The first thing Lucas noticed was the smell. It reminded him of burning rubber. The red clouds faded, and the second thing he noticed was the silence.
And it was amusing.
Even the old man with the conspiracy theory had finally shut up.
The woman looking for her kids had gone quiet too.
They were all staring at an altar that stood before them, and at the three cloaked figures that stood behind it. Their long black robes covered their hands and feet, with hoods concealing their faces.
The altar was carved from basalt and smooth obsidian, polished so well that the surface gleamed.
It reflected the red light that spilled from the lamps hanging on the walls. The lights were barely enough for Lucas to study the people's faces.
'How did we get here?'
That was the wrong question, they had gotten here after the clouds swallowed them. And as much as he wanted to deny it, Lucas knew it was the truth.
'Where is here?'
That was the better question.
They were inside a room.
One that looked like it was bathed in dark red ink. It was spacious as well, with spiralling grooves engraved on every wall.
Except for the wall behind the altar, that portion had the image of the horrifying grin engraved on it.
'It should be an engraving. Why the Fuck do I feel this way looking at it?'
There was an invisible pressure from the altar's direction.
He looked around, finding the heads of the crowd held low.
The figures behind the altar moved, turning to bow at the engraving. They bowed at the altar next, before finally bowing to themselves.
One of them brought out a bell from within their cloak, setting it at the altar.
He carefully used both hands, bowing as he placed the bell.
When the bell was placed, the other two bowed as well.
Lucas was unable to pull his gaze away, neither did the people scattered around him.
Some of them shivered.
"I wonder how much that altar would sell for. Nice piece of equipment if I ever saw one." A man whispered.
'Tsk…'
Behind him, Lucas scoffed.
It was good to see that a little fear couldn't alter the minds of the slum dwellers.
'Not going to lie. It does look like it could fetch a good sum.'
'I wonder how much old Lue would pay for it?'
He shook his head.
What was he thinking?
Even making it to Lue the pawnbroker would mean escaping this place.
And this place had only one door. With no windows.
The door stood at the altar's left, beside one of the cloaked figures.
Escaping was one problem. Taking the altar with him was another.
Another cloaked figure took the bell, raising it up.
With one hand, he pointed at the engraving on the wall behind him. And with the other, he shook the bell.
A soft tune rang out.
It was unbelievable. Like a deeply gorgeous sound that left a lingering ache in the heart.
Lucas smiled.
The melodious sound lasted for a second before becoming a deep voice.
"Bow!"
"What?"
He was stunned. Not just him, dozens of others called out in shock.
The figure shook the bell again.
There was no difference. After the pleasant tune passed, the deep voice came.
And it was from the bell?
There was a saying in the slums. Bow to the strong, kill the weak.
Lucas watched many of them bow.
The bell wasn't exactly threatening, but the figures behind the altar showed reverence to it.
And if they bowed, who were they not to.
They were captives after all.
Lucas bowed as well, without hesitation.
The bell rang again. "Good!"
"Hey!!" A voice called out from the crowd. It was a man, standing in front.
He wore broken glasses.
'I know that voice.'
Lucas raised his head a little, trying to look.
The man was Gandalf, well known across a small part of the slums.
He managed the mining attendance list for the supervisor, together with the authority of penning down or crossing out the worker's name.
He had once erased Lucas's name from the list, when one of the men in his group spoke out of turn. Lucas went hungry for a week, despite that, he still had to clock in everyday at the mines. Or he would be chased entirely.
Lucas would have given anything to kill Gandalf at that time.
He still would, now.
"What is going on here?
Let me tell you now. I have connections.
"I am the chief superintendent to the supervisor of the mining crew."
Gandalf watched the cloaked people. When he saw no reaction from them, he continued:
"I know Carlos von Logu. And I have stood in the same room with Chuk the supervisor."
"You think you can just abduct me and intimidate me with your fancy tech."
He eyed the bell.
"I've seen better tech."
Lucas scoffed.
The only advanced tech he'd seen, were likely the garbage disposal trucks from the big city as they arrived every weekend.
"I still have work to go to. Supervisor Chuk will look for me, do you have any idea what he would do to you if he found out you kidnapped one of his trusted aides."
The three figures remained still.
Gandalf cleared his throat.
"Do you hear me? Do you not know who Carlos von Logu is?"
He froze.
Everyone knew Mr Von Logu—feared him rather. Legally, he was the policeman dispatched to control order in the slums.
To the slum dwellers, he was among the kings of the underworld, with hands reaching into all kinds of crime; human trafficking, drugs and gang violence.
"Damn it! You guys are working for Von Logu"
Gandalf pushed a few people to the side, moving towards the altar.
The altar stood at an elevated platform level with his chest. He placed his hands on the platform, attempting to carry himself up.
But the minute his hands made contact, something within the room changed.
It started from the lights.
The red light pulsed around Gandalf, freezing him in place.
The three figures pointed their fingers at him. The one with the bell shaking it.
Three similar tunes played out. And their meaning appeared in the minds of the crowd.
"Heretic! Heretic! Heretic!"
Gandalf found moving impossible.