Escape - Chapter 22.1
Chapter 22.1
“It’s changing again,” Adeline murmured, her gaze sweeping over the shifting landscape with a flicker of intrigue as she crushed a serpente’s head beneath her heel.
A growl from behind made her glance back, and in that instant, she lost sight of Eric, who had been only steps away. She wasn’t surprised. She’d been suspecting this ever since they entered, ever since Gato started getting strangely lost.
More than that, she had read about something similar in the book ‘Escape’: ‘A serpent’s lair is like a giant living snake, constantly flowing and moving. To enter is to step into a shifting maze.’
Trying to find a specific path was pointless; it would only lead to an endless abyss.
‘Only ephemeral smoke will guide the lion to the right path.’
Alone now, she decided to test the theory. She tore off the tobacco leaf bracelet she’d tied around her wrist that morning, flicked open her lighter, and set it ablaze. The leaves crackled, releasing a plume of smoke that curled upwards and drifted toward one of the many openings in the cavern. Adeline’s eyes followed the smoke as if mesmerized, and then, with a quickening pace, she followed.
The smoke’s pull intensified.
‘I need something to ride,’ she thought. As if summoned by the thought itself, a large, two-wheeled metal contraption materialized before her. She climbed onto the unfamiliar vehicle, the engine roaring to life beneath her. Instead of fear, she felt a strange sense of familiarity. The vehicle accelerated, and she gripped the handlebars tightly.
With a screech of tires, serpentes sprang from above and the sides like gruesome surprises, but each time, Adeline greeted them with a bullet to the forehead, effectively ending their pursuit.
She rode on, the engine a steady thrum against the silence. As the path widened into something resembling a highway, the serpentes began to thin out. It felt as if someone, aware of her presence, was clearing the way. Finally, her headlights illuminated a massive gate set deep within the darkness. Adeline cut the engine and stepped out.
The gate was an intricate, horrifying spectacle of hundreds of intertwined figures, a nightmarish tableau carved in meticulous detail. Two medusa statues, their serpentine hair writhing, flanked the gate, their stony gazes fixed on the ground.
‘It’s like the entrance to a boss fight,’ Adeline thought, recalling scenes from games she had played as a child. After a moment spent studying the carvings, she placed her hand on the gate. Despite its imposing appearance, it moved easily, sliding open with a low rumble.
Blinding light poured through the opening, and Adeline, her eyes accustomed to the darkness, winced. As her vision adjusted, she took in the cavernous hall, large enough to house a dragon, and the artificial lake at its center.
A massive tree root plunged into the lake. Its extraordinary girth suggested a connection to the one in District 13. As a child, she had wondered where such a massive root drew its water; now she knew.
“You again?” A voice shattered the silence, pulling her back to reality. A voice both familiar and foreign, a voice she had known her entire life, echoed through the still hall. Her heart pounded.
Slowly, her stiff neck cranked upwards. Beyond the artificial lake, atop a flight of stairs, a large chair came into view.
12 lounged in the chair, a smirk playing on his lips as he raked a hand through his unruly black hair. He seemed different from their last encounter, more human. And therefore, more…
“Adeline.”
…like Damian. Even the way he said her name was the same. If not for those unsettling golden eyes, she would have rushed to him, weeping.
“You remember my name,” she managed, forcing the words past her dry lips. Her voice was rough and unsteady. The only sound besides her voice was the gentle lapping of water against the lake’s edge.
“It’s the only name I’ve heard.” His voice was flat, emotionless, adding to the surreal quality of the moment. Nausea churned in her stomach. She wanted to either vomit or swallow something, anything, to calm the roiling within.
‘Empty it all out,’ she thought, swallowing hard and meeting 12’s gaze.
This was why she had entered the serpent’s lair. She had come this far to see him again, to confirm something. Was it chance or fate that had granted her this opportunity, alone and unexpected?
After a moment’s hesitation, she started toward the lake. He must have been the one clearing her path. Nothing stopped her as she circled the lake and approached the stairs, only 12, watching her with an unnerving intensity.
“I came here today with a question,” she said.
“A question?” 12 shifted, leaning forward slightly. She had his attention. Good. It had been a while since they left; the other Rankers would have started their assault on District 11 by now. All that remained was to stall for time.
“Yes. A very important one.” She took a slow, deep breath to steady her nerves. Countless questions had plagued her these past few days, but ultimately, there was only one that mattered.
“Who… who are you?”
Silence hung heavy in the air. Adeline held her breath, waiting. She was terrified he would answer with ‘Damian’ again. But this time, 12 didn’t play games.
“Master of District 12. Guardian of the Serpents. Deceiver of All Under Heaven. He Whose Head is Broken in the Water. He Who Devours His Own Tail in an Endless Cycle.” He recited the words in a monotone, as if relaying pre-programmed information. Of all that, Adeline understood only the first two phrases.
‘Master of District 12. Guardian of the Serpents.’
So it was true, what everyone said. He wasn’t human.
Adeline wet her lips. “Since when? Since when have you been the Master of the District 12?”
“Since I opened my eyes.”
“And when exactly was that?”
