Mi - sar - ri...,
Mak Larah mi ra mi...,
Ke si lufah,
Amoa rae tah...
The sound of a foreign songstress filled my head as I lay in the darkness of the corridor. We had been separated, once I had entered the corridor the whole structure rocked and swayed.
"Oh my god!" Yarmeli screamed. In front of her was a huge Valex, which was the name of the large cristos.
"Antioch Greca Imiera!" The gray one shouted as it slammed its fist down upon Yarmeli's skull. She fell to the floor, crumpled, limp. Malachai ran forward and leapt upon the Valex which maimed his daughter, and broke its neck in a single twist. The Valex had an exoskeleton, so when the neck broke, the whole head popped off.
"Hey Ugly!" He shouted as he hurled the head at the red Valex. It turned at the moment of impact and fell into the wall. I found Gloria and dragged her along the corridor, away from the fighting, we were jus in time, because out of the wall, bust more Valex, of all colors. Except white. I have never seen a White Valex before. Whe turned another corner and fell down a curving and twisting chute. As we slid, we heard a great explosion, and we could see orange flames bursting about the corridor.
"Malachai's dead." Gloria said distantly, "He and Yarmeli."
"I guess so." I thought.
Be back after lunch.
Where the chute led, was a very unique room. We fell out of the chute together and skidded to a stop. We were in a room that was dark, save for a sixteen foot circle of light, which enveloped a pool table, and two pool players. One was tall and thin, the other was short and stocky. They both wore black pants, vests, boots and gloves. Their shirts were the whitest I had ever seen. Their hair fell to the sides of their heads and shielded their faces from view. The thin one bent over and knocked a solid ball into the corner pocket. The smaller companion was rather annoyed by the taller one. The next ball he hit was a red one, which was hit at an awkward angle. The ball bounced off the cue, flew toward the right side pocket, went across the gap of the pocket, and bounced off the rail, and shot back into the cue, causing it to fly off the table. The thin one caught the cue as it sailed toward him. He handed it to his compaion who proceeded to make his next three moves.
"six in the corner pocket." He bent and shot, the ball sailed past the six ball and bounced off the rail near the corner pocket, then veered toward the six ball. It knocked it into the opposite pocket.
"three in the side pocket." WHAM. The cue sailed into the pocket with the three. TYhe thin one picked the ball out of the pocket and searched for another score.
"They are playing eight ball." I said to gloria.
"That is outlawed in Vlaxtau."
"I think that is the least of our worried now." Gloria stepped forward and into the light.
"Excuse me, but you are--" Gloria screamed and ran into the darkness behind me. The men looked up, I understood then, her fear. The thin man was a skeleton, and his companion was a rotting corpse. Nothing was very supernatural about him. He was merely a skeleton, of course that is putting it lightly. No glowing eyes, no unearthly voice, merely a skeleton who played pool. The skeleton walked toward me and knocked me out of the way. Gloria screamed as it grabbed her and took her across the room, and into the darkness.
"Habeas! Help me!" She screamed in utter terror as she reached toward me. I ran toward her, but the corpse grabbed me and hurled me over the pool table. I picked up the pool stick and ran after the skeleton. As I reached it and swung, it disappeared into the wall. Gloria's face was the epitome of deathlike fear. Here eyes were wide open, her mouth was gaping in horror, and she reached toward me, her image was all that was there. Soon that even faded away. I heard a footstep and turned around, the corpse of the stocky pool player held the other cue stick. He slammed it down upon my shoulder, it would have made contact too, had I not moved it. Soon we began to duel.
it jabbed to the right and I blocked it's move, on and on our fight went, until finally, it slipped, and cracked its stick. It then began to thrust its weapon at me. I ducked and dodged it for some time, until I was three feet from the wall. I stooped down and waited for the corpse to do what I already knew it would. It attempted to thrust it into my skull, but I moved just as it came within reach of me. It stumbled to the floor, I rose up and held the stick. It turned to me silently, and the last thing
it saw, was the stick approaching it.
With the corpse laid out upon the floor, and its head three feet away, I began to ponder my conundrum. As can be seen, I don't fret over tragedies, and always keep my wits about me.
Gloria is captive to some creature, Malachai and Yarmeli are dead, burned to cinders, I am stuck in this sealed room of pool. The only way out is up the chute which I came down, and that will not be an easy task.
No one said it would be easy Montillad.
I know that. There is no other way.
But there is.
What can it be then if there is?
The skull. I looked at the skull and realized what could be done. It was worth a try. I made my way over to the cadaver's head and picked it up. I then held it in my hands and proceeded to the wall.
Open. I thought. I thought this word painfully as I walked toward it, my eyes were shut tight and I concentrated, concentrated...I was still walking. I kept walking until I was stopped by the sweet singing of a foreign songstress, so beautiful it was, that tears were brought to my heart, and then to my eyes.
Mi - sar - ri...,
Mak Larah mi ra mi...,
Ke si lufah,
Amoa rae tah...
Salah ma rae tah
Amkaro Mi rolta
Yea shayromo
Luk ta-du re du
Siek lo ah nai
Sheikhaanma ri ndolo
Si suloundai mic raun dlo raendo
Si-ra-min-ra...
As listened, I could not help but stand still. But as I listened closely, the melodic hymn wavered some, I knew it could be no Operamore, though they sang in a language similar to this, slow and rhythmic. This was different. Then I heard it, it was between the high and soft pluckings of some harp of superior creation. The sound was of scraping, getting louder, and in tune with the musical rhythm of the voice and the harp. I turned and looked int othe darkness. There were shining black beetles heading my way.
"Carnice." I ran down toward the music. The tunnels were long, and the music was maddening as I dashed down the dark, sepulchral abomination that was the underground of Pym's mansion. I ran so quickly and without concern for what was before me, that, when I ran over the pit, in the floor, had my arms not been spread out, I would have fallen to my death. I hit the wall of the pit and hung onto the floor. I pulled myself up and lay flat on the floor above it. I heaved with breath as the beetles fell into the pit, softly cracking upon each other. The song still flowed....
