Eve's Hollow by Charles Bedlam (best free e reader .txt) 📕

“We're all clear,” he said.

Estelle followed him, gun at the ready. The hall was dark, but Ransley's flashlight gave away small details. The floor was black and white tiled. The walls were painted white. The ceiling bore hanging florescent tubes. They were in a hall full of other wooden doors. It was very quiet here. Ransley eased up. His demeanor relaxed.

“We'd hear their breathing if they were here,” he said to Estelle. “Let's have a look around.”

“But where do we start?”

“At the top. We'll work our way down. The end of the hallway there.”

Ransley pointed his flashlight down the hall to a set of metal double doors. On the way, they passed several benches and artificial decorative plants. They reached the stairs and ascended. They didn't need to walk up to the top floor. After reaching the next floor, the stairs were blocked by heavy debris. There on the landing, waited another pair of double doors. Having nowhere else to go, they enter this floor. At first, it seemed very much like the last floor that they were on; that was until Estelle noticed the red numbers on the doors of this hallway.

“Look!” she exclaimed.

The nearest door to them was numbered six. It was on the right side. All of the other doors were painted with red even numbers. Two all the way to ten. Odd numbers were on the other side of the hallway.

“What do you think they mean?” asked Estelle.

“One way to find out,” Ransley said, reaching for the knob of the number six door.

Holding the gun and the flashlight in front of him, Ransley pushed the door open. He was immediately met with a burst of sweet smells. He flashed the light on the ceiling and saw a florescent tube, hanging. He felt around on the wall and eventually found a light switch.

“Come on, lass,” he pleaded as he flipped it.

The light didn't come on.

“Oh well,” he sighed.

He shone his light around the room and actually found that it was empty. The room was rather small and had no windows. Ransley flashed his light only to be met with a barren wall and floor. He closed the door.

“My turn, I guess,” she said, shrugging her shoulder.

Her eyes turned to the number four door. When she grabbed the knob, it felt very warm to the touch. Looking down, she noticed a very faint glowing from the other side of the door. She pressed her palm against the door and it was also warm. She turned her head and listened.

“Do you hear that?” she asked Ransley.

“What is it?” he asked, nearing the door himself.

He listened. They could both hear a low, but consistent humming. Estelle turned the knob.

“It could be a trap,” Ransley said.

“Then you should stand back,” Estelle fearlessly said.

An invisible, compelling force drove her forward and before Ransley could respond to her suggestion, she was already pushing the door open. Ransley stood right beside Estelle, handgun aimed forward. As the door opened, warm violet light flooded the hallway. A brighter white light shone behind it, temporarily blinding the two. However, the white light faded and all that was left was the violet glow. Estelle pushed the door open all the way.

There were only three items in the number four room. First was a sleek-looking black table that was about two thirds of Estelle's height. Atop the table was a small wooden rack. What was upon this rack was what gave the violet glow. There, sat a curved sword in a black lacquer sheath. The blade must have been a little over three feet in length and the hilt was decorated with diamond-shape wrapping using a black wrap. The guard was small and circular.

Estelle couldn't take her eyes off of what she was seeing. The sword sat stationary, but around it was a violet bubble with small sparks of electricity arcing off of it. This room, like the last one had no windows and nowhere for the light to exit except through the open door. Estelle approached the bubble.

“Wait,” Ransley said.

Estelle did not hear him. She was transfixed on the sword. She reached a hand out to touch the bubble. Ransley waited behind her, nervous. As she approached, a small spark of lightning jumped to her finger, giving her a start. She jerked her hand back and looked at her finger. It didn't hurt, it only surprised her. She knew that whatever this was might injure or even kill her. But this sword could be the one that the Goddess spoke of. The Sword of the Supernova Samurai.

Taking a deep breath, and moving forward, Estelle reached out to the bubble once again. The sparks jumped to her finger tips, then surrounded her hand as she reached for the sword. Arm deep into the bubble, Estelle's hair began to stand up and float around her. She couldn’t reach the sword without completely entering the bubble. Knowing that if she thought too much, she'd question herself, she entered and took hold of the sword without hesitation.

The violet bubble that surrounded the sword receded into it, then glowed white before dispersing in a forceful burst of light. Ransley and Estelle covered themselves to the best of their abilities. The burst of light didn't hurt them, but it did leave their skin slightly hot to the touch. Ransley went so far as to remove his coat.

“My God,” Ransley whispered. “What was that?”

“I- I don't know,” Estelle said, looking down at the sword in her small hands.

The burst of light left a ring of energy hanging in the room, like a small cloud.

“Are you okay?” Ransley asked her.

“I think so. You?”

“I'm fine, just hot now,” he said, hanging his coat over his arm with a sigh. “Let's get a look at that sword you've got.”

Estelle brought the sword over to Ransley. There was no need for the flashlight as the floating ring in the room was so bright. Ransley knelt before her. Estelle grabbed the handle of the sword and drew the blade about a third of the way. It shone brilliantly. The steel was almost fluorescent. Estelle removed the entire sword from its sheath. The blade was one sided and felt heavy.

“My God,” Ransley whispered a second time. “I've never seen such craftsmanship. May I?”

Estelle handed the sword to Ransley. He examined the hilt, then the guard, then the blade.

“This is definitely of Japanese design,” Ransley said, inspecting the sword closer.

“Yapanees?” Estelle asked perplexed.

“No, Ja-Pa-Knees. The knife I gave you is a much smaller version of the same design.”

“Japanese,” Estelle repeated.

“But this couldn't possibly have come from Japan.”

“Where is Japan?”

“It's far East of where I lived when I was on Earth.”

“Why couldn't it have come from there?”

“It's too new,” Ransley said, looking down the length of the sword's cutting edge. “And the fabric used to wrap the handle is signature to Eve's Hollow textile companies. Someone in the city made this sword.”

“Do you think Supernova made it?” Estelle asked.

“As of now, there isn't any way of knowing.”

Ransley held the sword up right, then turned the blade toward himself. He held the sword out to Estelle, offering it. She took it and held it in both hands. This sword was so much larger and heavier than the knife she was used to. She actually needed to use her muscles to hold it up. She was mesmerized by it.

“I think that it definitely belongs to him though. And it looks sharp enough to cut through stone.”

Estelle returned the sword to its sheath.

“Well we aren't any closer to finding him,” Estelle said.

“Let's keep looking around. What are you going to do with that?”

“I figured I'd hold on to it. I don't know why he left this here... but he might need it. More importantly, we might need it.”

Ransley nodded in agreement. He must have cooled down because he put his coat back on. The two went back into the hallway.

“Should we try some odd numbers?” Ransley chuckled.

Rooms one, three, and five were empty. They were the same small, dark rooms with no windows in them. Room number seven, contained just what they were looking for. Of course, they couldn't have known that at first. Ransley opened this door. It was dark like the others and he flashed his light in side. The circle of light that he cast showed many items around the room. He shone his light on the ceiling and noticed a single light bulb hanging from a cord. Ransley pulled the small chain attached to it and the room lit up under a dim light.

It was quite obvious that someone was once living in this room. Against the far right corner was a double bed. To the left, a chest of drawers. Sitting next to it, and almost at the door to the room was a small wooden desk with a mirror. Upon this desk was a piece of paper. Before Ransley could inspect it, Estelle picked it up.

“What's it say?” he asked, looking over her shoulder.

Estelle read it out loud.

I can't stay here anymore. Lady knows about this place. She led an entire herd of the Punished to my front door.

The worst part is she didn't attack. She did it just to let me know that she was watching me. I knew better than to hang around this place.

I don't want to leave though. I've made this place my home. I've trained here, slept here, shed tears here. I even made a room for her just down the hall; for when we finally meet. I hate the Pale Lady. But other times, I am thankful for her. I know it's twisted. But I have long since ceased lying to myself; a trait of my past that I won't carry anymore.

Our time is nearing. My vision of meeting my Seeker is coming to pass. I know that Lady had a vision telling her the same thing. Lady will want to torture and slaughter the girl. I cannot let that happen. That's why I have to leave this place.

I've tried locating all of the keys, but I've only managed to track down two. Three left to go. Maybe I can find them before she arrives in the Hollow. If not, my job will get much, much more difficult.

I have to protect her.

I've left my sword here. I've erected a shield around it. Hopefully the energy signal that it gives off will make her think I'm still here. I only need long enough to find a suitable home. Shit, I still have to find the door for these keys.

The Hollow is merciless, but the Pale Lady is naturally cruel.

“That's all it says,” Estelle said.

“Slaughter? Torture?!” Ransley exclaimed.

“Can't say I wouldn't deserve it,” Estelle said under her breath. “If what this says is true, then he could be the only one who can help me. I saw that woman once and she's definitely very powerful. I wouldn't stand any sort of chance against her.”

“That's a lovely letter and all,” Ransley said, “but it doesn't tell us where he's gone... Torture?!”

Estelle turned to look Ransley in his eyes

“Look,” she said to him. “I've lived a wicked life that was sustained by the blood of the innocent. I know what I have coming to me... This woman, The Pale Lady. I've heard a lot about her.”

“Yes. I've mentioned her to you before.”

“Why does she want him so badly?”

“Perhaps for the same reason you do. Perhaps she wants to escape Eve's Hollow.”

“What about the other room,” Estelle said. “The one he mentions in the letter?”

“Let's find out, eh?”

Estelle folded the letter and slipped it into her pocket. She figured that if he wasn't coming back here, there would be no one to read it. She left the room before Ransley did and he followed her, clicking the light off and closing the door behind him. He used his flashlight to illuminate the numbers on the doors. Their destination was easy to find. It was the only door with