But of course, they weren’t trying to infiltrate anything—they were just following the path.
The path that nobody but us can see, Terra thought dismally. So how can we possibly get this woman to believe us? What are we going to say—“Oh, sorry—we were just following the yellow brick road between worlds and your most important building happened to be in the way?” Right—she was sure the woman holding at gun at her head would buy that. They were in trouble here—so much trouble!
The only bright spot in the situation appeared to be that the golden path seemed to be going the same way the woman was dragging her. So at least they weren’t losing their way—though Terra wasn’t sure how much good that was going to do them.
The woman walked fast and Terra was trying to keep up, but she kept stumbling in the stupid kitten heels.
“Wait!” she begged, the third time she nearly tripped. “Let me take off my shoes—please!”
The woman glanced down.
“You do appear to be wearing extremely impractical footwear. We will pause for a moment, only.”
She stopped the relentless march for a second, allowing Terra to kick off her heels—which Tem quietly retrieved. For a moment Terra hoped this might be the time to stage a break for it, but the blunt muzzle of the weapon only left her neck and traveled down to jam into her side instead. So there was no way she was getting away—not without getting a hole blown in her side, or whatever it was the weapon did, she thought dismally.
The new gun placement did allow her to turn her head and catch a glimpse of her captor. She was a tall woman—almost six feet or two meters, Terra estimated—wearing a bright white jumpsuit with black cuffs and a black collar around her slender neck. Her hair was in a buzz cut of short black stubble that showed her well-shaped skull and she had large black eyes, full lips, and cheekbones sharp enough to cut glass with.
She looks like a fashion model for one of those fancy clothing brands where they wear really weird, impractical outfits on the catwalk that you’d never wear in real life, was Terra’s impression.
“Look, we’re really not here to hurt anyone,” she began again.
“The Watcher will determine your true purpose, which is doubtless the infiltration of our Perfect Society to sow disharmony and discord,” the woman said, giving Terra a severe look.
“No, honestly, it’s not!” Terra exclaimed. “We’re just passing through—trying to get someplace else. We don’t want to sow anything!”
“Of course you do,” the woman snapped. She gave Terra’s flower gown a cold look. “Why else would you appear wearing such outlandish clothing and bringing such bizarre companions? Your entire existence declares that you are in non-compliance!”
“Non-compliance with what?” Terra asked. “I know we’re wearing a lot more colors than you’re used to, but we didn’t know the rules of your world when we came here! Honestly, we didn’t!”
“That will be for The Watcher to say,” the woman said shortly. “Come—you will meet it now.”
Terra realized that the woman was leading her into another elevator—and that the glowing golden path led off to the right of it, down another long white hallway.
Oh no—we’re getting off the path! Have to do something!
But what could she do? The woman still had a gun—or the DY-12 equivalent of one—jammed into her ribs. And since the Monstrum were unwilling to do anything for fear that she would shoot Terra, they were all stuck.
“Who is this, Watcher?” she asked, stalling for time. “I don’t think I’m dressed right to meet him. Can you maybe take me to get a jumpsuit like yours to wear before I go?”
The woman uttered a short, barking laugh which was completely devoid of humor.
“I wear the uniform of The Watcher’s personal guard. You are a non-compliant one in need of re-education or worse. You will never wear a uniform such as mine.”
Way to be super proud of that ugly jumpsuit, hon, Terra thought, irritation rising in her throat. With difficulty, she swallowed it down.
“Can I just get a regular white jumpsuit then? So I don’t offend the, uh, Watcher?”
“You have already offended the All-Seeing Eye,” the woman said ominously. “It has been watching you since you first infiltrated our Perfect Society. Now you will pay for the disruption you have caused.”
And she forced Terra into the elevator, with the Monstrum crowding in behind her, helpless to do anything but watch since the weapon was still pressed against Terra’s side.
As the doors closed behind them, Terra felt a sense of fear and despair. Where were they going next and what was going to happen to them?
She had no idea.
TWENTY-THREE
The lift doors opened onto a vast room which Rive thought must be the top floor of the building. In it was nothing but an enormous eye, larger than a mountain back on Earth. Indeed, to this huge creature, whatever it was, they must all appear to be no more than insects, he thought. No wonder the building that housed it had to be so huge—it took every bit of the upper floor to hold the vast entity.