Further along the wide, white corridor, Paelen approached a big metal box against a wall. Even before he drew near, he could smell a sweet fragrance that made his mouth water and stomach grumble. It was almost like ambrosia, but not quite.
Paelen had asked countless times for ambrosia to be brought to him. Instead he was given food that he couldn’t eat. The only thing he’d managed to get any nutrition from was what the doctors had called dessert. But it was never enough.
Feeling half starved, Paelen approached the glass front of the vending machine. Behind it he could see stacks of brightly coloured items. They all smelled of that same sweet, delicious fragrance. His need for food quickly outweighed his need to get the bridle and sandals. At the side of the machine, he found a lock where a small round key should be inserted. Paelen used all his strength to tear at the lock.
He pried open the front glass door of the machine and reached for the first item. Tearing off the paper, he hungrily bit into the soft candy bar. He nearly cried out in joy as the sweet chocolate went down his throat. It was only then he realized just how hungry he had been.
As he tore open another candy bar and shoved it all in his mouth, he quickly checked the hall. He was exposed and vulnerable. But he had to eat.
Pulling up the bottom of his hospital gown, Paelen made a small pouch. This he filled with as many candy bars and chocolates he could carry. But he was also careful to leave enough in the machine so that anyone who came by would not see that he’d been there.
When he had taken as much as he dared, Paelen closed the glass front of the vending machine and ran back to the stairwell. He crept to the back of the stairs and tucked himself under the base. It wasn’t the best hiding place in the world, but it was better than nothing.
Paelen started to eat. As he tore open each package, he discovered new flavours and delights. Until this moment, there’d been nothing about this world he liked. But as he stuffed his face with candy and chocolate from the vending machine, he realized there was at least one good thing about this world – sugar.
When the last of the candy was gone, Paelen sat back and sighed with contentment. It was the first time he’d felt satisfied since he arrived. Already he could feel his strength increasing as the sugar went to work on his body, healing the last of his wounds.
Soon, Paelen was ready to move again. Creeping out from his hiding place, he felt refreshed, alive and alert. Every sense was working properly. He was himself again.
He could hear the sound of people moving around on the levels above him. But on this level, he was alone. As he moved further along the corridor, Paelen suddenly smelled something he hadn’t smelled since Olympus. It was the awful scent of rot and filth. It was the scent of – Nirads!
The odour grew worse as he continued down the hall. The stench was coming from behind a locked door. He pressed his ear to the door, but heard nothing. The smell told him there was a Nirad in there, but something was wrong. It didn’t smell like other Nirads. This one smelled dead.
Paelen pressed the same code from his door into the sound lock, but nothing happened. He pushed hard against the door. If there was a dead Nirad in there, he needed to know how it had died, and if there was some way of defeating the awful creatures. Perhaps with that information, he could save Olympus.
With the sugar coursing through his body, Paelen felt almost as strong as he did when he was home. No human door could withstand his Olympian might. With a grunting shove, the lock and hinges gave way and the door burst open.
Paelen found himself in another laboratory. But this was nothing like the labs he’d been in before. This room smelled of death and decay. There were similar machines in it. But there was also something else. Something awful.
In the centre of the room, Paelen saw a large metal table. There was a big round light hanging above it, shining its brightness down on the table’s occupant. The table had metal sides that folded up several centimetres, to keep the blood and fluids from spilling on to the floor.
Lying on the table was a dead Nirad.
Paelen could see the four arms lying limply at the sides of the creature. The stench rising from the table was so awful he had to plug his nose to keep from losing the precious food he’d just eaten. But the sight of the dead Nirad was almost enough to make him sick anyway.
The doctors of this place had clearly been cutting the Nirad open to see what was on the inside. He didn’t want to look. Instead, his eyes were drawn to a deep scar burned on the folded-back skin of the Nirad’s open chest.