A door opened.
Beyond it stood a man in a grey suit.He was carrying a clipboard.
Everyone stared.
The man looked at the clipboard.
Then at them.
Then back at the clipboard.
“Excellent,” he said. “You’re all here.”
“Who are you?” asked Avery.
“Future Maintenance.”
Leonardo blinked.
“That’s not a person.”
“Neither is Atlantis, technically. We all have to compromise.”
The man stepped inside and closed the door behind him.
Outside, the mountain stopped moving.
The river flowed downhill.
The sea remembered what gravity was.
For a moment, everything was normal.
This was immediately suspicious.
Lady Blackbird pointed at the brass lever.
“You said maintenance wasn’t complete.”
“It isn’t.”
“Then why is everything fixed?”
The man sighed.
“It isn’t fixed. It has been postponed.”
Captain Avery looked horrified.
“To when?”
The bronze beacon began to hum.
The Guardian went pale.
“Captain,” he whispered. “Put the lever back.”
Avery slowly released it.
The man in the grey suit shook his head.
“Too late.”
The chest clicked.
Behind them, something enormous knocked on the door.
Three times.
Then, after a pause, it knocked again.
This time from inside the room.
ping:
Dreamquest 