Page Turners - Chapter 17 [Page 35] - Rolling
“What? Why are you looking at me? What did I do?” Od tried to feign innocence, but the grin creeping up one corner of his mouth betrayed him.
Charlize shook her head, clearly done with his antics. Tilla, on the other hand, was far less amused. Her disapproving glare cut through his thin veil of mischief.
“I’ve seen you poking around in your bag at night,” Tilla accused.
Charlize’s head whipped around. “As did I,” she said, though her thoughts immediately turned inward. How did she notice without me noticing her? I would have heard her rustling, especially since I was doing the same thing. She’s incredibly stealthy. I should make a note of that.
“Oh, so you all caught me?” Od said, feigning offense. “I feel truly defiled by this lack of privacy. Can’t a man just have a peek at his universe in peace?”
“That depends. Were you peeking, or were you speaking?” Charlize quipped, her lips twitching in satisfaction at the rhyme.
“You were definitely speaking to someone. I heard you mumbling,” Tilla added, her tone sharp. Charlize turned her gaze back to Od, her suspicion deepening.
“Oh, talking, yeah. I’ve been having quite the unpleasant chat with our friend in there.”
“‘Our friend’? You mean the poacher you bagged?” Charlize asked.
“That’s the one.”
“She’s still alive?” Tilla’s surprise was unmistakable.
“Of course! Why wouldn’t she be?” Od responded, genuinely shocked by the insinuation.
“I don’t know. I guess I just assumed…”
“Explain,” Charlize commanded, her voice icy.
“Alright. So, when I put something in the bag, it just floats in empty space. It’s a specific part of space that seems to trap things, like an invisible barrier stopping them from drifting off. I call that place the entrance. Unless I personally move them out of the entrance, they stay there forever. There’s something like an atmosphere there, so they don’t freeze or suffocate. Beyond that, I don’t really know. I’m not a scientist.”
“So, that woman is just floating in empty space right now?” Tilla asked.
“Scarlett? Yeah, she’s just floating around.”
“How could you do that to a person? Trap them all alone in space? What kind of sick torture is that?” Tilla’s voice rose, her frustration boiling over in a way neither Charlize nor Od had seen before.
“I honestly haven’t thought about it,” Od admitted, guilt washing over him.
“Well, maybe you should!” Tilla snapped.
“Enough!” Charlize’s voice cracked like a whip as she stood abruptly. “You haven’t earned the right to make moral judgments, girl. Maybe you should look inward before you start spitting venom.”
“Who are you to tell me what to do? You’re not my family!” Tilla shot back, venom dripping from her words.
Charlize slammed her fist into the screen beside her, causing Nel and Rubes to jolt above. “And what difference would that make?!” she roared, her voice trembling with a mix of anger and pain. She loomed over Tilla, her gaze fierce and filled with betrayal, forcing the young woman to shrink back.
The chamber fell into an oppressive silence, broken only by the screeching of the ball on the tracks outside and the thundering of Charlize’s heartbeat. Her rapid, shallow breaths gradually slowed until her composure returned. She sat back down, her voice cold as steel.
“Get some sleep. We’ll be there soon,” she said, lying down on the bench and rolling over, her back to them.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
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In a tiny room, barely two square meters, the sound of massive objects rushing past outside was deafening. The walls and floor, made of the same stony metal material as the pillars and rails of the Grid, were barren save for a single desk at one end and a door behind it. At the opposite end, Jin and Fudu leaned against the wall. Somehow, Fudu managed to sleep while standing.
Another rush of movement neared, growing louder until it clicked into place with enough force to shake the room. Fudu jolted awake as his brother stepped forward.
The door slid open, and a slender woman emerged. She wore a flowing blue dress that covered her arms and extended to the floor. The collar rose high, concealing her face up to her eyes. Her flat-topped head was accentuated by slick, jet-black hair tucked behind her ears.
“This is not our scheduled meeting time. Why are you here?” she asked, her voice devoid of emotion.
“We’re here on different business,” Jin replied.
“We have no other business,” she countered, perching on the edge of the desk.
“We do now. We need to find some people so we can kill ’em,” Fudu snarled.
“Killing in the Cube is forbidden unless sanctioned by the Cubists. Are you here to ask permission?”
“We don’t need permission! They killed my fucking wife!” Fudu bellowed, stepping forward and thrusting a clenched fist in front of her face. She didn’t flinch.
Jin placed a firm hand on his brother’s shoulder, pulling him back. “Apologies. My brother’s a bit… testy. It’s nothing personal—it’s just his nature. We know the rules and will handle our business outside the Cube. But we need your help finding them. We’re willing to pay.” He nodded to Fudu, who opened a satchel, revealing shimmering crystal caterpillars.
“What people?” she asked.
“That’s the problem. All we know is they crossed just before us, maybe a few days ago.”
“That’s it?”
“They’re powerful. Used some kind of weapon or Creation to carve a 100-meter strip of land smooth as glass.”
The woman leaned back, crossing her legs. “A weapon like that doesn’t exist in the double-digit Pages. A Creation is possible. But there’s another option—a Seam weaver, and an adept one at that.”
“That sounds like a lead. Can’t be many of them on 35, right?” Jin asked.
“Not one person in the Cube could achieve that with Seam. So yes, it’s a strong lead. But my reach only extends to the Cube. The Grid is no-man’s-land not worth our effort.”
“So they have to be in the Cube for you to find them?” Fudu barked.
“Correct.”
“And if they don’t come here?”
“Then I can’t help you.”
Fudu slammed his fist into the wall, causing the room to tremble. Jin shot him a warning glare, forcing him to turn and slam his head against the wall in frustration.
“As I said, testy,” Jin muttered. “Odds are they’ll come to the Cube, even if just passing through on their way to 36. We’ve got a few years to spare. We’ll wait.”
“Sound thinking. We’ll notify you if we find any suspects. Considering your generosity, it seems fitting to set you up with private boxes while you wait.” She placed a small cube on the desk. “Use this for communication. The box will take you where you need to go after I leave. That concludes our business.”
With a fluid motion, she took the bag, turned, and exited. A metallic clink followed by a heavy clunk signaled her room disconnecting and speeding off. For a moment, the door she left through revealed a sprawling network of matching cube rooms racing in all directions.
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“We’re almost there!” Nel shouted down.
The ball shuddered, rapidly decelerating. Od and Tilla’s stomachs churned at the abrupt change, while Charlize stirred from her nap with a calm yawn.
Od and Tilla pressed their faces to the window, staring as the enormous Cube loomed closer. Tilla couldn’t help but marvel aloud at its size, though her excitement waned the closer they got.
“You know, it’s not as big as I imagined. I mean, it’s huge, but I’m pretty sure I could walk around it in a couple of hours. Not that impressive,” she admitted.
“Looks can be deceiving. You’d do well to stop expecting things to match your imagination. It’s a recipe for perpetual disappointment,” Charlize advised.
As they neared, other rails leading to the Cube became visible, with identical spheres zipping in and out with remarkable efficiency. The Cube wasn’t just the center of the Grid—it was its beating heart.
Tilla’s attention shifted to the seemingly random objects floating near the Cube’s perimeter. Each item was distinct and out of place, piquing her curiosity. “What are those?”
“They’re Bookmarks,” Od said proudly, for once beating Charlize to an explanation. “They let you return to a Page you’ve already visited. It’s the only way to go back through the Book.”
“So, you can just go back and forth if you have a Bookmark?” Tilla asked.
“No. They’re single-use,” Charlize clarified. “Once used, they vanish. To return, you’d have to traverse the Pages again, just like we’re doing. The challenge is that activating one requires significant access.”
“That sounds kind of silly,” Tilla remarked.
“Traversing the Book has never been efficient,” Charlize replied.
“Brace for spatial shifting!” Rubes called down.
Before Tilla could ask what that meant, they shot through a tiny square hole in the Cube. Her jaw dropped along with Ods. What seemed like a massive yet simple structure on the outside revealed itself to be an expansive space, large enough to rival an entirely new Page.