Chrono Voyage

Chapter 6: Tennis Court

     Both of them arrived at the end of the forest road and found themselves in front of a tennis court that was fenced from every side, people with red masks were lining up on the entrance where a guard who also had a mask stood at the door, he greeted them with a simple nod, perhaps that`s how the cult greets each other. Elizabeth and Benjamin also lined up, terrified that they are going to be discovered as the guard just starred into their eyes through the holes of the masks, but surprisingly he just gave them a nod as they also nodded and slowly walked past the guard and into the stands of the tennis court. They sat down next to the other members of the cult the stands were full with red masks, this wasn`t an ordinary small cult, they occupied the whole court, the net on the middle of the pitch was gone instead there was a white platform that was elevated a bit from the ground. They waited a while until everybody was settled and comfortable before they could begin doing whatever they are doing. Twelve figures dressed in black robes and red masks walked on the pitch and lined themselves on the platform. Elizabeth was beginning to create a theory inside her head after seeing the masks that the twelve figures wore, and if she was at least a bit correct this is indeed scary. Sure enough to her expectations there was the thirteenth figure lagging behind the first twelve, that figure also wore a black robe, but the mask was not an ordinary red plastic mask, this one was made out of metal and painted red, its serpents eyes were glowing red, and horns stuck out of its head and carried a portrait of Grigori Rasputin of all people.

     “Oh no….” whispered Elizabeth.

     “Spooky right?” Benjamin looked at her.

     “Spooky would be underrating this, it`s far scarier.”

     “What do you mean?”

     “Look at those masks,” she pointed at the twelve figures who stood in line on the white platform.

     “What about them?” Benjamin was right, the masks were just masks just the simple red masks that they also had, but Elizabeth had another theory in her head.

     “Look…” she began listing the real people that resembled in the masks she started from the furthest away to the nearest, each mask resembled an important figure in history something that they are known for or have invented, there was: Eddison, Newton, Darwin, Cronus, Gaia. The things that were similar to the twelve watchers and then the thirteenth Ox, Elizabeth looked at the menacing guy with a devilish mask.

     “They are portraying The Watchers,” said Elizabeth. 

     “What? Who are the Watchers…?” Benjamin had no idea what she was talking about.

     “We need to get out of here,” said Elizabeth quietly.

     “Get out of here?” Benjamin could not believe what she was talking about. “If we stand up we are going to be the center of attention, they are going to be suspicious of us.”

     “Brothers and sisters!!!” the cultist with the satanic mask started his speech. “We`ve gathered here on this gifted of nights to offer our sacrifice to our beloved Prophet!!!”

     “YEAH!!!” the cultists chanted in unison.

     “The Prophet spent his life-giving us safety and machinery to help mankind, so must we repay the with sacrifice, Oh… great Prophet!!! Accept thy sacrifice for we have done a good deed. Bring him!” he ordered. The same guard that was standing at the door greeting the cultists dragged a man whose face was covered with a yellow sack. The guard threw him in front of the thirteenth cultists, the one with the metal mask kneeled in front of him and removed the sack revealing his face.

     “No…” Elizabeth almost yelled as she tried to stand up to help the poor man, but Benjamin grabbed her by the hand and pulled her back. It was the same waiter that served them at the restaurant, he was about to be killed.

     “We have to do something,” Elizabeth looked at Benjamin.

     “Can we help him with the time machine?” asked Benjamin as Elizabeth nodded and they were about to stand up and make a run for it but then…

     “You`ve been talking around town about how you dislike our certain way of life, now why is that I wonder?” the leader of the cult paced around him as he was on his knees.

     “Your barbaric ways do not satisfy the so-called prophet,” said the waiter.

     “Are you mocking the Prophet boy?” asked the leader.

     “Where is your prophet now? In your greatest time of need?”

     “Huh… I think you will find the odds are not in your favor,” chuckled the leader.

     “On the contrary…” the waiter looked at the red dot that was shining on the leader`s forehead. “I am with the International Secret Agency, and you sir are under arrest, under the convictions of multiple homicides in the interest of the cult, and as such all of those here today are also sharing the same charges of aiding a murder,” the waiter stood up and pulled up his badge, flashing it in front of the leader`s face.

     “We need to get out of here!” warned Benjamin, and as expected shortly after the special forces were everywhere, blocking all the exits and carrying assault rifles. Chaos erupted and the cultists opposed the special forces team. Benjamin and Elizabeth used the chaos in their favor to escape, they ran into the forest like hell.

     “Wait!!!” yelled Benjamin who stopped halfway to catch his breath, he leaned and rested his palms on the knees whilst breathing heavily.

     “Come on! The machine is not far,” Elizabeth pulled his hand, and in fact, Benjamin did want to escape even more than Elizabeth, the only problem was is that he never had to run in his life, his condition was not in top form, he never even had to run to work, he was always on time in fact he was a bit early he was that kind of person.

`     “They can`t ve far, search for them!” the team was catching up to them, they carried flashlights which gave their position away, but that wasn`t the worst thing, along with the distance with the team Elizabeth and Benjamin heard dogs barking in the distance, german shepherds to be precise, the team unleashed the dogs and now Benjamin had no other choice but to run. He gathered what little strength he had and sprinted toward where they parked the machine. They arrived and Benjamin leaned on the gold-plated construction to catch his breath, but now was not the time, Elizabeth opened the door and pushed him inside she wasn`t going to deal with his tiredness right now.

     “Do you have a bottle of water?” he asked as Elizabeth sat down on the chair to commandeer the machine.

     “Sure, you can take a nap on the king-sized bed in the back if you want,” she joked, but Benjamin soon realized that. 

     “Where are we going?” he leaned toward the window and looked in the distance of the forest as the flashlights were approaching them, soon the vision turned black as the machine`s engine roared and took them in the dark tunnel of time. The various pictures of different times flashed in front of them and moved past them, Elizabeth steered the machine towards one picture as they moved inside the picture and everything came to color and life.