Wyee visited the OC front several times as usual, yet she avoided meeting me .. obviously our last meeting was still on her mind.. but one evening while I was at the underground HQ, I was surprised to see her come down the stairs and greet me as if we were close buddies,

               “You seem to recover pretty fast..” She remarked.

               “Well, look who finally showed up?”

               “My dear, you seem to become like a bad dream I cannot escape.. you are now the talk of town.. everyone.. everywhere .. they have nothing to talk about except the amazing fearless hero from OC Front.” She sat close to me on the couch.

               “It seems to me that everybody knows what happened here, except me.”

               “Say what? What do you mean?”

               “Most of the time I was knocked out.. and the stories Blake told me are so absurd, they are hard to believe.. I cannot believe any of it” I answered flatly.

               “What stories are you talking about?” She seemed surprised.

               “Light Brigade? gateways? It’s like__”

I stopped when I saw the expression on her face.. she stood up and walked away thinking..

then she came back to look at me closely without uttering any words.. so I said,

               “Did I say something wrong?”

She didn’t respond right away.. but she pulled a chair and sat across from me.. I continued,

               “You look so serious? What is wrong.. I don’t___” I started but she interrupted me.

               “Listen Hort.. it appears now that you were right all along. Geetieh had failed us all.. He was supposed to have explained all these things to you.. you couldn’t have forgotten everything like that.. these are all essential basic info.”  

I stared at her in complete bewilderment .. I didn’t know what to say, so she added,

               “You see, every time I come to OC, I come through the gateway.. I told you that before.. I assumed you already know about it.. these are.. gateways.. we can use to travel from one place to the other fast.. these are not available to all soldiers though.”

A smile started to creep to my lips.. she got nervous and stood up  and continued to speak while pacing the room without looking at me,

               “Everyone has the pass codes embedded into their bodies, yet they are only activated for the select few leaders.. you have it” She stopped and looked at me shaking her head affirmatively, “Even Metz has it, I saw him use it at least once when he went to BKC to get supplies for the prison.”

I was surprised.. so I said,

               “Metz used it? How come he didn’t tell me?”

               “Most probably, like me, he assumed you already know about it.. see, once you appointed him to be your assistant, he qualified and it was activated for him.”

               “And who does the activation? And how?” I challenged her.

               “Deemeon of course.. and Instine.. they have a ___”

               “who is Instine?” I stopped her.

She gave me a weird look, then burst out laughing,

               “Instine is the second son of Deemeon.. be careful now.. you don’t want to butt heads with this one too.”

               “I never saw him.. and by the way, I never intended to butt heads with anyone.. they butt heads with me and in the process, their heads are smashed.. so don’t blame me.”

She wanted to interrupt, but I spoke over her words and we both ended up laughing.. she then spoke out of breath,

               “You are a monster.. and yes, you saw Instine.. he was here, in this room.. when they all came to announce the change of leadership in OC Front.”

               “Wait a minute..” I  went back over the group of people who crowded the room that evening, “Yes, there were some people I didn’t recognize .. but they were not introduced to me.”

               “You didn’t give them a chance.. you were objecting to the new assignment, and they wanted to end the argument fast before it escalates.. we all know your obstinacy”

               “So, which one was that Instine?”

               “You see, Loot of the PC Front, he is the one with a crooked face.. then you have Deborge, the fat one .. and Instine is the dark, skinny and sharp__” she started

               “OK.. ok I know now which one.. he was very quiet and looked at me like he wanted to stick a knife into my heart.” I chuckled and before she had a chance to comment, I added, “So what does this Instine do .. does he spread lies about people like his brother did?”

               “No.. Instine is the commander of the most important castle .. he is the head of CCP”

               “CCP? Central Castle Programming? Wow..” I whistled.

               “Yes.. it’s a highly classified castle.. nobody is allowed there.. only the council members go there once a week for the meeting.. otherwise, anybody coming close to its entrance, is immediately captured and punished severely.”

I instantly remembered that “entrance” and that night in the storm. My curiosity became unbearable.. yet, I knew I had to step very carefully,

               “its entrance? How about its walls?” I sheepishly asked.

She laughed and said,

               “No walls my dear.. it is entirely underground.” She continued to laugh.

               “The whole castle?”

               “Yeah.. it is a marvel.. it is bigger than the entire BKC .. and has only one entrance which is also the only exit.. I figure there must be another emergency exit known only to the top leader there.. but you probably saw it.. at a distance .. if you remember seeing a red cottage at the far end of the greens in BKC.”

I stopped myself at the last moment from uttering the next question about the screams coming out of that cottage. I thought it would be best if I wait for the right time.. but deep down inside, I made up my mind, I must have access to this secretive castle at any cost.

               “I cannot believe any of this.. the whole castle being underground.. how can those people breathe.. especially if .. as you say, it has one entrance.. something is very .. very .. I mean..” I tried to prod her into further explanation.

               “Believe what you like.. I don’t claim to be an expert.. but I go there occasionally on Wednesday for the meeting.. and there is nothing wrong at all with the air supply .. they are brilliant doctors and engineers down there.. they must have figured some way to solve this problem.” She sounded  sincere,

               “I shall believe it when I see it myself” I practically gave away my intentions.

               “Listen, the next time you see Blake, you must ask him to show you the gateway spots and how to use it.” She changed the subject as she was preparing to leave.

               “You said you saw Metz use it.. he should know.” I answered.

               “True.. he must have seen Asfar use it before and knew the place.”

               “Yes, that too. Does Asfar still have the access.. and Amy ?”

               “No.. once the commander changed his access was deactivated.. only you can activate it now for any one you assign as deputy or assistant.”

               “How do I do that?”

               “as soon as you appoint anyone, that person is automatically activated.. your access includes that authority.. like you activated Metz without even knowing it.” She was about to climb the stairs to leave when she added, “you monster, you made me forget why I came here in the first place.. maybe next time we can have a productive talk.” She turned around and left without waiting for my response .. so I yelled after her,

               “You didn’t tell me about the light Brigade..” But she was already gone.

I sat there pondering all this for a while and I knew I had to get Metz to show me the spot of the gateway.. he was at the North camp where I set him up to oversee it .. so I had to wait for him to come back as usual for the report. In the mean time, I had to decide which would be my first destination using this new tool.

A few days later Blake arrived and was in a good mood,

               “Your dear Katcher is now going to have his real test.” He announced.

               “I am not a fan of this brute nor am I interested in anything about him”

               “His castle may be scheduled for the next games in a few weeks.. UC front is going for their skirmishes soon.” He persisted.

               “Never mind that.. why didn’t you show me the gateway spot until now?”

               “Oh.. well, I never had the chance to do that.. but I promise to do so next time I am here..  

now.. I just came today to ask you about the deputies?” He evaded the question.

               “You know I chose Metz.”

               “Yes, yes.. but you need at least two.”

               “I don’t trust anyone else .. yet.. you chose me .. the ugly guy had two.”

               “Well.. these were instructions from above.. but now__”

               “Never mind.. I shall decide when I find the right person.”

               “It is much better if you have two assistants___”

               “Is it also instructions that you do not tell me about the gateways?”

He was stumped.. so he took his time before he started to explain very slowly,

               “The chief doesn’t want you to leave the front____”

               “What?” I was surprised, “what do you mean? Am I a prisoner here?”

               “No.. No___” He tried to answer, but I sharply continued,

               “I have a lot of horses here and I could go anywhere I want..”

               “Yeah.. but it is quite unlikely you want to go through the DC district.. that arduous route            through the desert.. or .. the mountain.. it is.. what? Why are you looking at me this way?”

               “So.. these are the instructions..? when I see Deemeon the next time.. he shall confirm this?” I said bluntly

               “Listen, you trouble maker.. why do you always insist on stirring everything up? OK, I shall show you the gateway next time..”

               “Don’t worry about it.. go join your dear Katcher and help him.. he shall need a lot of help.”

It was evident that he knew nothing about Metz using the gateway, which prompted me to pay a visit to the north camp instead of waiting for him to come for the report. I found Metz chatting with a group of girls, so I took him away to the office and asked him bluntly,

               “I understand you met Wyee in BKC when you went to get provisions for the Prison.. it didn’t occur to you  to let me know?”

               “Oh.. Yeah.. I saw her .. she kept asking me questions.. and I meant to tell you but I got caught up in so many things..” He sounded sincere.

               “What kind of questions did she ask?”

               “Oh.. kind of .. I mean.. obtrusive questions about how you.. you know..run things in OC.. I didn’t tell her anything___”

               “There is nothing to tell Metz..” I interrupted.

               “Yeah.. you’re right.. what is there to tell..” He chuckled, “I am glad you chose me over Asfar.. and I shall have your back__”

               “about Asfar.. he is the one who told you how to use the gateway?”

               “Yes.. yes.. when he was the deputy, he never stopped bragging to all of us .. how he had this advantage.. while everyone else had to travel through the DC road or the mountain.. he was the one to use the gateway.” His eyes glowed with pride.

               “Yes, but he had to show you the spot.”

               “Of course, he told everyone.. he even showed us.. we were standing in front of HQ .. right at the door, and he said the words and disappeared.”

               “Said what words?”

               “He was going to BKC.. so he just said BKC outside.. and off he went.”

               “But Metz.. how did you come back.. did he show you?”

               “No.. it is common knowledge as you know.. unlike the front castles, all other castles have a gateway at the center of the bottom step in the front stairs of the palace.. everyone knows that .. except.. only authorized people could use it.. so I used it.. I didn’t need him to show me.”

               “Very good Metz.. you are one smart soldier.. I am proud of you.”

The man was elated to hear the compliment.. and I was glad to get the information without revealing my ignorance. The next decision was clear for me. I had to pay a visit to the root of my problems .. so I returned to HQ and I used the gateway for the first time to visit Geetieh at the BSC. He was entertaining a young woman in what used to be my residence..

As soon as he saw me walk through the door, he was so shocked that he almost fell off his chair.. it took him little time to recover and paint a contrived smile on his face.. while his companion was completely bewildered at the experience.. I directed my words to her first,

               “I must apologize for my intrusion, this used to be my residence before I ..” I stopped to look at Geetieh.. then I continued, “Before I had to leave .. unexpectedly”

               “Hello, Hort.. this is an unexpected honor.. Shelly, meet, Hort who is now a big shot in BKC..” He was trying to defuse the tension.

               “I’m afraid flattery will get you nowhere Mizo, we have a lot to settle.”

               “But you see I am busy now with Shelly and___”  

               “I am so sorry Shelly, this meeting must end now. Are you residing here?” I asked politely.

               “Yes..  I can___”

               “Never mind.. we shall find another place to talk.” I grabbed the arm of Geetieh, forced him out of his chair and literally dragged him out…

We settled in his office, and after a long tense wait.. I asked,

               “I have one question for you.. why?”

He didn’t answer.. just kept staring at me and the frightened look on his face was very perplexing to me..

               “You must have a reason?.. and why are you so frightened?.. I’m not going to hurt you. I just want to know what happened.. why did you keep me in the dark all this time when you were supposed to bring back to my memory all the information I lost after the injury?”

He suddenly relaxed and stopped staring at me.. he sat back in his chair and smiled,

               “Yeah.. your injury.. well.. I am sorry Hort but your injuries were so bad, you kept forgetting the information I ___”

               “Stop the nonsense ..” I yelled at him sharply, “You tell me the truth, or I shall indeed get angry enough to hurt you..”

               “No.. No.. No need to get angry.. I am telling you what happened, I stopped telling you anything when I realized you were not retaining any information.. you__”

               “Mizo.. my sword sent Pryade to TC.. would you like to go meet him there?” I spoke calmly and my eyes were sending him the warning loud and clear.

He tried to giggle but his attempt faded fast as I was grabbing my sword,

               “You have to ask Wyee?” He suddenly became serious.

               “Wyee? What has she got to do with anything?” I was totally surprised.

               “she told me the chief would not want you to know all the secrets and information you were privy to previously.. you were deemed a dangerous person by the calculations of the machine and the expectations of the Hybrid.”

               “Oh.. wow.. ohhhhh.. that’s a lot of information in one simple sentence.”

He got out of his chair and came around to stand close to me.. his face was pale and scared and his words were shaky and stuttering,

               “Listen.. listen Hort.. please.. I beg you .. drop this silly investigation.. there is no point.. it will get both of us into very big trouble.. Wyee is a powerful person and she has the ear of the boss..” he tried to touch my shoulder but I pulled away with a stern look, “You have already achieved a lot of advancement .. your place is so powerful .. even higher than mine__”

               “She never stopped reminding me that you are to blame for my lack of information.. in a very subtle way, she is blaming you idiot.” I said scornfully.

               “She did?” He was shocked.. stumbled back to a chair.. and started mumbling to himself.

I began to suspect that there was a strange plot behind the scenes.. the conversation I had with the councilor to the chief in the OC prison hall promising to be ‘a strong ally’ in the BKC, somehow popped back in my mind..

I walked away from the stricken man who was sitting now and looking vaguely to the floor in deep thought.. I paced the room for a while.. then I turned to ask him,

               “This building is the Palace of the BSC.. right?”

               “Yes.. it includes your residence.. um.. your former residence, my office and my residence as well as__”

               “It’s Ok.. I shall talk to you some other time.”

I left in a hurry.

I had to sort out these new revelations.. it was obvious to me that there was some plot being hatched in the dark.. and I was at the center of it all.. I also realized, it would be unwise to reveal to anyone that I am getting closer to uncover the hidden scheme.. I was lead to believe that I was injured in a previous battle.. when I pressed Geetieh in the early days to tell me about the details of that battle, he repeatedly explained that the doctors warned against it, saying that the details would be so detrimental to me and would lead to a psychological breakdown.. a relapse from which I might not be able to recover .. now, I am beginning to suspect that there is a malicious reason for keeping me in the dark about it.

My first inclination, driven by the information I got from Geetieh, was to confront Wyee.. but I dismissed this right away, deciding to keep a low profile and watch events as they unfold. I decided to go back to OC and pretend that I am still the same ignorant person as before..

I arrived at OC and found that nobody noticed my absence.. obviously the trip through the gateway didn’t seem to take much time.. so, I headed to the prison to see if there were any newcomers.. I found Jurree very excited standing at the well, grooming a beautiful spotted horse..

               “How did this beautiful animal come here?” I wondered

               “I have no idea.. I looked for the rider everywhere and couldn’t find him.. but he is very quiet .. not nervous or angry as usual.” He explained.

               “Nervous? Or angry? What do you mean?” I was baffled.

               “Yeah.. these horses if we catch them .. we sometimes do.. after battles.. they become very wild.. if we hold them in a stall, they refuse to eat or drink and keep rearing and kicking, until they damage everything and die .. and if we let them out in the open .. like this here.. they would bolt away like the wind and go back where they came from.. but look.. I never saw one so docile like this..it is amazing.. don’t you think?” He kept patting the horse and stroking him as if it were a little child.

I was amazed myself.. and without thinking, the question escaped my lips,

               “May be the rider came through a gateway?”

               “No way.. you are pulling my leg.. the Vinos do not have gateways.. remember? and anyway no one can cross the borders through a gateway.. that is why when we go on assignments, we have to go the old fashioned way.. riding.. usually we use Esville so we don’t arouse attention of their border guards.” He spoke casually without realizing that he was providing me with new information.

               “Anyway.. we have to find the rider.” A sneaky idea began to build up in my head.

               “I looked everywhere.. I even went inside the prison and left the horse.. and he didn’t run away as they always do.. it is inexpiable” He giggled.

               “I bet you, if someone tries to ride it, it will run.” I wanted to test my idea.

               “I wouldn’t dare.. it would throw me down and break my neck.” Jurree answered with wide eyes, “If you think you can do it.. be my guest.” He giggled again.

I approached the huge beast carefully.. and after a short hesitation I mounted it and kept patting it gently .. it started neighing and reared a little, then without further ado, it bolted out so fast I felt like it was flying .. I practically had no control over the horse, and was barely able to stay put on its back .. in a very short time I was already outside the grounds of OC and on my way to the mountain.. it was like the horse knew where it was going.. and I was going to a place in the mountain which was supposed to be forbidden to all..