False Horizon - Alex Archer [39]
“The cave.”
“Yes.”
Annja felt the pillows. The fabric they were covered in felt smooth and silky to the touch. She looked around the room and saw that the same type of material covered the walls.
Light came from somewhere, but it was subdued and reflected inward from an outside source. The room seemed designed to transition people from wherever they’d been into this place. Waking up to a harsh lightbulb probably wasn’t the best way to do that, so the lighting was dim, but Annja could still see everything.
“How long have you been awake?” she asked.
“A few minutes, no more,” Tuk said. He smiled. “I’m afraid that when you told me to stop breathing, I did exactly the opposite and took a huge breath, which no doubt hastened my own demise, as it were.”
Annja grinned. “You can’t be faulted for that.”
Tuk leaned closer. “You know, that is the second time I have seen that sword of yours. How is it possible for that to somehow conceal itself on your body and not be noticeable?”
Annja laughed. “If I tried to explain it to you, Tuk, you’d only have more questions. And they’d probably be questions I couldn’t answer. Not because I don’t want to. But because I don’t know the answers myself.”
Tuk leaned back. “I see. But you have it here still?”
Annja closed her eyes and saw the sword in its usual position. She looked at Tuk. “It’s here.”
“That’s a relief,” he said. “We don’t yet know where we are. And while this room is lovely, we have no idea what may lie beyond its peaceful borders.”
Annja nodded. “Something tells me that if they’d wanted to harm us, they would have done so by now.”
“Perhaps,” Tuk said. “But sometimes it is difficult to divine the intentions of others. I would prefer to not assume anything at this moment.”
“Agreed,” Annja said. “Have you seen or heard anything since you woke up?”
“Nothing. As I said, it has only been a few moments.” Tuk glanced around the room. “Wherever we are, it is almost certainly not within the confines of the mountain, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Unless the walls are rock and covered with that fabric.” She leaned over to the closest wall and tried to see what was behind it. It felt solid enough, but didn’t seem like a cave wall.
“I don’t know. It could be anything. Metal, concrete, stonework. It’s smooth, though.”
Tuk looked around. Annja could see that he was mentally trying to process everything that had happened. She wondered if this was the first time he’d had his life thrown upside down. Annja smirked. Hang out with me, she thought, and it won’t be your last.
She wondered if Mike had come through this same experience. That would certainly explain his disappearance. And hopefully, if he had, then whoever had brought them here—the yeti, she supposed—would help Mike with his injuries.
She had the sudden urge to get out of the room and see if Mike was indeed here. But how? There was no door anywhere in the room. She and Tuk seemed to be in yet another space that had no exit. And, this time, it had no entrance, either.
At least the cave had had a way to get in and get out, small though it was, she thought. This place seems like a perfectly solid box.
Tuk pointed at the walls. “Where is the door?”
Annja nodded. “I was just noticing that myself.”
He looked at her. “How is a thing like this even possible, Annja? I’ve seen a few strange things in my time, and this defies explanation.”
Annja smiled. “I’ve seen plenty of strange things in my day, Tuk. And this still defies explanation.” She fell silent and then heard something. A sound seemed to be coming from somewhere outside the box they were in.
“Do you hear that?”
Tuk glanced around and Annja saw him close his eyes to listen. He nodded. “Yes, what is it?”
“It almost sounds like music,” Annja said.
“That is what I thought also,” Tuk replied. “And it sounds as if it is coming closer to us.”
“Maybe this means we’re about to find out where we are,” Annja said. “And, if so, maybe we can find Mike.”
15
Tuk listened as the music grew louder.