Aik Iskandaryan - William Calhoun and the Black Feather. Book I

«A bit gloomy around here, isn’t it?» he said with irony.

The pink-cheeked companion didn’t even move after being talked to. Only after a few seconds, he turned his head lazily and looked at William:

«Only don’t think that if we’ve happened to be in one cabin, we can get to know each other, become friends, and die best friends in the old age!» he grimaced and turned away again.

William was speechless for the moment, taken aback. That was some damn luck! He thought that if somebody wasn’t going to opened the door of the cabin and seat with them, the journey would be a complete disappointment! But his thoughts were interrupted by a strong push that threw him back in his seat, followed by the sound of hooves. The Six O’Clocker started to move.

Slow at first, then faster and faster, they were moving forward. William couldn’t see how going faster and faster the blue-eyed elks thrust their hooves deeper into the ground until they started to submerge. Following the example of his unfriendly companion, he was staring out of the round window and he suddenly noticed that with each second the ground outside the window was going higher until it covered it completely. The carriage went underground.

«Oh no!» William thought. «However, I should have guessed that our journey would take place underground. Because if the cab came from underground when it arrived to the station, it means that it should continue its way underground as well!»

It became rather dark in the cabin, making it hard to see anything. Suddenly the light was lit, revealing the round face of his companion, who’d just added the brightness to the oil lamp that had been barely burning. William turned his head, saw a similar lamp to the right of himself and adjusted the flame in it. The next moment, the cabin was brightly lit by two lamps on both sides of the cabin. But William thought that this light made the atmosphere in the cabin even gloomier.

The cab was already underground completely, but William could feel the cabin dashing forward at great speed. At the same time, the Six O’Clocker wasn’t moving along the tunnel, it was digging it as it went with the horns of the elks. Fresh ground beating against the windows of the cabin was a witness to that. Frankly speaking, the sight wasn’t only rather unpleasant, but also quite scary. «Will they have to move underground all the way?» he thought. The journey by the Six O’Clocker didn’t seem such a safe activity anymore. His companion continued staring through the window, which didn’t show anything but the dirt, and it seemed that he was deeply indifferent to anything happening outside. William was going to take a nap to make the journey seem less scary and monotonous, when there was a slight difference in his companion’s behaviour. His hands, calmly lying on the seat just a moment ago, were suddenly holding on very tight to it. And he started sweating profusely, staring at the round window. But these weren’t the only odd things. As William followed his look, he noticed that the dirt on the window started disappearing, making way to water drops. There were more and more of those drops, and it was enough to make William’s heart sink. He immediately remembered the walls of the Cabstation Waiting Hall, and he clearly understood what was going to happen next. He was staring at the eerie window in fear, unable to tear his eyes away from it. And then the familiar thumping of hooves coming from up front stopped. The Six O’Clocker had come out of the gloomy dungeon and changed the nature element, now going at an incredible speed along the ghostly ocean bottom to the silent hooves thumping of its elks. Frightened sea creatures scattered away from the horrifying gloomy carriage and its just as gloomy helmsmen. Neither it was calm inside the cabins! Round windows showed wide-open frightened and excited eyes of young passengers watching the mud rise up from the bottom from under the wheels of the mysterious cab. William’s heart was all but jumping out of his chest and he turned to his companion to share his impressions from the eerie seascape. But as he looked at him, he was not less horrified to see that the boy had gone red in the face and was struggling for breath, as he attempted to undo the button under his neck.

«Can’t… breathe!» he managed with difficulty.

Reacting instantly, William rushed to his side and started slapping his cheeks, trying to bring him back to his senses.

«What’s the matter with you?» he asked quickly.

«My…» he pointed at his backpack, «…inhaler…»

Realizing at once what he was supposed to do, William rummaged in the boy’s backpack, took out a small breathing device and held it to the boy’s mouth. He grabbed it with his lips and started breathing greedily. After a few moments, the boy was already able to hold the inhaler himself. William was looking at him with pity and fear at the same time. Soon his companion started recovering. He put away the inhaler, made a few deep breaths and started talking, finally.

«Tha…. Thank you!» he said, his breathing still ragged.

«No problem!» William replied, calming down.

«Wayne Ferguson!» he introduced himself.

«Will Calhoun!» William replied automatically. «Does this often happen to you?»

«Not really. Only where there is little air,» Wayne Ferguson replied, still breathing heavily. «My lungs contract and I don’t get enough oxygen.»

«I see. Well, then, keep that thing closer to yourself from now on!» William took his seat again and gave Wayne another worried look: «Feeling better?»

«Yes, thanks! Where are you from?»

«London. And you?»

«Preston! It’s in Lancashire. There’s definitely much more air out there than here!»

«Yeah, that’s true!» William grinned. «I’ve never discussed the air of Preston being on the ocean floor before! Are you in the Preparatory Course as well?»

«Yes,» Wayne replied, «that’s why I’m going to this damn Ball!»

«You don’t really like it, do you?»

«Well, the Ball is okay, but the journey…» he nodded at the inhaler on the seat, «is quite uncomfortable.»

«So, you do know how the Ball is organized?»

«Who doesn’t,» Wayne snorted, «Everyone knows about it from early childhood. It’s a tradition to hold the Ball before the Preparatory Course starts.»

«I’d be happy if you share the information with me! I know nothing about it!»

«No problem. I owe you!» Wayne took a deep breath and started talking. «The ball itself has four stages. The first one is the opening of the Ball! Well, the choir sings its well-wish song, after which we’ll be given feathermaps…»

«What are these feathermaps, by the way? The letter from the Department mentioned that they’d be handing them out, but I didn’t understand what they were for.»

«Well, feathermaps are the things that will help us to peregrine to classes to the houses of the teachers. They can be located in completely different places and it would be quite difficult to get to them without feathermaps.»

«I see! What happens next?»

«The second stage – when delegations from all four MUnis arrive ceremoniously to the Ball. It’s always an incredible sight. They appear and start talking one by one of what awaits their students within their MUnis. This way the enrolees who haven’t decided which MUni to enter after the Preparatory Course get a more vivid impression about each of them, which makes their choice easier later. They learn about the history of each MUni, as well as about the teaching method, special subjects and so on. And after that, when professors end their speeches, the third stage comes – dancing. During the dancing part, enrolees get to know each other, find new friends, but mostly they just step on each other’s toes!»