The Seasons

Chapter 40

There were many more people than he had expected inside the room, packed to the brim with people from different backgrounds, ethnicities and more. When he spotted a woman in the front holding a blood bag, he also realised that the chances that he was probably the only human in there were high.

He swallowed but nodded. That was okay. That was fine.

The room was brightly lit by fluorescent light, and there was no furniture except maybe a podium toward the front; the walls were a light grey, and the floors were dark. He also noted the lack of windows in the space, but that may have had something to do with the fact that they were underground.

A black door to the east of the room opened, and the people parted to give the person who entered the space to walk; when she came into view, Summer instantly recognised her. Her long black hair was again flowing, and it seemed to suck in all the light under the harsh lighting. Huh, her hair really was black and not just brown. Her pale skin once again appeared to shine, and he realised maybe she wasn’t human and her species, well, maybe their skin just glowed. Her dark eyes landed on Summer, and her painted red lips turned into a smile as she walked over; he felt all eyes on him as she stopped before him. He craned his neck to look up at her and forced a smile.

“Summer,” she said; he noted the slight hint of a French accent. “It’s lovely to see you; after the boss’s right-hand man explains, please come find me. A few of us would like to have a word with you.”

He nodded, and she smiled again as she turned on her heel and walked over to the black and red podium, tapping on the microphone. She began introducing herself, and Summer learned her name was Vanessa. She gave a very brief introduction, how she was so pleased so many Entia had turned up. He assumed Entia was what the supernatural beings were called and was surprised that no one around him called them that.

The lighting in the room dimmed as a man entered through the same door Vanessa had come from. Summer was towards the back of the room, but as the man stood at the podium, he saw his eyes first. He was surprised at their vibrant green shade, and they appeared to glow in the dark. A scar started under his right eye; it went straight down and ended just under his face. Just as Vanessa was, he wore a tight-fitted black and white suit. His dark hair was cut short near his face, and his dark skin also seemed to glow, albeit subtler than Vanessa’s.

Everyone in the room stared at him as he looked into the crowd.

“I’m sure many of you know why we have gathered you here today. And I know many of you have been wronged by humans. I’m also sure you must be aware of the group that has been running around, killing Entia, but what if I told you it was for the greater good?”

The room was so quiet; you could hear a pin drop.

“Now, I know you must have questions, but what if I said that all these people weren’t killed in a meaningless attempt at terrorism, as some of the Entia and human media have been calling it? What if they gave their lives for something that will help Entia overthrow the humans and will finally put them back in their place? These courageous people gave their lives to our boss; they sacrificed their lives to push our goal forward and help the boss, who is creating something. Something that will soon have humans acknowledge our existence. Something that will finally put us back at the top of the food chain as it always should have been? The Iustitia was created for this purpose. They have been chosen by the divine to rid the world of humans so we, the Entia, can start again. Despite these deaths, everyone named on the wall went peacefully, some with a smile on their face, all so Entia can rise.”

The room was silent as they all processed everything, and everything in Summer’s body tensed. This is what they were looking for. This was the group that everyone had been looking for, the one killing Entia.

A loud cheer erupted, and Vanessa smiled silently beside the man. Summer stared at her, and something about her unnerved him. Was it how dangerous her smile appeared? Her blood-red lips against pale skin?

The man nodded and went down the podium staring before he went out of the door he came in from.

As people mingled, Summer hid behind the taller people and opened the door he had entered from, and escaped through that room. This s**t was a f*****g cult, he realised. He stumbled around the hallways trying to find the exit. The black hallways seemed to go on forever, but he was sure he was going deeper and deeper. He could hear his feet hitting the grey wooden flooring, and he knew he was giving his spot away, but he didn’t care.

And he was too high on adrenaline to think anything through rationally. Maybe there was an elevator down the hall. But there wasn't. At the end of the hallway, there was a door.

An extensive set of black double doors seemed to suck in the light. He stared at the colour, and he recognised it as vantablack. He heard Winter ramble on about the darkest black ever to be created, about how some man in London owned the rights to it, so how was it here? He hesitated before taking a step forward. He frowned when he thought he heard something, so he got closer. And he nodded. He did. He was hearing the faint sounds of someone screaming for help. To be let out. And they were behind this door.

He placed his hand on the blood-red doorknob.

“Summer.”

Summer whirled around to see the man with glowing green eyes staring at him. He was standing in the middle of the hallway, blocking his exit, so he stared at the man, his heart beating rapidly in his chest. “Let’s go,” the man said.

When he didn’t move, the man walked to him and touched his back before pushing him forward. Summer craned his neck to look at the door as the distant cries for help faded.

~*~