Chapter 19 -- People Of The Box

 The flying box floated right above Zed's car and then dropped on top of it. The box was hollow from inside and Zed felt claustrophobia gripping him in its dirty claws. Then the floor under the car's wheels changed. There was a strange sensation of being in a lift and Zed's falling stomach told him that they were airborne.

"Any idea who's going to try to kill me here?" he asked Marilyn.

There was no response from the chip. No voice in his head. Thankfully, the spear stuck in the inside of the other door was not glowing now. Zed pulled it out and checked the carvings closely. He didn't like what he saw so he threw the spear on the backseat.

It was dark inside the box so Zed flicked on the lights of his car. The lights illuminated a corridor.

Zed smiled, he was getting used to the impossible. Almost expecting it at every turn. He opened the door and stepped out of the car. He picked a bottle on his way out and started walking the path that the lights showed.

Eager eyes watched him from the darkness. Voices whispered among themselves.

"Is it really him?"

"It can't be anyone else."

"The books have spoken his name."

"I am afraid to be in his presence."

"But we must. We must show ourselves to our god."

Zed walked on, ignorant of the eyes, the voices and the discussions they were having. The path he was walking on changed from mud to stone and then to polished marble after a distance of few steps. There was a big chair at the end of the path. Zed walked up to it. It was draped in red cloth. He pulled the cloth from the chair and sat down on it. It had been a long walk.

The moment he settled in the chair, things came out of the darkness. They were many in number and all of them scuttled forwards on four legs. He was about to start worrying how they were going to kill him when the strangest thing happened. They started to chant his name.

It started slowly, but then it picked up pace and his name rang loud in the hall like place he was sitting in.

"Well, that's good for the ego."

He raised his hand to the crowd of creatures. "Silence! Show me your leader."

A creature similar to the others separated itself from the crowd and walked forward.

"I am not worthy, my god, my master."

"Its ok Not Worthy. Rise." he said. He felt this was the wrong thing to say because the creature tried hard to get up, but it remained level, horizontal to the ground.

"Uh, don't rise. Just update me what's happening here."

"The great books say that you're our god. And you will deliver us from the tyranny of this race."

"Your planet will be destroyed if you lose, right?"

The creature looked at Zed with a sad look in its eyes. "This box is our planet. We are people of the box."

"And I am your god. So, it makes sense that I have to save you from demise or I will be god of nothing."

"Great Zed is wise, brave and considerate."

Zed smiled and waved his hand at the creature.

The crowd of creatures parted and a party of four brought a small box forward. There were bottles of bright liquids shining on the top of box.

"You ARE my people." Zed said as he picked up one bottle full of shiny blue liquid and took a gulp.

"Now, my people. We have to win this race. And the way I see it, there can be only one winner. Either you, or me. So I am going to suggest the only right way we have left."

The crowd of creatures looked at Zed in anticipation. He raised his bottle high and took another gulp.

"We are going to cheat."

---

Now he shows his bastardly colors.