"So? Who's going first? You…" He pointed at me. "Or you?" The skinny young man shuddered on the other side.
"How about you." I pointed my finger back at him without a trace of fear in my eyes or body. "You're not the only curious one—tell me. What does your type do around here?"
I looked him up and down once more, as well as the men behind him.
They were clearly criminals.
But more than that, they are not just simple henchmen.
"…"
He stared at me in silence for a few moments, his expression closed off.
Then he laughed, amused.
"All right, all right!" he said, shoving a hand into his pocket and pulling out a lighter and a cigarette, which he promptly lit.
He placed the cigarette between his lips and took a brief drag before releasing a cloud of smoke.
"I'm known as Grand," he said with a devilish smile. "If you recognize that name, I'll already know what kind of people you are, hahaha."
Gulp
The young man beside him swallowed hard and stepped back. He didn't seem to know anything—just instinctively afraid.
"Don't think so highly of yourself. I know your name. It's pretty famous outside this place. But there were bigger names in the past," I said mockingly."You're the Infame Manager of the Zeus Building, aren't you? Though, I have to say, Orpheus has been on better tracks lately… just being honest, I hope you know how to take criticism." I laughed in the same mocking tone.
"You know those places? Surprising," he exclaimed. "I thought our illustrious scholars didn't go to places so… Mundane? Vulgar? Filthy? What words do you even use?"
"Words don't matter much with the loud music and mouths busy." I chuckled softly with a fake nostalgic expression. "So you're the infamous manager from there? From that den of desires?"
He laughed quietly.
"The very one. If you ever need nighttime company, you know who can arrange it for you. Our policy is total satisfaction, no matter the order." He took another drag of the cigarette and exhaled. "I can also handle business—many kinds of it—if you need some quick cash."
He chuckled again.
Zeus Building, more than a den of pleasures. A den of all possible pleasures, provided one has recommendations and enough money. Their promise is to stimulate all five senses, and they deliver on that promise meticulously.
Nothing is off-limits.
Absolutely nothing.
The most infamous case involves an anonymous client who requested the president's daughter. The outcome of the incident went down in organized crime history with the promotion of Zeus's former manager.
Grand is his successor, a promising newcomer.
"Your turn now." He said pointing to me.
"I don't have much to say," I said with a dry expression, inventing my ancestry in real time. "I'm Ares, the scholar. I don't have noble origins, unfortunately. I came from the same hole as all of you — the lower city."
Grand and the others exchanged looks for a few moments, scanning me from head to toe. No matter how noble someone might become, their origins would always stand out.
"..."
They would know how to discern the truth.
"I think there's no doubt about that!" Grand exclaimed, and they laughed among themselves. "I just didn't expect someone like you to exist. A scholar? Man, my mother begged me day and night to become one."
"They all do," I laughed. "And you two?"
I pointed at the thugs behind Grand.
"I'm Drake," he said, pointing proudly at his own chest. "Direct subordinate to Grand. I usually handle the merchandise, if you know what I mean."
I nodded. The first was a tall, lean man covered in exposed tattoos. From his look, he seemed to have escaped the police many times.
"And I'm Burges," the other repeated the gesture with a broad smile. "I also work directly under Grand. On a daily basis, I'm the one who makes smart-asses think twice before trying anything."
The second had a more robust build than the others—the build of a bull. Still, he had a friendly look.
Even so, I didn't doubt for a second that he was the group's executioner.
"With that, only one is left," Grand pointed out, turning to the side where the skinny young man was still trembling. "So then, who are you?"
Gulp
"John," he said softly, almost inaudible. "John. I'm just a pizza delivery guy."
"…"
"Just that?" Grand asked.
"…"
Sigh
Grand rolled his eyes with a smile and snorted.
"Young people." He nudged his companions excitedly with his shoulder. "John the pizza delivery guy—and what else? What are your talents, my great John?"
John shrank back, trembling under all of our scrutiny.
"I'm just a regular delivery guy," he said, embarrassed. "I lived a normal life and never had any talent… I'm afraid I won't be useful…"
"…"
We looked at each other a few times before turning back to him. The kid was small, weak, and bland.
There was no use for him.
Cough, cough
Grand stepped forward and bumped his shoulder, startling him.
"Don't worry about that, kid!" he said with a smile. "I'm sure I'll find a role for you. Everyone has a role that fits them just right, no matter how small it may seem!"
He kept bumping his shoulder while laughing.
"Young people!" he repeated. "Always so insecure! Ah, it's a shame—if we were at Zeus, I'd get rid of that insecurity real fast. Penelope would take care of it in seconds!"
Everyone burst into laughter at his words, while I cautiously observed his actions.
"Anyway," he said, tucking the boy under his arm and bringing him toward us with an animated posture. "We're a group now, aren't we?"
Everyone nodded. Despite my doubts, I nodded too.
"We all want to get out of here alive. We all want to reach the end," he said enthusiastically. "So I think we need to assign some roles—to improve our effectiveness."
I rolled my eyes internally.
"I nominate myself as leader!" he said excitedly. "I was already a leader before, so I have experience in the role. All in favor?"
Everyone raised their hands in favor without any hesitation.
Grand's smile widened as I began doing some mental calculations.
"Well then, we can start our magical adventure, right?" he said excitedly, turning towards the end of the room.
And so we all did.
There were doors—five of them—from right to left. They were as large as the gates of hell itself.
Above each one was a drawing on a round stone plaque. In order, they were: Spider, Rat, Bat, Serpent, and Scorpion.
Their purposes were unclear for the moment.
But I quickly noticed that they were major vectors of disease or venom.
My second analysis told me that only one of them was a winged animal—this might be the answer.
"Should we go through?" he murmured, taking a step forward and touching the door.
"Better not," I said, nodding toward an archaic tablet beside it. "There seem to be some instructions there."
"Good catch!"
We all moved toward the archaic tablet, and my face soon turned sour.
"What is this?" Grand asked, seeing a series of illegible symbols.
Four pairs of eyes fixed on me—the scholar.
Countless damned expectations fell on me.
"Akkadian," I replied, remembering the news. "It's one of the languages spoken by the Babylonians—an ancient people."
Click
"And what was that?!"
Everyone looked to the opposite side of the room, where the sound had come from.
The sound of a trap activating.
'Give me a break,' I muttered as I watched the ceiling begin to glow and the air shimmer.'I forgot to mention that.'
WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH
AAAAAH!
Flames descended from the ceiling toward the floor, terrifying everyone.
WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH
More and more flames approached, faster and faster.
"We have a time limit!" Grand exclaimed, turning to me along with everyone else. "Thank God we have a scholar here, right guys?!"
"Yes!"
"Luck is on our side!"
"Thank you, Mr. Ares!"
I'm going to cry.
WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH
"We're counting on you!" they said in unison.
I took a deep breath.
I turned to read the ancient tablet…
I didn't understand a single word.
I resisted the urge to slap myself.