Coming Out of Exile: The Strength of A Father's Love
By Moon Mistress

Chapter Nineteen

The trek through the Underworld was steady and most of all it was quiet.  They encountered no one on the road or off in the distance and now there wasn’t so much as a fucked up flying gargoyle or a Momma Spider anywhere.  It really was as though all the souls that inhabited the Underworld simply vanished.  The air never got any lighter and the further into Tartarus they went the harder it became to breathe and keep putting one foot in front of the other.  It was a long way from the Black Palace to the Sixth Level of Tartarus, it wasn’t like walking across town or something but more like walking across country. They had no idea how much had passed in the Upperworld but Daniel felt certain that it was at least a full day and probably as much as two.  It would be so helpful if there was a mode of transportation down here.  Other than that the journey seemed too easy as if someone wanted them to make it to the prison as soon as they could and without any interruption.  Daniel and his companions smelled a trap but they continued on with sharp eyes and keen ears.

Onward they went until an odd thing appeared on the horizon. All of them immediately recognized the shape in the distance but what they didn’t understand was what it was doing here. 

“It’s a monorail, isn’t it?” Duncan asked.

“I believe it is,” Daniel replied. This was new.  No, this hasn’t been here on his previous trips to the Underworld. With cautious hope they neared the streamlined contraption and walked around its mighty legs looking up and wondering if really worked.  There was a loud hum coming from above as though electricity were running through the long steel rail.  Together the three of them walked up the steep cement staircase that led to the platform above.  The monorail was sleek and shiny, silver on the top and sharp blue below with a red racing stripe through the middle.  Upon approaching it the door slid open with a little whoosh.

Daniel peered inside to see an interior which matched the exterior.  Very comfortable leather seats in the same sharp blue on one side and a long bench in the same shade on the other. Over the bench hung silver hand straps.  Between the very inviting La-Z-Boy style chairs were small tables with cup holders.  To the rear of the compartment was a fully stocked bar complete with crystal glasses hanging over it and a large polished mirror behind. “Who wants to go first?”

“Welcome!”

Daniel jumped back away from the door and the sudden jolt of the voice as the lights inside flickered on.

“I am Blaine. Please board and state your destination.”

“The fuckin’ thing talks?” Nick asked as he ran a hand over his short hair.

“Looks like,” Daniel agreed with a sigh and suddenly had an image of the Johnny Cab from Total Recall.  They could either keep walking or risk taking the Johnny Cab Ride From Hell.

“Please, board and state your destination.” Blaine said again.  The voice was decidedly male and to Daniel it sounded as though the owner may have been from Maine.

“Hello Blaine.” Daniel said hesitantly not wanting to look like an absolute fool but wanting to see if the machine was truly interactive. “I’m Daniel.”

“Greetings Daniel, please board and….”

“State my destination. I heard thanks.” Daniel called to the machine.  He looked back at Duncan and Nick. “Well?”

“Why not?” Duncan said.

Yeah, why not?  Daniel crossed the threshold and was followed by his companions. The door promptly shut behind them.

“State your destination, Daniel.”

“I want to go to the prison in Tartarus. Do you go there, Blaine?”

“My rail runs to the deepest parts of Tartarus. Please sit and enjoy the ride.” Blaine said and the engine up ahead of them began to whirr lowly passing a strong vibration through their feet.

Sit and enjoy the ride…yeah.  The seats looked good to tired legs and eyes and each of them dropped their packs and rested.  Outside the windows the Underworld passed by in a steady of blur indicating they were traveling at some fifty miles per hour.  For the time being it beat walking by a mile and a half.  Each man wanted to take off his shoes and let his aching feet air out a little bit but each was afraid they’d never get them back in said shoes before they started to swell.  Trying not to relax too much but enough to be of some benefit they sat back in the soft chairs to discuss their situation.

“What do you think of…this?” Duncan asked and pointed upward gesturing to Blaine.

Daniel didn’t know and maybe it was best not to discuss too much.  “Blaine?” He asked. “Can you hear me?”

“I hear you Daniel.” Blaine the Monorail replied. “Do you wish to go faster?”

“No,” Daniel muttered, “this is good. Who built you?”

“I was built by the Master.” Blaine said in his Maine Monotone voice.

“Who is that?”

“Hades.”

“When?”

“Eons ago.”

Daniel thought about that. “You weren’t here a few years ago.” He countered the machine carrying them swiftly down the track. There was no answer.  If he wanted to hold a conversation with Blaine perhaps he had to ask questions. “Where were you then?”

“Resting.” Blaine replied as the monorail rounded a sharp bend and all inside leaned slightly to the right with the momentum.

“When did you wake from your rest?”

“Not long ago. Hades summoned me.”

That was an interesting thought. Had Hades been able to call up this machine from his place in the Chair of Oblivion?  If he could then why didn’t he use his magick to get himself out of the chair?  “Why?”

“To hasten your journey.”

At that Daniel looked to his companions who were thinking it over and hoping it was true.  They seemed willing to believe it.  If Hades couldn’t summon up Blaine then someone else had done it. His mind returned to the idea of walking into a trap. Why would Kanan want them so close to where he was most likely holding his hostages? “Bait.” Daniel muttered.

“I did not understand.”

“Not you, Blaine.” Daniel said dismissively and rolled his blue eyes. “Blaine?”

“Yes, Daniel.”

“Do you know what a lie is?”

“It is when one does not tell the truth.” The monorail answered.

“That’s right,” Daniel agreed and felt like a fool talking to the machine but it was very obvious that machine or not Blaine was an intelligent creature. “Do you know how to lie?”

 “Yes.”

The single word hung coldly in the air around them.

“What’s on your mind, Dad?”

Daniel shook his head and put a finger to his lips.  These walls had ears and he had no who might be listening.  “Blaine?”

“Yes, Daniel.”

“Is it a long trip to the prison?”

“We will arrive in due time.” Blaine said in his unfeeling voice. “I assure you our trip will be swifter than if you had walked.”

That was true.  Maybe it was best to stop talking and just try and ease the tension in their bones and bodies.  The chairs were very comfortable almost irresistibly so and it was easy to sit back and let their soft leather seats and back rests soak their troubles away.  Daniel found his eyes closing and his mind drifting off and had to force himself awake.  Looking over he noticed his companions were also on the verge of sleep.  It had been a very long arduous journey thus far and a cat nap was probably just what the doctor ordered but… “Hey, wake up!” Daniel snapped. “You don’t want to fall asleep down here.”

“I’m tired, Dad.” Nick protested and rolled over onto his side in the chair his big long legs dangling out in front of him and stretching to the seat across the way. “Just a few minutes.”

“No,” Daniel replied, “no minutes of sleep.” He reached out and slapped Nick lightly across the face. Nick’s eyes popped open in shock. “Rest but no sleep.  Get something to eat.”

Outside the Underworld kept passing by the windows while they sat and recharged their batteries in the comfortable chairs but uneasy environment of Blaine the Monorail.  The slow droning hum and soft vibration at their feet did little to help them stay awake.  Normally all of them would consider this a good time to talk and lay out whatever plans they could come up with but here in the Belly of Blaine that wasn’t a good idea.  Perhaps as much as an hour or more passed while they nibbled Power Bars and talked of times of past.  It wasn’t long after that they noticed Blaine was picking up speed. Outside the windows the steadily passing scenery was nothing more than one continuous blur and below them the vibration grew from its soft lull and ran straight up his body.

“Blaine, why are we going so fast?” Daniel asked the monorail.

“We must gather speed to make our descent. Please use your safety harnesses now.” Blaine instructed.

Duncan ignored the warning and instead got up to kneel on the cushioned bench and look out the window.  It wasn’t easy to see anything at this speed and he had to reach up for the hand strap to keep his body steady.  Craning his neck he tried to look forward but saw nothing other than Blaine’s sleek body riding the rail.  There was a sudden jar so strong it rocked Duncan off the bench as the monorail began a sharp ascent.

“Maybe you wanna buckle up.” Nick suggested as he found the harness and strapped in.

Duncan didn’t hesitate to follow as he weaved an unsteady path to land with an uncontrolled plop into the nearest seat and fumble with the shoulder harness.  Daniel also strapped in as the monorail rocketed up the incline and the G forces began to push up his body. Their packs traveled from near their feet to the rear of their car under the force. Overhead the lights flickered off and on several times before they went out completely. Soon the force was so strong it was pressing him to the seat and pushing his cheeks back away from his face.  He couldn’t move a single muscle as his chest began to compress.  Being able to roll just his eyes he saw his companions were not faring any better.

At the exact second Daniel felt he was going to implode Blaine crested the pinnacle and the forces around them released their grip.  Able to exhale and take in a single breath but with time for nothing more Blaine began barreling down the grade.  Now all were forced forward at a much more powerful rate than they had been held back.  Holding on to the arm rests until their knuckles were white each man closed his eyes and held on for the ride.  At speeds none of them even wanted to think of the monorail banked right and turned sharply left leaving each with the remnants of Power Bars in their throats. The packs flew forward spilling their contents of food, water and weapons all over the car.  Duncan was hit in the back of the head by Daniel’s Swiss Army knife traveled at a right rate of speed it left a large lump on his skull.

Yeah, this definitely qualified as the Johnny Cab Ride From Hell.  Who knew Hades like roller coasters?

Down, down, down they went deep into the Sixth Level.  Outside the windows nothing but blackness and blurred fire could be seen. Around another sharp turn forcing all to bear to the left and further down still Blaine suddenly came to a stop.  No slowing down. No subtle decrease in speed whatsoever. The monorail just stopped. All in the car were suddenly jolted forward harshly against their restraints. The straps bit into them holding them in place.

“Destination reached.” Blaine informed them as the lights overhead flickered on once more and the doors slid open with that familiar whoosh.  “Thank you for traveling with us today.”

Everyone let out a nervous laugh as they looked around to sure they were all right. “You’re welcome,” Daniel returned breathlessly. “That was a hell of a ride, Blaine.”  His heart was still beating with all the force of freighter and he wasn’t ready to get up just yet though he’d like nothing more than to gather up his belongings and bolt for the open door.  Taking off the strap he thought he’d try out his legs which were wobbly at best as he struggled to get control of them and his jangling nerves while he looked out the window.  He didn’t see much of anything out there. “How do we get to the prison from here, Blaine?”

“This is the destination you specified.”

Sounded pretty final to him.  They gathered up their things and walked off the monorail and down the steps.  It was hot here and not just hot it was sweltering.  At the bottom of the platform they noticed a rather strange sprawling building not too far away from them.

It didn’t look like any prison any of them had ever seen with its one level and long tentacle like arms that seemed to stretch in every direction at once while it zigged and zagged and turned in on itself.  There wasn’t a single window anywhere and it took them a bit of time, as they wandered around the outside of the labyrinth, to find a door.  When they come across one it was nestled discreetly in the elbow of one of the bends.

It was unlocked.

Wasn’t that odd?  Who left the prison door open?

Bait, Daniel thought again. Slowly Duncan opened it while Daniel and Nicholas flanked him with weapons ready.  Inside was dark almost dark as pitch and it took some time for Duncan’s eyes to adjust.  On the crumbling ceiling overhead were several lights but only a smattering of them worked and in those the bulbs (or whatever they were) burned so dimly as to be almost no help at all.  It stunk in there as if fresh air hadn’t breezed down the corridors in over a thousand years.

“Creep Central.” Nick whispered as he got his first look around.

Daniel took two steps into the prison and then stopped abruptly. He cocked his head to one side and strained to hear but soon realized the sound was in his mind.  It was Calla and she was weeping.  Not only could he hear her faintly in the back of his mind but a soft wave of sorrow washed over him and he took felt like bursting into tears.  Daniel looked down at the medallion around his neck and took it up in his hand wondering if this was a trick of his mind or if the damn thing was really working. 

“What is it, Daniel? What do you hear?” Duncan asked as he kept looking around to be sure no one was sneaking up on them.

Daniel turned to Nick. “She’s here.”

“Who?”  Deep in his heart he hoped his Father was going to say ‘Annie’ but he knew that wasn’t it.  For a dreaded moment Nicholas felt his big heart drop when Daniel said that his Mother was here and then he felt ashamed of himself. Both women were important and he loved them both he should be happy to hear that his Mother was in here alive somewhere.  He knew he’d hold his breath until the same could be said for Annie.  “Can you find her with that?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.” That was if this wasn’t a trick. Kanan did have the master ring and he could be sending out false signals to attract Daniel to whatever trap lay ahead.

Inside the prison wasn’t like being inside the Black Palace which had some rhyme and reason to its structure this place just stretched off in ten different directions at once and who knew for how far.  They’d cover much more ground if they split up but with no way to communicate with each other how would they ever find their way back?  Yet there seemed little choice.  “I know you hate the idea, Dad, but…”

“Yeah, we have to split up.” Daniel agreed. “Your watches work?”  Each man looked down at the watch on his wrist to discover they were still displaying as they should.  “Twenty minutes, you got it?  Go as far as you can in twenty minutes, remember the way you went and we’ll meet up back here then.  If you get into trouble just yell out and keep yelling but whatever you do don’t touch them with your bare skin.”  He didn’t know how far the corridors went or in what directions they might split off after what he could see but they decided to take the three corridors on their right and explore them for the allotted twenty minutes.  “If you find any of them don’t be a hero come back here and we’ll all go together. Keep sharp they know we’re here.”

If there had ever been any at all in the world then Daniel’s words definitely qualified as Pearls of Wisdom. Each with a weapon in one hand and a flashlight in the other went off on his separate way wishing the others good fortune as they went.

End of Chapter Nineteen
Coming Out of Exile: The Strength of a Father's Love
by Moon Mistress
a/k/a Lisa Beth Darling
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Chapter Twenty