SIX

After class Rufus made it back to his room and found Jimmy sitting on his makeshift bed in the closet.

“Hey, Jimmy.” Rufus placed the mended glasses on the desk next to the closet and sat down on one of the chairs.

“Hey.” A muffled sound came from within the closet door.

“Those Bristons are jerks, man…” Rufus paused, searching for something to say.

“Ha, you should have seen them today. They had a test on Anne of Green Gables. It was so funny I didn’t know what to think!” Rufus barked.

“Yeah, really?” Jimmy still didn’t feel like speaking.

“Yeah, one of them had a freakin’ tail coming out under his dress, and the other had a fluorescent mullet from hell! They had no clue what they were supposed to do, so they both got drunk and ended up in a snoring heap! The whole class busted out laughing! It was completely obvious they hadn’t read the assignment.” Rufus laughed.

Jimmy reached out and grabbed the glasses from the desk. Rufus got a glimpse of Jimmy’s eyes. They were white with just the pupil visible.

Jimmy chuckled while he pictured the scenario Rufus had recounted. He put the aviator glasses on, climbed out, and sat in the chair across from Rufus.

“Man, those Bristons deserve it! They’re such hotshots in the arena. Any time someone comes close to beating them they pick on them in school.”

“Is that what happened to you?” Asked Rufus.

“What do you mean?” Jimmy was startled. Behind the glasses, his eyes darted back to the closet, as if willing himself away from Rufus.

“Well, there has to be some reason why you don’t ever go to class. Seems more like they are dumb brutes that take advantage of other kids that are vulnerable.”

“Yeah…well, yeah, I almost beat them. Man, I had the coolest projection. It was a slant on a vampire. Of course, Merlin won’t let us be anything that is purely evil, so I had to make it a bit different so that I could pass his probes. So I added some abilities tied to ice and shadow. Just ideas, but they worked.” Jimmy’s face turned from Rufus as he spoke as if he were picturing his own description.

“Ok, so what happened that made you the Bristons’ punching bag?” Rufus wanted to know more about the Arena, but he also wanted to know what had happened between the three kids.

Reluctantly, Jimmy continued “We were in the semi-finals last year. I was in Wastelayer—the name of my projection—and Bobby was in his projection. They don’t come close to what Merlin tries to teach us. Anyway, I could disappear and reappear wherever there was shadow. I even made it so that I could create shadows where I wanted to go. He was hurting by the end of it.”

“What about your disappearing trick? Why couldn’t you get out of Bobby’s grasp?” Asked Rufus.

“I don’t know. I tried, but for some reason that power wouldn’t work. Anyway, they had a wooden stake and Bobby was about to drive it through my heart when I freaked out. The vampire that I had built my projection from came to life…just took over. I broke the dragon’s paw and dove onto Bobby. It was pretty ghastly because… because I couldn’t control the vampire, and it bit into Bobby’s neck and started to drink his blood…” Jimmy stopped and looked at Rufus’ face to see if Rufus was passing judgment.

“Wow, so you won the bout then?” Rufus continued through the look that Jimmy was giving him. “I mean, vampire sucks the blood out of Knight wins every time, right?”

“That’s what I thought, but Merlin declared Bobby the winner, Merlin said that I cheated by using evil design in my projection. Now I’m not allowed back into the Arena until I figure out how to control my projection.”

Jimmy was obviously distraught. “It’s my fault, I should have listened to what Merlin was teaching in class. Rufus, what you pattern your projection after can take control of you, and you won’t even know it. Take it from me, I know from experience.” Jimmy said pointing back at the closet and his makeshift bed.

Rufus thought back to his one experience as a projection—Smaug—he remembered how incredible it felt to be that creature. The flight he took, the power and strength that he had in his limbs, but then he remembered how he couldn’t control the beast, no matter how hard he had tried.

“You know what I’m talking about, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I had a run in with a dragon of my own creation. No one got hurt, but I couldn’t control it at all.”

“The other kids just think I was a monster and only was in there to go after his blood. It isn’t true, but then a couple of the other kids started rumors saying that I had bit them too…something about me trying to make my own horde of vampire slaves. Like I would want to! All of those kids are weak minded. Being bitten by me would have given them a more powerful projection than their own minds could ever have come up with. Believe you me.”

A few moments passed by and Jimmy said under his breath. “I bet the Bristons paid them off.”

Rufus wanted to lighten the sour mood that was emanating out of Jimmy, so he said. “Hey let’s go get some food. Maybe, they have some raw steak for you?” He smiled trying to lighten the mood.

Jimmy was a bit caught off guard, but he immediately took up with the jab “Yeah, but they have to have some bbq sauce with it. Always, have to have my bbq.”           

They walked to the cafeteria and sat down after picking over what was left from the dinner crowd. Jimmy didn’t have raw steak, but he did have some bbq’d chicken.

“So, has anyone ever died from fighting in the Arena?”

“No…not that I know of. You can’t actually. The DeathStroke prevents it. Of course, there are some of the kids that like to practice their healing skills instead of fighting in the tournament, so they will try to stitch you back between rounds, if you have the money. If it isn’t possible, then you loose that bout.”

“What about bleeding out? If you have an arm torn off of you, won’t you loose all of your blood? Your heart will stop working then right?”

“Ah…I guess so, if you rely on blood. That’s my trick. A lot of kids think they need to project bodies like their own. They don’t. I make mine into moveable stone. That’s how I get my strength.”

“I don’t get it. You can’t sustain life by being stone.”

“This stuff isn’t real, Rufus! Merlin has some kind of video game console on his lectern. He creates the Arena, and then we provide our imagination to create a projection. It’s like some high-tech virtual reality gaming system or something.”

“I saw him start a session away from his lectern. He had a ring with a red stone or something” stated Rufus.

“Maybe he has a remote control,” Jimmy hesitated.

Rufus took a bite of his burger and then asked, “What’s the point?”

“What do you mean?”

“What is the point of having us read all these books and act out all of the scenes? And the Arena?”

“Well, Merlin says that he is trying to increase or strengthen our imaginations. Create stronger brains, so that we can make better connections when we are in the real world. As for the Arena, that’s for fun.” His voice droned with no excitement, but Rufus could see his eyes light up behind the sunglasses.

“Also, each bout you win you get money.”

Rufus’ stopped and looked up from his tray “Money?”

“Well, not real money. At least, not money I have seen anyone be able to take out of the Arena…Most kids just buy things when they are there in the Arena with what they make.” Jimmy bit off the end of a French fry.

“What’s to buy there?” Asked Rufus.

“Swords, shields, cloaks, drinks—technically we aren’t getting drunk since the Arena isn’t real—food. Some kids don’t use their projection for the Arena they use it to have really good talents, like blacksmithing, singing, cooking, or whatever. They use these talents to make money, hoping that they will be able to cash out at some time or invest it inside the Arena somehow.”

A bloodhound with a droopy face came into the cafeteria, towing Mr. Jehos. “Boys and Girls, this here is Sheila. She’ll be helping us out here at the school for a few days. Keep on your best behavior around her, or she’ll bite your head off.” He laughed as the dog nuzzled the closest kid. “Come now Sheila. Don’t fraternize.”

The bloodhound barked at Mr. Jehos loud enough to make him jump. She then led Mr. Jehos around the room, sniffing each of he kids.

She paused at Rufus for a bit longer than he wanted her too, but then carried on.

When Jehos and the dog left, Jimmy said “You don’t have the key on you do you?”

“No. I left it back in our room. It’s in one of the ceiling tiles.”

“Good.”

“Is that what they’re looking for?”

“Yes. Without it he can’t get to Tulendor.”

…

The next day Rufus was sitting in his spot in the library. He was reading his assignment for his psychology class. No matter how driven he was from his Smaug experience, he couldn’t get into the id, ego, and superego. His eyes would scan across the words like he was reading, but his mind would travel to other worlds, making left turns without signaling. And then he would realize that he had read a whole page and didn’t know anything about its content.

“Seriously, I’m never going to get this.” He paused, looked over at the Archive door, and absentmindedly reached his hand into his pocket where he had stowed the DragonLock after he’d retrieved it from the ceiling tile that morning.

“You can’t get in there.” A female voice said from behind his head. He was sitting down on the floor with his back to a shelf of books.

He immediately stood up and looked around. It was Imogen. She was looking up at him through the books. Rufus stopped and looked at the couch she was sitting on.

I’ve been sitting on this floor for four weeks, and there was a couch just right there? I’m such an idiot.

“Oh, its just you.” he said.

”No one but Meme and the Principal are allowed in there.”

“Were you just watching me? How do you know I was looking over there.”

“You read about the id like a herd of elephants stampeding.”

Rufus just stood there a bit slack jawed.

“I’m sorry you’re…loud when you get frustrated.” she explained.

Rufus sat back down and grabbed his book. He tried to read the page again.

“The id operates on the pleasure principle (Freud 1920)…” Again, he started thinking about the DragonLock and the Archives door.

A dog barked on the lower floor of the library.

Nervously, and knowing that if he stayed where he was the dog would find that he had the key, Rufus stood and walked over to the mysterious door.

“His curiosity won out I see.” Imogen was right behind him.

“What are you doing?” He asked her.

“Just want to see what a person with your skills could do with a locked door.”

“My skills? Just because I didn’t grow up with a silver spoon doesn’t mean I know how to pick locks.”

With that he took out the DragonLock and slid it into the keyhole. Rufus noticed that the key didn’t have its usual blue hue. A red light was now emanating from it. He and Imogen were looking both ways, trying to make sure no one saw them.

The dog’s bray sounded labored as it ran up the staircase.

“Hurry up!” Imogen pressed him from behind.

Rufus pushed open the door, and he and Imogen toppled onto the floor on the other side in a heap. Rufus reached up and grabbed the DragonLock out of the keyhole, and shut the door just as Sheila was running past his reading spot.

“We are in for it.” Imogen said.

“Don’t look at me. I would have been fine if you hadn’t egged me on.” Rufus’ mind was a bit flustered, but he knew blaming anything on her was silly.

“Whatever. That dog is going to stay right there until someone finds her, and then they will find our stuff, and we will be in trouble when the Principal or Meme opens the door.”

She paused to catch her breath and let her stomach descend from where it had jumped into her throat. “If we are going to get in trouble anyway, then we might as well look around.”

Rufus reached over to the wall, found a light switch, and flipped it on. It flickered, then rows of candle sconces lit up, revealing a long room with shelves of books, strange artifacts in glass cases, and a pedestal in the center. Several large stained glass windows also helped illuminate the room.

They started walking through the shelves, looking at the book titles. Nothing caught their eye, until Imogen stopped at a book shelf.

“Rufus, do you recognize this name?”

Rufus came over and looked at the book she was pointing at. Nathan Barber was inscribed on the side.

“Yeah. He’s that TV producer. I know him.” He took down the book and started reading it. It talked about Mr. Barber’s struggles in the school. Almost as if it were his school file. It wasn’t too interesting, except the portions about what Barber used in the Arena. A manticore.

“This is cool. Whoever wrote this has stated how Barber designed his imagination to build a manticore. It’s like they are studying our imagination. But how can you see imagination to study it?”

Imogen put her hand on his as he was about to turn the page. Rufus froze not knowing how to react. “Uh, Imogen.” he nervously questioned what her intentions were.

She dropped her hand and blushed.

“Look at the names on the page you have open—Seriously, Rufus, I wouldn’t be so subtle if I wanted to hold your hand.”

Sheila brayed outside the door, reminding them that their time was limited.

Rufus looked at the page Imogen was pointing out. There was an image of a family tree, full of names, with Nathan Barber at it’s base. The tree leafed back to a Bart Barber and up the Barber line until the lineage changed last names four more times. Nielsen, Benson, Pattee, Dalebout, and others, until there were no more last names, just first names. Rufus and Imogen continued to flip the pages until they came to the last of the tree. Aidan was the second to last line, and the final two lines drew from Aidan to Merlin and Meme.

“I don’t understand. How is Mr. Barber related to Meme?” Rufus mumbled.

“It isn’t our Meme. It isn’t the one that works here…She’d have to be hundreds of years old. Thousands of years old.” She started walking down the rows of books. One for each student that had attended the school. Until she stopped and took out another book.

“The real Merlin was from the 5th century or something like that.” She paused as she opened the book.

Rufus put Barber’s book back and walked to where she was standing. She was holding her book. There wasn’t much in the front of the book, but in the back the full family line was filled out all the way to Merlin and Meme again, except she wasn’t a decendent of Aidan. Instead, written below their names, was Aisling.

“That means I have to have one too!” Rufus exclaimed. He hadn’t ever known his parent’s names before. He started looking and finally found it.

He was about to open it when a muffled voice came from outside the door. “I can’t open itT The DragonLock is the only key that can! They’re in Tulendor, at the castle!”

“Hello, will you please come out? We aren’t angry, we just need to talk to you!” The voice was louder through the door frame as it called to Imogen and Rufus.

Rufus and Imogen both looked at each other and kept reading without a sound. Imogen stopped. “Are you the one that’s been taking the stuff from the cook’s pantry?”

“Uh.” Rufus just looked at the book in his hand. “No comment.”

“Darius…and my mom’s name was Ruth. Darius and Ruth.” He sat down on an overstuffed chair. Dust billowed around him and he bounced right out of it. Coughing he said “I’m still related to Meme and Merlin, but through someone named Brogan.

They kept searching for Jimmy and Biggie. They found that Biggie was through Imogen’s same linage, but Jimmy’s was different. All it had was his name Jimmy with two lines going to a Dabuek Racinin and Dabuena Racinin.

“What’s that supposed to mean? Everyone else, but Jimmy is related to Merlin and Meme? That’s weird. What’s a Dabuek and a Dabuena, anyway?” Rufus asked.

“If I had to guess they sound like titles. Like the Prince of Wales. Right?”

“I guess so.”

A dark shadow swooped across one of the stained glass windows, blackening out that part of the room.

“What was that?!”

They rushed over to the window and opened up a small rectangular section. “Holy cra…” He couldn’t finish. They weren’t looking at the school grounds; they were looking across a massive valley that was surrounded by what looked like the Himalayan mountains. They could see a village on the other side of a large stone courtyard and adjoining wall. In the distance, they could see several huge dots with bat-like wings moving across the skyline.

“I don’t know what’s going on. Should we just surrender? I don’t know what is flying out there, but I don’t want it coming in here to eat me! Rufus was starting to get very anxious.

“No! We can’t leave yet! There has to be more! Look, I’ll glance at some more books and you go over there and see what that sword is.” Imogen persuaded.

She walked to a pedestal in the middle of the room and started leafing through the book resting upon it.

Rufus walked over to a glass case that held a sword. It seemed a bit plain, but looked like it could handle itself in a fight. Rufus grabbed the handle and hefted it.

Put me down right now. You aren’t worthy to hold me! You aren’t even a knight of the round table! A female voice with a thick Scottish brogue rang through Rufus’ mind. He dropped the blade with a loud clatter, bringing Imogen out of her reading.

“Can you keep it down over there?” She chided.

He looked at her and then back at the sword. Slowly he bent over to pick up the sword. He grabbed the hilt once again.

Don’t you dare! The Scottish brogue rang through his mind again. Don’t you dare! Merlin! Merlin! I want my stone back.

“Ok. Ok! I’ll put you back! Don’t get bent out of shape!” Rufus yelled back.

Funny! Was that supposed to be a pun? Because I’m in the shape of sword?

Before setting the sword down Rufus asked “Who are you?”

I am Excalibur, the Lady of the Lake. Who are you?

“I’m Rufus Fenuch, Son of Darius and Ruth. At least I think so.” He slowly, confused put the sword back into the case.

“Imogen, I need to get out of here.”

“Why, what’s wrong?”

“What do you mean, what’s wrong? There are no other doors, except the one we came in. And there are dragons flying outside this castle and that sword over there can talk and thinks it’s Excalibur! I just want to be back in the normal part of this school, where I know what I can expect!”

“Fine. They’re gonna put you in detention. You know that right?” She stopped reading. “I won’t own up to anything except that my curiosity got the better of me. Your funeral.” She turned the book to the page it was on when she found it.

Rufus and Imogen walked over to the door. The outline of the Principal could be seen through the clouded window.

Rufus tried to turn the doorknob but it wouldn’t open. So he pulled out the DragonLock again and slipped it into the keyhole. The same shade of red as before emanated from it. He turned the key and saw the Principal, Blackwatch, Jehos, and Sheila, waiting on the other side.