Chapter 22
Marcus tried to take flight, but Mish and Dragoon jumped upon the membrane of his wings when he tried to throw himself up. Dem’s teeth were locked onto his neck, and they would not be letting go any time soon. Karen was on his back. She used her beak to separate the two scales between his head and neck. A soft area was revealed, but it was not enough to bring Marcus down. Marcus hated doing it, but he latched onto Dem with his jaws and ripped him off. He folded his wings and jumped upward. Mish and Dragoon were thrown free. Karen was still pecking at his neck, but Marcus knew she could not cause any lasting damage.
Marcus flew around the chamber; he was looking for a control tower. Marcus knew it would take more than a few days of imprisonment to cause his friends to loose it, which meant that they were under another’s control. Marcus found his answer on the only tower in the chamber; the temple.
Marcus flew to it and turned his head to the side. He closed his jaws around the tower and ripped apart the inner wiring. The pecking stopped a short time afterward. She climbed off Marcus’s back and took flight. Marcus turned around, and Dem yelled out, “Sorry, Marcus! Mind Control; sure does give quite the buzz, right Drag?”
“I wouldn’t know; my experience in weed is somewhat lacking.”
“Oh, shut up.”
Yup, Dem was back to his old self.
As the group conversed, Marcus turned back to the temple. He stuck his tongue in and pulled out the limp body of the man he spoke with earlier. A large hole was blown into the side of his head. The rank on his coat’s right shoulder showed Marcus that, in his tongue, he held the man that raped his sister, imprisoned his friends, and killed countless soldiers for his own personal gain. Marcus wished he had killed him when he had the chance. It would have been a very slow, painful, and violent death.
Marcus was angry at himself for not realizing it before and, in his anger, threw the body at the chamber’s walls. The body exploded against the surface; he hoped Marcus would swallow him. Marcus realized that it was actual rock that was struck. The ground shook around him and the wall was instantly covered in black spider webs as it started to crumble.
Marcus screamed, “Everyone out of the chamber, NOW!”
None of the titanicus argued with his order; they may be immortal, but eternal imprisonment was as close to death as they could go. Rocks started to fall from the ceiling as Marcus flew alongside Karen to escape. Marcus looked down to see Dem and the others running alongside him. The rocks from the ceiling were crushing the buildings around them, and it seemed too likely that one of the wrecks would slow them down too much.
Mish was the first to reach the exit. Dragoon and Dem were close behind along with Karen. Marcus was the last to enter the tunnel. All of them made use of the cracks to pull themselves forward. Karen was small enough to take flight, so she quickly made her way out. Dem, Dragoon, and Mish were meant for the ground, so they were able to keep a steady pace. Marcus, however, was not so lucky. He was built for flight, but his bulk did not allow for it in the tight confines of the tunnel.
They were only a quarter of the way out when a large stone landed on Marcus’s head. He realized that he was not going to make it and stopped moving. Dem turned around and said, “Come on, you still have a chance!”
“Not this time Demmy. Go on; tell the others what happened here.”
“NO! I won’t leave you here.”
Marcus gave him an ultimatum when he smashed his head into the tunnel roof and caused a large boulder to cover his path. Dem’s only option was to move forward, and Marcus’s only option was to go back.
He let himself slide down, not knowing if he would ever see the light of day again. The fall was longer, and his body felt somehow heavier. When he slit through the tunnel entrance, Marcus could still see light. The power grid was still functional and the roof was still relatively intact. All of the skyscrapers were rubble, and the ceiling was filled with craters that overlapped until they created a new ceiling. Marcus remembered a private project that Isaac ran by him and no one else; another Titanstone.
It was a long time ago, but Marcus still had recollections of the plans. It was different from the others in that it could work for anyone, not just a specific person. The idea that it might be stored within these very chambers did not surprise Marcus, as Isaac was too proud of his engineering to hide it anywhere else. Marcus flew back to the temple and only slowed down once, when another chunk of the earth above broke loose. When he landed on the temple, Marcus pressed his tongue into the single-room building and discovered by way of force that it was not a single room building.
A thin wall broke under the force of his muscles and revealed a hidden chamber. In it, Marcus felt may strange objects that he dared not tamper with. He felt a metal orb at the far side of the chamber and wrapped both sides of his forked tongue around the object. He pulled out and revealed the perfect sphere. The orb measured six inches across. It was copper with bronze circles around the surface. Marcus swallowed it and jumped off of the temple. It was just then that the fragile roof gave way to the hundreds of thousands of tons pressing on it from above.
Marcus took flight and headed for an ever-growing fracture in the great dome. Water from the great basin above flowed down and hampered his ability to fly. Marcus felt himself fall with the weight of the water; he could not continue. This was how Marcus would end.
Marcus flew around the chamber; he was looking for a control tower. Marcus knew it would take more than a few days of imprisonment to cause his friends to loose it, which meant that they were under another’s control. Marcus found his answer on the only tower in the chamber; the temple.
Marcus flew to it and turned his head to the side. He closed his jaws around the tower and ripped apart the inner wiring. The pecking stopped a short time afterward. She climbed off Marcus’s back and took flight. Marcus turned around, and Dem yelled out, “Sorry, Marcus! Mind Control; sure does give quite the buzz, right Drag?”
“I wouldn’t know; my experience in weed is somewhat lacking.”
“Oh, shut up.”
Yup, Dem was back to his old self.
As the group conversed, Marcus turned back to the temple. He stuck his tongue in and pulled out the limp body of the man he spoke with earlier. A large hole was blown into the side of his head. The rank on his coat’s right shoulder showed Marcus that, in his tongue, he held the man that raped his sister, imprisoned his friends, and killed countless soldiers for his own personal gain. Marcus wished he had killed him when he had the chance. It would have been a very slow, painful, and violent death.
Marcus was angry at himself for not realizing it before and, in his anger, threw the body at the chamber’s walls. The body exploded against the surface; he hoped Marcus would swallow him. Marcus realized that it was actual rock that was struck. The ground shook around him and the wall was instantly covered in black spider webs as it started to crumble.
Marcus screamed, “Everyone out of the chamber, NOW!”
None of the titanicus argued with his order; they may be immortal, but eternal imprisonment was as close to death as they could go. Rocks started to fall from the ceiling as Marcus flew alongside Karen to escape. Marcus looked down to see Dem and the others running alongside him. The rocks from the ceiling were crushing the buildings around them, and it seemed too likely that one of the wrecks would slow them down too much.
Mish was the first to reach the exit. Dragoon and Dem were close behind along with Karen. Marcus was the last to enter the tunnel. All of them made use of the cracks to pull themselves forward. Karen was small enough to take flight, so she quickly made her way out. Dem, Dragoon, and Mish were meant for the ground, so they were able to keep a steady pace. Marcus, however, was not so lucky. He was built for flight, but his bulk did not allow for it in the tight confines of the tunnel.
They were only a quarter of the way out when a large stone landed on Marcus’s head. He realized that he was not going to make it and stopped moving. Dem turned around and said, “Come on, you still have a chance!”
“Not this time Demmy. Go on; tell the others what happened here.”
“NO! I won’t leave you here.”
Marcus gave him an ultimatum when he smashed his head into the tunnel roof and caused a large boulder to cover his path. Dem’s only option was to move forward, and Marcus’s only option was to go back.
He let himself slide down, not knowing if he would ever see the light of day again. The fall was longer, and his body felt somehow heavier. When he slit through the tunnel entrance, Marcus could still see light. The power grid was still functional and the roof was still relatively intact. All of the skyscrapers were rubble, and the ceiling was filled with craters that overlapped until they created a new ceiling. Marcus remembered a private project that Isaac ran by him and no one else; another Titanstone.
It was a long time ago, but Marcus still had recollections of the plans. It was different from the others in that it could work for anyone, not just a specific person. The idea that it might be stored within these very chambers did not surprise Marcus, as Isaac was too proud of his engineering to hide it anywhere else. Marcus flew back to the temple and only slowed down once, when another chunk of the earth above broke loose. When he landed on the temple, Marcus pressed his tongue into the single-room building and discovered by way of force that it was not a single room building.
A thin wall broke under the force of his muscles and revealed a hidden chamber. In it, Marcus felt may strange objects that he dared not tamper with. He felt a metal orb at the far side of the chamber and wrapped both sides of his forked tongue around the object. He pulled out and revealed the perfect sphere. The orb measured six inches across. It was copper with bronze circles around the surface. Marcus swallowed it and jumped off of the temple. It was just then that the fragile roof gave way to the hundreds of thousands of tons pressing on it from above.
Marcus took flight and headed for an ever-growing fracture in the great dome. Water from the great basin above flowed down and hampered his ability to fly. Marcus felt himself fall with the weight of the water; he could not continue. This was how Marcus would end.