With a thud, Neter slammed into the wall,
rolled to his left and slipped through the door with not a second to spare
before the beasts crashed into it, slamming it closed with a deafening boom.
With lightning fast reflexes, he leapt to his feet, slid the bar across the
door and locked them inside.
For
a moment he stood stunned, catching his breath as the tempest died down, then
hurried on, studying the tracks on the floor as he made his way back to
Reception; they travelled both ways. What on earth had Malodon created, and
why? Those things weren't experimental creatures, those things were blood
thirsty monsters of mass destruction!
Did someone deliberately unleash them on the innocent children of Culloom?
Such
a thought made him question his own sanity but as he followed the tracks to the
front door he just couldn’t shake that feeling… Could it really have been an accident?
It seemed implausible, surely there was more security than that? Would they not
have devoured the reception staff if it had simply been an accident?
These
tracks matched the tracks in the tunnel at the intersection… They went straight
to Culloom… That this Culloom Disaster could have been enabled seemed to be the
only logical explanation. But who would do such a thing? He knew the Anunnaki
were cruel, but this was beyond cruel, even for Malodon, Malodon was sick and
cruel but he would never destroy his own work like that, would he? Could Atalon be
so cruel? Halios? Who had what to
gain? It just wasn't believable, it was unfathomable to consider such a
scenario, even for King Atalon!
Zara lay on the bed in the meditation room, fondling the emerald Tower tile, trying to open her mind. It had been a long day but the storytelling was keeping her awake, now she couldn't sleep because memories of Aquilla kept replaying. She felt sad for her now, she felt bad for running away from her, for thinking Aquilla was incinerating her yet these feelings she was experiencing for a monster seemed so terribly dysfunctional. It was true, the beast was scary looking, however her fears had been based on what she had been told. What had she seen? A scary looking monster with big blue eyes? The fear had been so strong she thought Aquilla had actually gone after her... There was only one huge glitch with their story. Aquilla was threatening the citizens of Atlan with her wrath. Aquilla was causing terrible earth tremors. Her violent outbursts were so powerful they shook every establishment, it wasn't anyone's imagination. It was real!
She
felt sorry for her now perhaps because there were real plans to annihilate her
forever… Perhaps that was why Aquilla was releasing her anger like that? She
wanted to go back to Atlan and tell everyone the rumors about Aquilla weren't
true, but when she pictured herself doing such a thing, it seemed impossible.
Zara
tossed in her bed and forced her thoughts back to Nolan. Who was he? Why was he
chosen to be a god? Was it just because he was a Panther? Why was he a Panther?
Did Nolan know the Truth about Aquilla? She was also beginning to realize she
had no idea who he was, or why had she been so determined to win his heart, or
why she should even deserve to. It
raised more difficult questions. Why did
she feel like they belonged together? That they were somehow destined for each other? Obviously they
weren't! Her questions led to a painful truth. She didn't even know what love
was, they weren't even allowed to discuss it in Atlan. Love was illegal!
When
the candlelight flickered, the crystals in the walls shimmered, inducing a
dreamy state of loving longing. Soon her mind drifted back to happier times in
Atlan... She closed her eyes and tried to be grateful, grateful to be safe from
the horrid life she had once lived. It seemed so long ago now it was like she
really had died in the tunnel and had been given a second life…
Now she understood what journey the
Death tile spoke of, Mina was right. It wasn’t about the god of Death at all,
she had
experienced a sort of death, her old life, her old self, 'Zara the Golden', had died.
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