The ARC offices were down below by a couple of levels on city level five. Not a level I frequented much if I could avoid it. It was stuffy. It was a level filled with mostly commercial and office spaces for various business throughout Neo MarCaeli. Floor to ceiling multistory buildings were carved within parts of the cliff face. Other freestanding structures were made from a combination of wood and intricately carved stone, usually only a couple of stories high. Uptight folks in business attire made sure to keep the energy on the level strictly business related. Today though, the streets were empty. Sunlight normally would have been provided via skylights in the ceilings to the levels above, but since the suns had begun to set most of the illumination was provided by streetlights this deep within the city level nearest the cliff side buildings. A seaside fog was beginning to envelope a large portion of the city. As I made my way down rows of nearly identical structures, I finally arrived at the office building I was looking for.
Within a cliffside building, in the center of the city level sat The ARC office. I hadn’t been in there for the better part of a year, but it still looked exactly the same. As I peered through the front windows I saw the mahogany reception desk with the coalition’s banner hanging above it with its gaudy orange and gold logo. I heard it used to be red and gold before there was a vote to change branding years ago. I rolled my eyes. They should have kept it red.
I turned to Atramenti who had followed me all the way from the market, but kept a further distance than previous days. “Okay you stay here. I don’t think they want uh, cats, in an office with rare items.” They just stared at me. No sign of understanding or response. I guess that would be strange in public. So with that I turned and entered the building as Atramenti just sat on the street corner staring after me.
The lobby was quiet. I hadn’t noticed before but there had been no receptionist at the front desk. Unusual but not a crime, I can wait. I still had to come up with a plan on how I’d get any information on the tape anyway. Johnson was notoriously tight lipped, as were many higher ups in The ARC. I stood at the front desk and glanced around. Still no one. There were scattered papers on the desk though that caught my eye.
Kadi’s name was printed in bold at the top of a page. What I could make out beneath said something about initiation procedure with stuff crossed out, but the rest was in a smaller print I couldn’t read from afar. I knew The ARC had some records on members, but that looked like a full profile of information. I checked to make sure that no one had shown up still and quickly snatched the page from the desk, folding it up and shoving it in my pocket.
Not more than a few moments later a woman who was the front desk receptionist emerged from a back room and looked surprised to see me. Her eyes widened as she scrambled back to her desk.
“I’m so sorry for the wait Miss Molly! What can I do for you?” She was still chewing on something and clearly hadn’t been expecting me this evening. Straightening the mess of papers on her desk into a neat pile, she thankfully hadn’t noticed one missing from the many.
“Johnson wanted to see me. I told him I’d stop by.” Keep calm Molly, you’re just here to pick up a few odd jobs and ask some questions.
“Oh.” Her tone shifted to one of curiosity as her eyebrow raised. “So you’re who he’s been waiting for. Right this way.” She stood up and lead me to the back room she herself had emerged from just moments prior. “You know, I hadn’t expected you to join us like this. I’m sure your parents would be proud of you.”
“Oh uh, thanks?” I wasn’t sure what she’d been referring to. I didn’t think picking up another members slack called for such praise around here. Maybe because I never do it. I suppressed a chuckle.
The room she lead me to was deeper into the building and dimly lit. So dim the corners looked pitch black. Her shoes scrunched atop the carpet which caused the place to sound as dank as it looked, which was when I realized she was wearing shoe covers. Odd. The room was an office with another door leading even further back. That’s odd too. I thought. I didn’t think these offices went that deep into the cliffside. I waved the thought away as probably renovations as the receptionist spoke once more.
“Johnson will be with you shortly.”
I sat down and waited. I hadn’t waited long when the door that led deeper into the building opened. A tall man appearing from a darkly lit space behind the door accompanied by the same shoe scrunching sound.
“Ah it’s good to see you Molly!” Johnson entered and immediately made his way to come shake my hand. I stood up and met his handshake and noticed he too wore shoe covers.
“You too.” Is all I said before he got right down to business. He sat down at the desk. I followed suit.
“Have you heard from Kadi at all?”
“No actually I’m afraid not. I tried calling multiple times but I can’t get through.” I was honest. I figured It would help me in the long run to be as upfront as possible so my lies might actually stick.
Johnson considered my words for a moment before speaking. When he did he asked me a point blank question. “Do you trust her?”
I was a bit taken aback by the bluntness but responded just as directly. “No.” It wasn’t the truth, but it wasn’t a full lie either. Johnson seemed to sense that and prodded further. “Are you sure?”
“I want to trust her considering all she’s done for me, but this behavior isn’t like her. Kadi follows orders. This isn’t normal Kadi.” Following orders, focus on that. I hoped I could be convincing enough to get more information from him. “So, no, I don’t trust her.”
Johnson sighed. “I understand how this might be difficult for you. But The ARC will always be here to support you.” He smiled. “That’s why I wanted to meet with you. I want you to start taking on Kadi’s former roles, and if you do that we can help provide the guidance she once did for you. Maybe even more.” A savory scent rolled off his tongue as he spoke.
“So, does that mean Kadi is no longer a member?”
Johnson leaned back in his chair. The side of his jacket brushed back to reveal a holster at his hip. “Well, we’re considering her on probation for now. But,” He slapped his hands to his knees as he stood up. “With you taking on some of her duties, you’ll need to know some things.”
Johnson made his way to the door he came from, grabbing the handle before he paused to turn back to me. “Right this way.” He turned the door handle and flung open the door as he smiled. A smile that looked more wicked than friendly. A smile that also showed he had some of his lunch still stuck in his teeth, something orange.
As I went to step through the door he stopped me suddenly, grabbing my shoulder as I felt the cool end of a pistol on my back. “This is protected intel Molly, I need confirmation you can be discreet with what you’re about to learn.”
Fuck. Keep it cool, just agree. “Of course. I am my parent’s kid after all, they’d want me to step up.” I said as I stood perfectly still, waiting for him to assess my answer.
“Good.” I heard him re-holster his gun as he let go of my shoulder. We continued inside the new space.
The new room was actually a stairwell that led down. The walls were no longer office walls, but the rocky cliffs bare from any construction. It was as if they had just bored right into the cliffside behind the building. The further down we descended the more I believed I was correct. “I didn’t know this was back here.” I hadn’t meant to say that aloud but Johnson responded anyway.
“Most casual members don’t.” He said as we approached a new door at the base of the stairs. “Your parents helped build this section. Kadi took over many of their responsibilities when they left.”
“Left?” I questioned his phrasing assuming I had misheard him.
“Oh, I…excuse me. Disappeared is what I meant. My apologies.”
I didn’t respond. I just followed him into the room he unlocked.
The room was lit only by a couple of hanging fixtures that had been wired and bolted into the rocky ceiling. It smelt savory and sulfuric, like hot brimstone that threatened to singe my sinuses. There was an overgrowth of some sort of fungus littered throughout nooks and crannies in the space. In the center of the room were garden boxes that had been recently disturbed. Nothing was left within them save for disheveled dirt and a dirty spade.
“What is this room for?” My eyes followed the various shelves and desks that lined the edges of the rocky room. Many of which held either gardening supplies or objects I couldn’t quite make out their use. Papers and notes were scattered upon any available surface.
“This,” Johnson said with a grandiose wave of his hand. “This is where we nurture the rarest object of all.” He led the way through the room to the opposing side where a dark curtain resided. I hadn’t even noticed it at first. It hadn’t particularly stood out from the rest of the room, but Johnson seemed enthralled with it.
I didn’t know what I had expected to be behind that curtain. Maybe some rare archeological find sitting on a pedestal. Maybe a sarcophagus they refused to had over to the proper authorities. Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw when he pulled the curtain back. I once again saw nothing. About four feet tall, and 2 feet wide maw of nothing. Just like in the alleyway. I thought. A fuzzily outlined black hole surrounded at the base with the same orange fungus that scaled the alleyway walls and now littered the corners of the room. I wasn’t sure what I was looking at still, but I had a burning desire to know, and I knew now was my chance to get some answers.
“What…is this?” I practically whispered the question in a barely audible tone.
Johnson beamed as a huge smile spread across his face. “A void!” He took a step forward. “Isn’t it magical? And look at what comes from it! A mushroom that has provided for us a means of rising above the common man.”
Without warning he pushed his arm through the nothingness of the void. It disappeared from view the second it passed the initial darkness. I tried to look behind the source of nothingness only to find it to be just there in that spot and no where else. No tunnel behind it, and Johnson’s hand had really disappeared into it. No sign of his arm behind the void, in the space it should have occupied. Eventually his hand reemerged and brought back with him a plucked stalk of the lanky orange fungus to show me.
“It belongs here, Molly. We must help it spread.” He turned the fungus over in his hand. “It’s time, and those who have the will to devote themselves to the cause may do so by giving into the fungi. An elongated lifespan awaits us, if we are only brave enough.”
I was frozen to the spot. What was he prattling on about? An elongated lifespan? That was more than I signed up for. I just wanted some answers about the tape I now had in my possession, not whatever this was. I couldn’t help but stare at the void as he continued to speak.
“Now I know this is a lot to take in, so why don’t we pick up here tomorrow?”
I nodded, still not saying anything. I had little intention of returning tomorrow so I didn’t know what to say. As I turned to leave I caught a glimpse of Johnson as he took a bite out of the orange mushroom, which released a cloud of spores when bitten, before setting it down near the gardening boxes on our way out. He then wiped his face with a handkerchief he pulled from his pocket. He did it so naturally as if it had been an apple. Something about that act scared me more than the void I had just bore witness to. I pretended not to see and continued to make my way to the door and back up the stairs. Johnson in tow.
I waved silently to the receptionist as I left. Her smile irked me. She knows. I thought to myself as I walked home. I had no idea what I just witnessed and she was smiling. I swear The ARC is full of wackos. I shook my head hoping if I rattled my thoughts around something would have begun to make sense. Is this what The ARC has been preoccupied with? Johnson has lost it. I could find no better explanation for the mushroom obsession. Worship may have been more accurate, but that implied things I would have rather not thought about. The void thing is definitely strange, and I suppose I can understand keeping that a secret. I could barely wrap my head around it myself. It was wrong. It was like a hole in reality that lead who knows where. And he just…stuck is hand in there? Does he know where it leads? I couldn’t imagine he did. Who would be crazy enough to just step into something like that? I considered contacting local authorities. There was no way that thing was safe. But then I remembered my promise to secrecy, and once again, Kadi. I still had no idea what was going on with her. Did my parents and Kadi really had anything to do with…that? If she did, she must have had a reason for going rogue now. That was when I remembered the piece of paper I swiped from the front desk. I’d have to go over that once I was home. Maybe, I thought, it’ll have something to go off of.
As I ascended the steps to the higher city levels I realized something else. I didn’t hear the pitter patter of any paws behind me. Nor had I noticed Atramenti outside when I had left the building. I spun around. Nothing. No cat-like creature in sight. No understanding golden eyes staring at me. I shrugged it off, figuring I’d see them later at home.
I continued my walk home alone with a nagging feeling in the back of my head that something was really wrong with this whole situation. I wish I knew what Kadi was thinking. I’d never before hoped she’d call me, but I then found myself wishing for exactly that. She knows something they aren’t telling me. She had to. Why else would she ditch an organization she’d been so loyal to for so long? And hadn’t she just been nagging me to stay with The ARC? I had a lot on my mind as I finally entered my home once more.
———
The dark corners of my loft unnerved me. It was getting dark out and if I didn’t turn all of the lights on in a room I was finding myself filled with anxiety. My eyes would dart from dark corner to dark corner waiting for…something. I wasn’t sure. I made sure all of the lights around me were on as I sat down to examine the page about Kadi. I pulled it from my pocket and laid it out on my desk under the warm yellow light.
Underneath her name was where the word trustworthy had been written, but was now crossed out with some scrawling next to it in the side margin that read: “Ran off with keys. Unable to contact.” Beneath that was a write up about Kadi, most of which was familiar to me. How long she had been a member, her physical description, and some of her usual duties. However, a couple pieces of information stood out amongst the rest. Under physical description, towards the bottom of the section, was one word written with a question mark next to it. “Infected?” I wasn’t sure what that meant but I had a feeling this wasn’t about any normal sickness. In the section dedicated to listing her duties within the coalition there was something else odd. “Void tender.” So she had known of the room Johnson showed me, that wasn’t a lie. Kadi had been hiding all of this from me for who knew how long. And she’d done a damn good job at it too. Is this why she always pushed me to be more involved in The ARC? I could see the logic in that. Maybe she had gotten tired of hiding everything from me. But then why abandon ship now?
I rubbed my eyes. My head felt heavy and I had a lot to think about after today. I folded the page back up and tucked it into my journal as I scrawled a few notes about my findings within. After getting down just a few sentences I closed my journal and went to get ready for an early bedtime. I grabbed the cassette player and tape to take to my room. I planned to give it another listen, even though it’s sounds made my skin crawl. As I stood to head to my room, I noticed orange dust on my floor in the shape of my shoe prints. Wonderful. I tracked home spores from that weird fucking cave. I rolled my eyes and decided to deal with that tomorrow in hopes nothing sprouted up overnight.
After I gave the tape a couple more listens in bed and still gleaned nothing, I set it down on my nightstand. I went to bed with the lights on that night.