Free Web NovelChapter 2: A Lady
Ronan’s mind was fuzzy. He was feeling as if his entire body had been thrown into a massive grinder and then spun rapidly. As if he had been a whirlpool. His balance was completely off, and it did not help that there was pitch black darkness around him. He could not even see his own hands.
It took Ronan a couple of minutes before his mind and body could return to normal, allowing him to regain the ability to think, process and comprehend what was happening to him. freёwebnovel.com
His hand instinctively went toward his pants pocket, and thankfully, he found his mobile inside. He pulled it out. He tapped on it and the screen lit up. fгeewebnovёl.com
There was no signal on his screen. Nothing. Blank. With shaking hands, he turned on the flashlight. The first thing Ronan spotted was the bowl of fried chicken rice and the bottle of water lying on the floor just next to him. Then, he noticed the floor itself.
The concrete floor was rugged and uneven and covered in a thick layer of dust, but Ronan felt there was something unusual about it. He did not delve too deeply into it, looking around at his surroundings instead.
He realized he was standing in a large hall, definitely bigger than his own room. The hall was completely empty. The flashlight was making it hard to see the ends of the hall.
There was a steel plate fixed to the wall directly in front of him. From the latches and hinges, Ronan could tell it was a window.
But why a window like that? The steel plate looked thick and heavy. It looked as if it had been built to protect whoever was inside. Was it some kind of bunker?
Ronan took a few steps in each direction, trying to see if he could find anything. On one side of the hall, a staircase was descending into complete darkness. There was nothing else.
His heart was pounding heavily. His forehead and back were drenched in cold sweat, and his mind was gripped by a massive wave of anxiety. He chose not to go down the stairs and returned to his original position.
He could not fathom what had happened with him or what place this was. How had he even arrived here?
It was then that his thoughts returned to the cube. Nothing else could have brought him here. He could think of no other possibility. If that was the case, then the cube was the only thing that could take him back.
But he could not find it anywhere. His mind, already barely functioning, went into full panic mode. He did not know where he was. He just wanted to go home. It was like a nightmare.
Wait, a nightmare! Was this a nightmare? Most probably. It was the most logical explanation for what was happening. His mind calmed down a bit. It was just a bad dream. But why was he not waking up from it?
Was it not said that if you realize you are inside a dream, you will wake up? Maybe a pinch would do the trick.
Ronan raised his hand to pinch himself to wake up, when his eyes suddenly widened in shock. On the back of his left wrist, a tattoo had appeared out of nowhere. It was a simple design. A solid square imprinted on his skin.
But from the very first glance, Ronan knew it was no ordinary square. It was the cube that had brought him here. He could not tell what had caused the tattoo to appear, and the faint hope that this was merely a bad dream instantly shattered.
His anxiety and fright intensified, and the pounding of his heart grew even stronger. His legs gave way, and he slumped onto his butt on the floor.
With a shaking right hand, he reached over to the tattoo on his left wrist and rubbed it. He wanted to see if there would be any reaction. He desperately wished to return home.
He was still panicking when, out of nowhere, the tattoo on his left wrist stirred slightly and its brightness dimmed. Almost instantaneously, the cube appeared in his hand.
Ronan’s eyes widened in shock as he saw the cube in his hand. His hope was reignited once more. One side of the cube was still flashing, and Ronan finally saw what it was. It was text. Something was written on it.
TIME: 4:59 AM | 4:59 PM
TRAVEL
No Energy [0%]
No Solar Energy Detected
No External Energy Detected
This was what was written on the surface of the cube in glowing white light.
The first line was the time. 4:59 PM was the time it should have been back home. It was the exact same time still being displayed on his mobile screen. But there were two different times on it. 4:59 AM was twelve hours apart from his current time.
Had he traveled halfway around the world? Was such a thing even possible? He did not delve into it. He did not even want to consider those possibilities unless and until he was back in the comfort of his home. Out of nowhere, his small and simple apartment started to feel incredibly warm, comforting, and enticing to Ronan.
The second thing was the word TRAVEL [0%]. It was dimly lit compared to the surrounding text. From this, Ronan managed to gather two distinct pieces of information. First, his fingers had likely slid across this exact word, causing him to suddenly appear here.
Second, there was currently no energy left inside the cube for him to travel back to his previous location. It was at 0%, which explained why the option to travel remained so dim.
But the next two lines gave him a glimmer of hope. No Solar Energy Detected. It was pitch dark, so naturally, there could be no solar energy right now.
However, if he went by the time of this place, morning was just about to arrive according to the local time here, and very soon the sun should appear too. He only hoped that it would not take years for the cube to charge up or refill its energy or whichever term was more accurate.
The last line was ’No External Energy Detected.’ This was a likely hint that other forms of energy could also be used to charge the device.
He did not know what specific form of energy it required, and he definitely had no idea where he would find any source of power in a place like this.
Not that he wanted to. Unless and until the solar energy option left him completely hopeless, he was not going to go looking for any other alternatives.
By then, the frantic pounding of his heart had slowed, and his anxiety had calmed down a bit. The sudden appearance of hope that he might be able to return to his house had successfully soothed his tense mind.
His eyes settled on the heavy metallic window, and he decided to open it. He also wondered about the dark staircase that led downward. There was no staircase leading upward, which meant he was currently on the top floor and had nothing but the roof above him. But was someone or something else occupying the lower floors?
There was a natural sense of curiosity in his heart to find out more about this mysterious place, but he was not willing to take an unnecessary risk.
He did not want to descend the stairs only to run into something dangerous. Maybe once morning arrived and the darkness faded, he could think about exploring.
Ronan got up from the hard floor and approached the large metallic window. He very carefully unlocked one of its latches. There were two more left. He tried to make as little sound as possible, not wanting to draw any attention if anyone or anything happened to be on the lower floors.
But given that he had neither heard a single sound coming from below nor seen anyone come up, he remained hopeful that the entire building was empty, just like his floor.
His hands had just reached for the second latch when a sudden noise startled Ronan.
"Who are you?" The shrill voice of a woman boomed through the empty hall. "And what are you doing here?"
His body instantly tensed and intense fright seized his heart as he slowly turned his head to see a woman standing right in front of him.
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