Anthony looked and pointed at a grey, twisted column about a few miles or so off. “That looks like a good start to me. It’s the highest thing out here, at least.”

Keith nodded and took a deep breath. “Then let’s get a move on.”

The two boys began to walk towards the column in the distance. It was slow going at first. Both were exhausted from the ordeal that they had just escaped from, and Keith was still in a bit of pain. Every ten steps or so he felt like puking, and for a while Anthony had to help him along.

But, soon the pain went away and Keith could go a bit faster. The two boys picked their way over the broken landscape. They were soon struck by the apparent lack of any life at all here. No animal tracks, no birds wheeling overhead, not even any insects scuttling under the few rocks they kicked over. Desolation reigned supreme in this place.

They pushed on though. Nothing else remained for them to do, anyways. The column got closer and closer as they kept trudging on. Soon they entered a huge boulder field and were forced to clamber over massive stones the size of cars. It was tedious and hard traveling. But they did it. Hard work for farmers over long hot summers had kept both of the boys in good shape. They were not daunted by this in the least.

At last, they neared the foot of the column. It did not appear to be all that big, about fifty feet or so in height. To the boys’ surprise, there appeared to be a path of sorts that wound up and around it.

“That’s odd,” Anthony said, pausing for a moment with his hands on his hips.

“What do you mean?” Keith asked. “It’s just a path.”

“But who made it?” Anthony asked. “Have you seen any other signs of life here, at all?”

“No,” Keith said. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“It just makes me a bit uneasy, that’s all,” Anthony replied as he walked towards the column. Keith followed after him, looking around for something that might justify his friend’s uneasiness. He saw nothing but the grey rocks and the grey sky. That did little to improve his mood.

The two boys began to climb up the path. It was not a very long path to climb, but it was somewhat narrow. They were forced to be careful, or risk a long fall and some broken limbs. Occasionally their steps would dislodge a rock and it would go flying over the side to smash against the ground below, a grim reminder of the need to be cautious.

At last, the two of them reached the top of the column. It was fairly featureless up there, save for one solitary blue rose. Anthony walked over to it and examined it. Keith paid only a minor glance to it. His gaze was instead directed to the surrounding landscape. All around it was the same featureless grey wasteland. The only defining feature was what appeared to be a cloud-shrouded mountain range in the far distance.

“Well, this is promising,” Keith said with a sigh. “We’re not much better off than we were before, wouldn’t you say?”

Hearing no response, Keith turned to his friend. Anthony was focused entirely on that one rose. He knelt beside it, holding the flower in his hand. Keith walked back over to him.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Why is one rose, one blue rose, here in the middle of all of this?” Anthony asked. He looked up at Keith. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

Keith turned and looked out over the landscape again. All the dry and hopeless expanse seemed to rush at him, and he felt very small in this place.

“There’s no way out,” he said.

“Yes there is,” said a voice.

The two boys scrambled to their feet and looked around, trying to find the speaker. There was no one. The two of them were alone.

“Who said that?” Anthony asked the stillness.

“I did,” the voice said again.

“Who are you though?” Keith asked. He glared as he tried to see if anyone might be out there.

“I am the West, and my avatar is before you even now,” the voice said again.

“What?” Keith asked. “What do you mean, avatar?”

“A representation,” the West replied. “Look before you, for through it I am here.”

Anthony looked down at the rose. “You mean, you’re the rose?”

“The Blue Rose of the West,” the West replied. “That is how I choose to represent myself.”

The two boys walked over to the rose. Keith had half a mind to simply stomp on it, to try to get all of this out of his head. And yet, something tugged at him and wouldn’t quite let him make that decision.

“And, who are you, then?” Anthony asked.

“I told you, I am the West,” the West replied. “But, you mean what is it that I am. I am what you might call a spirit of sorts. It is my duty to keep the darkness from all worlds, so that all beings might live free.”

The two boys looked at each other. All of this was quite a lot to take in. “So, what proof do you have of that?” Anthony asked.

“I have none,” the West said. “This is a matter of faith.”

“I was never one to be good at church-going,” Keith said.

“Faith is not merely religion,” the West said. “Faith is believing in something that you have no evidence of.”

“Even so,” Anthony said. “Even if you do exist, what does that mean for us?”

“That is for you to decide,” the West said. “I can help you get back to wherever it was you came from. But, I do not do anything without a favor in return.”

“What kind of favor?” Keith asked.

“I have a message that needs to be delivered to a certain someone,” the West said. “But this certain someone has sealed themselves off from a great deal, including myself. I cannot simply tell them myself. If you could deliver this message for me, then they could provide you with a way home.”

Keith looked at Anthony and raised his eyebrow. Anthony shook his head and held up his hand. “What if we just want you to show us the way out of here?”

“There is no way out of here,” the West said. “This is a dead zone, a place of emptiness in the multiverse. From here there is no escape save that of death.”

“So you’re just going to let us die?” Keith asked, getting a little hot under the collar.

“No,” the West said. “That will be your choice. It will be most unfortunate if you do die, and I shall mourn your passing if it does happen, but in the end this is all your choice. I need a message taken somewhere, and you are able to take it there for me. After you deliver the message, the recipient will help you get home. It is very simple.”

“Nothing’s ever simple,” Keith said.

“You don’t want it to be simple,” the West said. “That is your issue. I have provided the terms and laid them out in front of you, as clear as day. It is up to you to decide what to do with them.”

Keith was about to say more, but Anthony turned him away to speak with him. “I can guess what you think about all of this,” he said.

“I don’t like it,” Keith said. “This is completely stupid. We’re talking to a plant. Nevermind if it’s actually a spirit or something, it’s still a plant. It’s asking us to be messenger boys for it. What about this makes any sense to you at all?”

Anthony looked at the ground for a moment. “Do you see any alternative at all?” he asked Keith as he looked back up at him. “Cause if you do, I would really like to be able to see it too.”

Keith frowned and kicked at a rock. It flew off of the column and out into the barren wasteland below. He spat in the general direction it had gone. “I still don’t like this,” he finally said.

“You think I do?” Anthony asked. “I don’t like it any more than you do. But I don’t really see any other choice for us. Like I said, I would really like to know if you can see one. Do you?”

Keith had to shake his head at this. As much as he disliked it, there wasn’t really any better option open to them.

“Besides,” Anthony said. “We just find someone, tell them whatever it is we’re supposed to tell them, and then we go home. It is fairly simple.”

“I’m just worried about a catch,” Keith said. “There is always a catch to things like this. Always. And I would put double the chance on it considering how strange it is we’re here in the first place.”

“What do you mean?” Anthony asked.

“We were brought to this strange place by a brick that shoots colored lights,” Keith said. “What makes you think anything here is going to behave normally?”

Anthony frowned. “You have a point. We’ll keep our eyes out. Nothing can take us out if we double team it, right?”

Keith smirked and nodded his head. “Keep our heads about us, and stick close. Always the smartest thing we’ve done.”

Anthony nodded his head and turned back to the Blue Rose of the West. “All right,” he said. “We’ll do this for you.”

“A wise decision,” the West replied.

“So, what’s this message?” Keith asked.

“I will help you get to a place near the last known location of the Lone Architect,” the West said. When you get there, you must find her and deliver this message to her: ‘The prisoner is restless.’”

Anthony sighed. “Sounds simple enough. Where is this place?”

“Very far away,” the West said. “But, it will not take you long to get there. You are carrying a Masters Trans-Universal Matter Transporter.”

Anthony pulled out the odd brick. “This thing?” he asked.

“Indeed,” the West said. “I will tell you how to use it to arrive where you must arrive. When you find the Lone Architect, she will help you use it to return home.”

“And who is this Lone Architect?” Keith asked.

“She is who she is,” the West said. “Do not worry, you will know her when you see her.”

“All right,” Anthony said. He turned back to Keith. “You ready?”

Keith nodded. “The sooner we get started on this fool thing, the sooner we get back to where we need to be.”

“Very well,” the West said. “Both of you, place your hands upon the device.”

The two boys stood opposite each other, each holding onto an end of the brick.

“Press the triangle, then the circle, then trace the wavelength,” the West said.

It took the boys a moment or so to find the symbols on the brick. But, they did locate them all. They did as the West instructed them, slowly and in sequence. Almost as soon as Anthony’s finger left the end of the line, light came from the brick again. The blue and gold bands encircled the both of them. In another flash of light, the boys were taken away, leaving only the Blue Rose of the West alone on that dismal pillar.

Chapter Three

Keith blinked and looked around. They were definitely someplace else now. Instead of the bleak grey expanse like before, here was now the ruins of an immense city. Great Cyclopean blocks jutted up from the ground, reaching up towards an unusually hazy sky.

“Well, that worked,” Anthony said.

“Sure,” Keith said. “The only question is, where are we?”

“Close to that Lone Architect person,” Anthony said. He looked around. “Though, I can’t really understand why she would choose to live in a place like this. Or why anyone would choose to live here.”

Keith stared off into the haze. This was going to be harder than they had thought after all. He snorted and spat. “What fun,” he said, his voice laced with sarcasm.

Anthony nodded his head. “A regular day at the beach.”

Keith cupped his hands around his mouth. “Hello? Anyone out there?” he yelled. Nothing but the echoes of his question answered him. He paused, then yelled out again. “Anyone out there?” Still no reply save the echoes. He threw his hands to his sides and kicked at the ground. “Well, this is just fine and dandy,” he said to Anthony.

“Well, at least we’re out of that wasteland,” Anthony said.

“But is it really any better?” Keith asked. “I mean, I don’t see anyone here either.”

“There is the evidence that someone was here,” Anthony said. “That should at least be somewhat helpful.”

“When you see blood, that’s the evidence someone was there,” Keith said. “Yet a person usually doesn’t get all happy about it, if you know what I mean.”

“I get your point,” Anthony said. He sounded a bit frustrated himself. “We don’t have a lot we can do, now do we?”

“Nope,” Keith said. He looked around again. The city stretched out before them. To either side, and behind them as well, was a field of what seemed like yellow stubble grass, not fit for much of anything. He couldn’t see too much of what was beyond that though. It was all obscured by the sickly haze.

“The city seems to be the best option,” Anthony said. “We’re looking for the Lone Architect. Maybe she’s the last person left of whoever lives here.”

“That doesn’t make me feel all that encouraged,” Keith said.

“It’s the best that we’ve got,” Anthony said. “Besides, once we find her, all we have to do is tell her what the West said to tell her, then get her to tell us how to work this Transcombobulater thing.” He held the brick up to emphasize his point.

“We hope,” Keith said. “Considering all that’s happened today, I’m not holding my breath.”

“Just remember, let’s keep our heads about us,” Anthony said as he walked forward. “You and me, we’ve been through quite a bit. This is just the icing on the cake.”

“You have an awful lot of faith in me,” Keith said with a smile.

“Of course,” Anthony said, pulling Keith along. “We stake our lives on each other quite a bit. Why wouldn’t I?”

Keith laughed and kept up with Anthony. The two of them walked towards the towering masses of stone, the remnants of some unknown civilization. There seemed to be a looming presence here, almost as if there was something still brooding over this place.

The two boys entered the city streets. The architecture here was nothing like anything they had seen before. It resembled what Keith had seen of ancient Egypt, though even that wasn’t quite right. There were bits and pieces of other things all thrown in there, enough to make this a unique style in its own right.

As the boys walked through the deserted streets, they would call out to see if someone might be there. But they never heard any reply, save for their own echoes. Occasionally, there would be some raucous call from some unseen animal, and they would look about in uncertainty. But, it always passed on, and they kept walking.

After about an hour or so of walking and calling, Keith sat down on the stone steps of one of the buildings. “This is getting frustrating,” he said. “At this rate, we’ll die of old age before we find this Lone Architect. That is, if we don’t get eaten by one of those screaming creatures.”

Anthony sat down beside Keith and took a deep breath. “We’ve got time,” he said. “It’s only been an hour, after all.”

“I’m starting to wonder just what the West’s definition of the word ‘close’ is,” Keith said. “Is it the regular person definition, or the government employee definition?”

“We’ll find her soon enough,” Anthony said. “We’ve just got to be patient.”

“Patience is a little hard at the moment.”

“I know.”

The two sat there staring at the cobblestone streets. The stress of the day was beginning to wear on them already. Keith held his head in his hands and sighed.

“I want a Coke right about now,” he said.

Anthony looked over at him. “Seriously?”

“Yep.”

Anthony looked straight ahead for a moment, then laughed. “So do I.”

“I called it first,” Keith said.

Anthony laughed and put a hand on Keith’s shoulder. “You did, my friend. So, let’s get moving. The sooner we find the Lone Architect, the sooner you get that Coke.”

The two boys stood up and kept moving down the street. Suddenly, there was a scuttling sound not far off. They paused and looked around, waiting for the noise to pass on by. It didn’t do that though. Instead, it seemed as though it was getting louder.

Keith and Anthony looked at each other. They knew from the looks on each others faces that something about this didn’t quite sit right. Without a word they moved back to back, watching every possible angle. The scuttling noise seemed to completely surround them, yet they could not see what its apparent source was. The haze was not thick enough to obscure their surroundings. Yet everything was bare, with no sign of what was making the noise.

“I’m not liking this,” Keith said, looking around anxiously.

Anthony didn’t say anything, but by the way he was acting it was obvious that he was feeling the same way. All at once, the sound stopped, and there was dead silence in the air again. The two boys looked over their shoulders at each other.

“What’s the plan?” Keith asked.

“There’s nothing to have a plan about,” Anthony said. “Not yet.”

“That noise calls for a plan,” Keith insisted.

“You can probably guess what the plan will be if something happens,” Anthony said.

“Fight?” Keith asked.

“Yes, Custer,” Anthony said sarcastically. “That is the plan. We will fight.”

“Then what is the plan?”

“Probably run as fast as we can in the opposite direction,” Anthony replied. “That is generally a good plan. And simple. You like simple, right?”

“Haha,” Keith said sardonically.

The scuttling sound started again. This time, it seemed greatly diminished. Something moved in the distance. It came around a corner onto the street that Keith and Anthony were on and approached them. The two strained their eyes to try to see just what it was.

It was bug-like in appearance. Black plates covered its robust body, and huge claws tore at the street. Its head was looking right at them, its mouth agape and displaying great tearing mandibles.

“Well, that’s seven kinds of frightful,” Keith said as he and Anthony started to back away.

Almost as if on cue, many more of the bug-like creatures turned that same corner and followed after their compatriot. The sheer number of them made Keith’s heart beat a little faster out of fear.

“Now do you want to fight them?” Anthony asked as he turned and pulled Keith after him.

The two boys began to run down the street away from the approaching horde. They put all their strength into it, looking desperately for some way of evading the monstrosities. But all the doors seemed closed, and they did not have the time to see if they were locked.

Onward they ran as fast as they could. There was some distance between them and the swarm of creatures. But that distance was growing shorter. Keith and Anthony were tiring, but the swarm just kept on coming.

Suddenly there was a loud sound just ahead of them. Part of a large tower opened up, revealing a staircase inside. The two boys looked at each other and sprinted towards it without a second thought. Though they did not know what might be inside, the chances of it being worse than what was outside were very slim.

The two rushed inside and began to scramble up the flight of stairs. They did not get very far before the door they had entered closed behind them. There was a thud as the bugs slammed against it, but it did not budge.

The two boys sat down on the stairs to catch their breaths. There were a few more thuds as the bugs tried to gain entrance, but after a little bit they scuttled away, and there was silence in the tower.

“Well,” Anthony said, taking a few deep breaths. “That was lucky.”

 “I’ll say,” Keith replied, trying to catch his breath in return. “Awful lucky.”

They did not say anything for a little bit, but merely sat and tried to catch their breaths. At last though, they had recovered enough to speak.

“So, now what?” Keith asked, looking up the stairs. They seemed to go on and on up towards the top of the tower. There was light that shone down from some topmost window, but everything else was somewhat shaded.

Anthony stood beside him and looked up them as well. “We climb, I guess,” he said. “I’m not too eager to go back outside.”

“All right,” Keith said, and the two of them began to climb up the stairs. They were stone, built into the wall of the tower and devoid of a handrail. Soon the climbing began to get a little tough. The two stopped about halfway up to try to rest.

“I really hope there’s something worthwhile at the top of this thing,” Keith said, wiping sweat away from his forehead.

“What’s worthwhile?” Anthony asked him.

“That Coke, for one,” Keith said.

Anthony chuckled and got back up. “Well then, come on partner,” he said. I don’t know how long you can go without your precious Coke.”

He pulled Keith to his feet and the two resumed their arduous climb. They were beginning to get out of the musty lower levels. A slight breeze was coming down from the top of the tower now, and it urged them onward.

At last, the stairs ended and emerged into a wide open room. It had no walls, for it was open to the surrounding air. Columns held the roof up and allowed for a very good view of the city. It was above a great deal of the haze, so the boys walked over to get a look at their surroundings. The city stretched on in one direction, while on the other there was only that stubble grassland.
“Well, that was useful,” Keith said. “Now what?”

“You’re being pessimistic, man,” Anthony said. “I don’t think that door just opened up all by itself. Someone opened it, which means someone wants us to come up here.”

“I don’t know about this someone of yours,” Keith said. “For all we know, it might be a something that opened the door. For all we know, those bugs are really good at tricking people, and any minute now they’ll come swarming up the stairs and the side of the tower and we’ll be dinner.”

“You’re wonderful company,” Anthony said.

“I’m just kind of fed up, is all,” Keith said as the two of them walked back towards the stairs. “I mean, we’ve been searching for this “Lone Architect” for an hour or more and we haven’t seen anything of her.”

“You have now,” said a voice. Keith and Anthony froze and looked around. There was no one there.

“Who’s there?” Anthony asked.

“I am,” the voice, a soothing and motherly one, replied. I am the one whom you seek, the Lone Architect. Though, you may call me by S-Ram. That is my real name.”

Keith and Anthony looked at each other. This was awfully reminiscent of the encounter with the West.

“Where are you?” Anthony asked.

There was the sound of a limp mass hitting the floor behind them. The two boys whirled around. A black mass of tentacles in a slightly human-like form stood before them. It had no other real defining features, save for a solitary blue orb where it appeared to have a head.

The two boys backed away and the thing cocked its head to look at them. “You are frightened by me?” it asked in that soothing voice.

Keith and Anthony nodded. The voice now unnerved them. They did not think that such a voice should go with such a form.

“You were not foretold then, of my nature?” the thing asked. “You were not told of what to expect from the Lone Architect, from S-Ram?”

“No, we weren’t,” Anthony replied, his voice a little shaky.

“Then why have you come looking for me?” S-Ram asked. “I am not one you come looking for idly.”

“We have a message for you,” Anthony said. S-Ram began to walk around the stairwell. For a creature of her composition, she was very good at being able to walk. The two boys took deep breaths and stood their ground.

“Who is this message from?” S-Ram inquired.

“The West,” Keith said. “We give you the message, then you show us how to get home.”

“And why would I know how to get you home?” S-Ram asked. “You are confusing me a great deal. Why don’t you tell me your names first? I would like it better if I know who you are as well.”

Anthony pointed at himself. “I’m Anthony Freeman. This here is Keith Huge.” He pointed at Keith with his thumb as he said that.

S-Ram nodded and bowed slightly. “Welcome then, Anthony Freeman and Keith Huge, to my abode. It is bare, but it is what I have to offer.”

Anthony looked at Keith and then bowed his head a little. Keith paused, but followed suit.

“It is good that you two remember your manners,” S-Ram said. “I am glad to see the West did not send two uncivilized beings to deliver my message. Now, what are you to tell me?”

“The prisoner is restless,” Keith said. “That’s the message.”

The orb in S-Ram’s head glowed a faint orange for a moment. She looked out at the sky for a moment, as if she had heard something that Keith and Anthony had not. Then she turned back to them.

“Is that all?” she asked.

“That’s it,” Anthony said.

“Now how about sending us home?” Keith asked.

S-Ram turned away from them and walked to the edge of the room, acting as though she had not heard Keith’s question. The two boys stared at her as she walked away, then slowly followed after her.

“...time again, I suppose. One last venture,” they heard S-Ram say solemnly, talking to herself as they approached her.

“What is it?” Anthony asked.

“Aren’t you going to take us home?” Keith asked.

Anthony turned Keith around for a moment to speak to him privately. “I’d lay off a moment. Doesn’t seem like she’s taking this message well.”

“I’m just wanting what was promised us,” Keith said. “The West said that she would show us the way home.”

“Give it a moment, is all I’m saying,” Anthony replied.

“I apologize,” S-Ram said. The two boys turned back to face her. “Your message was one that I did not want to hear, and yet have anticipated for a long time. Please accept my apology.”

“What’s wrong?” Anthony asked S-Ram.

“It is nothing that I cannot handle,” she replied.

“It’s got you pretty roughed up,” Anthony said. “Sure you don’t want to tell us what’s up?”

S-Ram looked back over her shoulder at the sky. “I can. The sun is still high in the sky. This is not something you want to discuss in the darkness.” She turned back to them. “But once you know this, there is no way to forget it. That can have strange consequences upon you. Are you sure you wish to know?”

Anthony looked at Keith. Keith shrugged his shoulders. “I guess so,” he said. “How bad can it be?”

“You will find out,” S-Ram replied. “Sit down here, and I will tell you what it is that troubles me so.”

Chapter Four

The two boys slowly sat down. S-Ram lowered herself down in front of them. Keith took a deep breath. The sight of her was not as bad as it had been. He could at least look at her without shivering now.

“The story I have to tell you is a very old one,” S-Ram said. She waved her hand over the city. “This is Palamok, built by the Zinj at least one billion years ago. It is an old city. But my story is even older than it. I saw the rise and downfall of the Zinj, but it was a minor footnote in all that I have seen. For ones greater than they have fallen. And I have seen them all.”

Keith gave S-Ram an incredulous look. “One billion years? You’re kidding me.”

“After what we’ve seen so far, is that so hard to believe?” Anthony asked.

Keith paused. “Go on,” he said at last.

S-Ram nodded. “First, you must understand the nature of things. You know what a universe is, do you not?”

“Yeah,” Anthony said.

“Tell me what your idea of a universe is, then,” S-Ram said.

Anthony looked at Keith. Keith shrugged his shoulders. This had not been his strongest subject in school. “I guess it’s like, all the stars?” Anthony asked.

S-Ram shook her head. “That is a galaxy. A universe is composed of trillions of galaxies, each one composed of trillions of stars. Think on that, for a moment. That is truly immense”

Keith narrowed his eyes as he tried to comprehend just what S-Ram was describing. It was a little beyond his scope. Anthony seemed to be having trouble picturing it as well.

“It is hard, isn’t it?” S-Ram said. “But follow with me. Try to understand. For there is not one universe. There are more than just the one you came from.”

“Like, a mirror universe?” Anthony asked.

S-Ram shook her head. “More than simply two. Imagine the galaxy, with all its trillions of stars. Now, imagine something else, similar to a galaxy, but with universes instead of stars. Trillions of universes, with trillions of galaxies and trillions of stars.”

“You’re pulling our legs,” Keith said, frowning. “That’s not even possible.”

“But it is,” S-Ram insisted. “It exists. You are in one of these alternate universes as we speak. Brought here by that Transporter Device, if I am not mistaken.”

Anthony held up the brick and looked at Keith. The other boy still frowned, but what was being said ate away at his doubt.

“My story encompasses all these universes, collectively known as the multiverse,” S-Ram continued. “Once, on one of these myriad worlds, a new race rose up and discovered the existence of these other universe. They found ways to traverse the Deep, the primordial sea that all universes float in. And, they became great. In their glory they gave themselves a new name. They became the Masters.

“The Masters soon spread across the entire multiverse, with settlements and agents in almost every reality in existence. Many great works they created for their own pleasure and for the good of lesser races. They devoted much time to the pursuits of knowledge and understanding of that knowledge. For though they were great they took great care to not let hubris rise up among them. In many realities they had seen where lesser races had succumbed to that, and they were determined not to let it happen to them.”

“So they had an empire?” Anthony asked.

S-Ram nodded. “A great empire across multiple realities. It was a shining paragon of science and civilization. But, it exists no more.”

“What happened?” Anthony asked.

S-Ram sighed. It was a strange, bittersweet sound. “In the height of the Masters’ glory, darkness rose up. For there were parts of the multiverse that the Masters did not understand, and did not inhabit. And it was from these parts that it came.

“They never knew what it truly was. All their science never gave a clue as to its identity, and it would never give away its true origins. All it wanted was to erase all life, to swallow it up in a never-ending gulf. And thus, it gave itself a name, so that others would know it full well. It called itself Abyss.”

A cold chill ran down Keith’s spine. He jerked and shivered, though he did not know why. Anthony did the same.

S-Ram’s tentacles contorted in an odd fashion. “Even now, so very long after it, there is still enough of his presence left to elicit such a response in every fleshy brain that hears its true name. Such was the manner of evil that Abyss wrought. Entire universes were lost to its power.

“The Masters rose against the power of Abyss. But it was a fight they could not win. For the dark foe of the multiverse had power they could not comprehend. Its knowledge of the dark was more than their knowledge of the light.

“At last, the Masters turned to the Deep itself for aid. For the Deep is alive in its own peculiar way. It told the Masters what would be required of them to do if they wished to preserve the multiverse. The Masters listened, and resolved to follow the plan completely.

“They built a great prison in the heart of the multiverse, a prison that could contain any being imprisoned within it. Then, they created four artificial spirits, the only time that a spirit had ever been artificially made, to watch over the prison. At last, in one final act, they sacrificed all their life energy to contain Abyss. It was a sight to behold. An entire race, the most advanced race to ever exist, with their lives burning out in one pure moment of sacrifice.”

S-Ram paused now, and gazed out to the sky, as if she was remembering when she saw this great thing. Keith and Anthony were stunned to silence. The full meaning of the story was beginning to filter through for them, and it overwhelmed them.

“But, Abyss was defeated, right?” Anthony managed to ask.

S-Ram shook her head. “No,” she said. “Not truly. He is still in that prison where he was put so long ago. I remember when it happened. I was young, only about the equivalent of your ages when it happened. Yet I remember every detail about that one moment. And now, here I am, many years older. I am the oldest living thing possible in all realities. And all this time, Abyss has been sealed up.”

“Until now,” Anthony said. “That’s what the message was about, wasn’t it?”

S-Ram nodded. “Abyss is the restless prisoner that the West spoke of. The prison was made to contain any being put within its confines. But, it could never contain them indefinitely. The Masters knew this. They knew that sooner or later, Abyss would break free.

“So they commanded the four artificial spirits to keep watch over both the prison, and over the multiverse as a whole. They were to watch for those who were deemed full of great power and hope, whom might burn bright against the darkness. And, in the event of Abyss’s return, they were to enlist them in an attempt to stop him, in the hopes that he would be weakened upon his escape, and could be destroyed.”

“And you’re one of these people,” Keith said. “Burning bright with hope and stuff.”

“You put it crudely,” S-Ram said. “Yet, you speak truth. I know of ways in which to impede Abyss. So, it falls on me to do so.”

She looked at the both of them and laughed. “It is interesting. The story of what once was always has an odd affect upon those who hear it. It drives some to isolation, to shut themselves off from all else and pray that such things are not true. And others, others it drives to action.”

“What are you saying?” Keith asked.

“Do you want to go home, right now?” S-Ram asked.

Keith opened his mouth to reply with a yes, to say that was the only thing he wanted. But, the word fell in his throat, and did not come out. There was something else he wanted to do now, a desire that had risen up after hearing the story.

“I want to go home,” he said at last. “But, I don’t know if I want to do it right now.”

S-Ram chuckled, then turned her attention to Anthony. “And what about you?”

He paused for a moment, as if not quite sure of what to say. “I feel the same way, I guess,” he said at last.

S-Ram nodded. “And, what do you wish to do instead?”

“Help you,” Anthony admitted.

“Indeed,” S-Ram said. “But, can you follow through on that? For helping me will drive you further away from your home. There is a great chance of death if you follow my path. It will be long and hard, even if you do survive. Are you sure you want that?”

Anthony nodded slowly, as if still chewing over what all of this meant. He looked over at Keith. After a moment or so, Keith nodded his head as well. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but yeah. I’m fairly certain on that.” He looked up at S-Ram. “I don’t like it much though.”

“I understand,” S-Ram said. “And I did not tell you the story so that you would be forced to help me, I promise you that. It is not my way to simply ensnare others to help me. Can you believe that?”

“I want to,” Anthony said.

“It’s a bit difficult to at the moment,” Keith said.

S-Ram nodded and rose. “Very well. I cannot complain.”

The two boys got to their feet as well. “So, where do we begin?” Anthony asked.

“One does not journey without a map or supplies,” S-Ram said as she walked past the boys back under the roof. “We will have to make a short detour to a Masters supply depot to acquire provisions and weapons for ourselves.”

“Weapons?” Keith asked as they followed her back inside.

“Oh yes,” S-Ram said. “For you can be sure that there will be forces that wish to stop us. Some are agents of Abyss that wish to stir up dissent and work towards their master’s eventual release. Others may be working for their own ends, but malignant and evil nonetheless. In either case, we will need to defend ourselves from them.”

“So where is this stash?” Keith asked.

“There are several that we could visit,” S-Ram said. “I know of one though, that will have exactly what we will need.”

“Well, how do we get there?” Anthony asked.

“First, we shall need that Trans-Universal Matter Transporter you have,” S-Ram said. “This place is in another universe, and that device is the quickest way to travel between the universes.”

“So, when we used this, we travelled to another universe?” Keith asked.

“Was that not obvious, after all that I just told you?” S-Ram asked.

Keith was about to give a sarcastic reply, but nothing particularly witty came to mind. So he kept his mouth shut as Anthony took out the device. S-Ram plucked it from his hand with her tentacles and turned it over a few times.

“This device is quite old,” she said. “I’ve not seen one like this in a while. How did you acquire it?”

“We were at a rally for something or other,” Anthony said. “This woman started riling everyone up, getting them all angry and excited. She happened to have this on her. We got ahold of it right as it turned on, and it carried us away.”

S-Ram nodded. “I suspect that you have already encountered an agent of Abyss then,” she said. “They exist sporadically, scattered throughout the multiverse. Their purpose is to uproot stability and spread darkness. The more chaotic things become in the multiverse, the more unstable the prison in which Abyss is kept becomes. The more unstable it becomes, the easier it would be to break him free.”

“Wait, how does he get agents if he’s locked up?” Anthony asked.

“He can exude his presence through the confines of his prison,” S-Ram explained. “Think of his prison as a form of slumber. Through his dreams, he can send out feelers to ensnare the unwary, the weak, those pre-disposed to darkness. They heed his calls, and they obey. Sometimes they do not know who they serve, and sometimes they do. I think you encountered one of his higher servants. Not just anyone would be entrusted with a device like this.”

S-Ram turned the device over in her tentacles and began to work with some of the geometric symbols etched on its surface. She extended a couple of her tentacles out to Keith and Anthony.

“You must be in physical contact with either the device, or the user of the device, on order to be transported,” she explained.

Keith and Anthony looked at each other with perturbed looks on their faces. They were reluctant to touch a being so alien.

“Put aside your reluctance,” S-Ram said with a tone of exasperation in her voice. “In the places we are going, there is no room for that.”

The two paused for a moment longer. Then they reached out and took hold of S-Ram’s appendages. There was no slime, merely a solid rubbery feel, almost like a soft tire of sorts.

S-Ram pressed one final part of the device. Once again, bright light shot from it and the blue and gold bands encircled them. Keith wondered just how many times this was all going to happen right before they vanished, leaving the ancient city of the Zinj a bit emptier than they found it.

Chapter Five

It was dark, wherever it was that S-Ram had transported herself and the two boys to. Keith blinked his eyes and looked around, trying to discern just what his surroundings were. He put out a hand. The feel of a jacket beneath it let him know that Anthony was there.

“Someone got a light?” he asked.

A flame flickered on in front of Anthony. The other boy held out his cigarette lighter and tried to get a glimpse at what was out there.

“Your paltry flame will not help you much,” S-Ram said. Small circles of blue light began to glow across her body, illuminating their surroundings far better than the cigarette lighter. The boys stepped back in surprise.

“You glow?” Keith asked.

“I am bioluminescent, yes,” S-Ram said as Anthony put away his cigarette lighter. She got down on all fours and extended a few of her facial tentacles out to examine the surroundings. Keith turned to follow her gaze as best he could.

They appeared to be in a long hallway with a ceiling only a few feet above Keith’s head. Not far behind them, the hallway ended in a blank grey wall. Ahead of them, it stretched on and revealed, at its farthest end, a pinpoint bit of light that Keith assumed was a window.

“What is this place?” Anthony asked.

“Masters Research Facility Scissors-61,” S-Ram said. “In orbit around the gas giant Jupiter, in a reality where jellyfish are the dominant life-form on the planet Earth and the Bactaran Empire controls most of the Milky Way Galaxy.”

“Jellyfish?” Keith asked.

“Oh yes,” S-Ram replied, straightening into an upright position. “The Cnidarian Coalition is the only thing that prevents this solar system from falling into the hands of the Bactarans. You were from an Earth, I take it?”

“We lived on Earth, yes,” Anthony said.

“What year?” S-Ram asked as she moved forward down the hallway.

“2005,” Anthony replied as he and Keith walked after her.

“BC, AD, or perhaps JK?” S-Ram asked.

“AD,” Anthony replied.

“What nationality?” S-Ram asked.

“Why all these questions?” Keith asked in return.

“I’m trying to pinpoint what reality you might have come from,” S-Ram replied. “It is simply idle curiosity.”

“We’re Americans,” Anthony replied.

“Who is the president?” S-Ram inquired.

“George W. Bush,” Anthony replied.

“And, who is on the two dollar bill?” S-Ram asked.

“Benjamin Franklin, of course,” Keith said.

“You would be surprised,” S-Ram said. “Some Americas in some realities do not use a two dollar bill that much. Others have a different name on theirs. I take it yours is in common circulation?”

“Yeah,” Anthony said. He pulled a couple of them out of his pocket. “Right here. Was planning on getting something at Sonic with them.”

S-Ram nodded. “One of those Americas.”

“What do you mean, one of those Americas?” Keith asked.

“A capitalist America,” S-Ram said. “Do not take offense at it. I do not mean it in any way other than to categorize the reality you come from. Some Americas are different. I am simply trying to get it fixed in my mind what kind of reality you have always known, so that I can help you adjust to the ones you shall see as we go about our travels.”

“And what are we likely to see?” Keith asked.

S-Ram paused and looked over her shoulder at Keith. “Things that will make you weep because they are so beautiful and terrible. Things that will make you want to gouge out your eyes because you are afraid to see them again, or because you wish them to be the last things you do see. You will see both good and evil, and both in one. That is what you see when you go traveling the multiverse.”

Keith was left standing still as S-Ram and Anthony walked forward for a bit. He was trying to wrap his head around what she had just said to him, but was having a hard time doing so. At last, he just shook his head and jogged a short bit to catch up with the other two.

They walked until they reached the end of the hallway and were in front of the window. Outside, Keith and Anthony could see that S-Ram had been telling the truth about their location. Jupiter filled half the window, it’s swirling red bands putting both of the boys to silence.

“One thing to see it in a book or on a viewscreen,” S-Ram said from behind them. “Quite another to view it with your own eyes.”

“Yeah,” Anthony said, quietly and contemplatively. Keith could only respond with a nod.

“Come,” S-Ram said. “Though the view is quite amazing, we have work that must be done.”

“All right,” Anthony said. He turned away from the window and pulled Keith along. They followed after S-Ram as she took them down an adjacent corridor. The light that she gave off still shone the way through the dark, grey corridors. It did not illuminate anything of note. The walls displayed nothing but odd geometric symbols similar to the ones on the device that the three had used to travel there.

“Where is this stash?” Keith asked, looking back in the corridor behind them. The cold silence made him a little uneasy.

“Not much farther,” S-Ram said.

The three continued on down the corridor for a short while. At last, S-Ram paused in front of a door. She put a tentacled appendage on its surface and pressed a few of the symbols. With a slight whooshing noise the door slid open. She walked inside, motioning the two boys to follow after her.

Keith and Anthony stepped inside. S-Ram’s glow lit up the room very well. It was small, about twenty feet by fifty feet. Inside there were boxes stacked about in small, random towers. There was writing on them, but almost none of it was in the English that the two boys were familiar with. In fact, a great deal of it was in languages that they did not even think existed on Earth.

“What’s all this?” Anthony asked.

“This is a storeroom,” S-Ram said matter of factly. “Different supplies collected from different realities. I chose a reality where one of these would be undisturbed by those who came after the Masters, picking and scavenging at the corpse of a dead empire.”

The two boys looked at some of the boxes warily. S-Ram simply approached one of them straight away and opened it up. She made a whistling noise of satisfaction and shut it.

“This will serve us well,” she said, sliding the box towards Keith. The boy leaned down and opened it. Within there as a small black device with a dish at one end and a handle at the other.

“What’s that?” he asked.

“That is a Masters weapon, of sorts,” S-Ram replied. “It forces nearby computer systems to respond to the wielder of the weapon.”

“Like a hacking machine?” Anthony asked.

“In a crude manner of speaking,” S-Ram said. “Set it aside somewhere. And put whatever else we find with it.”

She went back to examining the boxes. It seemed as though she could tell just what was in them with barely a glance at the wording on them. Occasionally, she would open one up as if to make sure of what she had a found.

“Ah, here is something that shall please you,” she said as she reached into a recently opened box. Taking something out of it, she tossed it to Anthony. He caught it in surprise. It was a Colt Commando submachine gun.

“A machine gun?” he asked.

“Not just any gun,” S-Ram said. “It uses miniaturized-matter teleportation to retrieve its rounds instantaneously from Masters armories scattered throughout the multiverse.”

“What does that mean?” Keith asked.

“Anthony, shoot off the entire magazine,” S-Ram said.

“Right here?” he asked.

S-Ram nodded her head. “Right here, right now.”

Anthony shrugged his shoulders and pointed himself at an empty space of wall. He raised the gun to his shoulder and turned the safety off. With a pull of the trigger bullets began to spew out at a ferocious rate. Soon, however, there was a click as the magazine went dry.

“Cock the gun again,” S-Ram said.

Anthony gave her a perturbed look, but did so anyway.

“Fire it again,” S-Ram instructed.

“It’s out of bullets though,” Anthony said.

“Fire it again,” S-Ram repeated.

Anthony shook his head in exasperation. He pointed the gun at the wall and pulled the trigger again. But instead of an empty click, bullets once again shot forth from the barrel. Anthony stopped in surprise. Keith strode up and looked at the gun.

“How did that happen?” he asked, looking to S-Ram.

“Miniature tele-porter located within the weapon,” S-Ram said. “The Masters made many such modified guns like this, so that their agents could blend in well in various realities. The modification allows for more ammunition to be retrieved from great armories that are sealed up as tight as the prison of the dark one.”

“So, when I cock it back, it teleports more bullets into the gun?” Anthony asked.

S-Ram nodded her head. “That is the principle behind it.”

Anthony looked at Keith and a smile crept across his face. “You know what this means?”

“What are you thinking?” Keith asked. He had a good idea what it was, but he wanted to allow his friend say it.

“Infinite ammo,” Anthony said. “These guns have infinite ammo.”

Now it was Keith’s turn to have a smile creep across his face. He turned back to S-Ram. “You got any more of those?”

“Nothing that advanced,” S-Ram said as she reached back into the box. “I’m afraid that you will have to make do with these.”

She tossed a belt of sorts at Keith. He caught it and examined it. There were a pair of holsters with revolvers in them. Keith pulled one out and pointed it at the wall, aiming down the sight. He pulled the trigger six times. Each time a thunderous gunshot came booming forth. After six shots though, the gun clicked dry. Keith pulled the hammer on the gun back, then pulled the trigger again. His smile became a big grin when another gunshot sounded.

“Will it satisfy you?” S-Ram asked.

“I think so,” Keith said as he buckled the holsters around his pants and replaced the revolver in it’s holster. He liked the way it felt to stand with the weight of the guns on his hips. It made him feel powerful.

S-Ram did not acknowledge this if she noticed it. She simply returned to looking through the boxes and setting aside a few of them. The two boys made themselves useful by stacking them in one pile off to the side. Soon there was a nice stack of boxes about waist high there.

“We’ll need to get something so that we can carry a