The stairs led downwards to a room filled with white lights. A path was made in the middle of this room and on both sides laid pods. Pods stacked atop each other. At the top of this stack could be seen a walkway that had been erected on both sides. All white and brightly colored. The pods were as Mark had said. Egg- shaped and white. The were still in the entrance and on looking right, Aria asked Mark.
"What is that?"
"Oh, that?" Mark said looking at a corner on their right. There was a door there. A white door.
"Yeah" Aria replied.
"It leads to a room which gives me Access to vital information about the pod. It hasn't been operated in a long time because there is no use of it, until now. It seems I didn't say this before so I'll take the chance to say it now. Inside TRANCE, you can die. You can be killed inside this world so always try avoiding violence unless need be." Mark said as he looked around. Aria became a bit tensed after hearing this but it couldn't be shown on her body as it was paralyzed. She never expected being able to die.
"This means death is imminent. Well, I thought I could delay the inevitable. It seems I was wrong. Well, what do I know?" Aria thought to herself as she looked around her current surrounding with so much thrill and excitement, mixed up with a little bit of Fear. She had never seen such infrastructural perfection in her life and she wasn't sure as to how to approach this feeling. Since she woke up to the bright lights of the white room up until this moment she had never thought she was ready for what might transpire any time, anywhere and any WHEN.
" Theodore." Mark called out to him.
"Yes?" Theodore said, snapping back to reality as his mind had drifted away looking at his new environment. He just couldn't believe what his sight presented him with. He had never seen a building this perfect.
"I would like to task you with a job right now. Take Milana and Aria to this place" Mark said, pointing to a corner far away from their standing point. it was a pod. He was pointing at an area where pods were empty.
"When you do, wait for my signal and you lower them into the Pods. Alright?"
"Oh yes, sure." Theodore said reluctantly. "Let's go. Come on." He said to Milana, who was responsible for pushing Arias' wheelchair.
"What would you do Mark?" Aria asked.
"Well," Mark continued"I am responsible for setting up your pods. I would do so from the control room while Theodore lowers your body into the pods. Don't you worry, you wouldn't know pain or any other feeling after five seconds of being lowered. I wish you all good luck. And godspeed. You know what to do when you reach there right? No matter what happens, never forget the reason for entering here in the first place."
"To get cured?" Asked Milana
"No, well, yes but your main reason is to evolve. Never you forget that for one second
No matter what Always remember. Evolve. Never forget it for even a slight second. Once more, I'm truly sorry that it had to be you guys of all people. I can't tell you how grateful I am to you." Mark said as he smiled upon them.
"So Mark. Quick question though" Aria asked
"How is this evolutionary process take place? And why didn't you do so yourself? I mean, you are the most capable of us all. Not to mention, you have been doing the impossible for as long as I can remember. why don't you consider yourself a candidate?"
"Well, Aria" Mark continued. "For your first question, I have no idea how it takes place. You're meant to search for a particular element. Don't worry, you'll know the soonest you enter TRANCE. Also, your second question. I am capable BECAUSE I have evolved. I can't do so anymore and it would be a waste of space. So yeah, that's the reason I can't follow you guys yet. I need suggest though that you find yourself fixed in a group. These groups offer protection, safety and socialization to each of its' members. Believe me these are traits you need to survive in TRANCE. Hopefully you join a good one."
"I see. Were you in one of them perhaps? or did you go it alone as being shown in your character?" Milana asked, obviously trying to mock Mark but unknowing to her, Trix took the situation seriously and just as she was about Diving in to kill Milana out of anger, Mark intervened and held her back by the arm. On seeing Mark held her, She slowly retreated and gently rested on his chest. Milana felt death inches away and she was absolutely terrified by this. Mark, seeing this decided to answer her question.
"Well, I wasn't a loner back then. If anything I was a part of one of if not the most powerful group back then. We were nigh unstoppable at that time. Ah, the spirit of reminiscence seems to get the best of me. I hope I answered your question?"
"Y...Yes. You sure did." Milana said, as she stammered from the shock of what had almost happened to her. She couldn't believe Trix could be anything close to a killer and had always thought of her as the weak type of females." Well," She thought " Anything is possible in this nowadays. What do I know?" She hadn't felt this much fear since, well, forever.
Mark and Trix began making his way to the door on his left, as Theodore accompanied Aria and Milana down the path in the middle. As the walked by Arias' eyes couldn't seat still. Although her body wasn't functioning, she could still tilt her head as she watched from left to right the different pods and wowed every chance she got. She felt absolutely amazed by the sight.
"I wonder." She said out loud all these pods. Do they really hold in them humans?"
"Well," said Milana " According to Mark, they do. All of them."
"So should we bring one out of its' pod, they die?" asked Aria, yet again.
"Yes. I suppose so." Milana answered
"But wait. I can't see an empty pod
They all carry within them a human body. How is Mark going to ever put us in?" Aria asked rather rhetorically this time. She knew the answer to her question but she didn't want to accept it. she just couldn't.
"You mind must be telling you something by now Aria. It wouldn't be all roses as you planned it out in your head. Mark is going to remove Two humans from their pods." Said Milana as she looked left to right, staring at the pods as in a. attempt of selecting which one be best suitable.
"Yes. Stop there" A voice echoed from everywhere and nowhere.
"Who's there!?" Milana asked, looking shocked and startled. She never experienced such and this was the first.
"Fear not. Have no fear for I am with you. Meh, Just kidding. This is Mark speaking. I'm able to communicate with you through radio waves. Just know this. I'm sure you wouldn't understand what that means, right?"
"Well, I wonder where you would be but it seem..." Milana said, speaking to thin air as she knew not the location of Mark at the moment.
"Oh, I've seen him, There he is!" Aria said, as she pointed towards a glass screen that was atop the stacks of Pods on their left. The Glass screen could be seen to have a transparent appearance as it wasn't all dark and most of it was thanks to the Bright white lights that this secret room emitted. Trix could be seen still standing close to Mark, as her bosom rubbed against his body.
"Yes. I'm talking through a mic at the moment, if you know what that means though. Well, pick a pod and I shall conduct a little show for you guys to see." Mark said.
"Oh, by show you mean kill off the persons we pick, right?" Milana asked with a serious look in her face
On hearing this, Aria became uneasy and wasn't sure of how to feel at the moment. She kept quiet and watched as Mark and Milana got into a hot debate.
"No, it's not what I mean by that. Why do you make everything seem as if I am doing this purposefully? Do you think I want to kill them off?" Mark asked raising his voice.
"Why don't you just let them stay and who knows? They might evolve Even before us. Why take away their rights to fight? Are they not sick like us as well?" Milana said Indifferently.
"Milana if only you know what happens there. If only you experienced what I did. You wouldn't be talking like this. I'm not one to use my past tribulations as a means to play the victim card but the situation demanded it be so. Those people in there. They are not sick. They are healthy. You guys aren't. They don't have potential to evolve any more. You guys do! Why now of all times!? We're this close Milana. We've come too far to back out now. You wanted to see the Witches' Green, yes? Well, this is it...." Mark couldn't finish his statement as he was cut off short by Milana who had a point of her own.
"Witches' Green you say? You never once supported my yearning for it. All these years. You never once wanted to know anything about it. Hell, you didn't even care if it affected me in any way. You didn't. Until you brought her back that night. You brought back with you a girl with white Hair and told me to Take care of her. It was the first time you were so interested in knowing about the Witches' Green. No, you knew all along what it was but never said a thing." On saying this, Milana expressed a feeling of disappointment and anguish as she looked up towards the space where Mark stood, behind the transparent glass. He had literally nothing to say. He knew of no speech to give at this moment as guilt filled him up looking down on her. With a little bit of murmur, he let out these words.
"You have no idea, Milana Gilbert."
"What did you say?" Asked Milana, arrogantly "I can't hear you.I suggest you speak loudly next time.
"I said," Mark began in an even louder speech "There's space left for you guys. At the very end of this room. on the opposite end. There is a pod. Well, Two. It would be enough for the both of you" He said, Trying to dodge Milanas' questions."
Milana couldn't believe what had transpired. She was in a state of shock as she looked on to Mark who stood on the room looking down on her. She felt defeated. She felt, like this would be a grammatic battle of attrition but her defenses were broken with a single sentence. she couldn't believe herself and just walked towards the end of the room as directed by Mark, in anger and disarray, Leaving Aria who she was pushing.
"Milana, wait." Aria said, trying to comfort her and also call her to remind her about who would pull the wheelchair.
"She's in a bit of anger right now. Can I help you out with that?" Said Theodore who watched silently all that transpired and did little to nothing to stop it. I mean, who would blame him? Anything he said would be used against him and it would hurt more than normal, considering there wouldn't be a chance to sugarcoat their words as they were all aggravated. He let out a slight sigh of relief after seeing how Mark took care of the situation and walked out of the argument without straining much on it. He expected that not from Mark but it seems there are some sides to Mark that even he knew nothing about.
"Oh, yes. Thank you Theodore, Aria said smiling to Theodore, who came and helped wheel her out of the place of incident.
"Theodore," Mark called out.
"Yes? Theodore replied " Thank you, again."
"Oh, it's nothing. Don't you worry much about it. You do your thing I do mine."
"Alright then."