The Man Beyond The Map

CHAPTER 20 - THE OCEAN

The knocking stopped.

Nobody moved.

I could hear the three of us breathing.

The fire outside crackled.

Somewhere deep in the jungle, something screamed.

But inside the shelter, there was only silence.

Then the door on the wall knocked again.

Once.

I stepped closer.

"Ethan," the hostess whispered.

I raised my hand.

"Stay back."

She didn't.

Neither did the other Aria.

The three of us stood before the impossible door.

It hadn't been there a moment ago.

Now it covered almost the entire wall.

Black stone.

No handle.

No hinges.

No visible frame.

Only seven symbols carved across its surface.

Six were dark.

One glowed faintly.

The same symbol burned beneath my skin.

I reached toward it.

The hostess caught my wrist.

"Don't."

I looked at her.

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"Then why are you stopping me?"

Her eyes filled with fear.

"Because I remember what happened last time."

My heart skipped.

"Last time?"

She nodded.

"You opened it."

"When?"

"I don't know."

"Where?"

She looked at the door.

"Here."

The other Aria stepped forward.

"That isn't possible."

The hostess turned toward her.

"You weren't there."

The other Aria's expression hardened.

"Neither were you."

"I was."

"You arrived today."

"Yes."

"Then how could you have been here?"

The hostess looked at me.

"Because this isn't the first time I've arrived."

The words settled over us.

I stared at her.

"What does that mean?"

She shook her head.

"I don't know."

The door knocked again.

This time, the sound came from behind us.

We spun around.

Nothing.

Then the radio crackled.

Static.

A man's voice followed.

"Ethan."

I recognized it.

Kane.

"Where are you?"

I grabbed the radio.

"How did you get this frequency?"

No answer.

"Kane!"

Static.

Then—

"Don't open the door."

I froze.

The other Aria looked at me.

"What did he say?"

I raised the radio.

"Kane says not to open it."

The hostess stared at the door.

"Then we shouldn't."

I looked at her.

"Why?"

"Because every time someone tells you not to open something, you open it."

I almost smiled.

"Fair point."

The other Aria didn't.

"Who is Kane?"

"A man who wants me dead."

"Then why warn you?"

"That's what worries me."

The radio crackled again.

Kane's voice returned.

"I don't have much time."

"Where are you?"

"On the ocean."

I frowned.

"What ocean?"

"The one beneath you."

The radio went dead.

I stared at it.

The other Aria whispered, "Beneath us?"

The ground shook.

Not violently.

Just enough to make dust fall from the ceiling.

Then we heard it.

Water.

A deep rushing sound.

Coming from beneath the shelter.

The hostess stepped backward.

"Ethan."

"I hear it."

Another tremor.

The stone floor cracked.

A thin line appeared between my boots.

Then another.

Then another.

The cracks spread toward the wall.

Toward the door.

The glowing symbol brightened.

And the door opened.

Not inward.

Downward.

The entire wall folded into the floor.

Beyond it was a staircase.

Descending into darkness.

Cold air rushed upward.

It smelled like salt.

The ocean.

I looked at the two women.

"We're leaving."

The other Aria shook her head.

"No."

"We need answers."

"We need to survive."

"We can do both."

She stared at me.

"That's what you said three years ago."

I stopped.

"What happened three years ago?"

She looked away.

"You don't remember."

"Then tell me."

"I can't."

"Why?"

"Because you made me promise."

"Promise what?"

"Never to tell you who you were."

The hostess whispered, "Why?"

The other Aria looked at her.

"Because the last time he remembered..."

She swallowed.

"...the island almost died."

Silence.

I looked down the staircase.

Darkness waited below.

Something told me the answers were there.

And something else told me they would cost me.

I picked up a flashlight.

"Stay here."

Both women answered at the same time.

"No."

I looked at them.

For some reason, that almost made me laugh.

"Fine."

We descended.

The staircase seemed endless.

Ten steps.

Twenty.

Fifty.

The air became colder.

The walls changed.

Stone became metal.

Then glass.

Beyond the glass was water.

Black water.

Something enormous moved through it.

The hostess stopped.

"What is that?"

"I don't know."

The creature passed again.

Its body was too large to see completely.

A pale eye opened in the darkness.

Then closed.

The other Aria whispered, "Don't look at it."

"Why?"

"Because it might look back."

I looked away.

Too late.

The water exploded against the glass.

Something struck the wall.

The entire staircase shook.

The hostess screamed.

I grabbed her and pulled her against me.

For a moment, she held onto my shirt.

Her face was against my chest.

I could feel her trembling.

"I'm sorry."

She looked up.

"For what?"

"For bringing you here."

"You didn't."

"I think I did."

Her eyes searched mine.

"Do you remember me?"

I wanted to say no.

But the truth was becoming harder to ignore.

"I remember pieces."

"What pieces?"

"You."

She didn't move.

"You standing beside me."

"Where?"

"A beach."

She whispered, "Three moons."

I nodded.

"You were crying."

"So were you."

"I told you something."

"What?"

I closed my eyes.

The memory came.

Her hand in mine.

Her voice.

If you forget me, I'll find you.

I opened my eyes.

"You told me you'd find me."

She stared at me.

"I did."

The other Aria turned away.

I noticed.

She was crying.

"Aria."

She wiped her face.

"I'm fine."

"You're not."

"I said I'm fine."

The hallway suddenly lit up.

Rows of lights activated one after another.

At the end stood a massive circular chamber.

In its center was a glass platform surrounded by water.

And on the platform

A chair.

Strapped to it was a man.

I raised my weapon.

The other Aria froze.

The hostess gasped.

I knew the man.

"Kane."

His head lifted.

Blood ran down one side of his face.

He looked at me.

Then smiled.

"You're late."

I approached carefully.

"What happened?"

He laughed weakly.

"You still don't understand."

"Understand what?"

Kane looked past me.

At the two women.

His smile disappeared.

"Oh."

His eyes widened.

"She's here."

The hostess stepped forward.

"Who?"

Kane stared at her.

"You."

She stopped.

"Me?"

He shook his head.

"No."

His eyes moved toward the other Aria.

Then back to the hostess.

"Not you."

He looked terrified now.

"Both of you."

I raised my weapon.

"What are you talking about?"

Kane looked directly at me.

"The island didn't bring you here."

A pause.

"It brought them."

The water around the platform began to rise.

Kane's expression changed.

"Get out."

I didn't move.

"Kane—"

"GET OUT!"

Something slammed into the glass.

The entire chamber shook.

The hostess grabbed my arm.

"What is that?"

Kane stared at the water.

"The reason the planes disappeared."

Another impact.

Cracks spread across the glass.

Kane whispered—

"The thing beneath the ocean."

The glass shattered.

Water exploded into the chamber.

I grabbed the hostess with one arm and the other Aria with the other.

The current tore us apart.

I tried to hold on.

My fingers slipped.

The last thing I saw before the darkness swallowed me was the hostess reaching toward me.

And behind her

The other Aria.

Both reaching for my hand.

Then something enormous opened its eye beneath us.

And it knew my name.