Zinc 01 - Altors, page 12
part #1 of Zinc Series
"I thought those were just a myth." Galax took my hands, guiding them around his waist when he'd noticed I hadn't known where to put them. Maybe he wasn't pretending about the kiss and my timing had been off.
"That is because to some people they are." He started the motor, which was so loud, conversation wouldn't be possible during the drive. I gripped him more tightly as we slid down the sand mountain that led to the entrance of Corium Desert, and I felt frightened as I could see the border clearly. The landscape changed so brutally from warm to cold, it was like someone had forgotten to merge in a bit of land. You could stand with one foot in Corium Desert, while the other was planted in the sand mountains of Cobalt.
Although the border seemed close by, the drive down to it was a lot longer than it looked. When we reached the sharp line that turned from yellow to blue, Galax didn't stop, simply kept driving and my body was shocked at the sudden temperature change, but the clothes I was wearing were definitely helping.
Burying my face against his shoulder, I squeezed my eyes shut, not liking the memory of having walked here aimlessly, thinking I'd been about to die. Galax seemed to notice, taking one hand off the steering wheel and giving one of my hands a gentle pat in reassurance. I could barely feel it as we were both wearing gloves, but I smiled at how caring he always seemed to be. I never thought I'd like for a man to treat me like a girl. I never appreciated it when Cali or Delph had, preferring it when they treated me as one of them. With Galax on the other hand, he'd never considered me as one of the guys and I'd never felt the need to be a girly girl in his presence either. He didn't ignore the tom-boy tendencies in me, yet he was the perfect gentleman. Maybe that was why I was so flustered around him. Nobody I'd ever met was like Galax Kaminski.
I didn't know how much longer we drove, but when the view was starting to look as depressing as it had the last time, Galax thankfully slowed down the four wheeler, shutting the motor without hitting the breaks so it kept on sliding over the ice. Once it came to a halt, we got off and he pressed a gloved finger against his blue tinted lips, telling me to keep silent. I squinted my eyes, trying to see what he was seeing, but all I saw was white, an endless amount of flat ice. Turning my head, I gave him a questioning look, which then turned into one of surprise as he wrapped an arm around my waist so he could pull me close against his side.
I’d known right from the start that there was something about him I really liked, and although I tried to shove it away, I knew I did that only because at some point I had to leave. Yet, it was starting to become hard to ignore the tingly feelings every time we were in close proximity.
Leaning in and his lips only inches away from my ear, he whispered, "Wait for the fog to move." I looked in the direction, not really seeing the fog he was talking about. That is, until I did see something other than the flat ice. The fog had been so thick and white in that area further ahead, I hadn't been able to distinguish it from the ground. My lips parted in surprise as I could see a small opening in the side of what looked like a smooth large bump. The opening to the cave was round. If you didn't pay attention, like I had a minute ago, you could easily miss the entire thing.
Galax took my hand before walking towards the opening, and then showed me we had to crawl our way in. It led into a large circular space with a very high ceiling. I could see the clouds in the sky through the thin layered roof and when I looked down I could see through the ground as well.
"It's safe, I promise." He murmured, smiling before he took a step away from me and dropping my hand. "Talk very softly, don't move too abruptly; it will scare them if you do." Like he had scared me when he'd moved so abruptly. Clearly I wasn't ready to let go yet.
"The Palliums say that you are allowed to wish for one thing when you meet the creatures for the first time. They claim it will come true if the thing you wished for is something you truly want and can't do harm." He shrugged. "I wished to look differently. It didn't come true." Galax was like the border that separated Corium Desert from the sand mountains of Cobalt. Someone had forgotten to place a piece in between the two sides to make them flow from one to the other more smoothly. He was balancing himself from one edge to another without anything there to help stabilize him in between.
Stepping closer to him, I placed my hand in his. He didn't pull away, but he did break eye contact with me, clearing his throat uncomfortably.
"I'm going to call them. They’re a bit timid at first, very child like, so when they meet a new person, they need to be reassured." He warned. I nodded my head nervously, feeling the excitement at meeting these magical creatures rush through me.
"Ostendi vestri." Galax's voice rang clearly, echoing through the cave. When nothing happened for a moment, I nearly opened my mouth to speak, but stopped myself when the most peaceful smile appeared on his lips.
A second later my eyes had never opened this wide in amazement when I stared through the transparent ground and into the waters flowing below. Beautiful fish, at least five of them. They were about the size of a row boat and they had long fluffy looking tails, like a large fluid fan of silk playing in the wind. Their scales were transparent as I could see their veins and muscles.
"Their colors are changing!" I exclaimed in loud wonderment, and then slapped my hand over my mouth, fearing I might have scared them off. Galax chuckled though, his eyes darting left and right as he tried to follow the fast swimming pace the fish had settled in.
I let my hand slide off my mouth, my lips parted as they continued to dance in the water below. At first glance they were the color of the ice, but when they moved a flash of bright yellow, red, blue, any color I could imagine shot through their scales one by one.
Galax’s next sudden move tore me out of my observation. He quickly pulled me into his arms and walked us back, laughing while he did so. I didn't have time to wonder why. One of the fish had swam upwards and jumped through the thin layer of ice. I gasped as the ground seemed to break into a million little pieces for just a moment as the creature broke through, the sound of it reminding me of when you slid a wet finger on the edge of a crystal glass. The amazing thing though, was the ice merged smoothly back together once the tip of the fish's tail was out.
As it jumped through the cave's air, its scales flashed a bright yellow when it flipped over, its belly facing the clouds, right before it dove back. The yellow color got caught into the ice of the floor, making the entire cave glow. It was as though the world had turned golden.
I jumped in excitement, pulling on Galax's jacket sleeve when another fish swam upwards, breaking through like the previous had. This one flashed a bright blue. The previous topaz clashed with the sapphire, turning the cave green for a split second before it settled into a soft shiny azure. I laughed as all of the fish began to jump up randomly, dancing out of the water, flipping over gracefully, flashing different colors each time. As they were all jumping at random intervals, the colors caught in the cave's ice couldn't seem to decide what color to glow, blending different shades together as best it could to keep up with the dancing creatures. This is what magic had to look like.
"How does the ice not break? What are they?" I asked Galax.
"We call them the Creatures of Origin. They have been here even before Zinc was conquered by the Regius. Only the Palliums know how to call upon them." Galax murmured softly behind me as I kept on watching the fish turning the cave into different colors. "They are made of the same ice Corium Desert is made off, that's why it doesn't break. They simply merge with the ice as they go through it. The pieces you see flying are their scales. They lose a few of them before materializing back together. The scales are the purest form of desert jewel you can find. It’s what the castle’s platform is made out of."
"The Palliums are the natives of Zinc, aren't they?" I asked. "They aren't from another country. Zinc was theirs before those who call themselves the Creators of Zinc gave this land to the Regius." I pressed on. "Why didn't the Palliums fight with the Altors right away? Why did they let the Regius take their land?"
Galax pursed his lips. "Everything the Palliums stand for and believe in, is non-violent. Flux only recently received the Creatures blessing to be released from neutrality and fight. We aid the Altors in their battle against the Regius in hope that Zinc will become peaceful again." My eyebrows knitted in sadness as Galax's expression turned pained while explaining.
"Tell them that I wish for the balance to tip in the Altors and Palliums favor." I murmured.
Galax looked at me curiously. "Don't you want to wish to find your very good friend?"
"I know I'll find Cali again. There's not one ounce of doubt in my mind there." I sighed contently, tipping my head back as one of the fish danced its way over my head, flashing a bright red.
Galax squeezed my fingers gently before translating my wish. "Solenum vota pro bellum ut terminus." The last creature that jumped into the air, flashed golden before fading back into the water and disappearing from my view.
"Now you have a lifetime to find out if it will come true."
* * * *
I lifted my arm to wipe the sweat off my forehead, sighing as I sat back on the ground and staring happily at my handy work. I'd just spent hours covering a car with evenly cut square, bullet proof, flexible metal plates. Since the metal was recycled from other previous bullet proof vehicles, none of the square cut plates were of the same color, making the car look like a patchwork of bronzed metal. Or rust. But using the word rust was taboo in a garage.
"Nice work, sweetheart." Flux loomed above me, smirking down as he offered me his hand, pulling me up on my feet the moment I'd placed my palm in his. "Why are you still working?" He asked sternly, nodding his head at the very empty looking garage. There were some people here and there, mostly around the kitchen area and coming in and out of their respective quarters, but definitely not working like I was.
"That bell isn't a joke, missy. You quit working when it rings. That counts for Palliums as it does for your kind." He rolled his eyes and then muttered. "Stubborn Altors." He tugged me along with him towards the kitchen. My stomach growled at the thought of food. Flux raised an eyebrow at the sound, not stopping in his tracks as he grabbed a sandwich off the side of the kitchen isle we passing, pushing it into my hands.
"Eat." He ordered, walking us out of the garage. I took a large bite out of the sandwich, happily humming while chewing the thing and willy nilly following the big boss down the stone path that led to the castle.
I ate fast and was done with the sandwich by the time we passed the drawbridge and stepped onto the glass platform. I couldn't help but smile as the yellow light glowed beneath my feet and I curiously looked beneath Flux's shiny shoes to see what color appeared with him.
"Will you tell me why these shine blue when they come in contact with Galax?" I asked, not caring if I was out of line. Flux's color was black. "Do all Palliums produce black light?" I asked next, shrugging his arm off my shoulder as I decided I could keep up with him fine all by myself. I frowned. "Do you think I can learn the Pallium language before going to Copper Town?" While keeping his steady pace, he sighed at my many questions, not sparing me a glance. Throwing open the door to the long hallway that would lead to the tech room, he'd apparently decided to ignore me.
"Can I become an Altor soldier even if I don't have the Blue Blood cell? I'd like to kick some Regius ass." I was very excited with this prospect, nearly bouncing as I kept on walking beside the Pallium leader.
"Shut up, sweetheart." He told me affectionately, entering the square white room. I pursed my lips, walking over to his side, leaning in close so I could watch the machine scan his eye.
"Why are you taking me here?" He sighed heavily, still annoyed with my questions. I was annoyed he didn't answer any of them.
"I'm bringing you here so you can have some fun. You need it. Stop harassing the Pallium leader. Fear me, would you? All the others have the decency to pretend." After the wall had split into four and revealed the opening, Flux nudged me into the tech room.
Clearing his throat to get everyone's attention, he spoke. "Annoying youngsters that cost me too much gold in virtual connection. Listen up." The people in the room stopped typing and looked over their shoulders. ‘Virtual connection’ was a thing the Palliums had invented but hadn’t put on the market. They kept it for themselves and the Altors. Apparently you could talk to people through computers, kind of like a phone I guess. You typed instead of talking. There were a lot of things that the Palliums had invented but hadn’t put on the market, and the reason for this was to keep the civilians out of the loop, leaving them clueless.
"Show Solenum how social y'all can be, alright?" Flux nodded at the people before he left the tech room. The others returned their attention to their computers, and I sighed in relief as they didn't all decide to stop what they were doing to give me the warm welcome Flux had just ordered them to.
I noticed that these weren't the regular techs tapping away furiously on their keyboards to track and hack the Regius network; these were people I saw nearly every day. They worked close by my side in the garage, or in the kitchen, or in the jewelry department.
Kids my age or older, some younger, where sitting on the floor, laptops on their legs. Some of them had headphones while the others listened to the music that was playing softly in the background. While most of them were concentrating on whatever they were doing on their respective computers, I could see a group of about ten or so in the far right corner huddled around a table, playing cards. I couldn't help but grin as a group of girls, seemingly younger than myself, were shopping through virtual connection, talking loudly and excitedly in Pallium while browsing through the merchandize that came from a shop located in Cobalt City with option of delivery.
I was impressed Flux let them use the tech room. He must really trust them not to screw up the work that was done throughout the day. I guessed there was a strict rule of ‘no drinks near any keyboards’.
Galaxi made her presence known by coming to stand beside me, placing an arm over my shoulder before pinching my cheek and offering me a smile.
"I see that papa decided you work too much." I shrugged Galaxi's arm off my shoulders, stepping forward slowly, not wanting to be too obvious or imposing, yet needing to explore.
"Most of them are gaming." Galaxi explained. "You'd think they wouldn't like this kind of stuff considering they deal with evil and weaponry on a regular basis already." She waved that off flippantly. Feeling shy still, I decided to follow her when she sat back down behind one of the many computers. She was typing away, then paused, laughing before typing again.
"Who are you talking with?" I asked curiously, reading the name of her virtual buddy. 'Ivy Neumann' it said.
"Don't be rude, Solenum." Galaxi said, not sounding all that upset. Acacia had taught me better than to eavesdrop.
"It's my cousin." She murmured absently, typing more before hitting the enter key. "I miss her." She added with a small smile and I could see I was just disturbing her more than anything else.
Turning on my heel, I tilted my head so I could stare at the graphics from the game displayed on the large screens nailed into the walls. I started walking around slowly, trying to keep myself small and discrete, not wanting to attract attention. A girl I saw working in the kitchen, she always handed me my lunch, all smiles and bright welcomes, was standing rather than sitting. Her screen was merged into the desk and she was using some kind of pen to draw directly onto it. I could see she was drawing the Creatures of Origin, using all the colors the palette on her screen offered.
Moving along I saw different landscapes in the game. One was burning down enemies with fire attacks in a forest, another was galloping on the back of a horse through a grass field, the next person was bashing demons with a large hammer in what seemed to be a dungeon. When I reached the end of the circle of desks, I realized I'd been walking around much like Flux did during the day, breathing down everyone's neck, and I paused and saw a knight sword fighting against some wolves.
Galax was the one controlling the knight. Although I generally didn't know what to do with myself when around him, I was certain he didn't mind my presence. I crouched down beside his chair, hand leaning on the edge of his desk. He had his feet propped up, the keyboard in his lap and he was lazily leaning back in the large leather chair he was occupying. I smiled as he kept pushing the blue bangs out of his face, obviously annoyed it was getting in the way from his intense stare.
"How old are you?" I asked curiously. I could tell he was somewhere in his twenties, but I'd never asked him the question. Not sparing me a glance, he did raise an eyebrow.
"Are you questioning my maturity now that you have seen I know how to play games?" I felt that warm rush of embarrassment flow all over me as I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable at his tone. Maybe I was bothering him. But then he chuckled, his fingers no longer typing away as he tilted his head to the side so he could look at me properly.
"You're not bothering me." He told me softly, giving me one of his gentle smiles. They made me feel at ease, kinda like home.
"You do seem very serious most of the time." I admitted, sitting down onto the ground as my ankles started to ache due to the crouch.
"Twenty-three." He answered finally and then laughed. "What are you doing?"
"Smelling my armpit. I should take a shower." Nobody wants to smell around a guy they like.
"We're all smelly in here. If you take a shower you'll be all clean and stand out from the rest of us." He smirked, returning his gaze to the screen. "You wouldn't want to be the only normal one."
Crossing my legs, I leaned back on the palms of my hands and stared up at the screen he was looking at and carefully peeked at him sideways, not able to help myself from smiling as he blew a lock of hair out of his face again. Decided, determined and wanting to cut the crap on the shyness issue, I stood onto my feet, shuffling closer to him. Reaching out and about to take that lock of hair between my fingers, Galax grabbed my wrist and stopped me.
