Anansi's Web

Inside, there was a small room, lit by small lights dangling from the ceiling, casting soft yellow glow into the air. There were people standing around the room, talking. They looked like normal people from different backgrounds. There was a drink machine on the right wall, and a wooden stand with some pamphlets inside right in the front. Across the room, there were some stairs, with a map encased in glass on the wall next to the stairs.

The place smelled a little bit like an abandoned building might. It smelled old, and dusty with the scent of dirt, and sweat intermingled with rich perfumes that tied themselves into the air, fighting for dominance.

“Aye, close the door, don’t want anyone lookin’ in ’ere” someone said. When I saw who it was, he was a tall man, with a red bandana on, who wore a striped shirt, with jeans that were cut off just past his knee. A red band was around his wrist.

I closed the door, and picked up a pamphlet, walking further into the small room. A few people took notice of me, and snickered to themselves.

I leaned on the wall, and read the pamphlet. The Chisisi network guide was written on the front in big, bold letters. Inside there was a mini map, and an explanation of what this place was. It was basically a secret way to move around the city, filled with rest points in old buildings, and a few tunnels beneath the city, separate from the train system. It also talked about the kind of people around here, and the rules. I wondered how this would help me find my parents, when I was sure I was close to them already. If I could only remember the name of that hotel I could find them. My phone was dead, so I couldn’t call them, but I did know their number.

I took the necklace off, and slipped it into my pocket. I walked up to the nearest person, an average looking man, talking to a group of people about the time he was attacked by a stray cat in one of the tunnels of the network.

“Can I use your phone for a moment?”

The man looked at me for a second, before taking his phone out, and handing it to me. He then, grabbed my arm, and said, “Make it quick.” Then he continued his story.

His hand was hot, and his grip was tight. I wanted to escape his grasp, but I couldn’t. I made the call anyway as he and his friends laughed.

In a few moments, the phone was answered by my mom. “Hey mom,” I said.

“Hello Angelo.” My mom said in a monotone voice.

“Could you tell me the name of the hotel you’re staying in?” I asked. I knew that talking with her about how she’d been wouldn’t do anything. The Hex had affected her, and my dad’s thoughts.

“Hold on.” She said. There was a pause, and then she said. “Here on this paper it says the name is Geri’s place.”

“Okay thanks.” I said, hanging up the phone.

I handed the man his device, and he let go of my arm with a nod of thanks. I walked around after that, asking people if they knew where Geri’s place was, but none of them did. A few people told me it was near here, but that wasn’t any help.

Finally, I walked to the map, and looked for Geri’s place, but I couldn’t find it. My eyes searched the map for minutes, but I still found nothing. I got tangled in red lines, and the blue lines, and the small words, and symbols. Finally, I gave up, and cautiously walked down the stairs into the underground tunnel. My legs felt jittery, and my eyes searched the area carefully, scanning the crowd of people who were down there.

Vendors on the side of the pathways called out for attention. They had carts, and sold things like cheap jewelry, assorted foods on a stick, and refreshments.

As I walked down the stairs, and into the tunnel, behind a very tall man, who smelled like sweat-Of course I didn’t blame him it was very humid down here with all these people-I heard a voice in my mind.

I’m trying to find you, stop moving. Tracy’s voice said.

I fought to keep my mind blank.

I had to find my parents before we leave the city. I didn’t think that though, I only felt a sense of urgency.

As I walked past I could feel, and hear fans above my head whirling, providing a weak stream of air. I tried to walk fast to escape the screeching of a vendor beside me chanting, “Beerwaterbeerwaterbeer. Getyourfreshbeerwaterbeerhere!”

In a few moments, I thought out to Tracy, but she didn’t respond.

My breathing got faster, and there was a dancer in my stomach, flittering around. I didn’t have much time.

I came to a more open space in the narrow tunnel. People sat to rest on benches, and ate their stick food at tables off to the side. I didn’t like this place much. I walked up to a woman sitting on a bench, fanning herself with a pamphlet. Crystals dangled on her neck, but they sounded more like plastic.

“Excuse me; do you know where I could find Geri’s place?””

She gave a tired look. Her blonde hair was stringy, and her wrinkled face was painted with bright makeup. “Geri’s place, the hotel?” She asked. Her voice was ragged, and rough.

I nodded, anticipation building in my gut.

“That’s on Florence Street, right before you get to the intersection. You get to Florence Street from here by turning left up ahead. Go straight, and walk up the steps. Then follow tunnel B until you reach the door.”

“Thank you,” I said, and I whipped forward, squeezing between people, rushing to get to Florence Street. My shoes were bluntly clanking rapidly on the polished floor.

As I rushed I could hear music being played by some street performers. They looked very detached, and airy, swaying as they sung. People who stopped to listen were tossing coins into a large bucket that was in front of the group. As I passed I watched a kid dash by, and swiftly snatch a handful of coins from the bucket, but no one did much other than give the blur of a child looks.

I saw tunnel B, and followed it wherever I could. It broke off into sections sometimes. I saw once that I could take tunnel C, or tunnel B-2 I always went down the tunnel with the letter B in its name.

I began to walk at a regular pace by the time I got to B-3. On my way, I noticed a newspaper stand, with a group of people around it. They were talking about a man who was killed by the S-MOD in a town near Neptia. I stopped to listen.

“It was a while ago, I was there. This news is so old,” Said one man.

“Yeah, but still relevant. They’re still investigating what happened. Rumors say the alchemist’s boy was hexed into doing it because someone wanted his research on something. His master says after the boy died, his room was ransacked, and everything was stolen except for a silver ring.”

“How do you know?” I asked, remembering the man in the town, who got older each time he used magic. They were talking about him.

“People talk about it. It’s a mystery.” The other man said, looking at me with harsh eyes.

I took that answer, and walked away. What could have really happened there? I mentally shook the ideas from my mind, reminding myself to tell Cara later. Now I had to find my parents. I need to follow tunnel B.

As I walked I heard a lot more talk about mysteries, and rumors. Some people spoke in whispers about the Prince’s that were disappearing and others talked about rumors of a secret war that I knew was really happening.

I came to the steps at the end of exit b that the woman talked about, and I hoped that she was right about it. I walked up the steps slowly. At the top of the steps was another room, like the one I was in when I first came to the network. By the time I found myself in front of the door, I felt like I had walked the entire world. My feet hurt so bad, I just wanted to sit for a while, but I was almost there, so close I could feel it.

I opened the door, and found myself outside of a building, caged off by traffic cones. It was still night. People walked the streets, but not as many. I stepped past the cones, and people passed me without a second thought. I looked around, and saw the traffic sign reading Florence Street. I looked down, and found that I recognized the street in the darkness. I remembered walking down the street with Cara all the way to where the festival as held, just past the square.

I walked slowly down the street, my heart beating was the only thing I noticed other than the path I was walking that led to the white sign with big red words that read: Geri’s place.

How are my parent’s doing? I thought. Would they be happy to see me? What if seeing me didn’t do anything, what if they are still hexed when I get there, and I exposed them and myself for nothing. The thoughts weighed on me, but for now, I was only focused on getting to the hotel.

I walked into the hotel doors, and it looked pretty much the same as before, but it was missing the decoration from the event. It looked considerably blander than I remembered it.

I walked up to the man at the desk. “Can you tell me where someone is?”

“What room they stay in? No, I can’t say.”

“Oh. They’re my parents; I just need to speak with them.”

“Sorry, I can’t tell you sir.”

I clenched my teeth, and walked from the desk, picking up the corded phone that sat on a small wooden table in between two couches. I took a deep breath, and dialed my mom’s number.

“Hello?” She said.

“It’s Angelo mom.” I said.

“Hello Angelo.”

“Hey, I wanted to know which room number you were staying in.”

“Oh. It’s room 1106”

“Alright, see you soon.” I said.

“…What...”

I hung up, and walked down the hall, looking at the room numbers. It started with room 1000. I went upstairs, and found room 1106.

I paused in front of the door before knocking. My eyes were starting to water, and I couldn’t stop marching in place. My eyes were glued to the door when I finally knocked. A flurry of emotion was twisting inside of me, tearing down my barriers of coolness. I couldn’t hid how excited I felt.

I heard footsteps approach from behind the door, and my mom answered. When she saw me, her eyes widened. I noticed her irises were the color of Ember’s, but after seeing me, the color melted into her normal brown.

I tackled her, and hugged her tight. She gasped, and tears slid from my eyes. My dad looked at me from inside the room, his eyes turned back to the normal color just like mom’s eyes.

“I missed you.” I said, feeling emotions flood me, until I almost felt I couldn’t stand.

“I love you, I love you so much.” My mom said through sobs.

“Angelo, what are you doing? Where in Terra’s name did you go?” My dad asked in his deep, harsh tone.

My mom broke away from me. Tears swelled up in her eyes. “Where were you?”

“Hold on.” I said, moving past her, and to the window, where I closed the curtains.

I turned back to them, tears falling down my cheeks. “I need to tell you something.”

“What is it?” they asked at the same time.

“I’ve been very busy since I left…uh, see, I uh, was chased by someone from Fervan.” I said, debating telling the whole story in my head.

My mom’s concerned face dropped in an instant, turning into confusion. She turned to my dad, who sat on his bed, hard faced. “But…I don’t understand.” My mom said.

“I left that morning, and I was attacked because I saw something I wasn’t supposed to. Now, I’m traveling with an MOD member, and some friends to escape him. He’s some kind of official from Fervan. Don’t worry though, I’m safe.” As I said that, I thought about all the times I almost died, like the time with the ogre, in the mountains, and the time the director almost killed me, and the time my griffin flew into a thunder storm.

“An official from Fervan you say?” My mom said, tears still falling from her eyes. She reached out, and grabbed my hand, feeling it with her own hands.

My dad stared at the floor. “Son, we’re going home.”

“I…I can’t. I need to do something before I leave.”

“Is this official from Fervan still chasing you?”

I nodded.

“Then we’re going back to Othal.”

“But…what do you know about Fervan?”

“You’re not safe here. Come with us.” My dad insisted, his voice becoming quiet, as though he was holding back anger.

I looked at him for a moment. I missed him, but now I’m starting to remember why I enjoyed leaving him.

“Dad, tell me why, what do you know?”

My mom stroked my dad’s arm. “You need to tell him. I’m sure it’s already too late.”

My eyes darted from one parent to the other. “Tell me what?”

My dad looked up at me. Behind his eyes there was a softness I hadn’t seen before.

“What?” I said, with more force than I knew I had.

The softness evaporated in his eyes, and I shrank back. “I’ll tell you.”

He stood up, and walked back to the door. My mom let go of my hand, giving me another quick hug before sitting me down on the bed with her arms wrapped around my shoulders.

“Angelo, my father, your grandfather, is from Fervan. He used to work for the prince of his time, the man who would be king.”

My mouth gaped open, and I made a small noise before I was aware of my shock.

“Of course, the prince my dad served became king, but the king died a few years into his term. His queen took over then, the woman we know today. My dad left the light after the king died. He lived a normal life, and had me and my brother.”

“I never met any family on your side.” I said quietly.

“I grew up, pressured into things by my father. After serving Fervan’s military, I left, and joined Zirea’s MOD. I met your mom just before I left to fight my old country. My brother left the same time as I did, but he went to Yasnia, and just like me, fought for a different country. He’s much respected there now. And, recently he wanted to see you.

“He decided to come against my wishes at the beginning to this summer. But how could he see you, if you were in Sraff, and I didn’t tell him?”

I was silent. He only agreed to take me to the event so I wouldn’t see my uncle. I was having a difficult time processing what he was saying. My dad was in the Fervan army. He probably knows all about Directors and stuff.

“That’s it.” He said, slumping onto the bed, sighing.

“Why didn’t you want me to see him?”

“I didn’t want you around that. I tried to keep you away from all that military stuff. My dad pressured me into it, and I didn’t want the same for you. But when you told me you wanted to join the MOD like me, I quit instead of retiring.”

Thoughts ran through my head, stringing together events in my life, connecting odd behaviors to his motives. I got what he meant though, and I almost respected him for it.

My mom ran her hands gently through my hair. “I’m sorry we didn’t tell you.”

“It’s okay.” I said, “I just…never thought.”

“We have to go home.” My dad said.

I came to my parents partially to escape all this Fervan stuff, but now it’ll follow me no matter where I go. “I’m sorry, I can’t do that. I need to do something first. But, I promise I’ll be back.”

“No, you aren’t safe I-“

“I’m with a pirate, and a MOD member, and an apprentice alchemist. I’m safe Dad. Let me do this first, and I’ll be back, I promise. Soon I’ll see you guys again, it’s a small thing I need to do. Just never leave this hotel until morning.”

“Why?”

“Some people might be looking out for me, and if you guys go out tonight soon after I do, it might be suspicious.”

“Why would we leave tonight?” My dad asked.

“I want you guys to take a train to Othal. I don’t think anyone knows I live there, you’ll be safe at the house.”

“We can’t leave you.” Mom said. Her voice was a thick waterfall that soaked into my confidence, making it soggy.

“You have to, you’ll be safe. I can handle myself, I have some magic, and I’m pretty good. I love you both, but I need to do this.”

Things were quiet for a moment. The TV played in the background, and I bit the inside of my lip.

“If it’s small, go. But if you lie to me, and you don’t come back for longer than a week, you’re in serious trouble.”

My mom gaped at my dad, but after a few seconds said nothing.

“Alright. I’ll leave now.” I hugged both of them, and savored the moment as much as I could before letting go. “I can’t wait to go home, and have a family movie night like we used to.”

“You’re going to grow up on me so soon, I wasn’t ready.” My mom said, her sobs pulling at my heart.

“I’m still me. You’ll always be my parents.” I was surprised to find my own voice had gone deep, and my throat had become clogged.

They let go, and I walked slowly to the door, not ready to leave them, but my dad’s story inspired me, and I found myself looking up to him like I used to. Just before closing the door, I waved bye, and looked away.

The door closed with a dull clunk. I could sense somehow that I wouldn’t see them again for a while. I knew I would break my promise. Reluctant tears slid hot against my cheeks.